Gen Fic: The Lost Day
Sep. 15th, 2010 08:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
taylyn10Daniel comes home for Christmas. First posted to the net December 2007.
~::~
Walter watched the team come through the gate. He wished all the returns could be this simple with people coming down the ramp under their own power, talking and relaxed. Lieutenant Rodriquez was being supported by Doctor Jackson but both of them were laughing as the gate shut down.
He keyed the mike, “Merry Christmas SG-9, Doctor Jackson. Welcome home. Do you need me to call a medical team to the 'gateroom?”
Colonel Miller waved up at the window. “No thanks, Sergeant. It's just a scratch.”
“Yes, Sir. Doctor Warner's waiting to see you all before you check out for the holidays.”
Through a chorus of Merry Christmases, Colonel Miller called out, “Thanks, Sergeant. We're on our way.”
Walter watched the tired but happy team make its way out of the 'gateroom. Then he put in a call to Colonel O'Neill.
~::~
Daniel looked longingly at the shower stall in the next room. He wanted a shower badly, but he wasn't sure he could stand up long enough to get one. He was so tired only the thought that Colonel Miller or Janet would come looking for him if he didn't eventually show up in the infirmary kept him from stretching out on the bench to sleep. He and SG-9 had been the only team off world, and the infirmary was a little short staffed so close to Christmas so he'd been able to sneak away and change without anyone noticing--yet.
He slammed the locker door closed, wincing as his back twisted the wrong way. No doubt Janet would prescribe him something nasty to ease the spasms in his back, something he didn't intend to take, of course, until he was done with his last minute Christmas preparations. He had a few more gifts to wrap for tomorrow, and he needed some more paper and tape. Maybe a quick stop at the store on the way home tonight would take care of that. No, he wanted to pick up a nice bottle of wine for dinner, too. So two stops and then he'd be set. He bent to pull on his shoes and winced again. Okay, maybe the shopping would wait until tomorrow morning.
He was invited to Jack's tomorrow evening to celebrate Christmas Eve with the team. They'd insisted that Christmas together was an SG-1 tradition. He had to take their word for it because memories of Christmas hadn't returned with his memories of missions or languages. Maybe it was a “need to know” thing on the part of the ascended. He smiled to hear himself use a military metaphor. The ascended beings might have decided that he didn't need to remember Christmases on Earth as much as he needed a remarkable facility with languages.
His latest mission with SG9 had restored his confidence in his ability to decipher a new language. He'd been able to read Ancient when he became corporeal again, and he remembered most of the twenty odd other languages he'd supposedly known before his ascension, but he hadn't been really sure of his ability to learn another. That fear had been put to rest the past week.
He'd stepped in to help SG-9 when their linguist had broken her leg and he'd found that the thrill of learning a new language had been as potent now as it had been before his ascension—at least he was pretty sure of that. Sometimes, he thought, his feelings tricked him into believing things that might be true--or might not. But this past week had given him a sense of personal accomplishment he hadn't felt since his return to Earth.
His first mission after his return, the mission to Kelowna, had left him, not with a feeling of accomplishment, but with a feeling of...dislocation. He'd been a part of the team, but not part. He knew these people, but he didn't know them. Some things came naturally to him, the translations for instance, but other things—like firing a zat—made him uncomfortable. He could shoot the thing, he actually seemed to be pretty good it, but the ease with which the skill came made him a little uneasy. He didn't see himself as a violent man but as a man of learning. What kind of person spoke twenty languages and then picked up a weapon and shot someone?
As difficult a mission as that had been, it had been harder still to fit into the SGC again on his return to base. It was hard to find out who he was and who people expected him to be. Jonas's old office felt homey to him with its books and artifacts. Some places seemed familiar, Sam's lab and Teal'c's quarters, yet others, like the infirmary, made him jumpy. Of course no one was comfortable in an infirmary.
He sighed. His mind was wandering. He stretched carefully, then set off down the hallway to the elevator and Janet. Hopefully, he'd bump into Jack and the rest of his team there. They hadn't been at the bottom of the ramp to greet him—not that he needed them to be, naturally—but Sam had told him that they'd be waiting for him when he got back. Maybe he'd taken them too literally. No one had time to be hanging around the 'gateroom waiting for him to come home--back. No doubt Sam was in her lab, Teal'c was in the gym, and Jack... well Jack was probably hiding out trying not to do paper work. Jack should have returned a couple of days ago from a training mission, and he always put off writing his reports until General Hammond made it an order.
Despite the pain in his back, Daniel grinned. One thing he remembered clearly: Jack hated paperwork. There would no doubt be story after story from Jack about how awful this newest batch of recruits was, and how the government was wasting its money training them, and how it was pointless to write a report about people who would never survive in the military—let alone in the Stargate program. Daniel could hardly wait.
He heard Jimmy, Lieutenant Rodriquez, talking as he came into the infirmary.
“...then he jumped down the side of the cliff after me. If he hadn't, I'd probably be spending Christmas with a skull fracture instead of a couple of stitches in my leg. He grabbed me and held on until Colonel Miller and Steve, I mean Sergeant Alton, could send a rope down to us.” Rodriquez looked up in the middle of his story to see Daniel.
