He leant on the wall as he made his way from the gate room, not the best place for a party, especially if the gate had opened, because all the people able to close the iris were to drunk to walk, let alone use mechanical equipment. "Ohh…" he put a hand back to his head and tried not to collapse ‘Way to much…’ once the wave of nausea had passed, he continued towards what he hoped was the hallway that held his base room.
Nope. It wasn’t. It only led to the rec room which held the cafeteria and in a more private area and room, the slob room. That contained a couch and tv. When Sg-1 had had one of their many rough missions they would normally go in there and relax, either play cards or just watch a movie. ‘I’m so pleased I’m alive’. Daniel turned his head and looked back the way he’d come, it was to far to stagger back, he’d never make it without passing out and earning a very sore back in the morning.
‘Rec room might as well do…’ he slowly worked his way back to the cafeteria and rec room. After getting through the maze of tables and chairs he got to the room that would be dubbed ‘his’ for the night. The room was dark but he followed the wall until he found the couch. "Finally…". Daniel flopped down but jumped back up when he didn’t contact with the soft furniture. "What the…!" the move was to quick for his soggy mind and he fell to the floor. "WHAT THE?" Jack jumped up from his sleeping position and quickly went into his defensive stance, but frowned when he saw a figure lying on the ground. Then he noticed the hair. "Daniel?" he kneeled down beside the prone figure "Jack?" "You scared the hell out of me!".
Jack helped Daniel sit up and looked the boy up and down "You look like hell!" Daniel groaned at his loud voice. Jack quickly gripped his shoulders as he started to sag again. "Let’s get you to the couch" he grabbed Daniel’s hands and pulled the young man to his feet, but he started to lean forward. Jack caught him under his elbows and dragged him to the couch. The young man seemed to be out of it, so he pulled a blanket over his still and sleeping form. He glanced around the dark room but could see no other chairs, they must have been taken to the gate room. "Oh well" he carefully lifted Daniel’s shoulders and head and sat down, letting them rest on his legs. He looked down at the man that had obviously had to much to drink.
"Danny…" this boy had given him so much grief, but at the same time, he’d kept him sane. After…after Charlie had died, he’d hated the world, but Daniel had been the one to bring his sorry arse out of his depressed little world that he’d created around himself. Daniel of all people, had come in, being the pain in the arse he was, and had led him out of the depths and on the way picked up a very close friendship, connection, whatever you’d like to call it. Jack had never realised how far the friendship had gone, but he now realised Daniel was his life, his reason to live. He was like the son he lost, but luckily in this life, he’d been able to find him in Daniel.
He didn’t know what god to thank, whether it be Ra or God. But he thanked them both for giving him the friendship of this boy/man. "No Jack, don’t be dead! Please!" Jack pulled himself away from his thoughts and looked down at his friend. "Daniel, wake up, come one. It’s only a dream" Jack softly shook his friend who’s eyes finally opened. "Hey, bad dream?" Daniel nodded and pulled his hands from under the blanket to rub his face. "Yeah, I guess…". Jack looked at his friend and nodded "You all right" Daniel shook his head. "Um, yeah, I guess".
"Do you want to talk about it?" Daniel looked confused, and still a little drunk. "I…I thought you were all dead! I hated being able to live while you all didn’t, it…I was so lost…" Jack helped him sit up but quickly put his shoulder against his so that he stayed up. "Daniel, if we ‘had’ of been dead and you hadn’t survived, only because you thought we might have been dead, I would have kicked your arse". Daniel looked to Jack "But…" "No buts! We’re alive, that’s all that matters" Daniel hung his head and Jack sighed "I’m sorry Daniel but that is all that does matter".
Daniel was silent and he nodded, leaning his head against Jack’s shoulder "Okay Jack" Jack let him start to drift. "I wish it was that easy for me…" Daniel’s head shot back up. "What?" Jack shrugged "Nothing" "No, I heard you say something" "It was ‘nothing’ Daniel, now get some sleep". But Daniel did the complete opposite and stood up, turning to face his friend. "Jack, you had to leave me, you had no choice" Jack jumped up this time and faced his friend "No! I had a choice! And I chose to leave you behind to die alone!". "You would have all died!" Jack shook his head "I would have rather died" Now Daniel was pissed off "Then why did you leave me?!". Jack froze "I…we had to…you…" "Well…" Jack couldn’t find a reason for his reaction. But finally he stumbled upon a good enough one.
