Continuing from T-IV
~
Ending excerpt from Trinity IV:
"Jason, come on, now..." Daniel said with a nervous laugh.
"You gonna apologize?" Jason asked, knowing damn well that in asking, Daniel wouldn't. Daniel tried not to smile mischievously but it escaped his face anyway. He didn't answer Jason and tried to make a break for the doorway.
Outside, Jack heard a thud, then a few more thuds, then Daniel screaming with laughter, and within the laughter, the sound of excitement and arousal. He grinned widely. "Go get him, Jason."
~
Jason clamped down on the back of Daniel's waistband and yanked him backward. The momentum sent both to the floor on their backsides, laughing. Jason made another grab for Daniel but Daniel twisted away, knocking Jason into the legs of one of the table chairs. Jason glared at him, righting the chair that threatened to topple on top of him. He took a deep breath as he took in Daniel's flashing eyes and smug smile.
"You are so mine, Daniel." He lunged forward and pinned Daniel to the floor, but Daniel turned the tables on him, wrapping his strengthened calves behind Jason's knees and turning them over. Daniel now had Jason pinned beneath him. He lifted himself slightly to take in Jason's surprised expression.
"You are mine now, Jason," he whispered as he lay over him, his legs still trapping Jason's.
Squirming, Jason became somewhat serious, and replied, "I am."
Daniel smiled wickedly. "I'm so glad you finally see that."
Jason tried to move his pinned arms but managed only to lace his fingers through Daniel's. He gave Daniel a filthy look. "What have you got in mind, Daniel?"
Daniel gave him a filthy smile in return. "Oh, let's see..." and he bit his lip as he rubbed his jeans covered erection against Jason's. Jason groaned as he bit his own lip and closed his eyes for a moment. Daniel loved it when he did that, and rubbed again. Jason opened his mouth in a tiny gasp then, and Daniel leaned down so that his face was only an inch away from Jason's. His lips hovered over Jason's as his eyes roamed over his face. He rubbed again, his ardour rising. "I can think of one or two things I'd like to do."
Jason opened his eyes, showing lustful interest, as he tried to raise his head to kiss Daniel. Daniel pulled back a bit, denying him.
"Daniel..." Jason protested softly. "Don't tease me like that."
Daniel made another rubbing thrust, sending pleasure through both of them. "But you like it, Jason."
Jason stared at his lips, then his eyes. "Yes."
Daniel thrust once more, enjoying himself immensely as more shocks of pleasure rippled through them. He suddenly heard a tiny splashing noise and looked up.
"Holy shit!" he exclaimed in alarm, and scrambled off of Jason in a flash.
"Daniel, what the fuck?!" he blurted out, rolling over onto his stomach, staring after Daniel.
Daniel hurried over to the fish tank and grabbed his net, plunging it and his free hand into the water. "That goddamn beta jumped the screen wall!"
Jason sighed. "Daniel, let them fight it out."
"Jason! Cassie gave me this fish. I'm not letting them fight."
"Then maybe you need to get another tank, whaddya think?"
"Fuck that. I'm making them live together, whether they like or not! Boris, get your ass away...no, over there, you little shit..." and Jason started to snicker as he watched Daniel follow the beta around the tank with the net, finally corralling him and dumping him back into his side of the aquarium. He removed the net, studying the angelfish and the beta, trying to determine if any damage was done. Bubbles came from the beta's mouth, making him look rabid and Daniel stepped back, bumping into Jason.
"Is he supposed to be doing that?" Jason asked.
"Yeah, he's an ornery fish. Shows agitation. But only with beta's. Boris there won't do anything but attack. Kind of like the stealth bomber of the aquarium world. Silent, sneaky, deadly."
"He seems to leave the others alone."
"Yeah, only because I've trained him to accept them. Had to have them separated for a while until he got used to their presence and didn't see them as a threat. Now, they're okay. The other fish don't pay any attention to him...mostly just staying out of his way. The female angelfish, Natasha, seems to herd them, though, like a shepherd. It's not exactly maternal, but Boris, on the other hand seems to have developed this paternal, protective streak. I think that's another reason why he's attacking the beta."
"Daniel...Boris and Natasha?"
"Okay, I admit it. One of the few cartoons I watched when I was younger was Bullwinkle."
Jason shook his head and looked over at the door just as Jack was coming inside.
"Daniel, where's the charcoal?" he asked. Jack was dirty now, smudged in places from grill soot. He had one such smudge across his cheek. Daniel couldn't help but grin. He pointed to the nearest bottom drawer in the kitchen.
"In the bottom utility drawer. Keeping it dry."
Jack grunted, grabbed the charcoal and went back outside. Daniel snorted. "A man with a mission."
Jason smiled with him. "So, does Jack know you have Russian names for your fish?"
"No. He thinks my fish are just waiting to be served on a plate. I am not about to tell him I name them."
"Daniel, he knows people name their pets. He knows these have names. Why don't you tell him?"
"Because of his attitude about the Russians...or more specifically, the Russian military."
Jason nodded in understanding. "You know why that is, don't you?"
Daniel looked at him carefully, then grabbed the screen material from the shelf under the aquarium. "No, but I can only guess it was because of those prior missions."
Jason nodded. "From what I know of, a while back, the middle east was partially occupied by Russian commando squads."
Daniel groaned. "God, no wonder. That and prison..." and he shook his head. "Well, he'll just have to learn not to lump the Russian civilians in the same mold as the military. It's not fair."
Jack had been standing in the doorway, and he heard. "No, it's not, Daniel," he replied, making Daniel jump. Daniel regarded him carefully as Jack went over to the kitchen sink to wash up. "But old prejudices take time to break."
Daniel winced and continued with what he was doing. Grabbing a pair of metal-cutting shears, he slowly cut another screen, folded part of it over, then placed it in the tank, scaring the fish away. He carefully removed the faulty screen and set the other one in it's place, hooking it to clamps secured inside and on top of the tank. The folded section now barred any attempt by the beta to jump his 'pen'. "There, you shithead. Try jumping that."
Jack was drying his hands and arms now and as he approached them, Jason snorted and took the towel away, wiping at the smudge on his face. "You're smudged in places, Jack. You should go have a wash in the bathroom."
Jack shook his head. "I'm fine for now, mom." Jason pushed at him, giving him the towel back.
"Very funny."
Jack was watching the aquarium, then looked at Daniel as he walked up behind him. "Whatcha doin'?"
"I got a new fish from Cassie. It's aggressive. Had to put up another screen to keep him from jumping it."
Jack raised his brow. "He jumped his cage?" and he smirked then, in an approving manner. Daniel rolled his eyes. "So, you got that red thing from Cassie?" Jack asked, ignoring the rolled eyes.
Daniel nodded. "She said it's a late birthday present. The store she went to didn't have any at the time of my birthday."
"Oh. A late present, huh? Seems she still gets sentimental with you," Jack commented absently, staring at the tank and tapping on it. The angelfish ignored him but the beta swished his tail belligerently.
"Hey, that reminds me," Jason said suddenly. "Isn't Cassie the fifth one? To receive your sentimental side, that is?"
Daniel snorted and shook his head. "Not any more. She's a teen now. No showing of affection by guys as 'old' as me. I am, after all, like a big brother, and she now hates it when I get sentimental. She gets embarrassed, then pissy."
"Been teachin' her that, I'll bet," Jack replied with a smirk. Daniel smacked him in the arm and Jack only grinned wider. "So, it's just me, Jason, Carter, and Doc, who are your victims. Sweet."
Instead of a smack from Daniel, he received a mocking squint. To get back at him, Daniel decided it was time to tease him. "Jack, stop provoking Boris. He's payin' no attention to you anyway. You're not a threat."
Jack half straightened and peered at Daniel. "Boris?"
Daniel pointed...."Boris...Natasha." Jack grinned.
"I get it," he said in a sarcastic tone and looked back at the fish. Daniel decided to let him in on the other secret.
"Boris reminds me of you."
Jack straightened up fully this time. "How so?"
Jason's eyes went a little wide and he stayed out of this one, folding his arms and standing by to watch.
"He's paternal and protective....in the extreme," Daniel replied with a crooked grin. Jack could see it, but he didn't like being compared to a fish. He gave Daniel a scowl, then tapped the back of his fingers against the side of the tank where the beta resided. The beta darted at the glass, his tail swishing even more.
"Kinda small to eat, isn't it?" Jack asked, peering at the fish as he continued to provoke it.
Daniel thumped him in the back with the palm of his hand. "Stop it, Jack."
Jason snorted, and so did Jack.
"Whad'ya name him?"
Daniel didn't answer.
"Come on. You named the big ones and now you've got another, what, 'alpha', in the tank. Whad'ya name him?"
"Nothing yet but I'm waitin' to see if he calms down. Otherwise he's gettin' the name I'm currently thinkin' of."
"And what's that?" both Jack and Jason asked.
"Demon."
"Demon?" Jack laughed, surprised.
Daniel nodded with an careful smile. Jack was bound to 'say' something.
"Why that name? Just because he's aggressive?" Jack asked.
"No, but because he acts more aggressive than other betas I've had, and the fact that he jumped the pen and betas don't do that, and because the lil' bastard is acting as if he's possessed by a goa'uld."
"Well, 'Demon' sounds a bit vague."
"Why, what would you name him?"
"Cat food."
Daniel backhanded Jack across the shoulder, hard. "Jaaaack," just as Jason burst out laughing.
Jack grinned smugly. "It fits. He looks like a miniature 'meal in a can'." Jason laughed harder and Daniel shoved Jack away from the aquarium and toward the kitchen.
"Go fix our steaks, you reprobate."
Jason laughed even more, then lost it when Jack grinned maliciously. "I have a neighbor who's selling their latest batch of kittens."
"Jack!" Daniel replied loudly, over Jason's laughter, then smacked Jason's chest. "Jason!" he scolded, but Jason could see the laughter behind Daniel's eyes and knew that he also thought Jack was funny. Daniel rounded on Jack then, pushing him to the door.
"I hear they're one of those 'fishing' breeds," Jack continued, resisting the push outside by slipping an arm around Daniel's waist.
"Ha, ha, very funny, Jack," Daniel replied with a grin. "The only 'fishing' cats are the Jaguar, Ocelot, and Jaguarundi. Got any of those?"
Jack sniggered, not caught out one bit. "Nope, but thanks for the info." He then suddenly asked, "Weren't the two of you engaged in something a little while ago?"
Jason's laughter died down and he cleared his throat and gave a half-serious scowl. "Yes, and that's what 'Cat Food' interrupted when he jumped the fence." He was too far away or he'd have received a thump for that. Instead, Daniel just narrowed his eyes at him in a silent threat. Jack diverted his attention by squeezing a hug, then gave him a brief kiss and went back outside. Daniel suddenly spied the oven and went over, put the sheet of potato slices inside, then turned on the timer. He glared at Jason as Jason walked up to him, but the glare was half-hearted.
Jason looked at the timer. "20 minutes? They'll take longer than that."
"20 minutes per side, to start," Daniel clarified as he pushed Jason backward toward the living room. "But for the time being, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?"
Jason was leaning against the arm of the sofa now and he gave Daniel a wicked smile. "I've no idea. Well, not 'no idea' but I'm workin' on it."
