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This story is for [profile] princessofg . Her prompt: Requirements: First time, involving misunderstanding/serious obstacles to love/sex/passion.

Optional Request: Use of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

Restrictions:
#1: No gratuitous character bashing
#2: No dumb!Jack

Title: The Quantum Mechanics of Love
Author: Sid
Pairing: Jack/Daniel
Rating: NC-17
Word count: 4,750
Summary: Visitors from an alternate universe bring Jack pain and cause a rift in his relationship with Daniel. Written for the Jack/Daniel 2007 ficathon.

Beta love to [personal profile] ivorygatesfor all her assistance in making this a better story.

THE QUANTUM MECHANICS OF LOVE

The unauthorized incoming wormhole originated on P2Y-717, a destination which was scheduled for a visit by SG-1 in approximately two months’ time. The familiar voice on the radio identified herself as Major Samantha Carter.  Daniel and Sam exchanged glances and looked towards General Hammond.
 
“Major Carter is standing right beside me,” Hammond said. There was a lengthy silence on the other end. “I assume you have an explanation for this?”
 
“Yes, sir, I do. Can I assume that you’re familiar with a device known as a Quantum Mirror?” 

“We are,” Hammond replied grimly. “What’s your situation?”
 
“The Goa’uld have overrun our Earth, General. We managed to escape through the Stargate before the SGC self-destructed. That was two weeks ago, sir. We’ve been looking for a safe haven since that time.”

“You realize that you won’t be able to stay here?”
 
“Yes, sir. Entropic cascade failure. We know.” Her voice sounded weary and strained. “We’d appreciate a chance to rest and eat before we have to start out again.”

Hammond looked at Sam. “They’re safe in our universe for 48 hours?”
 
Sam nodded. “Yes, sir.”
 
Hammond keyed the microphone. “How many of you are there?”
 
“Four, sir. An airman and two civilians.”

Daniel blinked. 
 
“You will need to relinquish all weapons as soon as you enter this facility.”
 
“Understood, sir.”

“Open the iris, Sergeant. You may proceed, Major.”
 
“Thank you, sir. On our way.”

“I’m going to…” Daniel jerked a thumb towards the Stargate and Sam looked at the general.
 
Hammond nodded at them both, and they ran for the staircase. As he reached the bottom and swung out into the corridor, Daniel saw Jack, just arrived and still in civilian clothes, trotting towards them. “What’s up?” Jack called out. Sam skidded to a stop, so Daniel kept going, around the corner and up to the foot of the ramp.
 
The visitors were laying down their weapons and packs. Daniel saw himself, and reeled a step backwards. He’d been halfway expecting it, but there was apparently no preparing for a shock of such an unnatural nature. The other Daniel straightened up and saw him. Gave him a half smile and a raised hand in salutation, before turning away in response to a touch on his arm. 
 
Major Carter and the airman already had their hands in the air and were slowly walking down the ramp. Jack and Sam arrived at Daniel’s side just as the other Daniel started towards them, his arm around the shoulders of an exhausted-looking teenage boy. 
 
Jack stiffened. Daniel glanced towards him and saw a face gray with shock. Turning back, startled, he saw the boy looking at Jack with pain-filled eyes. Oh, my god
 
“Charlie?” Jack asked in a strangled tone. Daniel felt shaking hands on his arm as Jack pushed past him.
 
Sam gasped, and Major Carter averted her face as Jack swept his son into his arms. Daniel felt his eyes brimming with tears. The other Daniel, who had stepped to the side, was watching Daniel, his own eyes dry. He nodded at Daniel and gave the same half smile as before.
 
