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Header and Part One 

This chapter has snuggling and a mystery that Daniel needs to solve.

IF YOU REALLY LOVED ME - Part Two
 
Daniel found himself awake, sitting upright in bed with heart pounding.
 
Jack!
 
He looked around the dimly lit room in panicked confusion. He was in Jack’s guest room. He’d been released from the infirmary yesterday, and Jack had taken him home with him for the night, to keep an eye on him. That meant Jack was okay, he had to be. Right?
 
Logic was having no impact on Daniel’s terrified mind. He fought his way clear of the twisted bed sheets and stumbled out the door on shaking legs, headed for Jack’s bedroom.
 
Jack must have heard him coming, because the bedside lamp was switched on before he even reached the doorway. And Jack was on his feet and coming towards him when he got there. “Daniel?”
 
“You’re all right?” Jack had reached him, and Daniel clutched at his arm.
 
Jack’s face was concerned. “That again? I’m fine. You keep asking me that.” He rubbed at his friend’s arms in a reassuring manner. “You’re shivering.”
 
“I shot you,” Daniel got out between chattering teeth.
 
“No, you didn’t. You held a weapon on me, but you didn’t fire.” Jack pulled Daniel towards the bed. “You just had a nightmare. Get in the bed, you’re cold.” Daniel climbed into Jack’s bed obediently, which was uncharacteristic enough to raise Jack’s eyebrows. “Scoot over, get in the warm spot.”
 
Daniel scooted over further, and Jack climbed into the bed beside him. “I dreamed I shot you. In the control room.”
 
“Just a dream,” Jack soothed.
 
“Really?” Daniel said anxiously. “You’re not keeping anything from me?” Jack seemed to hesitate. Daniel tried to search his face, but the lamp was behind the other man’s head, putting his face in shadows. “Jack?”
 
“Daniel, do you seriously think for one minute that I would let you shoot me and then not rub it in every single chance I got?” Daniel’s eyes widened. “Remember who you’re talkin’ to here.”
 
“Right.” Daniel relaxed perceptibly, but a frown drew his eyebrows together. “It’s just that I’m never sure if I’m remembering something, or if it’s just my imagination.”
 
“You’re obsessing. Try not to worry about it so much,” Jack recommended. He rubbed Daniel’s arm. “Warmer now? Daniel?”
 
“Could I see the security camera footage, Jack? Would you arrange that for me?”
 
Jack frowned slightly. “Do you really think that’s going to help you?”
 
Daniel nodded his head slowly. “Yeah, I think that would help a lot. I don’t see how it could make things any worse.” He grimaced apologetically, gesturing at himself and Jack’s bedroom.
 
“I’ll fix it up for you first thing in the morning,” Jack promised. “Go to sleep.”
 
“I can go back to the other room,” Daniel offered, yawning.
 
“Stay. Maybe the sound of my steady breathing will stop you from worrying about me,” Jack said with a grin.
 
“Steady what?” Daniel queried. “I don’t think I heard that right.”
 
“I do not snore! Now shut up and let me sleep,” Jack said, mock-indignantly. He rolled over and switched off the lamp.
 
Daniel smiled at the back of his friend’s head. “’Night, Jack.”
 
~~~~
 
Daniel’s conscious mind slowly began to surface. He felt warm and content. He sighed, and heard an answering sigh in his ear. Jack. He became aware of a warm body pressing against his back and a heavy arm draped across his stomach. A soft snore rumbled gently behind him, and he smiled and blinked his eyes a few times, before letting them slide closed again.
 
This is a nice way to wake up, he mused drowsily. He shifted position slowly, trying to get more comfortable. Jack’s arm tightened slightly. Daniel smiled again, and then realized that the other man had a morning erection, which was now pressing against Daniel’s backside. Feels nice. His eyes shot open. What the hell?!
 
Daniel launched himself from the bed as if jet-propelled. Okay, he was fully awake now! He must have been dreaming a second ago. Yes, he had still been dreaming. He heard Jack moving behind him. “Crap! Daniel.” He forced himself to turn back and face Jack. “I’m sorry,” Jack said firmly.
 
“For what?” Daniel asked, flustered and a little confused.
 
“For whatever it was that I did that made you fly out of the bed that way,” Jack answered ruefully. “In my own defense, however, let me just point out that I was asleep at the time.”
 
“No, you didn’t do anything,” Daniel told him.
 
“Not buying it, Daniel. Although I appreciate the effort.”
 
“I just have to pee,” Daniel explained hopefully.
 
Jack waved his hand. “Go.” His eyes told Daniel that he still wasn’t buying it.
 
As he washed his hands after using the toilet, Daniel looked at himself in the mirror. His face was flushed with embarrassment. His eyes lost focus as he suddenly realized something that made him smile. He dried his hands, the smile growing broader.
 
When he came back out into the bedroom, Jack was sitting on the edge of the bed with a pillow over his lap, rubbing his hands through his hair and yawning. “Hey! Guess what?” Daniel said with a sunny smile. Jack made a face that indicated his mystification, and shrugged. “I didn’t wake up worried about you!”
 
Jack stared up at him blankly for a second, and then a smile started to grow in his eyes and spread to his face. “Not for the usual reasons, anyway,” he pointed out. Daniel couldn’t help himself. He snorted. Jack tossed aside his pillow and stood up. “You want to start the coffee?” Daniel nodded, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on Jack’s face. Jack grinned at him. “Okay, I’ll take a quick shower then.”
 
“Okay,” Daniel answered, and fled from the room.
 