Miller turned too as Daniel entered the room. “And there he is. The man of the hour.” Miller smiled at him. From the look of it, the nurse had already cleared Miller, Sergeant Alton and Lieutenant Carson. Daniel noticed that Colonel Miller, like Jack, wouldn't leave until he was certain that every member of his team, even the temporary one, was taken care of before he went home.
Doctor Warner, who had been filling out a medical chart, strode out of the room followed by a nurse. “I understand that you strained your back, Doctor Jackson,” Warner said, glancing in his direction on the way out the door. “I'll have a look at it as soon as I'm done with Lieutenant Rodriquez. Colonel Miller, you and the rest of your team are cleared to leave.”
“You sure you're going to be all right, Jimmy?” Miller said jumping down from a gurney.
“Don't worry about me, Sir,” he said with a grin. “I'll be home before dark.”
“Thanks a lot for your help, Doctor Jackson,” the colonel said, “all your help. We couldn't have wrapped up these negotiations without you. And as for Jimmy here, well... his future fiancée will no doubt want to thank you herself when she finds out what you did.”
Slightly embarrassed by all the praise, Daniel nodded to Colonel Miller while everyone else exchanged holiday wishes. Everyone shook Daniel's hand warmly before they left and Daniel tried not to cry out as the movement jerked his sore back.
After things settled down, Daniel leaned over to ask Rodriquez, “So, I take it you decided to propose?” It had been a topic of much speculation by the members of Jimmy's team during their time off world, one he'd received a lot of teasing about.
Rodriquez swallowed nervously a couple of times. “I think so,” he said. “I've bought the ring—and Christmas Eve seems like a romantic time to pop the question,” he hesitated, “don't you think?”
“It's perfect, Jimmy. She'll love it.” He shifted, wincing as he twisted his back the wrong way.
“You okay, Daniel?”
“Fine. Just a little stiff. It'll be fine.”
The conversation stopped when Warner returned.
“All right, Lieutenant Rodriquez, I'm going to have a last look at your leg while the nurse takes Doctor Jackson for an x-ray.”
~::~
Daniel let his head rest on the gurney while the nurse developed the x-ray. He wanted to sleep. He thought about catching a half an hour in his quarters on base before heading home but decided he could last a few more hours. A voice intruded on his thoughts.
“Doctor Jackson?” It was Warner. “Thankfully, the x-ray shows nothing is broken. It appears you've wrenched more than a few back muscles though. You're going to be quite sore for a couple of days. Perhaps it would be best if you stayed in the infirmary--”
“Thank you, Doctor Warner. But I'd like to get home. I have some things I need to attend to.” There were presents to wrap and food to make—if he could get to the grocery store before it closed—cards to write. He had a lot to do between now and Christmas Eve. He hid his grimace of pain as he slid off the gurney, turning quickly before Warner could make his stay an order, and headed out the door. “Good luck, Jimmy,” he said calling to the lieutenant as he left. “Let me know how it goes.”
He heard Jimmy wishing him a Merry Christmas as he made his way quickly to the elevator. It wasn't until he was almost at the surface that he realized he hadn't seen Janet or anyone else. Before signing out, he checked with the sergeant on duty to discover that no one, not Jack, Sam, Teal'c, Janet, or even General Hammond, was in the mountain. Puzzled, and with a tinge of worry, he got into his car and started for home.
~::~
Daniel pulled over into the cutaway on the side of the road and put his car in park. He rested his head on the steering wheel, feeling his eyelids droop even before he had a chance to turn the car off. A few minutes wouldn't make a difference. He'd catch a few minutes sleep before he finished the drive home. He wasn't safe on the road right now. Twenty-twenty hindsight, he should have stayed in his quarters at the mountain and caught a few hours sleep—or even in the infirmary like Warner had suggested--but he still had so much to do before Jack's party less than twenty-four hours away. First, tonight, now, he wanted to sleep. He hadn't slept properly in seven very long days.
The twenty eight hour days on P2W 877 had thrown off everybody's internal clock—including his. For Daniel especially, the long hours during the day filled with meetings and negotiations, followed by long nights of prep work, mixed in with tours, meet-and-greets, and site visits had left Daniel mentally and physically exhausted. The trip had been successful and, except for a minor fall down a mountain, surprisingly uneventful.
For now, however, he wanted nothing more than to sleep for a week. Baring that, eight or ten hours looked good. That would still give him plenty of time to wrap presents, pick up some cards and a nice bottle of wine, and still make it to Jack's in time for dinner. He could spare an hour, no more, and then he'd head for home. He grabbed the blanket from the back seat, tucked one end of it against the window to keep out the cold, and slept.
~::~
A pounding on the window woke him. It was Lieutenant Rodriquez.
“Daniel? Are you okay?”
He could barely hear the words.
Why was Jimmy at his house? No wait, that wasn't right. He wasn't at his house, he was in his car.