Jack’s voice was murmuring brokenly. The sobbing had to be Charlie’s.
 
~~~~
 
They sat around the briefing room table, universe facing universe. Jack was opposite the other Daniel, and Daniel was next to Jack, opposite Charlie. The two Carters were closest to General Hammond, and the unfamiliar airman was in the infirmary being treated for dehydration while they ran his fingerprints through various databases. 
 
Major Carter was finishing up her report on what had taken place on their world; how the SGC had fallen. “Colonel O’Neill and Teal’c led the rearguard action that was meant to allow the rest of us to escape, but they fell too quickly.” Her voice cracked on those last words, and she paused to sip some water. “Apophis’ Jaffa were on us before we could all reach the Gateroom. Some of our people fell, others turned to fight. In the end only seven of us managed to make it through the Stargate, and some were critically injured in the process. Two died almost immediately, and the third two days later.
 
“The Jaffa didn’t even bother to follow us through the open wormhole. A handful of refugees? We were no threat to them and they had an entire planet to conquer.” Major Carter’s expression was savage. “And later they couldn’t come, because they’d been killed when the self-destruct went off. So we had time to bury our dead and regroup.”
 
“We made the decision to ‘gate to 717,” the other Daniel continued. “We could have stayed in our universe and ‘gated to a friendly planet, but, well, we want to be on Earth if it’s at all possible. So we went where we’d already located a second Quantum Mirror some time ago and we started looking.” He shrugged.
 
“How many places have you been?” Sam asked quietly.
 
“This makes four. Four SGCs, I mean. I’ve frankly lost count of how many universes we’ve been to.” He sounded and looked like a man who had been to too many universes to keep track. Daniel gnawed at his lip and gave a sidelong look at the silent man beside him. 
 
“Only four, in two weeks?” Hammond asked.
 
Major Carter smiled at him. “Not every commander has been willing to allow us onto their base, sir. Or, sometimes we establish a wormhole but can’t make radio contact. We can’t take the risk of there being an iris in place, so we just have to cross those worlds off.”
 
“And sometimes the last symbol won’t lock,” the other Daniel added. “‘Gates buried or destroyed.”
 
“Are you looking for a dimension where all four of you can safely stay?” Sam asked, wincing a little.
 
“We haven’t given up on the idea yet,” Major Carter answered. “But, no, we’re not committed to it, either. We realize our odds improve if we’re willing to split up.”
 
“This is the first dimension we’ve found where Airman Woodruff hasn’t been a member of the SGC,” the other Daniel said. “If your search doesn’t locate a living counterpart for him, he could potentially choose to stay here. With your permission, of course, General.”
 
“We’ll address that if the time comes,” Hammond said. “I’ll need to take it up with a higher authority.”
 
“There’s always the possibility that our search could yield incorrect results,” Sam pointed out. “If he stays behind, and then entropic cascade failure starts to occur…”
 
“We’ll be waiting for him,” Major Carter said. “He should still be able to make it back to 717, and the Mirror there will still be connected to the next universe we’ve selected. We’ll wait until we’re sure he’s not coming.”
 
Jack spoke for the first time. “Charlie could stay here.”
 
And there you have it, Daniel thought. The elephant in the room, finally acknowledged.
 
Charlie, who had spent the entire meeting staring down at the table, looked up at Jack with reddened eyes and then across at Daniel, before seeming to shrink a little closer to his own Daniel. Who said, “No, I’m sorry. That’s not possible.”
 
Jack’s hand slowly clenched atop the table. “Why not? There’s a place for him here. Charlie.”
 
“Please don’t,” the other Daniel said.
 
Charlie looked up at Jack with hungry eyes. 
 
“Charlie, you can have a home here. With me. I’ll take care of you.”
 
“Jack,” the other Daniel said softly, closing his eyes for a second. Daniel bit his lip, watching Charlie, who was shaking his head. The other Daniel put a hand on Charlie’s shoulder and bent closer, saying to him, “It’s all right.”
 
“Charlie!”
 
“Colonel, I’m sorry, but I promised Jack that I’d take care of his son. I won’t go back on my word to him.” 
 
“He’ll be safe here,” Jack pleaded. “You would be taking care of him by leaving him with me! Your O’Neill would have understood that.”
 
“Daniel?” Charlie’s voice quavered, and he suddenly sounded much younger than his fourteen years.
 
“It’s all right,” the other Daniel repeated soothingly.
 
“I’m his father!”
 
The other Daniel wrapped an arm around Charlie’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, but you’re really not. And I am.”
 
“What?” burst out of Daniel before he could stop himself.
 
“I legally adopted Charlie when I married his father three years ago.”
 
Daniel gaped. He heard Sam inhale sharply. Hammond laid his pen down carefully.
 
Jack pushed back his chair and walked stiffly out of the room.
 
Daniel could feel Sam staring at him, and he was aware that General Hammond was studiously avoiding staring. But his eyes were locked with the other Daniel’s.
 
“He’ll be back,” the other Daniel said after a painfully long silence. He turned to the general. “I’m sure that he just needs a few minutes.”
 
Hammond nodded, clearing his throat. “We’ll take a twenty minute recess, then.” The two Carters stood to attention as he exited the room.
 
Daniel stood up and scratched his head. “Um, I’ll be in my office,” he mumbled to the room at large.
 