Daniel grinned back. "That's good, smart ass," and he shoved. Jason landed on his back on the wide, soft couch. Daniel stood there and unbuttoned his jeans, then slid them off. He bent over and unbuttoned Jason's jeans, then unzipped. Jason reached to help but Daniel slapped his hands away. "You just hold onto the sofa." Jason exhaled a breathy snort and laid one hand on of the back of the couch and the other, at his side. He stared up at Daniel and his face grew flushed as Daniel slowly pulled them down, then slid them off. They were now both naked below the waist.
Daniel settled down on Jason's thighs, straddling him between his knees. Without a word, Daniel took Jason's dick in his hand and started stroking, feeling the silky heat, loving the feel of his lover's reaction.
"Daniel?" Jason asked in breathless query, but Daniel merely watched him, silently stroking. His other hand began to stroke his own cock, making it seem as if he were going to jerk both of them off. He then scooted forward a tiny bit and took both organs in both hands, clasping his fingers so they were held tightly together. Jason hissed and he thrust his hips up, feeling his dick move with Daniel's through Daniel's stationary hands. He started to get the idea so he thrust again as Daniel adjusted and tightened his grip, creating a delicious friction between their cocks. Again Jason thrust, and again, and again. He was fucking Daniel's hands, bringing Daniel's cock with him. Through a thin layer of sweat and loud panting, their pleasure mounted as they kept their eyes locked on each other.
Jason could no longer keep his hands away. His hands covered Daniel's and his hips thrust faster as his panting now mixed with harsh gasps.
"Yes, Jason, come for me," Daniel whispered, finally speaking. Daniel tightened his hands and began to thrust with Jason, their movements easily synchronized, pumping faster. Jason rubbed his thumbs firmly over both heads as they thrust upward, rubbing the leaking semen onto the hot skin.
Their thrusting soon increased at a tight, fast speed, their panting turning into gasps, their need close to completion. Suddenly Jason screamed out as Daniel tightened his hands even more. He came hard, bringing a loudly cursing Daniel with him, while Daniel continued to milk their release from their organs. The back of their fingers were now covered in semen and the sharp tang of it in the air made Daniel continue to draw out the last shudders of their pleasure. They closed their eyes as they both waited for the calm and Daniel's head had dropped back as his body undulated gently. His eyes opened and he looked down to gaze at Jason once again. When Jason finally opened his eyes to look at him, it was then that Daniel rose up off of him, standing shakily and bringing an equally shaky lover to his feet. Daniel kissed him softly, then led him into the bathroom. They both washed up, then returned to grab their jeans and put them back on. Jason pulled Daniel into an embrace, kissing him long and passionately. When he let him go, Jason let out a slow breath.
"You're amazing, you know that?" he said softly, combing his fingers through his hair, giving him a short kiss.
Daniel smiled almost shyly at him, the blissful look still in his eyes. "Keep telling me that. I never get tired of hearing it."
"I'll tell you that again and again, as often as necessary," Jason grinned. "And one more thing I'll tell you over and over."
"What's..." and Daniel smiled broadly. "I love you, too." They smiled and let each other go just as Jack walked in once more. He grinned at them as he walked by, slapping Daniel gently on the ass as he passed them to move down the hall. Daniel and Jason returned mischievous looks. Without a word, they moved down the hall and found Jack in the laundry room, sorting through a basket of clean linen. Jack looked up.
"Daniel, don't you have an apron in here somewhere? I could've sworn you had one."
Daniel grinned and went over to the short linen hutch and pulled out a folded apron that said, 'Chef' in large, red, script letters. "It's right here," he said and as Jack reached for it, he held it behind his back. Jason moved behind Jack and shut the door, then leaned against it. Jack turned, looked at him, then turned back to Daniel. His brow rose in a silent question.
"How long before you have to turn over the steaks, Jack? I'll assume you have them on slow grill?" Daniel asked, getting 'that look.' Jack grinned at him as Daniel pulled him by his belt. Jack's scent aroused him, though not enough to get hard again. He loved this smell on Jack and given enough time, he could easily get hard. However, they didn't have enough time. Daniel inhaled, loving that smell. One of mesquite, beer, and an odd mixture of spices. Jack's 'grilling' smell.
"About ten minutes, Daniel. Why?" he asked, drawing out the last word. Daniel grinned wolfishly, dropped the apron on the unfolded pile of clean laundry, then pushed Jack backward until he came to a stop against Jason. Jason reached around and began to open Jack's jeans as he nuzzled his lips behind Jack's ear.
"What do think, Daniel. Think you can do this in ten minutes?" he asked as he pushed Jack's jeans and boxers down over his hips. Jack inhaled softly as his hardening dick was freed, hitting the cooler air. Jason's hands were caressing his sides while Daniel's were stroking his thighs.
Daniel pressed his clothed body up against Jack to give Jack a slow, arousing kiss. Jack wrapped his arms around him and moaned low and long as Daniel reached for his dick and began to stroke. After a long, slow kiss, Daniel pulled away, taking in Jack's puffed, rosy lips; his eyes dilated.
"Six minutes, easy. Shorter if you help," Daniel said, kneeling.
"I plan on helping," Jason replied as he watched Daniel take Jack's cock in his mouth.
Jack was hard before Daniel's mouth covered him, but now he was rock hard and throbbing. He moaned open-mouthed as he watched Daniel's mouth and tongue engulf him as if he planned on having Jack for dinner. He laved, licked, then took him whole, sucking firmly while he held onto his thighs. Jason took Jack's hips in his hands and began to move him, urging Jack to thrust in Daniel's mouth. Jack had no problem with that as he began to move, but Daniel's head and mouth had other ideas and they were moving back and forth quickly. Daniel had his eyes closed, relishing in the taste and feel of Jack's cock. He opened them as he pulled back to suckle the head, his tongue rolling over it's smooth skin, his lips tasting hungrily.
Jack moaned breathily as Daniel swallowed him again, sucking harder, moving his tongue against the underside of his demanding cock. He gasped in surprised lust as he felt a dry finger from Jason slipping inside him very slowly, thrusting in short moves. His hips began to thrust earnestly in Daniel's mouth now, his fingers combing through Daniel's hair and clamping down on his head.
"Yes, oh God, yes," he whispered. When Daniel sucked hard, making Jack cry out with wanton need, Jason's finger began to twist and circle, stimulating just inside his ring of muscle. The tip of Jason's finger rubbed the hot, moist muscle wall, then thrust in deep, moving in a search pattern until his fingertip found and rubbed the small gland.
Just as Jack felt Jason hitting his mark, Daniel's hands moved to the base of his cock while firmly caressing his balls. Daniel moved his mouth quickly over the head, sucking very hard while his tongue rubbed repeatedly. The double stimulation was enough and Jack closed his eyes and cried out as he came hard. He was held between his lovers for a moment or two as the pleasure shuddered through him. When it abated, bringing him back to his senses, he opened his eyes and beheld Daniel's. Daniel, overcome with the look in Jack's face, kissed him hard and breathless.
"Love you," Daniel whispered as he pulled away.
Jack's eyes answered him, but his voice said, "Bastard, if those steaks are ruined..." His hands came up to fasten his jeans and Jason opened the laundry room door. He gave Jason a frown, combined with the satisfied look in his eyes, and Daniel shoved the apron in his hands as Jack left the room and hurried back out to the patio.
Both Jason and Daniel washed up one more time, then joined Jack outside.
"Well?" Daniel asked.
Jack smiled in awe as he turned the steaks, shaking his head. "You are some piece of work, Daniel." He motioned to the steaks. "They're perfectly browned." He gave a wicked leer to both of them, then focused on Daniel. "Maybe you should suck me off like that every time I put steaks on the grill."
Daniel snickered; Jason snorted. They exchanged looks. "I don't think that would go over too well at Hammond's annual barbecue, do you?" He flinched, expecting Jack to thump him, just as Jason was prepared to pull Daniel out of harm's way.
Jack did nothing, however, and only smiled even more wickedly. "There's more than one bathroom in that huge house of his."
Daniel gaped at him in shock, as did Jason. "You're not serious, are you?"
Jack took a long swig from his beer enjoying this tease. "You'll just have to find out next month, won't you?"
Their expressions were priceless. Jack was inwardly patting himself on the back for still being able to fool them.
A few weeks later...
~
After a couple of boring missions, things between the trio went back to the normal, so to speak, routine at the SGC. Things were kept as they always had been and nothing untoward was ever displayed or signalled. However, it was different for the 'back on track' friendship between Jack and Daniel. Everyone at the base was relieved, commenting on it every now and then. Even before Daniel's accident, when they'd noticed and had periodically said something, they were still leery because they were 'waiting' for it to fall apart. Now that a few months had passed, making it obvious that their friendship was back for good, more and more people were friendly, saying 'good morning' and 'good night' with ease. Both Jack and Daniel realized why and were reluctantly accommodating when spoken to. They knew this relief among SGC members would pass quickly and both of them couldn't wait for that.
Jason's friendship, and his actions toward Daniel, in public, was as it had always been, just as Ferretti's had always been. Comradeship, so to speak. Close friendships were common, so it wasn't unusual. What was different, but not surprising, was Jason's apparent closer friendship with the base's 2IC. Rumours were few, and most were civil, saying it was only natural, since Jack was friends again with Daniel, it was only natural he'd be friends with those who were close to him.
Those were the gist of the rumours. However, there were two rumours that were malicious, and though they weren't paid attention to by most, the weak personalities paid heed to them. Most of the time, those weak personalities were straightened out, sooner or later. But as new teams were assigned to the SGC, those who needed straightening out became a constant...almost as if it became an additional orientation. "Hello, this is the SGC, this is what we do, this is what you'll do, and if you pay any attention to malicious rumours, the 2IC's boot will kick you so hard up your ass, you'll find yourself reassigned to a new post on an ice sheet in the middle of the Arctic Circle. End of Orientation."
Jason just so happened to be listening to two of his team members, Wagner and Kaufman, trading some of the more sillier rumours back and forth as they geared down from their mission, preparing to go home. Jason was going to put a stop to it when he realized that his own team was just having fun. Sam's 'boyfriend' curse was hardly damaging, as was the weird rumour about Teal'c sneaking down to the commissary to eat all the chocolate cake late at night. The other rumours were just as silly, and about other team members. One was even about General Hammond. Jason snorted quietly but he had to put his foot down.
"Okay, guys, enough's enough. Don't dis the CO, even out of earshot."
"Sorry, sir," they both said. Jason's 2IC, Alex Wagner, was already dressed and getting ready to leave. "You need anything, Major, you know where I am," and he threw him a forefingered salute.
"Yeah, I know where you live, you scamp. See you at 0900 for the briefing."
"After SG-1's, I know. Jeez, Major, you're worse than a mother hen sometimes," Wagner snorted as he left. Jason glared after his absence, then looked over at Kaufman and McCaffrey, who suddenly looked busily innocent.
"Am I a mother hen?" he asked them, squinting, daring them to say 'yes'.
Bucking up, they both looked up at him as they too were finished and ready to leave. "Um, in a word," McCaffrey said, "Yes." Kaufman only smiled in agreement. Jason snorted in false disgust.
"Sheesh. And Colonel O'Neill thinks he gets no respect," he replied as he tied his gym shoes. McCaffrey and Kaufman bit back a laugh as they moved to the exit, waving at Jason.