A worried looking Rodriquez pulled on the door handle trying to open it. It finally occurred to Daniel that Jimmy must have seen his car and stopped by the side of the road on his way home. How embarrassing was this? He blinked trying to get his brain to focus on opening the door.
“I'm fine,” he said fumbling for the latch. Then he realized that Jimmy couldn't hear him. He managed to roll down the window. “I'm fine,” he said again.
“Daniel, you all right? I was worried when I saw your car. Do you need me to call the mountain? I could have a doctor here in--”
“Jimmy,” Daniel said, cutting him off, “I'm fine, really. I was drifting off behind the wheel so I pulled over before I hit something.”
Rodriquez didn't look convinced. “Are you sure, Daniel? I don't mind taking you back to the infirmary if you don' t feel well because honestly, you don't look too good.”
“What I look is half asleep,” said Daniel smiling.” Really, Jimmy, I'm fine, just tired. We had a couple of long days.” Daniel opened the door of the car. He figured that walking around would ease his stiff muscles and the cold air would wake him up enough to make it safe for him to finish his drive home.
“You had more than a couple of long days,” Jimmy said smiling back. “The rest of us ate, slept, and played tourist. You hobnobbed with the diplomats and politicians. I think I'd rather be tortured by the Goa'uld.”
Daniel laughed and stretched carefully, feeling his neck crack as the bones settled back into place. His back had stiffened up considerably during his nap. He had a muscle relaxant in his pocket, a parting gift from Doctor Warner. He knew he couldn't take one right now even if he wanted to no matter how much the pain in his back was begging for release because he was behind the wheel of a car. He also knew that the pills would leave him groggy the next day. That meant no pill when he got home either.
“Why don't you follow me down the mountain?” Jimmy asked. “I'll lead, you keep an eye on my bumper. I'll tap the brakes every once in a while to make sure you're awake. I take a left at Cyprus but that should get you close enough to home that you should be able to make it the rest of the way.”
“You don't need to do that, Jimmy. I'll just slow you down. Don't worry, I'll be fine.”
“It's either that or I take you back to the mountain, sir.”
“What?”
“You're not safe on the road. If you want to go home, you'll follow me down the mountain or I'll call Doctor Warner and tell him we're on our way back.”
Daniel sighed. Jimmy was right, of course. He really shouldn't be driving in his present condition. He glared at the determined airman in front of him. “Have you been taking lessons from Jack O'Neill?”
“I learn from the best,” Jimmy said.
“In whose opinion?” Daniel muttered.
Jimmy held the door open for Daniel. As he closed it behind him he reminded Daniel, “Follow me down the mountain. It's pretty late and there's not much traffic at this time of night so we don't need to be in a hurry. Every time you see me tap my brakes do the same. It will help keep you focused. And keeping the window open wouldn't hurt.”
Daniel pulled the seatbelt over his lap. “Right, tap breaks, window open. How about Christmas music?”
“Pick the station and we'll sing 'em together.” Jimmy gave the door a slap and headed back to his car parked in front of Daniel's.
“Thanks, Jimmy,” Daniel said leaning out the window. “I really appreciate this.”
“No problem, sir. I need to make sure you get home safe for Christmas.”
“Hey, Jimmy,” Daniel yelled before the lieutenant got in his car. Jimmy turned back. “Don't call me sir. I makes me...uncomfortable.”
“Got your attention though, didn't it,” Jimmy called back over his shoulder.
The rest of the trip went slowly, and Daniel was more than grateful for Jimmy's help. He'd start to drift off and then see the tail lights in front of him blink. When Jimmy left him on Cyprus with a honk and a wave, Daniel was confident he could make the last couple of miles alone.
~::~
Jack turned the doorknob to Daniel's apartment, annoyed and relieved to find it open. Annoyed because Daniel had been careless enough to leave it unlocked, and relieved because it meant that Daniel had made it this far under his own steam. The coat by the door testified to the fact that Daniel was indeed home. Again, Jack felt annoyed and relieved. Annoyed because Daniel had dumped his coat on the floor in the hallway without hanging it up and relieved because it showed that Daniel was at least home. He tried to remember if the pre-ascended Daniel was this messy.
“Carter,” he said, shaking the snow off his hat, “give Rodriquez a call and tell him we've found our missing archaeologist, and then apologize to him for me for yelling at him. Oh, call Teal'c first and tell him Daniel's here.” Teal'c was still at Jack's house waiting in case Daniel showed up.
“I'm apologizing for you?” Carter asked. “Why don't you apologize for yourself... sir,” she said as an afterthought.
“Because I'm going to go make sure Daniel's alright,” Jack said walking down the hallway. “And because you're the major and I'm the colonel.”
“Good to be at the top of the food chain, sir?”
“If you ever want to find out, Major, you need to start dialing that phone.”
He left Major Carter muttering in the living room while he went to check on Daniel. According to Lieutenant Rodriquez, whom he'd woken up from a sound sleep, Daniel was fine, or had been when Rodriquez had left him three hours ago. Yes, Jack had yelled, and yes, he was going to apologize in person, but at the moment he wanted concrete, visible proof that Daniel was okay.