~~~~
 
Daniel had only been sitting and staring blankly into space for a few minutes when the knock came on his door. “Come in,” he called.
 
The other Daniel poked his head in. “You sure?” he asked. Daniel nodded, and indicated to the SF escort that she should wait outside. 
 
The other man closed the door and seated himself, glancing around the office wistfully. “Well, I’m sorry,” he finally said. “If I’ve made things awkward for you, I really am sorry.”
 
“Oh, don’t worry about me,” Daniel said, frowning. “Jack’s the one I’m concerned about.”
 
“I hope he’ll understand why Charlie feels he belongs with me. It isn’t a rejection on his part, it’s just…”
 
“Jack’s a complete stranger to him. I know.”
 
“Charlie would have loved to have stayed here, if I could, too.”
 
They watched each other for a moment, and Daniel couldn’t help but feel a little guilty at being alive and in the way. And he knew the other man had to be feeling the same. Jack and Charlie could be together if either Daniel were dead. 
 
They both sighed.
 
~~~~
 
When they returned to the briefing room, Charlie was standing by the observation window with the two Carters, and Jack was in General Hammond’s office with the doors shut. When Hammond saw that the other participants were all present, he came out with Jack in tow. Everyone sat down in their original places, and Hammond said, “Let’s resume.”
 
Nothing was said about having stopped so abruptly, and nothing was ever said again about Charlie staying. Jack sat silently, doodling on his notepad for most of the meeting. Until the end, just before they broke in order that the visitors could be shown to their VIP rooms to get cleaned up before lunch. “Charlie.”
 
Charlie looked across the table a little nervously, and the other Daniel visibly tensed.
 
“I’d appreciate getting the chance to talk to you a little while you’re here. Get to know who you are.” Jack’s voice was light and warm, and Charlie responded by flushing, nodding and grinning. “Sweet,” Jack said, and Daniel saw his counterpart wince and look down at the table, undoubtedly thinking of his husband.
 
~~~~
 
Daniel got a lot of the story from his counterpart in bits and pieces over the next day and a half. How Sara had been killed in a car crash when Charlie was seven, leaving a grieving, depressed, bitter man to raise his son on his own. How two men had developed a quiet and unlikely bond during a mission to a faraway world.  Why Sha’re was never a factor and the other Daniel was eager to return home.
 
He learned about a universe where men were free to love other men openly; even military men. Where there were still prejudices and misconceptions, but the law was absolutely clear. Where an Air Force colonel could bring a man home to meet his son before embarking on a lengthy courtship that culminated in a small wedding and a big reception.
 
He heard stories that made him laugh, about a man who had no clue about children trying to cope with instant fatherhood.
 
And he thought about Jack, a man who was born to be a father and who was about to lose his child for the second time.
 
~~~~
 
When the visitors left, they were weighed down as much by provisions and good wishes as by the burden of their refugee status. Jack shook hands with Major Carter, the other Daniel, and Airman Woodruff, who, it had turned out, had a counterpart in this universe’s Navy. He gave Charlie a slap on the shoulder.
 
Daniel knew that the two of them had said a private goodbye earlier. They both still had the red eyes to show for it. Charlie was putting up a manful struggle, but his quivering lip tugged at Daniel’s heart.  So he stepped up at the last second and gave the boy an awkward hug that surprised both of them.
 
They walked up the ramp without looking back.
 
Jack was halfway to the door by the time they vanished through the event horizon.
 
“Colonel O’Neill is taking some time off,” Hammond informed Daniel and Sam.
 
~~~~
 
Jack opened his front door and then retreated back into the house without even really looking at Daniel, who hesitated for a second before stepping into the foyer. The last time he’d felt this unwelcome in this house, Jack had told him there was no foundation to support their friendship. He hoped things weren’t going to end up on an equally unpleasant note this time. Closing the door behind him, Daniel followed Jack down the short flight of stairs to the living room.
 
Jack threw himself onto the couch and stretched his arms across the back, staring up at Daniel. It was a textbook alpha male display of territoriality. ‘I belong here, you don’t’. And it served its purpose, as Daniel felt a prickle of discomfort crawl up his spine.
 
“Here to check up on me?”
 
“You haven’t been answering your phone. It’s been three days.”
 
“I’ve been busy.” Jack smiled, and it wasn’t a nice smile. “Got the yard work all done, got the house whipped into shape.”
 
“Too busy to return phone calls?”
 
“Yep.”
 