Dressed in his workout clothes, Jason moved up the elevator to the base's gym to get a light workout with the weights before going home. It wasn't too late. 7 pm. He could get a half hour in, then go home. He wanted to go home to Daniel, but Daniel would be spending a late night in his office so there wasn't a point. Jack was grumbling in his office at having to do paperwork. Jason was smiling about that as he entered the gym's locker room, apparently empty, and walked to his assigned locker. Unlocking it, he pulled out his waist belt, one used to protect the back, and strapped it on. As he finished securing it, he heard voices, sounding as if they were moving from the recreation room, through the weight room and on their way to the locker room. Jason at first tried not to pay attention to what they were saying as he taped up his hands and slipped on his special fingerless gloves.
The hairs on Jason's neck suddenly went up as the tone and level of the voices suddenly dropped, though he could clearly hear what they were saying. Whoever they were, they must be new and probably some of the replacements. Hammond had already replaced SG-17, and SG-22 had been next. Jason had already met SG-17 in the cafeteria, and he'd heard the voices of SG-22 in the entryway on level 11 this morning. He frowned as he adjusted his gloves, walking down the row of lockers toward the weight room. He was trying to remember the names of the new guys on the list he'd seen on Jack's clipboard this morning when one of the voices rose a little louder than the others. Jason slowed, suddenly remembering the man's name. Major Hank Rogers. The man sounded hard, angry. Something had him ticked off. Well, it was up to Jason, as leader of SG-2, to set an example, so he'd go see if he could calm things down. Unfortunately, he never turned the corner with that purpose in mind, as Rogers' mouth opened and spit out verbal poison. Jason came to an abrupt halt, shaking his head as if he'd just had something running around loose in there that he had to get out. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard.
"You listen to me, Bradley," Rogers was saying. "O'Neill is a fucking wuss. He's shagging that pussy Jackson under everyone's nose. You can just see it, looking at the two of them."
"Major, they're close friends," Bradley said, trying to speak up for the base's most respected people, but his voice was filled with fear.
"Sergeant, they're fucking! No one has close friendships here. This place is a looney asylum. I heard a lot about this place and it's just rife with disgusting people and behavior. Then they had to just put that butch on the their team, and you just know why she doesn't have a boyfriend..." and he went on and on, and as he did, his audience was held captive by his anger and position as leader.
Jason became madder and madder. He moved back to his locker and grabbed the heavy wooden baton he kept for his martial arts workouts. As he moved back toward the voices, Rogers was still running off the poison. But his next words made Jason's blood run cold.
"You know what happens to a base command with someone like that allowed to run things? I won't let that happen to a place that should be a proud command. He has to be fragged."
A gasp from his team members, then Bradley objecting again. "Maybe he is shagging Jackson, but I don't care. He's a good leader, and I respect him. He's shown his abilities time and again. Don't believe those rumours, sir. They'll--"
A loud grunt and a gasp for air was heard as it was obvious that Rogers had hit Bradley in the gut to shut him up. "You wanna find out what it's like to get shagged like that?" Rogers threatened.
"No," Bradley croaked.
From what Jason could hear, Rogers hit him again for good measure and Bradley was struggling to catch his breath. Jason waited a little longer before interrupting and he was glad he did.
Rogers began to explain his plan about sabotaging Jack's truck and saying that he had access to some explosives. The others started to object but were too intimidated to stick to their objections. Jason realized that this man wasn't just paying attention to a few bad rumours. He seemed to be basing his judgment on what he'd heard prior to coming to the SGC. Where had he heard those rumours? And how had he been recruited if he had such venom in his beliefs about the SGC?
Rogers started to outline his plan on how he'd follow behind Jack and when his truck was disabled, he'd take him out. Jason couldn't believe the stupidity of this man. Did Rogers think the locker room and gym empty? Why hadn't he checked to make sure? Was he that stupidly confident that no one would hear, or worse yet, did he think that no one would care?
Jason now remembered how Major Rogers' name had stuck in his mind when he saw it on Level 11's security list, separately marked for 'new arrivals'. He couldn't remember why or how, but he'd had a bad feeling about him. He should have asked Jack there and then about this guy when they'd signed in that morning, but he'd gone off to his early briefing and had simply forgotten. Jason suddenly wished there were others there, or that someone would come in and help prevent something that Jason 'knew' was inevitable. He had to confront these men.
Jason stopped mid-step. Or maybe....just maybe....now was not a good time. Overhearing them was technically 'hearsay'. He had to catch them. He listened to 'the mouth' spout off the rest of his plan, then Jason moved back to his locker, shut it quietly, turning the lock, then slipped out the main door, keeping his baton in hand and his weight-lifting belt on. After he'd gone about half the length of the short corridor, before it turned into a connecting one, he turned around and headed back. Taking off his belt, he purposely made a lot of noise as he brushed through the double swinging doors. Banging his locker door open, he set his baton down, then put his belt away. He had no intentions of lifting weights now. He could do it tomorrow. Right now, he had to get to the parking lot before the others. From what he'd heard, the plan would be enacted that night. If Jack went home later, he'd be snuffed out. The explosive meant to take out his truck, would also likely 'roll' the truck, causing Jack damage, and therefore, he'd be easy to kill. No matter what he had to do, Jason couldn't let anything happen. To the bases' 2IC or to 'Jack.'
As he untaped his hands, and set his gloves inside, the new SG-22 rounded the end of the locker row and saw him. Jason looked up and nodded absently, making it apparent that he had other things on his mind and was only barely 'aware' of the team. It would have been easier if the team had just looked and gone on, but Major 'fuckup' Rogers just had to feel Jason out...so to speak.
"Excuse me, you're Major Coburn, aren't you?" he asked walking up to stand a few feet away from him. Jason regarded the man with purposeful distraction, as if angry that his thoughts were interrupted.
"Yes," and he peered hard at Rogers. "Rogers, isn't it? SG-22's replacements?" and he said it that way on purpose, too. That got Rogers good and defensive.
"We're the 'new' members of SG-22, yes. You say that as if it's a bad thing."
Jason looked him over, as well as at the other members. Rogers was about 5'11", with Nordic Caucasian features. Clark, one of the lieutenants, was another blond Caucasian, and taller than Rogers by a few inches. Stokes, the other lieutenant, was a dark haired Caucasian, and the same height as Rogers. Sgt. Bradley was Caucasian but with brown hair and a slight frame, standing maybe at 5'8". Rogers obviously saw him as their weak link, considering how he seemed to be a more honest man than the others of his team and didn't follow Rogers' party line willingly. The man looked bowed. Jason took in their expressions, then gave Rogers his attention once more. "No, not necessarily, but you have to pass the base's performance test - an unwritten indoctrination, if you will. Prove yourselves and we'll see how competent you are." Jason was purposely baiting him, wanting the man to take a swing at him. Of course, he could tell now that Rogers wasn't going to. Instead, Rogers was 'assessing' him. Inwardly, Jason laughed.
Rogers snorted derisively. "Fair enough." He didn't say anything else and Jason didn't ask for elaboration. He frankly wanted to snuff this man out of existence. For daring to think about killing another member of the SGC out of spite, vindictiveness, or just because you didn't like his beliefs or politics...that was enough for Jason. Killing in defense of another, Jason had no problem with that. SG-22 collectively went to another locker row, but Jason caught a lingering glance from Bradley, as if the man were somehow trying to warn him. Maybe there was hope for that one. His timid nature, though...Jason wondered how he'd managed to get this far. He must have some special skill and Jason wished he knew what it was. Jason shut his locker and left the gym.
. .
Jason made his way to level 16 to check in with the security personnel on duty.
"Hey, Major, what're you doing here so late?" asked Carmichael, the tall female Sergeant on duty. Jason always liked how she presented herself. Her long hair was always up, braided tightly, and the rest of her appearance was always sharp and no-nonsense. She was also a strong, healthy woman, who had spotted his weights for him on occasion as they'd accompanied each other in the weight room.
"It's not that late, Carmichael," he said with a grin. "I was going to lift weights but I got distracted. Have those security cameras in the parking level been fixed yet? The ones for the first row?"
She checked her security assignment roster. "Tomorrow, sir. We won't get the new camera kits in until tomorrow."
Jason made a disgusted noise. "Okay, thanks, Sergeant."
"Anything I can help with, sir?" she asked, curious.
Jason didn't know what to tell her...exactly...with sounding slanderous in case Rogers wasn't able to mess with Jack's truck. He thought a moment. He needed a camcorder or a digital video recorder of some kind. He knew Daniel had a few, but he didn't want Daniel involved, just in case of retaliation. By asking for the camcorder, Daniel would make himself involved, no matter what excuse Jason wanted the camcorder for. So...Daniel was out. Where else could he get a camcorder? He regarded her for a moment, deciding whether or not to ask.
He decided in her favor. "Do you know where, on base, there's a regular camcorder I could use, along with some blank tape? I need to film Colonel O'Neill's truck. I have reason to believe it's going to get vandalized."
Carmichael's eyes grew wide in disbelief. "Wow. Someone's either very stupid or brain-damaged." Jason only nodded. She crossed her arms and thought about it, then her face brightened. "Oh, wait, my girlfriend, Amanda, down in Research. She's one of Dr. Jackson's assistants. Anyway, sir, she has a regular camcorder. She isn't on assignment right now and if it's free of film, I can leave a note that we've borrowed it for security purposes."
Jason's brow raised in question. "We?" he asked. She stood, reminding him that she was his height, and with her Security arm badge, she didn't look like someone to mess with.
"You'll need an official member of security with you, sir. Besides, how else are you going to get the camcorder?"
"Okay, but..." Jason needed assistance now and Carmichael couldn't leave her post. "Where's Lieutenant Pederson?" he asked.
"Fixing a securecam in science lab 4, sir. One of Major Carter's people accidently broke it." Jason snorted and nodded while Carmichael grinned. Just then, Pederson entered and greeted Jason warmly.
"Major Coburn. How nice of you to grace us with your presence," he said jovially, sticking his big paw out to shake Jason's hand. Pederson was a big bear of a man, standing at 6'5" and weighing close to 210 lbs. He fit his Northern European heritage well. Jason smiled warmly at the man.
"Adam. I need to borrow Sgt. Carmichael. Think you can handle things by yourself for awhile?"
As was usual with Pederson, he had to tease Jason. He knew Jason's orientation, just as Jason knew his. They'd both met up by accident at a gay club in Boulder the previous year. Becoming friends, they'd helped each other out when they could, but Jason couldn't tell Adam about Daniel, so that Adam could honestly claim no knowledge. If Adam were a closer friend, Jason might take the chance and tell him, but as it was, he couldn't risk it.
Giving Jason a filthy leer, he said - winking at Carmichael, "You bring her back by curfew, sir, and you be a gentlemen, unless she tells you otherwise."
Having already passed the point of protocol, Carmichael felt no restriction in backhanding a fist into Pederson's chest, which he made a great show of defending as he laughed his ass off.
"Actually, Adam," Jason said, deciding to bring him in on it a little, "I suspect someone's going to vandalize property on row one of the parking garage, so I need a camcorder and she's helping me get one."
Pederson's eyes went wide as he realized Jason was serious. "Fuck me! Really?"