"You told me too" Daniel rolled his eyes "Low Jack, really low". Daniel could see Jack struggling "You want to talk?" Jack turned back to him "What is there to talk about? I left you behind!" Daniel sighed "And I told you to". Jack shrugged angrily "Don’t worry" "Jack, you had no choice, it makes no difference to me" "Make’s a difference to me" Jack said quietly. "I don’t leave team members behind" That hit Daniel hard. ‘Team member? Is that all I am?’. "But…" "No! It’s simple, you don’t leave comrades in danger, alone". Daniel may have felt drunk before but the druggy alcohol had seeped away, only to leave anger.
"Oh! I see! I leave a big hole on your perfect record. Damn it Jack, why don’t you just shoot me now, say I had it coming, that I might compromise ‘your’ team! That’ll fill the hole!". Jack stared at Daniel, shocked. ‘Is that really what you think of me?’ "Jesus Daniel! What’s got into you?". Daniel’s eyes were on fire, burning with hate and hurt "Like you’ve never thought of it before…". "Now, let’s just stop this right here!" Jack stepped forward to help his friend back to the couch, but Daniel backed away "No, let’s not. How about you tell me about all the other bad things I’ve done to your perfect career!".
Jack took a very deep breath, Daniel was very close to the line this time. "Daniel, your not thinking straight, sit down, and we can talk calmly". Daniel shook his head and crossed his arms, glaring back at Jack "Did it just make your day? Being able to leave me…again". That completely blew Jack’s fuse "We didn’t know you were alive! You went off, like always! And fell into a bloody burning hole!". Daniel rolled his eyes "Don’t talk about the dead like that! It’s not nice" "And anyway, we got you back!" Jack returned Daniel’s glare "After I’d been tortured almost to death! You never did have a good sense of time, did you Jack? Especially since you let Sha’uri be taken".
"So I don’t have a good sense of time! So What!?" "Why don’t you get down of your f**king high horse for one minute" Jack glared back at him "At least I don’t run around chasing after my dead wife". The second it came out of his mouth, he regretted it. Especially when he saw the hurt look on Daniel’s face. "You bastard" Daniel turned and moved back to the door, Jack followed and grabbed his shoulder, turning his around "Daniel, I didn’t…" "Leave me alone". Jack bit his lip as he looked into his best friend’s cold, hating eyes.
He let his hand drop and watched Daniel walk out, slamming the door behind him. "Oh crap…" Jack waited a minute, then opened the door and followed. Daniel seemed to be on auto pilot from what Jack could see, he walked down the hallways like they weren’t there, and if the occasional not-so-drunk person walked past, he let them get out of the way. Jack finally came to the door Daniel had gone through, the gate room.
‘Why would he go to the gate room?’. He cautiously entered the large room, which was littered with bottles, chairs and spoiled food. ‘So this is where they get the canteen food from’. Jack pushed aside a half smashed bottle with his foot and stepped over the broken glass. ‘And to think, we’re the only people currently protecting this planet…’. "Daniel?" he couldn’t see the younger man but could hear the smashing of glass and occasional swearing. "Daniel?" he slowly made his way forward and ducked a flying bottle. "Jesus!" he stared up from his floor position and saw Daniel. Daniel took another swig from the Rum bottle and stumbled back against another table. "What the…" he spun around and pushed the table to the side.
"Daniel" Daniel’s head snapped up at his friend’s voice. If he was drunk before, he didn’t know what he was now… "Go away: he mumbled in a drunk, slurred, and very hurt voice. Jack took a step forwards but Daniel jumped back, hit the up turned table and rolled over it backwards. "Daniel!" Jack ran to the table and looked down, to see his friend take another swig from the bottle. "I said ‘Go away’!" Jack started to step over the table but stopped when Daniel crawled back, still clutching the bottle and managing to climb to his feet, he stumbled up the gate ramp only to collapse and drag himself to rest against the gate.