~~~~
 
Daniel was at his desk working. Breakfast at Jack’s house and the ride in to work together had gone off fairly smoothly, with the minimum amount of awkwardness. When he and Jack had parted company in the elevator, Jack’s last words had been a repetition of his promise to get the Daniel the security camera footage. Now Daniel’s computer was making the appropriate noises that informed him he had just received an email message. This could be it.
 
Daniel clicked on the icon minimized at the bottom of his screen. The subject line of the new email was: As per General O’Neill’s request. A file containing the footage was attached to the message. He put aside what he had been doing and began the process of loading the footage into a player. While he waited for the playback to commence, he found that his palms were sweaty. He wiped them on his trousers and took a few deep, calming breaths.
 
The video began to play.
 
Daniel watched with an eerie sense of disbelief as he saw himself calmly shooting the occupants of the control room with a strange-looking device. He knew that no one had been injured, but it was still horribly shocking to witness. He saw himself sitting down at the console and tapping at the keyboard. He saw Jack come into view at the foot of the staircase that led to the briefing room above.
 
He saw himself aiming his weapon at Jack, saw how Jack froze. He used the zoom to center in on the two of them. He wished he could hear their conversation. He was smiling. Even laughing! Jack’s face was grim and worried. This was awful; he almost wished he hadn’t asked to see the footage. But it was better to know, no matter how unpleasant it was to watch.
 
He saw himself remove his hand from the keyboard and focus his full attention on Jack. He was laughing again, and now Jack was looking down into the Gateroom in horror. Jack spoke to him, desperation etched on his face. And Daniel…..
 
What? Play that back again. Daniel watched closely. Jack spoke to him, and Daniel laid down his weapon and slid from his chair. Jack moved past him to the console. Daniel laid on the floor near his feet. Daniel backed the video up again. Jack said something to him, and Daniel laid down his weapon…
 
What did Jack say? Daniel rewound again and zoomed in closer on Jack’s face. He wished he could read lips. All he could read was his friend’s obvious desperation, followed seconds later by shocked surprise.
 
Daniel sat back in his chair, rewound the video to the beginning and watched it from start to finish without zooming or rewinding or pausing. Just watched events as they had unfolded. He sat thoughtfully when it was ended. Jack had never mentioned to him that he laid down his weapon before collapsing. But that just reinforced Jack’s impression that Daniel had somehow taken back control over his body. Probably didn’t mean anything that he hadn’t mentioned it. But…
 
Daniel rewound the footage once more to just before Jack’s last words were spoken to him. This time he zoomed in on his own face. He saw himself blink slowly in reaction to what he was hearing. And then he laid down his weapon. In reaction to what Jack had said to him. What other conclusion could he possibly come to? Surely Jack must have realized that’s what had happened. But he had never mentioned a word about it to Daniel. In fact he had denied having anything to do with the fact that there had been a successful outcome.
 