Jason nodded gravely. "I also need you to do me a favor. I need you to monitor the other cameras on the garage level. If it turns out we need help, you'll need to notify the SF's and, very likely, the infirmary."
Pederson's gaze narrowed. "No offense, Carmichael, but maybe I should--"
Jason held up his hand and cut him off. "She knows where the camcorder is and we won't have time to come back here and then go up to the ground level garage and catch them."
Pederson groaned in disappointment, then straightened. "How long do I wait if I don't see anything on the security cameras?"
Jason shook his head. "I have no idea. But I've an idea where to go. There's a large cement column across from, oh, say space five or six on that row. I'm going to hide there. Carmichael will be with me."
Pederson frowned. "There's not much of a sight distance on the closest camera," and he pulled up the camera view on a monitor. It barely showed part of the end of the first row. Pederson snorted in disgust. "I wish I could give you a weapon."
"I'd have asked but just in case I'm completely wrong, I don't want others to know. My own registered gun is locked up in my truck but that's way over on row twelve. I don't know if I'll have time to go get it, and even if I do, I don't want to risk getting seen. Thanks for your help, Pederson. I really appreciate it."
"Not a problem, sir, you know that."
With that, they left. Carmichael was right and her friend had a blank film-ready camcorder ready for use. They lifted it, leaving a note, then made their way to the parking garage.
~
Jack knocked on Daniel's office door, then entered. He sat down wearily in the chair next to Daniel's desk, laying his head back and closing his eyes, and didn't even look up to see if Daniel looked at him or not.
"I reeeeally hate paperwork," he complained as he scrubbed his face with his hands. He raised his head then, blinked several times, then got up and walked over behind Daniel, peering over his shoulder. Daniel was trying to concentrate on a set of symbols on an obelisk stone and wasn't going to get anywhere with Jack hovering so it was obviously time to take a break. He needed something refreshing anyway and a bowl of fruit and some juice sounded just fine. He stretched his arms out and looked upward, over his shoulder, startled at how close Jack was. Jack's lips were just too temptingly close from that angle. Jack was looking at Daniel's mouth and leaned closer. Even with the door closed, Daniel's eyes got wide.
"Jaaack, are you nuts?" and Daniel pushed Jack roughly away, though he was smiling as he did it.
"Aaaa-parently," Jack wisecracked.
"You're incorrigible."
"Yeah, but you love me anyway."
"Yes, I do, and I need to have my head examined."
Jack grinned as if he had a secret, and Daniel grinned back. "I'm going up to the cafeteria. Wanna join me?"
Jack sighed. "Sure, but I thought we could just leave, go home, and have lots of sweaty sex."
"Jaaaaaaaaaaack," Daniel replied.
"Daaaaaniel."
~
Daniel sat down with his tray and removed the selections. A mixed fruit bowl of strawberries, grapes, and melon, along with a glass of iced tea. No juice right now, so he'd opted for the tea. It was cold, anyway. Jack made himself a glass of tea as well, and though he was hungry, he didn't get himself anything to eat. Instead, he picked grapes out of Daniel's bowl. Daniel glared at him, then decided that was a wasted effort.
"Have you seen Jason?" Daniel asked as he spooned a few cut strawberries into his mouth. "I called his office about fifteen minutes before you showed up in mine, but he wasn't there."
"Daniel, he's probably gone home."
"Wait a minute, I think he might be in the gym." He started to get up but Jack held him down.
"Eat first. You know how you get. You'll probably be up late, working on that damn stone, so at least get something in you to survive on. That's no where near enough, but..."
"Mother hen," Daniel groused at him, but remained in his seat. "I'll go find Jason 'after' I finish. Care to go for a walk?"
"Yes. I desperately need the exercise. It looks like the only kind I'm gettin' tonight anyway."
"Jaaack, don't be pissy."
They're conversation wasn't loud enough to be carried, though there was no one nearby to hear. To anyone looking on, however, it would only have seemed as if they were having a mild argument.
"Daniel, I'm not the one who's mastered pissy. That's you, remember?"
Daniel growled at him. "But you can still get your own brand of pissy."
Jack growled back. "Eat your fruit," then he gave Daniel a sarcastic grin.
"Don't even go there."
"I couldn't help it."
Daniel growled again. He quickly finished his fruit, with a little help from Jack, and they both left and headed for the gym.
. .
Daniel and Jack returned to Daniel's office, with Daniel wearing a pronounced frown. He sat down, hard, in his chair.
"He's not answering his phone but the guard on duty said he left for the parking garage." Daniel got back up. "I'm goin' up there. Something's wrong, Jack."
"Daniel, you don't know that," Jack said, catching his arm. But Jack felt it, too, and he couldn't explain it. Daniel gave Jack one of 'those' stares that said, it doesn't matter what you say, I'm doing what I want to do. Jack had seen that look, what? A thousand times by now? At least. He sighed. "Come on," he drawled. They left for the surface, but as they left, Jack grabbed Daniel's cell phone...just in case.
~
Carmichael was stunned and amazed as she and Jason covertly filmed Rogers and his team placing a small bomb underneath Jack's engine. Jason hadn't had time to find a weapon, and from what they could tell, Rogers' team wasn't armed but Rogers himself probably was; a knife or something similar. When they had secured the bomb, Jason and Carmichael put in the special earplugs that Carmichael had taken from the security panel in the elevator, then waited a moment as she took her radio and set it to high squelch. It squealed, sending out a high pitch noise that reverberated and echoed through out the garage level.
Coming out of their hiding place, but leaving the camera on it's short shelf within the column, they approached the four men who were doubled over, holding their hands over their ears, attempting to protect them from the screeching, painful noise. Carmichael held her gun on them and Jason....well, Jason did his thing. One strong kick here combined with a nerve pinch, then another strong kick and a hand blow, and soon he had all four members on the ground, supposedly incapacitated. Jason walked away and went toward the column when Carmichael yelled at him to hit the deck.
Jason remembered later that he heard two shots fired as he started to go down, but they were forgotten for the most part as he felt a sharp pain in his lower back, then a whole lot of spreading heat, and rapid weakness. He was unconscious quickly.
Carmichael didn't panic. She radioed her fellow security people, and asked them to call the infirmary and send a stretcher up to to the parking garage. Just when she was about to tell them why, she was tackled by Clark and the gun went off between them, thrice, killing him, and wounding her. Stokes gingerly got up and made a run for her gun, but as she lay on the ground, she aimed it and fired. She remembered him going down. Then nothing.
~
The alarms went off just as Jack and Daniel exited the elevator. Jack heard gun fire and both he and Daniel crouched down behind a big metal box that contained a turbine engine which helped control the cooling system down below. When they waited and heard no more gun fire, they quickly and carefully made their way toward the noise. Jack had a bad feeling and Daniel's already bad feeling became much worse. He recognized Jason's prone form and as he ran over to him, Jack checked the others. Grabbing Carmichael's handcuffs, he also grabbed her radio as he handcuffed the only man left alive out of SG-22: Sgt. Cecil Bradley. He was unconscious, but alive. He had a nasty bruise forming on the side of his face.
"This is Colonel O'Neill. I need a medical team to the parking garage immediately. There are three wounded, I repeat, three wounded, over."
"Jack!" Daniel cried out and Jack ran over to him. Jason was on his side and Daniel had been trying to determine his vitals, until he'd seen the knife wedged only by the tip in his back. It hung limply, but the blood that oozed out of him was what made Daniel panic.
Daniel's voice was shaky, choking. "Look at the color, Jack. Dear God, look at the color." Jack's face became grim as they both tried to staunch the flow of blood. The blood was very dark. Kidney. Daniel's face was a sheet of white. The color of his eyes seemed to have drained as well.
Just then Janet's voice came over the radio. "Colonel O'Neill, do you hear me, over."
"I read you, Dr. Fraiser. Over."
"We're on our way up. Give me the short of it."
"Major Coburn has been knifed in the back. I think it's nicked his kidney. Sgt. Carmichael from security has been shot in the abdomen, though I'm not sure where. Her blood is normal in color. And one more person, a new guy named Bradley. Undetermined injuries with a blow to the head. There are also three dead, Doc. Over."
"Thank you, Colonel. Almost there. Over."
"Roger that."
When Janet finally showed, she took Jason first. He was wrapped and secured to the litter, then transported down. As they got to the infirmary, he regained consciousness for a moment, seeing Jack. He reached out a hand to grab him and Jack leaned down.
"They set a bomb..." was all he could get out before Jason fell back unconscious. Jack frowned in alarm. He grabbed a few security personnel and had the cars checked. Since most of the action was around his truck, they focused on his and the ones adjacent. The small bomb was found magnetized to the bottom of his engine block. It was disarmed and removed by one of the security personnel. Jack wryly thought that it was something that Jason would have been able to do, had he not caught a knife in the back. Jack and the SF's made their way downstairs. No one found the camcorder that Jason had secured on the small ledge of the cement column. Unless you were looking for it, or at the column itself, you wouldn't see it.
. .
Daniel put on his game face, but for the next 24 hours nothing would be learned or found out. Nothing of the truth, that is. As for Jason's film footage...it wasn't found for a while, which created problems. Because upon awaking, Sgt. Bradley lied his ass off to protect himself. He didn't lie very well, but what he said was enough to raise suspicion.
. .
SG-1, along with Jason's team members, sat in chairs set in the hallway outside of the OR doors. They wouldn't leave. All of them looked tired, but Daniel looked the worst. His eyes were red rimmed and he sat stoned-faced, in shock, prepared to hear the news from Janet and Dr. Warner that Jason was dead.
Hammond came down the hall and motioned Jack to follow him into Janet's office. Hammond took a good look at Jack and his 2IC looked like hell. It had been 2 hours since Janet and Warner had gone into surgery, both repairing the damage done to Jason and Carmichael. Hammond, in the meantime, had been called to get a statement from Sgt. Bradley. Hammond's face was grim.
"According to Bradley, he and his team had found Major Coburn planting a bomb on your vehicle."
"That's stupid, sir. He's lying."
"That much seems certain to me, Colonel, but his accusation warrants a full investigation."
Jack's headache worsened. "I think the evidence will clear him of that."
"I've called in a special crime scene unit to go over the evidence, but there's no clear cut evidence of what SG-22 was doing there, or what Major Coburn and Sgt. Carmichael were doing there as well."
"Sir, Coburn and Carmichael's presence clearly indicates that something bad was going down. I do not believe for an instant that Coburn was trying to plant a bomb on my truck. Carmichael's presence, as a member of the security detail, was clearly an indication that they were there to catch someone doing something, and that something was planting a bomb."
"But the evidence doesn't point to anyone yet. Only Bradley's statement says otherwise."
"Which you know is wrong, sir."
"My personal feelings agree with you, Colonel, but I can't go by them. I have to follow procedure."
Jack sighed. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. It was Lt. Pederson.
"Excuse me, sir. Colonel."
"What is it, Lieutenant," Hammond asked.
"Sgt. Carmichael was on duty with me last night and Major Coburn asked for her help. He said that someone was planning to vandalize the parking garage and wanted to catch the perpetrators. I offered to help, but he declined, saying they needed to move now and Carmichael was the only one who knew where to get a camcorder."
Jack perked up. "They filmed what was going on?"