He almost tripped over a pair of shoes lying in the middle of the hallway. He was going to have to have a talk with Daniel about how non-ascended beings conducted their personal affairs, like locking doors and putting personal items in the places designated for them. Stepping around the shoes, he pushed open the bedroom door, relieved to hear the faint sound of snoring coming from inside. Stepping closer, he reached to down to place a hand on Daniel's forehead. No fever—thank goodness.
He called Warner, of course, when Daniel hadn't shown up on schedule. Warner had assured him that Daniel was fine—tired, sore, and a little run down, but otherwise fine. He'd checked out of the mountain about 1800. By 2200 Jack was worried. Even assuming that Daniel had stopped at home to pick up presents and change his clothes, Daniel should have been at his house a couple of hours ago.
He had called Rodriquez next. Rodriquez reported that he'd found Daniel asleep by the side of the road somewhere around 1930 hours. It was now past midnight. Jack mentally kicked himself. He'd known when he left work that morning it was a bad idea to leave the mountain. He should have waited for Daniel and personally escorted him out of the mountain and home. The thought of Daniel driving when he was so tired.... Well, Jack had been more than relieved to see Daniel's car in the driveway. Still, if Daniel had made it this far on his own, why hadn't he come the rest of the way and made it over to Jack's? The tree, the lights, the gifts, the team, all had been waiting for the arrival of the guest of honor.
They'd been unsure of the return date for SG-9 and Daniel. Negotiations rarely went as planned but he knew from the daily reports that Daniel was trying to hurry them along so that everyone could be home for Christmas with their families—Daniel included. Jack, Carter, and Teal'c had impressed upon Daniel that this Christmas, his first since his return, was going to be a celebration for all of them. Last Christmas hadn't been the same without him. Carter had gone to her brother's house, Teal'c had spent a few days with his son, Rya'c, and Jack had gone to his family in Chicago. They loved their families, loved spending time with them, but it didn't erase the fact that Daniel wasn't there, and it hadn't really been Christmas without him. All of them had simply gone through the motions and come home.
Tonight they had the tree, the dinner, Christmas spirit in abundance--and still no Daniel. Jack had finally called the mountain to track him down. Warner's appraisal of Daniel's condition didn't have Jack particularly worried, at least no more than usual. A pre-ascended tired and overworked Daniel was par for the course and Jack hadn't noticed any changes in that personality quirk. Actually, he knew more about Daniel's habits and idiosyncrasies than Daniel did, and Daniel working to the point of exhaustion certainly fit the mold. Jack knew that even if Daniel didn't. If Daniel was tired, he could call and they'd celebrate the holidays the next day. It didn't matter to Jack, or to Carter and Teal'c for that matter, when they celebrated, just that they did it together. This was the first Christmas they'd spent together since Daniel's ascension and return, and they were going to relish every minute of it.
His concern had escalated when he couldn't find Daniel. After a call to Daniel's cell phone had gone to voice mail, Jack started to get worried. It wasn't like Daniel to not show up, at least not without calling. Daniel wasn't the most punctual of people but he wouldn't leave his friends waiting and worried about him.
“Is he okay, sir?”
Carter's approach caught him off guard. He jumped.
“He's fine, Carter. Just like I said he would be.”
“Just like I...” she sputtered. “You were the one who yelled at Rodriquez, threw me into the car, broke every speed limit at least once to get here--”
“I get it, Carter.”
“I'm just sayin', sir.”
“Say a little less, Major.”
The grin on Carter's face didn't entirely hide the worried look in her eyes. “I'm just going to, you know, see if he's--” She reached a hand over to place it on Daniel's head.
“I already checked. No fever. As far as I can tell, he's just asleep.”
“Why didn't he call?”
“I don't know,” Jack said. “It's not like Daniel. Maybe he was too tired.”
“I can't imagine Daniel forgetting to call no matter how tired he was.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Do you think we should wake him, just to make sure he's alright?”
Jack watched the sleeping man stir. His arm snaked out to grab the pillow, pulling it in close and muttering something in his sleep. There was a sigh and then Daniel settled again.
“No,” said Jack, “I think we should let him sleep. Rodriquez told me he only slept a few hours a night all the time they were gone.”
“Why doesn't that surprise me?”
“Yeah, Colonel Miller wanted him to sleep, ordered him to sleep in fact, but Daniel said he had too much work to do.”
“Sounds like our Daniel.”
“He told Miller he needed to get the treaty settled so that he could get home in time for Christmas Eve at my place.”
“So why didn't he come over?”
“I don't know.” Jack didn't want to let his worry show, but knowing how hard Daniel had worked to get things done ahead of schedule, working almost to the point of collapse, Jack couldn't figure out why Daniel hadn't come over or called.
He sat on the edge of the bed, tempted to take Carter's suggestion and wake the sleeping man. Instead he turned to her. “Why don't you head back to my place and pack up the stuff under the tree. Get Teal'c to help you with the dinner fixings, and come back when you're done.”
“Yes, sir,” Carter said. She ran her hand gently over Daniel's hair before she left.