Daniel shoved his hands into his trouser pockets and nodded unhappily. “Yeah, okay. So I’m checking up on you.”
 
“If you thought you’d find me in an alcoholic stupor, I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
 
Daniel tried not to wince. “I don’t think ‘disappointed’ is the right word, exactly.”
 
“Well, you’re the linguist,” Jack said dismissively.
 
Daniel turned his head to look out the window for a minute. Without turning back, he said, “I won’t pretend to know what you’re going through.”
 
“You’d better not,” Jack said, and there was barely controlled anger in his voice.
 
Daniel’s head swung back as he stared in surprise. “You sound like you’re blaming me somehow.”
 
Jack’s arms came down off the couch. “You can leave now.”
 
“I didn’t have any part in what happened, Jack.”
 
Jack stood. “You going?”
 
“Jack.”
 
“Or am I throwing you out?”
 
Daniel’s jaw dropped. “Jack!”
 
“Get the fuck off my property. How’s that?”
 
Realization struck Daniel like a thunderbolt. “Oh, my god! You…” He struggled to get his voice under control. “You think if one Daniel is gay, maybe I am too? So, what, get out of my sight? I never took you for a homophobe, Jack.”
 
Jack looked at him with disgust. “And people call you a genius.”
 
“What?”
 
“You were just leaving, remember?” Jack strode over and grabbed Daniel’s upper arm.
 
Daniel resisted. “Should you be touching me? I might be gay, after all.”
 
Jack’s face was suffused with loathing. “I used to wish you were!” he shouted.
 
It was like the earth had opened up under his feet. It was that unexpected. “You…what?” Daniel gripped Jack’s shirt for balance. But Jack pushed him away and he nearly fell.
 
“Past tense. Over. Nothing to see here; move along,” Jack said bitterly.
 
Daniel, still shaken, tried to reason it out. The other O’Neill had acted on the feelings that Jack had evidently been suppressing, and the end result was…that Jack lost Charlie? Yes, it was true in a way. Major Carter and the other Daniel could still have had Charlie with them when they escaped their world, but a promise to see Charlie safe could have ended happily right here, in this house, if there hadn’t been any other family ties to consider.
 
“But why blame me?” Daniel asked aloud. “Why blame me for what two people in a different universe did or felt or promised each other?” Jack just looked at him. “Oh. I’m being an idiot again, aren’t I? It’s yourself that you’re blaming.”
 
“Shut up, Daniel.”
 
“You think that somehow your feelings towards me, whatever they are, I’m not going there,” Daniel hastily inserted as Jack glowered at him, “are responsible for what happened, or tied to it in some way.”
 
“Why are you still talking? Why are you still here, in fact?” Jack came over and grabbed Daniel’s arm again, and began pulling him towards the stairs.
 
“His universe must have split off from yours years ago, Jack, certainly when Sara died if not before.” Jack halted and stared at Daniel uncomprehendingly. “It’s not just a different branch of the decision tree, where he took action on his feelings and you didn’t. It’s…it’s an entirely different forest!”
 
“What the hell are you talking about?”
 
“His path split from yours before you and I ever met. There is no connection! Don’t you see?”
 
“No! Did you really expect me to? I fucking hate that quantum garbage,” Jack growled.
 
“Jack, you…”
 
“It’s moot, Daniel.” Jack tugged Daniel the last few feet to the front door, opened it, and pushed him out onto the porch. “I can’t even look at you without thinking about Charlie and what I could have had. That’s the way it is.”
 
“Don’t you want to know how I feel?” Daniel put out a hand to stop the door from being closed. “You don’t even know if I’m gay or not. Don’t you want to ask me?”
 
“Moot,” Jack said stonily. 
 
Daniel dropped his hand and the door closed, the lock snicking into place with finality.
 
Daniel walked slowly to his car. He got behind the wheel and put his key in the ignition and turned it. He looked back at the house, turned off the engine and put his head down on the steering wheel. He sat there for several minutes, sometimes thinking, sometimes just hurting. He finally raised his head, looked at the house for a minute, took his keys out of the ignition and climbed out of the car.
 
His hand was shaking as he fit his emergency key into the lock of Jack’s front door. It’s an emergency, he thought grimly as he swung the door open. He walked down to the living room, where Jack was seated on the couch, looking at him with the air of a man betrayed. Daniel grimaced apologetically as he slid his keys into his pocket. 
 
“What brings you by?” Jack said wearily.
 