"I don't know, sir. As you know, those cameras for that row are out of order. We are supposed to be getting them in today. The more I think about it, the more I'm sure that the perpetrators must have known that in order to take advantage. I think Major Coburn found out and needed to catch them in the act in order to have them arrested."
"Sgt. Bradley is the only one left alive out of SG-22, Lieutenant. Are you saying that his team were the perpetrators?" Hammond asked.
"I can't speak to that, sir. I only know what I've just told you, and I had to wait until my shift ended before I could leave my post and contact you. I must add that I've known Sgt. Carmichael for a long time, as well as Major Coburn. Neither of them are capable of such an act, in my professional opinion."
"I'll need your report and a statement from you," Hammond said, and Pederson handed Hammond a large legal envelope. "I thought you might, sir."
"Thank you, airman. I'll let you know what happens."
"Thank you. Sir, do you know how Sgt. Carmichael is?"
"There's no word yet, Lieutenant," Jack said wearily. "We're all waiting for word on her and Major Coburn's situation."
"Yes, sir."
"Good job, lieutenant," Jack added, and Hammond agreed. Pederson thanked them and left. He nodded to the waiting group as he passed them further down the hall before leaving the base.
Jack turned to Hammond. "Sir, if they were indeed filming, there'd be a camcorder somewhere with evidence on it."
"We'll need to leave it for the crime scene unit to find, Colonel. This is an investigation, after all."
"It could clear things up easily, sir."
"Yes, but it would be better that the investigations unit find it instead of you, understand?"
"No...but I won't mess with anything, sir."
Hammond grunted doubtfully.
. .
It took six more hours of waiting, with a nurse popping out every once in a while to update that things were 'progressing'. Finally, Janet and Warner emerged, looking like haggard, roughed up versions of their former selves. Everyone got up, except Daniel. Janet looked down at him with tired eyes, but they smiled at him. Daniel damn near fainted from relief, but inwardly. He couldn't let Jason's team members see the emotional upheaval that was tearing him up.
She put a hand on his shoulder. "He's not out of the woods, but he's stable. The knife only nicked his left kidney and we repaired that. With medication, all we have to do is wait to see if his organ will work on it's own. He lost a lot of blood, but not enough to damage all of his organs. As for Carmichael, she'll also need to be watched. The bullet perforated her lower intestine and we had to repair a lot of damage there. Neither will be in good shape to talk about what happened to them for at least two days." She gave Daniel a squeeze on the shoulder, but looked at everyone. "They won't be out of OR and into their intensive care rooms for another ten hours so I suggest all of you get some sleep."
Dr. Warner backed her up her medical findings, then General Hammond thanked them and sent them home to rest for twenty-four hours before returning to work. Janet objected, saying she'd stay in her on-base quarters and only needed eight hours sleep. Hammond started to argue but Janet argued back, stating the life of her patients was her main concern, and that she'd take care of herself while looking out for them. Hammond reluctantly let her stay, then ordered everyone else to their on-base quarters to get some sleep and they moved off, dazed, tired, and in shock.
. .
If it weren't for Jason being in OR recovery for the next 10 hours, Daniel would have found his way to ICU. As it was, he sat down on the edge of his bed in his quarters and stared off into space. Jack knocked and entered, then locked the door. He needn't have worried about the camera. Daniel had disabled the thing one day in a fit of pissiness and no one had bothered to reassemble it. He glanced up at the disconnected wires, made an inward grin at the memory, then sobered and walked softly over to the stiff figure sitting on the bed.
He sat down next to Daniel, who didn't bother to look up at him. Daniel was now staring down at his hands hanging limply between his knees. Jack recognized the body language. If Daniel didn't let go now, he'd blow a gasket later. Jack had never been in the position to help before - or more importantly, had never allowed himself to help before. The last time Daniel was strung so tight was when Teal'c had been brainwashed. Though he'd forced himself to make 'nice' with Daniel, he hadn't put forth any special effort.
It was time to rectify all that had passed and give comfort to the man he loved more than his own life. Jack was suddenly reminded of Charlie.
"Daniel," and he pulled Daniel into his arms. Daniel slumped against him, turning his face to Jack's chest, his lips brushing Jack's dog tags. He inhaled deeply but said nothing. Jack could feel him literally vibrating with emotion. "Let it out, baby," he urged softly, stroking Daniel's back as he kissed his hair.
That simple motion, that endearing statement...that was all it took. Daniel clutched at Jack's black tee, rubbing his nose into the collar, and cried softly against his neck as Jack held him. Jack allowed himself a few tears, some for Jason, some for Charlie, and more for Daniel's hurt. Then, together, they both let go over the realization that Jason almost lost his life.
~
Janet knocked on Daniel's door and waited a moment. Daniel swiftly opened the door, sleepy-eyed, but with a look of panic on his face. The moment he saw Janet, his heart started to hammer.
"Daniel, calm down. I'm only here to tell you that he's now in ICU and downgraded from serious to stable. He'll be okay."
"Can I go see him?"
She nodded, then added, "But he hasn't woken up yet, Daniel."
Daniel's jaw dropped. "Not yet? Isn't that bad?"
"Not anymore. He's in rem sleep, so that's good. It's only been 9 hours. He should be rousing soon. He did lose a bit of blood, Daniel, so his system is rebuilding blood cells. That takes a while. He'll be out of it, off and on, for the next twenty-four."
Daniel nodded with understanding. He grabbed his keys and she put a hand on his chest. "You should clean up first. You're all mussed up," then smirked at him as he got that confused expression on his face. "Not that that isn't a good look for you, but I can't have the nurses drooling *and* doing their job at the same time."
Daniel snorted at that and went to wash up.
. .
Jack found Daniel in Jason's Iso room, sitting in a chair by Jason's bed, snoozing. He grinned sadly, then walked away, going for the ward that held that lying bastard.
. .
When Jack walked into the ward, SF's were posted at the exits and two on either side of Sgt. Bradley's bed. He was reclining, his hands folded over his stomach, seemingly asleep, and still dressed in his fatigues. Jack walked over, silently motioning to the exit guards to wait outside, then did the same thing to the two on either side of Bradley's bed. They quickly left, turning a blind eye to the Base 2IC.
Bradley opened his eyes and found Jack O'Neill standing at the foot of his bed, his arms folded. Jack wore a very dark expression, with an eyebrow arched in scorn and derision. Anyone who knew him well, knew this was a time to beat a hasty retreat. Bradley was clueless. He didn't say anything to Jack, but Jack had plenty to say to him.
"Are you still making like this is none of your team's fault, when we both know it is?"
"I've got nothing to say to you, sir."
"You do know that Major Coburn and Sgt. Carmichael were filming you, don't you?"
A panicked expression crossed Bradley's face, then it changed to one of disbelief. "You're lying."
"You're lying, sir," Jack corrected mildly.
"..sir," Bradley corrected, reluctantly.
"And no, I'm not."
"Then why haven't I heard about it?"
"Because you're not in a position to know just yet." Truth was, they hadn't found the camcorder yet. Actually, no one had had the time to look. The investigations unit hadn't even shown up yet. Jack couldn't wait any longer, either. He needed to give this stupid bastard one more chance to recant his statement before he went to hunt up the damning evidence. "So, you still maintain that it wasn't your team who'd planted the bomb in my truck?"
Bradley stared at him and refused to answer. Jack stared coldly back at the traitor, then left the ward, sending the SF's back to their guard duty.
~
Jack walked over to his truck, then stared at the concrete. He looked at all the evidence on the ground and then back at the blood stain from where Jason had fallen. Jason's body position was odd, too. He'd been hit in the back, so he'd been going toward something. Jack turned and looked around. Did he plant the camcorder on someone's car? He stared at the cement columns seeing nothing. He started to turn, to look elsewhere when he thought he caught a reflection of something. He turned again, staring in the direction of one of the columns. He moved slightly, side to side, and caught the reflection again. It came from one of the odd shelves cut into the column. He walked over, and the closer he got, the more an object seemed to form from the shadows of the shelf. Then Jack caught the reflection again, and this time, it was more pronounced. Glass? Lens? As he got closer, his heart beat faster with excitement.
Yes! A camcorder. It's battery was dead. Jack wasn't familiar with the make and model so instead of tinkering with it, he'd take it to the one person who'd know. Sam. Actually, Janet would know more about them but she was very busy at the moment.
. .
Jack knocked on her lab door, finding Sam tinkering with something she didn't look particularly interested in. Or more likely it was a case of needing distraction.
"Carter."
She sat straight up on her lab chair. "Sir. How's Daniel?"
Jack winced. "About as you'd expect. Could you copy this to your computer. I don't think I have the right connectors. Jason was filming the traitors. I need you to make a copy to your computer."
"Isn't this evidence?"
"Yes. But the investigations team isn't here yet and I was tired of waiting. That pisses me off. They're supposed to be here within five hours and it's clearly been 18. That smells fishy to me. So, I'm taking charge of it. If they don't like it, they can kiss my ass. So, do your 'thing' with this. I'm not familiar with this brand and model and although I've got the idea of what to do with it, I'm not taking any chances." He handed her the camcorder and she quickly clicked a few buttons, then retrieved a cord from a drawer and plugged the camcorder into her computer, copying the recorded contents onto her hard drive. Calling up the right software, Sam started to replay the recording but Jack stopped her.
"Hold on that. We need more witnesses in here." Jack asked her to round everyone up while he went to fetch Daniel from Jason's room.
. .
Daniel felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up, realizing that he'd dozed off again. Jack motioned his head toward the door and pulled on Daniel's tee shirt sleeve. Daniel followed him out of the room.
"I found the camcorder Jason was using. It's in Sam's lab. I called others to see it."
"Did you look at it?" Daniel asked, a knot in his gut tightening.
Jack shook his head. "Wanted to wait, see it with everyone else." Daniel cast a look back at Jason's sleeping form before leaving with Jack for Sam's lab.
. .
All of the assembled viewers watched, horrified, as the saboteurs were caught red-handed, then confronted. Jack was inappropriately smug as he watched Jason take them down, but alternately irritated that he hadn't made sure that the perps were out of commission. Carmichael's voice suddenly shouted, making Daniel and everyone else jump. Then shots were fired, making everyone jump again. The bullets fired into Rogers at the same time his knife let go. Daniel froze. Everyone watched as the most horrifying image of all was watching Jason's wincing face as the knife pierced his back and he slumped to the ground, out of view. They watched as Carmichael dispatched the others before she was taken down. Sam forwarded over the pause in the action, then Jack and Daniel came into view for a few moments. The camcorder caught more of Jack on 'tape' as he moved into view to check the bodies of SG-22, then he ran forward toward the camcorder lens as they heard Daniel's anguished yell and disappeared from view. Then Janet's team showed up, then nothing else happened. Sam forwarded through the rest of the recording but it was obvious there was nothing else. There ended up being almost 1 more hour of nothing but Jack's truck and the stains on the ground nearby.
Sam sighed, then shut off the software playing the video, and handed the camcorder to Hammond. "The camcorder owner's name is on the etched on the bottom."
Everyone was in shock and no one seemed to notice that Daniel was backing out of the lab, slowly. Anger...intense anger, almost akin to hatred, was written across his face. Daniel turned and head for the infirmary, via one of the labs.