What did Jack say?
 
~~~~
 
Late that afternoon, Jack appeared in the doorway to Daniel’s office. “You about ready to go home?” he asked nonchalantly.
 
Distracted, Daniel stared up at him. “Umm.”
 
“You’re staying with me again tonight.”
 
“Doctor’s orders?” Daniel wanted to know.
 
“Something like that,” Jack answered with a quirky smile. “So, you about ready?”
 
“Ah, no, actually. I got a little bit behind today.”
 
“How much longer?”
 
Daniel surveyed his desk. “Hour and a half maybe.”
 
Jack shrugged. “I can wait.”
 
Daniel frowned. “I can drive myself, you know.”
 
Jack cocked his head. “Okay, that works. I can buy some groceries; start on something for supper.” He smiled.
 
“Sounds good,” Daniel told him. 
 
Jack stuffed his hands into his pockets. “You watched the security video?”
 
Daniel eyed his friend. “Yes, Jack, I left you several messages and emails about it.”
 
“Really?” Jack asked innocently. “I’ve been in meetings all day.”
 
“Really?” Daniel asked equally innocently.
 
Jack rolled his eyes and came further into the room. “You got questions for me?” he asked with resignation in his voice.
 
Daniel clicked on the minimized player and began to play the video. “I’d like to know what I was saying to you. I mean, I’m laughing sometimes…” He broke off, paused the video, and looked up at Jack hesitantly. “I hope I wasn’t saying anything - offensive?”
 
Jack shook his head. “Not that I recall. Here, let me…”   Daniel got out of his chair and Jack took over control of the playback. “Okay, here you’re telling me that the people all over the floor aren’t dead.”
 
“No wonder you look relieved,” Daniel gasped.
 
“Ya think?” Jack resumed playback. And hit pause again. “Okay, here I think you’re pointing out to me that you’re protected by a force shield, and that I can’t do a thing to stop you.”
 
“I’m laughing,” Daniel said, feeling a knot twisting inside his stomach.
 
Jack looked up at him. “I think you were kinda… high or something the whole time.”
 
“Really?” Daniel frowned. “You never told me that before.”
 
Jack shrugged. “I hadn’t really thought about it until now. Okay, now here you’re saying ‘Chevron One encoded.’ And you’re laughing because you always wanted to say that.” He glanced slyly up at his friend.
 
Daniel blushed. “Oh, boy. This is humiliating.”
 
Jack smiled at him gently. “We can stop,” he pointed out. Daniel shook his head vehemently, and Jack resumed playback. “Okay, the wormhole is open, and you’re sending a signal. Wormhole’s closed now. I’m asking you what you did, and you don’t know. I asked you to try to figure it out.”
 
“And I’m laughing at you,” Daniel whispered.
 
Jack paused the video again. “You weren’t being offensive. You were just…happy. You honestly didn’t have a clue what you were doing.” Daniel certainly didn’t feel happy now. He reached over Jack’s shoulder and hit play, and then pause. “Unauthorized off-world activation,” Jack said quietly. They both looked uncomfortably at the horror on Jack’s face and the laughter on Daniel’s. Daniel hit play again, and onscreen they saw Jack speak intensely, followed by Daniel laying down his weapon and sliding into unconsciousness.
 
“What did you say there, Jack?” Daniel asked softly.
 
“I asked you to help me stop what was happening,” Jack answered equally quietly.
 
Daniel blinked. “But you must have already asked me to do that?”
 
“Not exactly.” Jack twisted the chair around and faced Daniel. “I told you to stop. This time I asked you to help me stop it.”
 
“Oh.”
 
Jack stood up. “You look disappointed.”
 
“No,” Daniel insisted. “I just, you know, wondered…”
 
“Sure,” Jack said easily, watching his friend’s frowning face closely. “Steaks okay?”
 
“What?”
 
“I’m in the mood for steak tonight. You?”
 
“Yes, fine,” Daniel answered distractedly.
 
“I’ll let you get back to work then,” Jack told him. “Call me when you leave here, and I’ll fire up the grill.”
 
Daniel nodded silently, and Jack left the room.
 
Daniel sat down at his desk and rewound the video to the point of Jack’s last speech. He zoomed in on Jack’s face and watched his lips closely. Help me stop this. That’s what Jack supposedly said. He rewound that portion again. Yes, Jack’s lips were saying those exact words, he could see it now. But they were the last words in a longer sentence. 
 
He set about downloading the video file to his laptop. He realized he was obsessing again, but he didn’t care. Now that he had some clues to work from, he intended to give lip-reading another try.
 
He was pretty sure that Jack was keeping something back.
 
And he was determined to get at the truth.

sid.dreamwidth.org/43246.html Part Three


(no subject)

Date: Jan. 19th, 2007 03:47 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] green-grrl.livejournal.com
When he came back out into the bedroom, Jack was sitting on the edge of the bed with a pillow over his lap

Heh!

Okay, now here you’re saying ‘Chevron One encoded.’ And you’re laughing because you always wanted to say that.” He glanced slyly up at his friend.
Daniel blushed. “Oh, boy. This is humiliating.”


Hee! Look out, Walter! Daniel's gunnin' for your job... ;-)

(no subject)

Date: Feb. 16th, 2007 01:24 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] michare1a.livejournal.com
Eeeeeee *skips to part 3* This is a great way to spend class ;-D

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