“Oh, thought I’d better check up on you. Make sure you weren’t in an alcoholic stupor or anything.” The look on Jack’s face indicated that he was considering it seriously. “Not without me, anyway.”
 
“Oy,” Jack said quietly, sinking his head into his hands.
 
“Friends don’t let friends drink alone, or something like that.”
 
“Why would you want a friend like me?” came the muffled reply. Evidently Jack had been doing some thinking of his own, or rather rethinking, while Daniel was out sitting in his car.
 
Daniel swallowed. “I guess because there’s such a solid foundation there.”
 
Jack didn’t move for a few moments, and then his shoulders sagged and his head came up. “Damn, I wish I’d said that.”
 
“You did,” Daniel reminded him. “When you apologized for the whole ‘no foundation’ thing.” 
 
“Yeah,” Jack agreed with a sigh.
 
Daniel walked around the coffee table and sat down beside Jack. “Will you listen to me for a couple of minutes?”
 
“Apparently I have little choice,” Jack griped. “Showing you the door doesn’t seem to have worked.”
 
“Persistent, that’s me.” Daniel waited for Jack to look at him. “You look at the other Jack and Daniel’s marriage, and you see it as costing you your son. But have you considered it from the other Jack’s point of view?”
 
“No,” Jack said dully.
 
“The other Jack gained a loving spouse, a happy marriage, and a second parent for his son. Charlie gained a happier father and a new parent that he obviously has developed a strong bond with over the course of the last three years.” Daniel bit his lip and waited for some kind of reaction from the still man beside him.
 
Finally Jack stirred and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Tell me again why you’d want to be friends with a self-centered idiot like me?”
 
Daniel felt instant relief. “Hey, I’m the genius who jumped on you for being a homophobe.”
 
“Yeah, you sort of missed the boat on that one.”
 
“Mm, well, actually we’re in the same boat.”
 
Jack stared at him, and Daniel couldn’t read his expression. “Would that be the boat that’s up shit creek minus the requisite paddle?”
 
“I don’t see why it would be,” Daniel said carefully.
 
My boat is up there. I don’t know where your boat is.”
 
“My boat is your boat.”
 
Jack’s face screwed up into a grimace. “Let just drop the nautical metaphor, shall we? I don’t know what the hell you’re trying to tell me, but I do know we’re not in the same position; not by any stretch of the imagination.”
 
“I’m trying to tell you that I’m a lot like the other Daniel as to where my interests and affections lie.”
 
“Oh. Affections, is it.”
 
“Well, they got married, so I don’t think there’s a lot of use in our beating around the bush about this.” Daniel fiddled with his glasses. “And while lust certainly has its place, don’t get me wrong…”
 
“Lust?” Jack sounded hoarse.
 
Daniel felt himself flushing. “So, anyway, that’s my position. And I understand that right now you look at me and think of Charlie; I get that. I do. But I think that in time…”
 
“Daniel.”
 
“Yes?”
 
“That wasn’t what I meant. And anyway, I may…might be getting past that, kind of.”
 
“Really?”
 
“Yes, well you sort of opened my eyes and then you…opened my eyes.”
 
Daniel bit his lip. “Eye-openers all around, in fact.”
 
“You could say,” Jack agreed. “But, the point is, what I was referring to when I said that our positions were different, was…”
 
“The Air Force,” Daniel sighed.
 
“And there you have it.”
 
“‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’.”
 
“And don’t think people won’t be asking, after this.”
 
Daniel raised his eyebrows. “Isn’t the whole point that they’re not allowed to ask?”
 
Jack shrugged. “Speculating then. You don’t think Hammond is wondering about the two of us right now?”
 
“Well,” Daniel said slowly, “what makes you think he wasn’t wondering about us before?”
 
“Excuse me?”
 
“Come on, Jack. There’s an astonishing amount of gossiping that goes on at the SGC on a daily basis. You think our names haven’t been linked together at some point?”
 
“That’s not the point.”
 
“Well, I happen to think it’s a good point! And, hey, how many people know about this, anyway? The other Jack and Daniel being married, I mean.”
 
“Beside our team and our C.O.? Isn’t that enough for you?”
 
“None of those people are ever going to leak a word about it, am I right? It’s not like there’s going to be rampant speculation. Zero has changed as far as the rest of the SGC is concerned. Whether they wondered about us last week or they wonder about us next week, it doesn’t make any difference,” Daniel finished triumphantly.
 
“What does that mean, next week?”
 