Jack sat and watched Daniel. The deep sleep of a few minutes ago turned to tossing and turning. Daniel started to mutter in his sleep, calling out something that Jack couldn't make out. The tossing and turning quickly became a restless flailing of arms and legs. Daniel was having a nightmare. About the time Jack decided to wake him up, the blue eyes opened on their own, dark patches under his eyes telling Jack how hard he'd been on himself.
“I've got you!” Daniel shouted bolting upright in bed.
“Got who?” Jack asked, reaching out to put a hand on Daniel's arm. He wasn't sure if Daniel was really awake yet and he didn't want him falling out of bed.
Daniel blinked looking around the darkened room without seeing anything.
“Who have you got, Daniel?” Jack asked again.
“What?”
“You said, 'I've got you.' Who have you got?”
“Jack?” The voice sounded faint and confused.
Jack rubbed his hand along Daniel's arm. “That's me. Are you awake now?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Let's answer one question at a time, shall we? Mine first. Are you awake now?”
“Am I awake?”
Jack looked at Daniel closely. He didn't seem to be asleep but he wasn't responding to simple questions. “Daniel, do you know where you are?” Daniel's eyes had a vacant look to them that was raising Jack's anxiety level considerably. “You're in your room at home. You're okay. You just woke up from a bad dream.” He repeated his questions. “Are you awake? Do you know where you are?”
“I thought you said one question at a time?” Daniel finally answered.
“I'll take that to mean that you're awake now,” Jack said noticing that Daniel's eyes seemed a little more focused, “but you still haven't answered my other question. Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn't I be okay?” Daniel asked. “Just because I wake up to find you sitting on the edge of my bed?”
“Very funny, Daniel. If you didn't want me sitting on the edge of your bed, you shouldn't have given me a key to your house.”
“You told me you've always had a key, even before I ascended.”
“I have always had a key. And I have one now which is why I'm sitting on your bed. Although the door was unlocked.”
“Did you sit on my bed before?”
“I'm not going to answer your question until you answer mine.”
“What question?”
Jack said it slowly. “Are you okay?”
Daniel looked around the room and back at Jack. “I had a bad dream, I think.”
“Bad dream?”
“I dreamed I was falling down the side of a mountain.”
“Rodriquez.” Jack nodded.
“How did you know about Jimmy?” Daniel asked in surprise.
“I called the infirmary when you went missing,” Jack said, unable to entirely hide the anger in his voice.
“Missing? I wasn't missing; it was you guys who were missing.” Daniel choked back the last words and ducked his head. Jack saw his face flush.
“Missing?”
“I...um...” Daniel kept his eyes on his hands twisting in the sheets.
“We weren't missing, Daniel, you were. We were at my place waiting for you to show up, or at least call.”
“Show up?” Daniel asked looking up. “Show up for what?”
“Christmas Eve.” Jack said, disappointed that Daniel hadn't at least told them he wasn't coming. “You said you were going to--”
“I'd never miss Christmas Eve, Jack! I've been looking forward to it for weeks.”
“You did miss Christmas Eve,” Jack insisted, “as of a half an hour ago.”
“What?”
“It's after midnight. Christmas Eve ended a half an hour ago.”
“No! That's not possible. It's the day before Christmas Eve. Or it was when I got back. I'm sure of it.” Despite his declaration, Daniel looked anything but sure.
“You were gone for eight days. That means you got back on Christmas Eve.”
“We weren't gone for eight days, Jack. I remember. I kept track because I wanted to get back in time to finish some last minute....” Daniel's voice trailed off.
Jack saw him trying to make the numbers add up in his head.
“I know we were gone seven days,” Daniel said, “seven days.”
“How long a day, Daniel?”
“How long?”
“How many hours in a day on P2W 877?”
“Twenty eight,” he said without hesitation. “Oh! Damn!”
Jack saw the moment the realization hit him. Seven twenty eight hour days on 877 or eight twenty four hour days on good old planet earth.
“Jack, I'm so sorry! I thought...well you know what I thought.” He paused and looked up at Jack sitting beside him. “I ruined your Christmas Eve.” Daniel struggled from the bed to stand before Jack.
Jack tried to stop him but Daniel was too fast for him.
He continued without seeming to notice Jack reaching for him. “I knew it had been seven days, but I forget to factor in the extra hours in the day. And you, Sam, and Teal'c were expecting me....” He repeated it again. “I'm so sorry, Jack. You must think I'm an idiot.”
“Daniel, how much sleep did you get when you were gone?”
“Ummm...enough,” Daniel said vaguely. “I wanted to hurry things along so that we could get back... Colonel Miller has a family, and Jimmy was going to...”
Daniel started to sway as the exhaustion caught up to him. Jack stood up, grabbing Daniel's arm to keep him from falling to the floor.
“You need to get back to bed,” Jack said firmly.
“I'm fine,” Daniel muttered.
“Sure,” Jack said, “and as soon as you've had some sleep, you can tell me again just how fine you are.” He pushed Daniel back on the bed and heard him hiss.
“Your back?” He watched as Daniel grabbed the covers in his fist.
“Muscle spasm,” Daniel ground out. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, waiting for the pain to pass. “I'll call you tomorrow—today,” Daniel muttered almost too softly for Jack to hear. “I'm fine, really.”