Jack turned around to say something to Daniel, but Daniel was gone. His internal alarm went off. "Did anyone see Daniel leave?" Everyone shook their heads. "Uh oh." Jack ran out of the room and naturally, everyone followed, wondering why Jack had that scared look on his face. Jack O'Neill never looked scared....well, except for that time Daniel had flatlined and Jack'd hauled his ass back to that Goa'uld brothel.
. .
Some four days before, SG-6 had returned from a mission and brought home an incubator of live goa'uld symbiote larvae. Daniel knew where they were kept. Science Lab 2's containment room. Daniel had access codes. And it just happened to be down the corridor from the far door entrance to the ward Bradley was in.
Daniel needed that bastard to confess and since he hadn't actually come in contact with any live goa'uld or goa'uld symbiotes, it was time for a very scary enlightenment. If this didn't force the truth out of that traitor, nothing would. Daniel needed the SF's to witness this, so their presence didn't sway his decision in any way. Daniel also didn't care if they shot him for what he was about to do. They would only be doing their job and Daniel couldn't fault them for that.
Daniel got into the room, and removed one symbiote, it's 'voice' squeaking softly. He had to do this quickly before the sound gave him away. Moving with lightning fast determination, he walked into the ward - his hand in pocket - and jumped up onto Bradley's bed, straddling his chest and trapping his upper arms beneath his knees. He pushed a hand down on the man's forehead. Bradley's face took on a frightened look of shock.
Daniel did all of this with such speed that the SF's that were standing by his bed were taken off guard. They pulled their weapons and aimed them quickly. Daniel paid them no mind other than they were there as witnesses.
"Get away from him, Doctor Jackson."
"What the fuck?!! Help!!" Bradley screamed.
The SF's moved away as Daniel removed his hand holding the white snake larva from his pocket and held it up for the guards to see. Their guns trained on the symbiote now, as well as on Daniel. They were more confused than ever. The symbiote squeaked and screeched weakly in his hand as Bradley's eyes bugged out and his voice was strangled in fear.
Jack and the others came running into the ward, halting immediately. The look of fright on Jack's face was very apparent as he saw the guns trained on Daniel and the symbiote. Daniel might just hate himself later and Jack dreaded the self-recriminations that would come with it. One thing was for sure, Daniel was doing what Jack had only just thought of.
Jack stepped forward, ordering the guards to step back and put their guns down, which they did so reluctantly. To Daniel, their voices seemed muffled, far away, or underwater. He glared with malice down at Bradley's face as his free hand moved up to push down on his jaw, forcing his mouth open. Bradley tried to shriek but nothing came out but gasping air.
"This is a goa'uld symbiote," Daniel spat at him, his eyes flashing dangerously. "It's immature, but it will still invade a host. The host is you. You speak the fucking truth or I shove this thing down your throat! Choose. NOW!!"
Bradley was scared shitless. Well, that's not true. He had a little accident as he watched the pale white, partially transparent snake larva screech at him, it's four-fanged mouth hissing at him. It was the scariest thing he'd ever seen, and he hadn't even seen an adult symbiote yet. Right now, he didn't want to.
"Okay!! Okay!!" he screamed, finally finding his voice. Daniel released his jaw, waiting. "I tried to talk Major Rogers out of it but he and the others forced me to go along, said I'd end up on the wrong end of a rape if I didn't go along! So, I went along! Rogers did the whole thing, I swear! I'm sorry I lied! Please, take that thing away!" Bradley's voice sounded almost like the symbiote's; harsh and screechy; not as high-pitched...but close.
Daniel got off the bed and held his hand out, holding the symbiote out away from his body. "Someone come get this thing before I stomp out its existence!"
Janet ran up and took it from him, followed by nurses and an SF as she left the ward with the snake. An SF turned to look at Hammond and Hammond reluctantly nodded. The SF walked up behind Daniel and began to handcuff him while Jack whirled on Hammond.
"You have got to be kidding!"
Hammond merely gave Jack a 'don't be daft' look. Jack backed down but was obviously fuming as Daniel was led off to a holding cell. Daniel had the audacity to have a calm expression on his face now that everyone had heard the confession. Jack was somehow angrier about that, but he let it fade as he knew that the confession would only add to the video evidence. Jason would be in the clear now.
He followed Daniel in the cell for a moment. "You didn't need to do that, you know. We had the video."
Daniel shook his head slowly and sat down on the bunk, scooting back to lean against the wall. "Just making sure there would be no doubt," then he looked up and stared hard at Jack. His eyes were the brightest blue Jack could ever remember seeing. "No one...and I mean, no one....fucks with my friends."
Jack closed the door and sat down in a chair he pulled up in front of Daniel. "You gonna be okay for a while in here?"
"I'll be fine. Go check on Jason for me, okay?"
"Already planned on it," then he paused before getting up to leave. "Danny, this stunt you pulled is going to haunt you."
A shadow crossed Daniel's eyes, but his expression did not change. He was still full of 'piss and vinegar', as Jack's mom would say.
"Maybe," was all Daniel replied.
Jack regarded him carefully, then nodded. "I'll be back in a while when you're released. It won't be too long."
Daniel nodded. When Jack opened the door, Daniel stopped him. "Jack?"
Jack turned to look at him and Daniel's face softened somewhat but his eyes remained bright.
"I'm not sorry."
~
The door opened to Daniel's cell about five hours after he'd been locked inside. A very irritable, and relieved, Jack walked in. He found Daniel sitting on the bunk with his back to the wall. His chin was resting on his drawn-up knees.
"What's up, Jack?" he asked calmly. Jack's eyes told him that he was in deep trouble with him.
"Come on," he said aloud. "You're released. The asshole investigation team finally decided to show up and the now this is all quickly put to bed. It's all over. Now...you go see Jason."
Daniel sprung to his feet. "Is he awake?"
Jack shrugged. "How the hell would I know? I haven't been able to see him. I've been rather busy trying to get you out of lock-up." That 'deep trouble' look seemed to have evaporated once Jack vented a little bit.
Daniel had the grace to look both thankful and guilty at the same time. As he walked past Jack, he laid a hand on his arm. "I need to go off-base first. I want to get some of Jason's things from his apartment, since it's likely he's not going anywhere for a while."
~
When Daniel returned, dressed in his civilian clothes, Jason had woken up. He stopped outside of his room, dropping a few bags on the floor. Jason was currently giving his visitors, Jack and General Hammond, an account of what had happened with SG-22. Daniel waited, leaning against the corridor wall. Jason's team was waiting, too, and they stared at the civilian duffle bag and knapsack they recognized as Jason's. Captain Wagner now gave Daniel a long look and it didn't look cordial.
"How come you have keys to his apartment, Daniel?" he asked, his tone one of suspicion.
Daniel gave Alex Wagner an amused look and spoke slowly, as if the information he was giving him were something any idiot would know. "Because he's my best friend, Alex."
"I thought Colonel O'Neill was," Wagner asked, his voice getting a bit edgier. Lt. Connor McCaffrey laid a hand on his arm, silently asking Wagner to calm down. Wagner shrugged off his hand. Daniel noticed the aggressive stance and slowly recognized what it meant. Alex was jealous of Daniel's closeness and he probably didn't even know why, did he? Daniel knew the man wasn't gay - openly, anyway. If he was attracted to Jason, or even if he was just possessive over his team leader, he was taking it out on him. Whatever the reason, Daniel had already been touchy from the shit that had gone down. Now, with this attitude from Wagner, he was becoming what Jack and Jason would call 'Pissy.' No one challenged his friendships. No one.
"Jack is my best friend, too. Haven't you ever had two best friends, Alex?" he asked, attempting to keep this civil.
"Maybe," Alex replied, but it was clear he hadn't ever had two close, male, friendships.
Daniel took a deep breath as his anger rose. "Is there something wrong with that?" and he walked up to stand confrontationally in front of Alex. "If you don't approve of having two best friends, or of me having Jason's keys, then that's your problem and I suggest you deal with it."
Stupidly, Alex threatened, "Maybe we should discuss this with Major Coburn."
Daniel inclined his head and narrowed his eyes. "What's this really about? You're rightly concerned about him, and you're likely being possessive, but is it something more than that?"
"Like?" Alex asked heatedly.
"I'm asking you, Alex," and he turned to look at McCaffrey and Kaufman, sensing a very tight tension. "You guys have a problem with me?" They shook their heads, but Kaufman spoke up.
"It isn't that we don't approve," and the moment that word was out his mouth, Daniel knew exactly what the problem was. "We don't like our leader's name slammed and that bastard Bradley said some other things while he was here."
Daniel's anger was getting worse. "I can't believe you are thinking of that crap, especially right now. I almost lost my best friend, you almost lost your commander, and you're accusing him of...what? You think the bullshit rumours are true?" he asked, incredulous. "Which rumours or 'accusations' are you talking about? The ones that are 'gay'?" Kaufman and McCaffrey nodded, and Wagner only stared. "How fucking dare you even consider giving credence to rumours when your leader was damn near killed!" Daniel spat as two SF's stared at him as they walked by. Their looks were of sympathy, not anything else. Daniel nodded at them then turned his attention back to the members of SG-2, who started to shuffle about with embarrassment that Daniel was confronting them in public.
Daniel, however, didn't care. It was time to put this shit to rest, no matter who heard. And maybe it was better that others did hear. He purposely didn't lower his voice, but he didn't yell, either. "What do you care if the rumours are true or not?"
All three of their eyes popped out of their heads and their mouths dropped open. "No, seriously," Daniel went on, letting them know he was, indeed, serious. "What does it matter? Would it make such a difference if Jason was gay? Not that he is, but would it make a difference? He's the same kick-ass guy. He hasn't changed. In fact, he's a hero, along with Sgt. Carmichael. If the three of you don't get your heads out of your asses and get over this, then Jason won't be able to trust you. You know what that means? Don't damage the team, and put in for a transfer. If you can't respect him anymore because of what may or may not be true about his personal life, then get out before you endanger his life on a mission."
Daniel kept his arms folded, standing belligerently and staring hard at all three of them, daring them to contradict him, to argue his point. None of them did so Daniel took his cue and rounded on Wagner.
"And as for taking this up with Jason. I'll warn you right now...don't force him to choose. I guarantee you won't like his answer, but you go right ahead and ask."
Wagner was pensive for a while, thinking, as were his team mates. When Jack and Hammond opened the door to leave the room, Jason saw Daniel and motioned him in, but Daniel motioned Jason's team in the room instead, pushing Wagner in the back. Wagner brushed him off, literally, and walked in. Jason frowned, but Daniel merely gave Jason a very sober look. "You guys need to have a chat. A very serious chat." Daniel blinked slowly, once, at Jason and went back to the hall. Hammond had already left for his office, and Jack was waiting by himself for Daniel.
"What was that about?" Jack asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He had to. He saw the troubled look on Daniel's face and all he wanted to do right then was grab Daniel and put his arms around him.
"Issues. Jason has to straighten out his team or get a new one."
"Fuck. Don't tell me they're believing what that fuckwit said?"
Daniel nodded. "I'm afraid so."
"Well, then, good riddance."
Daniel gave Jack a disgusted look. "Give them a chance. They're just defensive after what happened to their leader. If Jason can't convince them that they're reacting to his injury and that the bastard rumours mean nothing, then we can judge 'good riddance'."