“Uh, just an example.”
 
“A ‘for instance’?”
 
“Uh, sure.”
 
“Not a secret plan that you didn’t mean to divulge, but your tongue just happened to slip?”
 
Daniel paused, blinking. “You sure you want to bring my tongue into this conversation?”
 
Jack’s eyes widened. “How could I have known you all these years without realizing how dirty your mind is?”
 
“Stick around,” Daniel said boldly.
 
Jack squirmed. “Cut it out.”
 
“You’re blushing,” Daniel added smugly.
 
“That’s enough, Daniel.”
 
“Are you hard?”
 
“Shut up!”
 
“Make me,” Daniel challenged.
 
The assault that Jack launched wound up putting them both on the floor beside the overturned coffee table. Daniel’s left leg was still up on the couch, which meant that Jack could hardly have avoided pressing himself into Daniel’s crotch. Not that Daniel thought for a second that Jack had thought for a second about avoiding it.
 
Not that Daniel was really capable of thought at this precise moment. His brain was too busy processing the sensations his body was experiencing. Jack’s lips against his, Jack’s hair and scalp under one hand, his back beneath the other. Bare skin there. Possibly Daniel had worked his hand underneath Jack’s shirt; it seemed like something that he might do under these circumstances.
 
Sounds of heavy breathing, taste of Jack on his tongue, feel of Jack’s tongue against his. Jack’s hand clutching his hair, Jack’s lip between his teeth. The weight of Jack’s foot on his ankle, the weight of Jack’s body covering him. Moans. His. Jack’s.
 
Jack pressed his face into Daniel’s neck, tasting him, whispering things that Daniel couldn’t hear, but that filled him with arousal. He inhaled the scent of Jack’s shampoo, familiar among all the chaotic impressions that swirled around him. He sent his fingers on a daring mission, dipping them below Jack’s waistband.
 
Sudden pressure against his left leg as Jack shifted, working his arm free. Oh, there was Jack’s other hand, now, rubbing down the back of his lifted leg, cupping his buttock. Squeezing. And Jack’s mouth, desperate, coming back to his. Hips rocking. Erections riding together.
 
Daniel flailed, striking his elbow against the coffee table leg. “Ah, ow, um,” he groaned into Jack’s mouth. “Ow. Ow.”
 
Jack lifted a flushed face. “What?”
 
Daniel licked his lips. “Hit my arm. Ow.”
 
Jack was absolutely still except for the rise and fall of his chest. Some of the dazed look began to leave his eyes.
 
“No, no!” Daniel cried out. “We’re not stopping, are we? Don’t stop.”
 
Jack shoved at the coffee table and rose up on one knee between Daniel’s widespread thighs. “Not stopping,” he said. “Making some room.” His hands went to his fly, undoing the button.
 
“Good thinking,” Daniel whispered from a suddenly dry mouth. He lowered shaking hands to his own waist, and Jack smiled wickedly.
 
Zippers were lowered. Jack put his hands on Daniel’s hips and said, “Wiggle.” Daniel lifted his hips and wriggled while Jack tugged his clothing down a few inches, and put a hand down to lift the waistband of his briefs out of the way, letting his cock spring free. Jack slowly lowered his own jeans and briefs to his thighs, stroking himself with a fingertip and watching Daniel’s face.
 
“Shirt,” Daniel said.
 
“Shirt,” Jack agreed, pulling his easily up and over his head while Daniel did an abdominal crunch in order to accomplish the same thing. His glasses went flying along with the shirt, but with Jack’s cock just a few inches from his nose, it really didn’t seem to matter. He scrunched forward and down a little more, and Jack pushed his hips forward a little bit, and Daniel turned his face and let the cockhead trail slowly across his cheek, leaving a path of moisture behind. “Son of a bitch,” Jack breathed.
 
Heart pounding, Daniel uncoiled back down to the floor and reached up his arms for Jack, whose eyes were blazing into his. Jack swooped down with a low growl. His kiss was fierce, and the pounding rhythm he soon set up with his hips was brutal. But his fingertips, tracing the track of his fluid on Daniel’s skin, moved in a gentle caress.
 
They would make this work. They might not be free to love each other openly, but they’d find a way. They’d figure it out. Later. Right now there was only Jack’s body, shuddering against his.

Completing his universe.
 


 

(no subject)

Date: Jul. 11th, 2007 01:58 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] melayneseahawk.livejournal.com
Ooh. Send my heart through the ringer, why don't you?