“Call? Why would you call? Carter's on her way back with the stuff. We're just going to crash here for the rest of the night and start this whole party over again tomorrow.”
Daniel pushed himself up on an elbow. “You don't have to stay, Jack. I don't want to ruin your Christmas any more than I already have.”
“Ruin my Christmas? Are you kidding?” One thing ascension hadn't done for Daniel was make him any easier to understand. The man was a genius, had always been a genius, and he was still as dense as a post. He couldn't understand the simple fact that nothing was more important to Christmas this year than his living, breathing presence.
“You guys waited all night for me. I don't want you to--”
“Oh fer cryin' out loud! Daniel, we waited because we want to have Christmas with you.”
Jack could see the grimace of pain on Daniel's face.
Jack sighed, knowing the answer to the question before he asked it. “Did you take anything yet for your back?”
“Needed to be awake to wrap presents,” Daniel muttered, almost asleep.
“Where's your medication?” Jack heaved an exasperated sigh when Daniel didn't answer. He figured the pills were probably in Daniel's coat pocket. He walked back to the hallway to find the coat. Sure enough, the pills were there along with Daniel's dead cell phone. He stopped in the kitchen to get a glass of water, put in a call to Lieutenant Rodriquez, called Carter and Teal'c to check their ETA, and made his way back to the bedroom.
He shook Daniel gently. “Here, you need to take one of these or you're going to be miserable in the morning.”
Daniel sat up, fumbled for the pill and swallowed it with a gulp of water, barely opening his eyes during the process.
Jack figured he was still asleep and working on autopilot.
“You're still here,” Daniel said.
Not asleep then.
“Yes, Daniel.”
“I lost a day,” Daniel muttered.
“Not lost,” Jack said, easing Daniel back on the bed, “just misplaced.”
Although Daniel was all but asleep, Jack could see a small smile on the tired face.
“Oh, Rodriquez said to tell you that the plan went off without a hitch.”
“Jimmy?”
“I called him back to, you know, tell him you were alive and well.” And to apologize, Jack thought. “Anyway, he said you'd know what it meant.”
The smile got a little bigger.
“Rodriquez seems like a nice guy.”
“Yeah.”
“Go to sleep, Daniel.” Jack shook his head. He wasn't going to get anything coherent from the man until he had at least ten hours of sleep. He looked down to see his friend breathing deeply. Jack took a deep breath of his own, glad to see Daniel safely asleep in his own bed.
He was about to walk out the door when he heard a mutter from the bed.
“What Danny?”
“Found it,” came the voice a little louder.
“Found what?”
“Found the day.” Daniel gave a deep sigh and settled back into sleep.
Jack chuckled softly. He'd found the day, alright, and he wasn't the only one. The prodigal was back in the fold. He hadn't fallen off a cliff or driven off the road or been snatched up by the ascended. He was here in his own home on good old Terra Firma with his friends around him. They'd found all they would need to make this the best Christmas Jack could remember in a very long time. Daniel was still unsure of his place in the world, still unsure of his place with his friends though. How he could have thought they wouldn't be waiting for him was beyond Jack's imagining.
This Christmas would be the perfect time to show Daniel just how much his return meant to all of them.
In a minute Jack was going to check Daniel's kitchen for necessary pots and pans. If he needed to, he was going to run back to the house and pick up any Christmas presents they'd left behind, and maybe the tree. He needed to call Janet and Cassie with the new plans for the holiday. And as soon as Carter and Teal'c arrived, he'd have them set up a supply list for Christmas dinner and decorations. In a minute it would be Christmas again.
But for this minute…
Jack sat back down on the bed and placed a light hand over the shoulder of the friend he'd lost. The friend who'd come back to him. Everything else that happened today, the food, the laughter, and the presents, would be secondary to this minute—second to the solid form of his best friend sleeping peacefully under his hand.
He walked to the door, stopping long enough to whisper, “Merry Christmas, Daniel,” and pulled the door closed behind him.
~::~
finis
~::~
Walter watched the team come through the gate. He wished all the returns could be this simple with people coming down the ramp under their own power, talking and relaxed. Lieutenant Rodriquez was being supported by Doctor Jackson but both of them were laughing as the gate shut down.
He keyed the mike, “Merry Christmas SG-9, Doctor Jackson. Welcome home. Do you need me to call a medical team to the 'gateroom?”
Colonel Miller waved up at the window. “No thanks, Sergeant. It's just a scratch.”
“Yes, Sir. Doctor Warner's waiting to see you all before you check out for the holidays.”
Through a chorus of Merry Christmases, Colonel Miller called out, “Thanks, Sergeant. We're on our way.”
Walter watched the tired but happy team make its way out of the 'gateroom. Then he put in a call to Colonel O'Neill.
~::~
Daniel looked longingly at the shower stall in the next room. He wanted a shower badly, but he wasn't sure he could stand up long enough to get one. He was so tired only the thought that Colonel Miller or Janet would come looking for him if he didn't eventually show up in the infirmary kept him from stretching out on the bench to sleep. He and SG-9 had been the only team off world, and the infirmary was a little short staffed so close to Christmas so he'd been able to sneak away and change without anyone noticing--yet.