Jack leaned against the wall and nodded with agreement. They waited silently, and as they did, Daniel suddenly found it easier to recall the memories of the previous weekend. He smiled and Jack nudged him with an elbow.
"What?" he asked quietly.
"I was remembering last Saturday."
Jack smiled gently. "It's easier to remember that now, isn't it?"
Daniel looked at him and nodded with a somewhat saddened smile. Jack nudged him harder.
"No more of that. He's fine now."
Daniel shrugged. "I know. When I was in my room, waiting for him to come out of recovery, I tried to remember that, but it was too hard."
Jack thought a moment, then nodded again. "It's easier now. It always is. It's much easier for me now to remember the good times I had with Charlie. I don't have that hard pain now. It's just a heavy ache instead. It's easier now for you remember the good things with Shau're, isn't it?"
Daniel smiled softly. "Yeah....it is."
They remained silent after that and Daniel let himself remember part of last weekend.
.......Jason had been working on his first canvas work in his new studio at Daniel's house. It was fully outfitted, filled with Jason's old art work, too. Jason had been working on a landscape. Daniel had come to the door to see what he was working on and saw the landscape work 'in progress'. It was the backdrop of the cabin, as if looking out from the viewpoint from the dock.
Jason's hand was poised, holding the palette knife and was trying to determine where to put more highlight on the pond's water edge when Daniel had put his arms around his waist, startling him. Jason had been cross with him for a brief moment, merely because Daniel was able to sneak up on him. Daniel remembered thinking that he couldn't help it. Jason had been wearing one of those very old undershirts, the kind with no sleeves and a very low neck line. It was almost grey with age and almost transparent in places. But it looked so damn sexy on him, especially combined with the cutoffs he wore. That and being barefoot. He'd been sitting on a stool with his back to the door when Daniel had decided to sneak up on him.
'Hello, gorgeous,' he'd said to Jason, while kissing him on his shoulder. Jason's hand, holding the palette knife, had come up in a backhand move, and instead of hitting Daniel with his hand, Daniel had ended up getting a line of light, light blue paint on a cheek. Jason turned around to look as Daniel snickered. Jason had looked at him with amused tolerance, then put a matching line on Daniel's other cheek. Daniel had decided to bait him, dare him, and Jason had picked up the dare. Daniel had found Jason aiming a 3/4 inch flat brush at him, loaded with a bit of very dark blue. Daniel had grabbed Jason's wrist, but the long brush snuck out and painted a thick line down his chin. Daniel had instinctively wiped it with the back of his hand, which succeeded only in smearing the paint and smudging the back of his hand.
'Jason...' Daniel had complained. Daniel had also been wearing cutoff jeans but he'd been shirtless. Jason's paintbrush had painted another long line down one fine pectoral muscle, making Daniel reach for the brush again, but Jason had held it out of his grasp. Reaching over and applying more paint to the brush, this time catching red and yellow on the brush, Daniel's eyes had grown wide as Jason aimed the brush at him again.
Daniel remembered turning to escape, but Jason had caught and tripped him up, sending Daniel to the floor. Jason had straddled his hips quickly and held the long brush handle by it's end. It flicked out, catching Daniel's jaw, his collarbone, and Daniel's deflecting made the brush catch Jason across the chin and cheek. Then more smudges of paint caught a shoulder, a piece of brow, and at the last, part of Jason's sternum before the brush was knocked loose and sent flying across the room to hit the wall and land on the table behind the paint palette.
Both of them wrestled, laughing crazily, smearing the paint and making it worse. Then suddenly, the action halted as they'd taken in the look of each other. Their disheveled look and 'dirty' state was very arousing. Daniel had suddenly grabbed Jason by the head and kissed him hungrily, turning them over so that Jason was underneath them.
Kissing and caressing had ignited with a surprising intensity and before they realized it, the paint had blended and mixed, becoming a muddy brown and orange. When they'd taken a pause to breathe, they noticed the paint had got everywhere, including in their hair and on their shorts. Daniel had groaned, then joined Jason's laughter as Jason had grabbed him and a bar of painter's soap and drug them both into the shower. Already aroused, and even more so as they'd cleaned each other, they'd made love in the shower, finishing what Daniel had started when he'd first startled Jason.......
Daniel was brought out of his memory by the opening of Jason's Iso room door. His team members looked a bit dismayed, guilty, and most of all, fairly brow beaten. Alex Wagner looked at Daniel, still with a defensive stance, but he held out his hand. Daniel, confused, clasped it readily.
"I'm sorry, Daniel. I didn't mean any disrespect." Basically, the rest of SG-2 said the same thing, then they nodded to Jack and walked off together. Daniel was still frowning in confusion, then realized something and he smirked at Jack. They were both thinking the same thing.
"Psych 101." Jack grinned, then both he and Daniel went into Jason's room.
. .
Jason felt weakened after that scolding he'd just had to give his team. Of all the times to go protective on him....and then direct it at the wrong guy. He brightened a bit as Daniel and Jack walked in. He held out both hands to clasp both Jack and Daniel's, holding them in a tight grip to let them know he was already healing. The reassuring touch did a lot for all of them.
Jack cleared his throat and spoke first. "How'd you straighten out your team, Jace?"
Jason sighed and closed his eyes. "You're not going to like it."
Jack and Daniel exchanged looks. "Say it anyway," Daniel told him.
"After seeing you shove them in here, I asked them what the fuck was wrong. Wagner, as good a man as he is, told me that it wasn't just the lie about the bomb. He was disturbed to learn that the two of you might be gay. Because of my close friendship with you, he assumed that I was too. I've had straight friends all my life who'd never had a problem with me, though they needed straightening out from the stereotyped homophobic crap. Wagner is just like that. He needed to be educated. I educated him. I didn't confirm, nor did I deny. I told him that it shouldn't matter, but I gave him an ultimatum. If my leadership wasn't good enough for him, and if he put stock in any of those rumours, then he could bloody well put in for a transfer. Told the others that, too. They didn't want to transfer but I could see they still had a problem with the one rumour. So...I got nasty." He paused, taking a few breaths.
"And?" Daniel asked carefully.
"I asked them if they wanted me dead."
"What?" Jack and Daniel asked simultaneously in a raised voice.
"After just the same kind of reaction, I told them that their behavior was exactly like that of SG-22. If they wanted me dead, like fragging me in the field, then they could just save themselves a term in Leavenworth by bloody well getting themselves a new leader. I will NOT tolerate that shit anymore. I'm too old for it."
Jack started to laugh. "You think you are?" he asked rhetorically but Jason snorted as his answer. Daniel leaned over, wanting so much to brush back Jason's hair. He blinked slowly. Jason blinked back.
"I love you," he whispered.
"Love you back," Jason whispered back, then coughed and winced in pain. Jack handed Daniel the water cup and Daniel gave Jason a small sip. Jason regarded Jack very seriously after handing him back the cup and straw. "Jack...about Rogers...I saw his name on your clipboard and then when I kind of met him on Level 11, there was something about him I did NOT like but I let it go, telling myself to give the man a chance. We're such a tight-knit family under all this rock, it's hard to accept new people. BUT there's something about him...isn't there?"
Jack nodded at him, knowing this was coming. The answers he would give were part of the reason he hadn't been with Daniel the whole time he'd waited during Jason's surgery.
"I didn't recognize his name at first, but I'd worked with him before, a little over eleven years ago. I didn't remember at first and I made some phone calls based solely on his aberrant behavior. I couldn't find his service record, which is highly unusual for a person with my clearance. His placement here has to be due to NID pressure."
Daniel looked over at Jack, startled. "Is that why you were gone so long when Jason was in surgery?"
Jack nodded.
"Does Hammond know?"
Jack nodded again. "I gave him the info I found out before we came in to talk to you, including my knowing him a while back, though I couldn't tell him everything."
"So, you knew that bastard eleven years ago..." Jason asked slowly, "which means it's likely you can't tell us, right?"
Jack shrugged, then turned and looked out between the slats of the room's window blinds. "I can tell you some of it, just not the 'scenery' if you know what I mean. I'll tell you what I told Hammond, only I can add a little bit more." He sighed, then looked down at the floor, thinking, remembering. "It was an Op. During a stand down, waiting for our 'continuing' orders, I went to a bar to relax. One of those seedy, run-down bars. He was assigned to my 10-man team as a replacement - which is ironic when you think about it - anyway, he came on to me in the bar and I rejected him. He didn't take the rejection well so I put him on his ass, embarrassing him in front of a few of the 'local' patrons. He was humiliated. When we finally went out on the Op, he didn't do what I told him to do and as a result that put me, and the team members with me, in a life-threatening situation. I can't tell you the specifics but we were in it up to our necks because of that sonofabitch. All of us - save one man in his part of the split-team - came out of that Op alive. I knew it was his fault and when I questioned the other men later, it was confirmed he was at fault for the death. I gave him a...lesson...and so did the rest of my team. He couldn't walk for a while after that and was sent to the veteran's hospital. He tried to press charges but the brass believed me and my team, not him."
Jack paused, taking a sip of Jason's water, then put his hands in his pockets and stared down at the bed. "I tried to find out who posted him here, and the rest of his team, but I couldn't get anywhere specific. The Pentagon closed ranks and wouldn't let out the info. I eventually called Major Davis, but as usual they weren't letting him in on it, either, but since he has a higher clearance than me in certain areas, he was able to send over more complete electronic files of their 201's, along with all of their previous psych evals. Those things were a joke. None of them have appropriate profiles for this kind of assignment."
Both Daniel and Jason's browlines rose in surprise. "All of them?" Daniel asked and Jack confirmed with a nod.
"Too high-strung, questionable loyalties, and the usual psychological make-up that leads to getting people killed. In our missions, they would get another team killed quickly. Which means that whoever assigned them, intended for them to die 'as a team' because that's exactly what would have happened. I'm not sure if Bradley is lucky or not. He's going to prison for a very long time." He sighed, then continued. "Anyway, when I came to see you, Daniel, I had only just made the connection with Rogers after going over the whole team's profile. I didn't tell you about it because it's not something that you need to know. I deal with that kind of evaluation stuff all the time."
Daniel nodded. "I know. That's part of your 2IC paperwork," and he smiled gently at Jack.
"I had no idea what Rogers would be up to. He hadn't even given me a sign that he'd recognized me. But then, that's not unusual," and Jack motioned to his prematurely silvering hair. Both Daniel and Jason exchanged knowing grins, then gave Jack that 'I'm attracted to you' look, which made Jack uncomfortable.
Jason shook his head suddenly. "You should have heard Rogers. On second thought, it's a good thing you didn't. He even bad-mouthed Carter, which told me he didn't think much of women. Almost every man on this base, including the gays, admire her and a few are even intimidated by her. None of them think such hateful thoughts though, even if some of them are still stuck in that sexist mode."
"Jesus," Jack whispered, shaking his head and looking about the room. He knew what kind of attitude Rogers had had toward women.
Jason then added, somewhat reluctantly, "Bradley did try to talk Rogers out of this revenge idea....but Rogers threatened him with rape."
Jack grimaced, though he didn't look surprised. Daniel, on the other hand, was and his mouth dropped open. He remembered something and he grimaced, turning away from the bed. "I know. Wouldn't have found out about that if I hadn't threatened him with that snake."