"Daniel, put down the bottle" Jack hated himself for making his friend upset. Especially after what he’d said "No" he sounded like a little boy, refusing to clean his room. "Come on Danny" Daniel’s nickname seemed to break through his anger and he slowly put the bottle down beside himself. He let out a small sob and pulled his knees to his chest, protectively. Jack slowly made his way forward, and finally got himself between the bottle and Daniel. Daniel looked like he would crack any minute. ‘This is gonna take a bit of work’ he grabbed the bottle, took a quick swig ‘Shit! That stuffs strong!’ then let it roll to the end of the ramp.
"Daniel, I’m sorry" Daniel looked up at him, his eyes sad and hurt. Jack sighed and sat beside him "Really…You know I’d never mean to hurt you" Daniel nodded, but didn’t look convinced. "Your my friend" Jack added, Daniel looked up at him and shook his head "Friends don’t speak to each other like that" Jack razed his eyebrows "They don’t, do they. Well, I think we need to rewrite the script that said that" Daniel let out a little smile but it quickly faded "Did you mean what you said?" Jack’s eyes widened "Never, I’d never say anything that was meant to hurt you. I just don’t think about what comes out of my fat mouth sometimes".
"Yeah, I noticed" Jack smiled and wrapped an arm around Daniel’s shoulders "Thanks for that" Daniel smiled "Your welcome". They sat in silence and just thought about everything that had happened. Daniel going missing, the ships, Daniel ‘dying’, and then the party and after math or the party. Jack felt something wet on his shirt and he looked down, Daniel had buried his face in jack’s shirt and was…crying? "Daniel?" he let out a small sob and pulled back, wiping his eyes madly, mumbling an apology.
"We’ll get her back, I promise" Daniel shook his mind and wiped his eyes again "It’s not that…it’s just…I was so scared you were dead". Jack nodded and drew a deep breath "But we’re all alive" Daniel looked back, up at his friend "Jack, are you okay?". Jack looked back down and quickly wiped at his cheeks, finding the source of his younger friends worry "Um, yeah, I’m fine". Daniel gave him his knowing frown "Jack…I’ve talked, it’s now your turn". Jack knew it was no use, Daniel just wouldn’t give up until he got it out of him. Jack sighed "I ran out of that room when I heard your shout, and…I found you. I couldn’t breath, I thought I’d choke.
And my mind just wouldn’t work" Jack looked down at his friend "I was so scared, and when you told me to leave…I was even more scared, knowing I’d never see you again. And the scariest thing was that when we thought we wouldn’t be able to get off the ships alive, I was pleased". Jack looked away, embarrassed. "You were guilty?" Daniel shifted against Jack shoulder, getting a more comfortable position. Jack shook his head "I was suicidal". ‘Why are you telling him this?! Because he’s the only one who won’t get the doc or laugh’.
"I…life wasn’t worth it any more, I got reckless. I could have endangered Sam’s or Teal’c’s, or the entire galaxy. Because I…I…" Daniel nodded "You let emotions get in the way" Jack shook his head again "It never used to be like that, I could do anything and not feel bad or guilty or emotionally attached". "I’m sorry Jack" Jack looked down, at his friends sad and guilty face. "I never let any one get in, how the hell did you do it?!". Daniel looked bewildered "I…I’m…we…" Jack smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder "No, thank you, thank you for keeping me human" Daniel smiled and felt the tears fall again.
"Thanks for being my friend" Jack smiled back. "Thanks for being a pain in the arse". They both started to laugh and couldn’t stop, finally Jack stopped long enough to draw breath. "So, just to summarise. We’ve beaten Aliens, partied on all night, and managed to break down by the end…" Daniel nodded "I think that’s all". Jack smiled and pulled him into a quick hug. "Thanks". "Anytime Jack, anytime". "Just remember Space-monkey," Daniel frowned at his new nick name, everybody at the party had taken up using it. "Next time, I get to choose where we go for our holiday, no more space ships". Daniel smiled and nodded "All right. As long as I get to drive…".