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] melayneseahawk.livejournal.com - Date: Jul. 11th, 2007 02:30 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] melayneseahawk.livejournal.com - Date: Jul. 11th, 2007 02:41 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] melayneseahawk.livejournal.com - Date: Jul. 11th, 2007 03:04 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

Date: Jul. 11th, 2007 04:25 pm (UTC)
ext_2043: (watching jack's 6)
From: [identity profile] zats-clear.livejournal.com
Daniel paused, blinking. “You sure you want to bring my tongue into this conversation?”


sid, you really need to move your shoes so I have more room to sprawl on your closet floor! Great story sad Charlie

(no subject)

Date: Jul. 11th, 2007 05:40 pm (UTC)
paian: blank white (jd someday just began)
From: [personal profile] paian
Whew! Very glad Jack didn't end up with no Charlie and no Daniel!

And tragedy notwithstanding, I'm now half in love with this AU family where Daniel got to be Charlie's adopted father. There's a glow to the happiness in that universe that shines through despite the losses in it. Which Jack/Daniel in our universe does too.

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] princessofg.livejournal.com - Date: Jul. 27th, 2007 12:17 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

Date: Jul. 11th, 2007 06:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lucifrix.livejournal.com
“My boat is up there. I don’t know where your boat is.”

“My boat is your boat.”

That's beautiful. I wish Jack hadn't put the kibosh on the metaphor as he did--I was all melty, personally.

Aside from that, poor Jack. How on Earth did he survive such a thing? Surely he realized that the travel was important for Charlie's sense of safety, but that doesn't make losing him any easier.

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] princessofg.livejournal.com - Date: Jul. 27th, 2007 12:18 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

Date: Jul. 11th, 2007 07:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] whimsicalwhims.livejournal.com
::sniff:: Poor Jack. It cant' have been easy, losing Charlie again. But I wonder if Charlie had stayed, if Jack would have (unintentionally) started making comparisons between the two Charlies, because even though Jack's son was younger when he died, there still had to have been some differences.

But Jack ended up getting Daniel out of all of this, which is always a good thing!

Lovely story. :)

(no subject)

Date: Jul. 12th, 2007 12:27 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] starting-gate.livejournal.com
A J/D story like this, with Charlie, just leaves me floating on clouds of happiness. Daniel's his other dad; it's so right. Even with the sad parts, I just want to hug you for writing this!

The briefing room scene! Oh, Jack!

Daniel swallowed. “I guess because there’s such a solid foundation there.”
Jack didn’t move for a few moments, and then his shoulders sagged and his head came up. “Damn, I wish I’d said that.”


I love how Daniel returns and resets his arrival.

Not that Daniel thought for a second that Jack had thought for a second about avoiding it.

*grins*

*hugs*

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] princessofg.livejournal.com - Date: Jul. 27th, 2007 12:20 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

Date: Jul. 12th, 2007 11:16 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jd-junkie.livejournal.com
Am now officially in my happy place.
This was a great read, Sid; beautifully balanced, great voices (as ever) so much to love. Definitely a keeper.
::is drowning in a sea of J/D love::

(no subject)

Date: Jul. 12th, 2007 06:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] delphia2000.livejournal.com
Now, this is fresh. Really great idea. I know people love to read your stuff for the porn, but after it's read and enjoyed, this idea of having to deal with a 'what if' that comes up and smacks you in the face is what will be remembered and treasured and appreciated.

Remember that scene where Jack makes the comment to Sam about being able to pull things out of her ass at the last minute to save the world? And she looks at him and he amends it to say butt? Well, you're my Sam, babe. You write like astrophysicists save the world. :o)

(no subject)

Date: Jul. 14th, 2007 05:53 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] msbeata.livejournal.com
Wow it was a punch in the gut when Charlie appeared.

Another punch when Jack and Teal'c fell.

Then this sentence caught me.
His kiss was fierce, and the pounding rhythm he soon set up with his hips was brutal.

I guess you could say this piece leave me feeling well and truly fucked in the I'll-be-feeling-it-for-a-while-but-it-was-so-worth-it way.