The moment he said it, Jason gave him a look of alarm and he realized that Jason hadn't heard about that yet. Jack winced sharply, giving Daniel that look he used on missions. You just had to go and say that. Daniel grimaced even more. Jason grabbed his hand and tugged.
"What did you do?" he asked. When Daniel tried to pull away, Jason grimaced in pain and let go. "What did you do, Daniel?" he repeated in a tired tone.
"Only what I would have done if I'd thought of it first, Jason," Jack said when Daniel hesitated. "The guy wasn't fessing up."
When Daniel still did not answer, Jason became angry with him and went silent, as was usual whenever he got mad at Daniel. Daniel pressed his lips tightly.
"You know that batch of larvae that SG-6 brought back?"
Jason only nodded.
Daniel folded his arms in a manner well familiar to both Jack and Jason. "I was very mad. The bastard was defensive and, I mean, he was making up even worse lies as he went along so I, I had to put an end to it." He tightened his arms then, standing his ground, even if he did feel a bit guilty about what he'd done.
Jack reached over and touched his forearm, letting Daniel know that it was okay. "You had every right to be mad."
Jason sighed with exasperation, so Daniel told him what he did. It was Jason's turn to gape.
"Was that all that happened?" he asked suspiciously.
Daniel shook his head, and this time he smiled a little bit. So did Jack, and in a way, he was proud of Daniel for risking lock-up to do what he did. "He got himself locked up in a holding cell, Jason."
Jason closed his eyes and winced. "Daniel....what the hell am I going to do with you?"
Daniel gave Jason a hard, yet loving, look. "I'm thinking the same thing about you."
"What were the rumours, Daniel? Aside from the obvious?"
"Jason..." Daniel objected with astonishment. Jack only rolled his eyes with disbelief that Jason would want to know.
"Come on guys! I need to know all of it, just in case there are new ones that sprout up because of them. You know the drill, Jack. A lack of information can kill you."
Jack rolled his eyes again, hating it when Jason used their nearly identical training as leverage. Daniel wouldn't repeat what he'd heard, so Jack gave Daniel a withering glance, then took a deep breath. "Um, apparently we're all doing it together and going so far as bringing in Carter and Teal'c. Apparently we do it on missions, too."
Jason nodded, not surprised. "That's funny. I don't remember doing it on missions."
Jack and Daniel snorted at that.
"What else?"
His lovers grimaced and Jason knew then that there was something bad. Very bad.
"What?"
Hesitantly, in a very soft voice, Jack said, "Um, the, um, Bradley started getting disturbingly creative. He left me out of it, attacking you. He said that the only reason Daniel is taking it up the ass from me is because you rape him on a continual basis."
"What?!!" he yelled, horrified, starting to sit up, but Jack and Daniel held him by his shoulders and forced him to calm down.
"My team wouldn't tell me what they'd heard," he said through gritted teeth. "They just said that the rumours said I was gay," and he closed his eyes tightly. "Fuck."
In a blackly sarcastic tone, Daniel said, "At least the rumours about me are consistent."
Jack and Jason glared disapprovingly at him. "Daniel..." Jason started.
"Seriously, guys. I've always been this weak little flower who can't find his dick with two hands." He snorted with disgust, and Jack and Jason snorted with him.
"Yeah, well I'd wager that'll change," Jason said, his jaw starting to relax. Jack and Daniel waited through the ensuing silence as Jason willed himself to calm down. Finally, he spoke again, and when he did, he ignored the subject of rumours and told Daniel the rest of what had happened, all of which Jack had already heard. At the last, he added, "I fucked up. I should have waited until they left, then filmed the bomb's placement under the truck, then disarmed it and turned it and the camcorder into General Hammond."
Both Daniel and Jack started to protest, that maybe Jason should have done that, but what he did do was not in the wrong, either. Before they could go on, Sam opened the door, with Teal'c standing behind her.
"You'll never guess who's here, snooping around." She had a hateful look of disgust on her face. Jack snorted. He wondered when they'd show up.
"NID. Daniel, you wanna stay in here and keep Jason company--"
"You mean 'guard duty'--" Jason crossed back.
Jack raised his voice, "WHILST I go out here and take care of these bastards."
Jason smirked at Jack, then reached out and squeezed his hand. "Thanks."
Jack gave him one of his crooked smiles. "Anytime." A hint of their time at the cabin crossed all of their faces and they couldn't help but grin widely at that. Jack then followed Sam through the iso room's door, leaving Daniel alone with Jason. He followed Sam and Teal'c to the end of the hall just as two men, in their typical blue-black suits, white shirts, white ties, and black shoes, came around the corner, with Hammond - wearing a horrendous scowl - in tow. They came to an abrupt halt as Sam, Jack, and Teal'c, in that order, blocked the corridor, standing there with arms folded. Those that were following them made an abrupt about-face and went back the way they came.
Jack gave the two spooks the biggest look of disrespectful disgust he could come up with. "What the hell took you guys so long? We expected you to be skulking around here, oh," and Jack looked at his watch, "about twelve hours ago, as soon as you got the word about your boy being dusted off and all that." The NID boys glared at him. "Well, you know how helpful I am, being a big student of diplomacy." Sam and Teal'c smirked, and from behind the spooks, so did General Hammond, "You guys obviously need to hone your skills so you can be a little quicker off the mark. I'm more than happy to help. It just so happens that I've this bog in Norway I'd like to unload...." The bog reference was not lost on the spooks.
. .
"They going to handle NID okay?" Jason asked Daniel as Daniel sat down carefully on the edge of the bed.
Daniel wrinkled his nose for a second. "They'll be fine. Jack will handle them, as he always does. You should have heard about the time Maybourne came here to take Teal'c away after that bug had infected him."
Jason grimaced. "Yeah, heard about that. Poor guy."
"Yeah, it was bad. Anyway, Maybourne was in Hammond's office and Jack comes walking in. Maybourne starts to say something about Teal'c proving to be useful to the NID's bio-chemical department," and Jason's ire rose, and Daniel nodded, continuing, "and so Jack responds by saying, 'General, permission to beat the crap out of this man.'"
Jason snickered as Daniel bit his lips, trying not to laugh. Jason nudged him. "So what did Hammond say? That's not in any report."
"Um, Maybourne got worried because the General didn't answer, then Jack said that General Hammond got this smirk on his face and told Maybourne he was 'thinking' about it."
Both of them laughed then, but Jason grimaced, his hand going to the left side of his back. "Daniel, don't make me laugh, it hurts....but...on second thought, do it anyway. It's a good kind of hurt."
Janet came in then, eyeing Daniel with that 'don't fuck with my patient' look, and checked Jason's vitals. She noted the rise in his pulse.
"Major, the pain getting worse?"
Sheepishly, Daniel said, "That's my fault, Jan. I made him mad, then I made him laugh." She started to berate him but Jason stopped her.
"Don't. I need the distraction, even if it hurts."
"You don't need it if it gets a suture pulled and you end up back in surgery." Jason said nothing and just looked at Daniel. She knew the answer to her next question but asked it anyway. "How much pain, one to ten."
Jason hedged.
"Jason..." she prodded softly.
"Fifteen..." he whispered, alarming both Daniel and Janet. She pressed a button attached to his second, smaller, IV bag, releasing a large dose of morphine into his IV. She watched him for about twenty seconds, monitoring his pulse the whole time. When his pulse slowed, she let go of his wrist.
"How do you feel now?"
Jason didn't want the pain medication, but reluctantly nodded that he was feeling a little better. She set the medication button over the railing of his bed, next to the call button. She didn't need to give instructions to Daniel. He'd been on the receiving end enough times he had it memorized. She squeezed his hand, then left the room.
Daniel gave Jason a very sober look. "You scared me, Jason," he whispered after a long pause, waiting for the pain medication to take effect. Tears welled in his eyes and Jason pulled Daniel's hand to his lips and kissed his palm.
"I'm sorry," then reached up and stroked his thumb next to Daniel's eye. "Please don't. You'll make me cry." He succeeded in making Daniel laugh and Daniel sniffed back the unshed tears in a half-laugh. After a moment, he became serious again.
In a little bit of an angry tone, he said, "You should have come to me and Jack, Jason, no matter if you were trying to protect us. You should have."
Jason regarded him silently for a while, then reluctantly nodded. However, he was only humouring Daniel. He wouldn't ever put Daniel or Jack in danger, no matter what kind of scolding he got afterwards. As long as they were safe, he could handle their anger and disappointment.
Daniel knew Jason wasn't listening to him. "Jason...you should have."
Jason sighed, wanting to show frustration but the morphine was making him too relaxed. "Daniel, would you have done the same thing I did? Would Jack have?"
Daniel couldn't deny it. He knew that he would have gotten someone else involved, but it wouldn't have been Jack or Jason. Probably the SF's, but more likely, he'd have done it by himself. Jack, on the other hand, would have grabbed Teal'c and an SF. He nodded reluctantly at Jason, even though he still believed Jason should have said something and not risked his life. He didn't say it out loud but the anger, in reaction to his fear, was brewing.
Jason could see it and he sighed. "I'm sorry."
Daniel held his hand briefly and let go, keeping his index finger hooked around Jason's pinky. "You're a hero, you know." Jason snorted in disgust and shook his head. Daniel smiled a bit, adding, "Both you and Sgt. Carmichael." Jason's eyes widened.
"How is she? She's not...?"
Daniel smirked. "She's fine...or she will be. She has to take a long rehabilitative leave because her intestines were shot to shit. A few more surgeries and she'll be fine."
Jason grimaced. "When I'm able to, I need to send her the entire West coast's supply of orange roses."
"That's nice, Jason, but....orange?"
Jason winked at Daniel then, teasing him. "She likes orange roses."
Daniel pretended jealousy. "And just how do you know she likes orange roses?"
Jason smiled, seeing the warning flash in Daniel's eye...behind the smile. Ohhhh....game time. "Oh, we've had a few late night chats."
"Oh, really?" Daniel pursed his lips and growled. He got up from the bed, turned down the shades and locked the door. Jason watched him, feeling that wonderful heat starting in his groin. The medication suddenly made him able to get hard...a little anyway...and wanted to kiss Daniel like crazy.
"Daniel, what are you doing? You can't lock the door..." he said as Daniel moved around and sat down on his right side and put his arms around him.
"I'm jealous," Daniel whispered huskily. Jason groaned, half-lidding his eyes.
"Daniel, don't speak to me in that voice."
"I'm jealous..." Daniel whispered again. Jason stared back at him as he felt himself getting harder.
"So I see..." he replied as his hand reached down to feel Daniel's nearly full erection. "Or should I say, 'so I feel'."
"Jason..." Daniel whispered, his eyes darkening.
"Daniel?" Jason asked as he felt Daniel growing harder.
Daniel's eyes smiled at him, and he lowered his face until their noses touched. "You're mine..." and he took Jason's face in his hands to hold him, secure him, keep him.
"What about Ja--mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..."
"You're his, too," Daniel said through the kiss. Jason's hand cupped him more firmly and Daniel responded by kissing him harder, sliding his tongue deep, making Jason moan, and also making damn sure that Jason knew who it was who loved him back.
~