He slammed the locker door closed, wincing as his back twisted the wrong way. No doubt Janet would prescribe him something nasty to ease the spasms in his back, something he didn't intend to take, of course, until he was done with his last minute Christmas preparations. He had a few more gifts to wrap for tomorrow, and he needed some more paper and tape. Maybe a quick stop at the store on the way home tonight would take care of that. No, he wanted to pick up a nice bottle of wine for dinner, too. So two stops and then he'd be set. He bent to pull on his shoes and winced again. Okay, maybe the shopping would wait until tomorrow morning.
He was invited to Jack's tomorrow evening to celebrate Christmas Eve with the team. They'd insisted that Christmas together was an SG-1 tradition. He had to take their word for it because memories of Christmas hadn't returned with his memories of missions or languages. Maybe it was a “need to know” thing on the part of the ascended. He smiled to hear himself use a military metaphor. The ascended beings might have decided that he didn't need to remember Christmases on Earth as much as he needed a remarkable facility with languages.
His latest mission with SG9 had restored his confidence in his ability to decipher a new language. He'd been able to read Ancient when he became corporeal again, and he remembered most of the twenty odd other languages he'd supposedly known before his ascension, but he hadn't been really sure of his ability to learn another. That fear had been put to rest the past week.
He'd stepped in to help SG-9 when their linguist had broken her leg and he'd found that the thrill of learning a new language had been as potent now as it had been before his ascension—at least he was pretty sure of that. Sometimes, he thought, his feelings tricked him into believing things that might be true--or might not. But this past week had given him a sense of personal accomplishment he hadn't felt since his return to Earth.
His first mission after his return, the mission to Kelowna, had left him, not with a feeling of accomplishment, but with a feeling of...dislocation. He'd been a part of the team, but not part. He knew these people, but he didn't know them. Some things came naturally to him, the translations for instance, but other things—like firing a zat—made him uncomfortable. He could shoot the thing, he actually seemed to be pretty good it, but the ease with which the skill came made him a little uneasy. He didn't see himself as a violent man but as a man of learning. What kind of person spoke twenty languages and then picked up a weapon and shot someone?
As difficult a mission as that had been, it had been harder still to fit into the SGC again on his return to base. It was hard to find out who he was and who people expected him to be. Jonas's old office felt homey to him with its books and artifacts. Some places seemed familiar, Sam's lab and Teal'c's quarters, yet others, like the infirmary, made him jumpy. Of course no one was comfortable in an infirmary.
He sighed. His mind was wandering. He stretched carefully, then set off down the hallway to the elevator and Janet. Hopefully, he'd bump into Jack and the rest of his team there. They hadn't been at the bottom of the ramp to greet him—not that he needed them to be, naturally—but Sam had told him that they'd be waiting for him when he got back. Maybe he'd taken them too literally. No one had time to be hanging around the 'gateroom waiting for him to come home--back. No doubt Sam was in her lab, Teal'c was in the gym, and Jack... well Jack was probably hiding out trying not to do paper work. Jack should have returned a couple of days ago from a training mission, and he always put off writing his reports until General Hammond made it an order.
Despite the pain in his back, Daniel grinned. One thing he remembered clearly: Jack hated paperwork. There would no doubt be story after story from Jack about how awful this newest batch of recruits was, and how the government was wasting its money training them, and how it was pointless to write a report about people who would never survive in the military—let alone in the Stargate program. Daniel could hardly wait.
He heard Jimmy, Lieutenant Rodriquez, talking as he came into the infirmary.
“...then he jumped down the side of the cliff after me. If he hadn't, I'd probably be spending Christmas with a skull fracture instead of a couple of stitches in my leg. He grabbed me and held on until Colonel Miller and Steve, I mean Sergeant Alton, could send a rope down to us.” Rodriquez looked up in the middle of his story to see Daniel.
Miller turned too as Daniel entered the room. “And there he is. The man of the hour.” Miller smiled at him. From the look of it, the nurse had already cleared Miller, Sergeant Alton and Lieutenant Carson. Daniel noticed that Colonel Miller, like Jack, wouldn't leave until he was certain that every member of his team, even the temporary one, was taken care of before he went home.
Doctor Warner, who had been filling out a medical chart, strode out of the room followed by a nurse. “I understand that you strained your back, Doctor Jackson,” Warner said, glancing in his direction on the way out the door. “I'll have a look at it as soon as I'm done with Lieutenant Rodriquez. Colonel Miller, you and the rest of your team are cleared to leave.”
“You sure you're going to be all right, Jimmy?” Miller said jumping down from a gurney.
“Don't worry about me, Sir,” he said with a grin. “I'll be home before dark.”
“Thanks a lot for your help, Doctor Jackson,” the colonel said, “all your help. We couldn't have wrapped up these negotiations without you. And as for Jimmy here, well... his future fiancée will no doubt want to thank you herself when she finds out what you did.”