(no subject)

Date: Jul. 20th, 2007 07:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] green-grrl.livejournal.com
Oh, I'm a sucker for quantum mirror fic. But quantum mirror fic with Charlie and his dad Daniel?! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

But OUCH for Jack! And YAY for Daniel not giving up! *smoosh*

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] green-grrl.livejournal.com - Date: Jul. 20th, 2007 09:13 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

Date: Jul. 23rd, 2007 04:30 pm (UTC)
thenightsfall: (Default)
From: [personal profile] thenightsfall
Ooh. Surfed in via the J/D Ficathon and found a really refreshing take on Quantum Mirror fics. I'm quite partial to QM fics, but sometimes it seems as if everything's been done at least once. Can't say as I've seen this before, so kudos for an original take. :-)

And the angst... Yikes! I must say my heart dropped to my stomach there for a minute when I, thankfully mistakenly, had the suspicion that our Daniel would make the ultimate sacrifice and leave with the others so that universe's Daniel could stay with that universe's Charlie in our universe. Is it very wrong of me to believe our Jack having our Daniel is better than his having that other Charlie? That all is the way it should be in both universes? Just because they have the same DNA doesn't mean they're the same people or make 'em interchangeable.

Alternate universes are tricky business. You played 'em just right. :-)

(no subject)

From: [personal profile] thenightsfall - Date: Jul. 24th, 2007 04:15 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [personal profile] thenightsfall - Date: Jul. 26th, 2007 01:29 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] princessofg.livejournal.com - Date: Jul. 27th, 2007 12:22 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

Date: Jul. 27th, 2007 12:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] princessofg.livejournal.com
thank you so much for this. it totally and completely worked for me, and i adored it. i feel like the luckiest fangirl in the ficathon.

I smiled and felt the tide turning when Daniel said your boat IS my boat.... that whole exchange was so THEM.

The beginning was perfectly paced -- I adore quantum mirror fic, and it's so hard to make them plausible. I think you hit all the emotional notes perfectly in this one. I do think that they have enough experience with alternate realities by the time this happens that Jack does indeed have enough time to think this over to make what happens when Daniel comes to his house plausible -- Jack knows that Charlie is not HIS Charlie, and I agree with you that he would have been able to let go and accept that the visitors were only that.

I also think it is so comforting to Jack to know that somewhere, a Charlie, maybe more than one Charlie survived. And that he had Daniel to care for him.

I found myself wondering about all that -- how Jack would have managed as a single father, how he would have stayed in the AF and the SG program -- canon shows us airmen and other personnel with families, so it's not unheard of... but some of the au fic I read assumes Jack would bail if he were a single dad, but I'm not so sure he would. All that I found fascinating.

I was just gasping at the punches you landed. The setup, the way they all reacted, the way Daniel came to his house and got thrown out and came back. It all seemed extremely IC and gorgeous.

Thank you so much. One to reread and savor. Just gobsmacking. Their banter when Daniel comes back in the house is my favorite part. And the sweet surprising sex, of course. Thanks again.

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] princessofg.livejournal.com - Date: Jul. 27th, 2007 12:16 pm (UTC) - Expand

I always love when someone says...

Date: Dec. 17th, 2007 12:00 pm (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
"Hey, I'm looking for..."

and someone else says, "Hey, you need to read this one!"

And I do , and wow! Knocked my socks off!

(no subject)

Date: Oct. 19th, 2008 05:02 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/
Aw, that's a nice way to get them into a conversation. I love that Charlie had a parent with him, even if he had to tell our Jack that he couldn't stay. The dialog is amazingly Jack and Daniel, just incredible, and I love how they managed their revelations.

So glad you put this on your favorites list! I'd missed it before!

The Quantum Mechnics of Love by Sid (NC17)

Date: Dec. 28th, 2010 02:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pingback-bot.livejournal.com
User [livejournal.com profile] duonoaikouka referenced to your post from The Quantum Mechnics of Love by Sid (NC17) (http://community.livejournal.com/stargateficrec/1644867.html) saying: [...] Link: The Quantum Mechanics of Love [...]

(no subject)

Date: Dec. 28th, 2010 04:42 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] wanted-a-pony.livejournal.com
Ooooh, this is prickly but so good! [livejournal.com profile] duonoaikouka just recced this in [livejournal.com profile] stargateficrec, thank goodness, because I hadn't read it before. I was so sad for AU!Daniel & AU!Charlie, & very worried about Jack's mental state after they left. I'm glad Daniel was brave & assertive in breaking through Jack's solitude & emotional barriers in this reality too.... Thanks very much for writing & sharing this!

(no subject)

Date: Nov. 25th, 2011 04:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] margarks.livejournal.com
Ouch! Poor Jack and poor Daniels, I bet they both feel guilty just for being alive :( But a very hot (and hopeful) ending!

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