Slightly embarrassed by all the praise, Daniel nodded to Colonel Miller while everyone else exchanged holiday wishes. Everyone shook Daniel's hand warmly before they left and Daniel tried not to cry out as the movement jerked his sore back.
After things settled down, Daniel leaned over to ask Rodriquez, “So, I take it you decided to propose?” It had been a topic of much speculation by the members of Jimmy's team during their time off world, one he'd received a lot of teasing about.
Rodriquez swallowed nervously a couple of times. “I think so,” he said. “I've bought the ring—and Christmas Eve seems like a romantic time to pop the question,” he hesitated, “don't you think?”
“It's perfect, Jimmy. She'll love it.” He shifted, wincing as he twisted his back the wrong way.
“You okay, Daniel?”
“Fine. Just a little stiff. It'll be fine.”
The conversation stopped when Warner returned.
“All right, Lieutenant Rodriquez, I'm going to have a last look at your leg while the nurse takes Doctor Jackson for an x-ray.”
~::~
Daniel let his head rest on the gurney while the nurse developed the x-ray. He wanted to sleep. He thought about catching a half an hour in his quarters on base before heading home but decided he could last a few more hours. A voice intruded on his thoughts.
“Doctor Jackson?” It was Warner. “Thankfully, the x-ray shows nothing is broken. It appears you've wrenched more than a few back muscles though. You're going to be quite sore for a couple of days. Perhaps it would be best if you stayed in the infirmary--”
“Thank you, Doctor Warner. But I'd like to get home. I have some things I need to attend to.” There were presents to wrap and food to make—if he could get to the grocery store before it closed—cards to write. He had a lot to do between now and Christmas Eve. He hid his grimace of pain as he slid off the gurney, turning quickly before Warner could make his stay an order, and headed out the door. “Good luck, Jimmy,” he said calling to the lieutenant as he left. “Let me know how it goes.”
He heard Jimmy wishing him a Merry Christmas as he made his way quickly to the elevator. It wasn't until he was almost at the surface that he realized he hadn't seen Janet or anyone else. Before signing out, he checked with the sergeant on duty to discover that no one, not Jack, Sam, Teal'c, Janet, or even General Hammond, was in the mountain. Puzzled, and with a tinge of worry, he got into his car and started for home.
~::~
Daniel pulled over into the cutaway on the side of the road and put his car in park. He rested his head on the steering wheel, feeling his eyelids droop even before he had a chance to turn the car off. A few minutes wouldn't make a difference. He'd catch a few minutes sleep before he finished the drive home. He wasn't safe on the road right now. Twenty-twenty hindsight, he should have stayed in his quarters at the mountain and caught a few hours sleep—or even in the infirmary like Warner had suggested--but he still had so much to do before Jack's party less than twenty-four hours away. First, tonight, now, he wanted to sleep. He hadn't slept properly in seven very long days.
The twenty eight hour days on P2W 877 had thrown off everybody's internal clock—including his. For Daniel especially, the long hours during the day filled with meetings and negotiations, followed by long nights of prep work, mixed in with tours, meet-and-greets, and site visits had left Daniel mentally and physically exhausted. The trip had been successful and, except for a minor fall down a mountain, surprisingly uneventful.
For now, however, he wanted nothing more than to sleep for a week. Baring that, eight or ten hours looked good. That would still give him plenty of time to wrap presents, pick up some cards and a nice bottle of wine, and still make it to Jack's in time for dinner. He could spare an hour, no more, and then he'd head for home. He grabbed the blanket from the back seat, tucked one end of it against the window to keep out the cold, and slept.
~::~
A pounding on the window woke him. It was Lieutenant Rodriquez.
“Daniel? Are you okay?”
He could barely hear the words.
Why was Jimmy at his house? No wait, that wasn't right. He wasn't at his house, he was in his car.
A worried looking Rodriquez pulled on the door handle trying to open it. It finally occurred to Daniel that Jimmy must have seen his car and stopped by the side of the road on his way home. How embarrassing was this? He blinked trying to get his brain to focus on opening the door.
“I'm fine,” he said fumbling for the latch. Then he realized that Jimmy couldn't hear him. He managed to roll down the window. “I'm fine,” he said again.
“Daniel, you all right? I was worried when I saw your car. Do you need me to call the mountain? I could have a doctor here in--”
“Jimmy,” Daniel said, cutting him off, “I'm fine, really. I was drifting off behind the wheel so I pulled over before I hit something.”
Rodriquez didn't look convinced. “Are you sure, Daniel? I don't mind taking you back to the infirmary if you don' t feel well because honestly, you don't look too good.”
“What I look is half asleep,” said Daniel smiling.” Really, Jimmy, I'm fine, just tired. We had a couple of long days.” Daniel opened the door of the car. He figured that walking around would ease his stiff muscles and the cold air would wake him up enough to make it safe for him to finish his drive home.
“You had more than a couple of long days,” Jimmy said smiling back. “The rest of us ate, slept, and played tourist. You hobnobbed with the diplomats and politicians. I think I'd rather be tortured by the Goa'uld.”
Daniel laughed and stretched carefully, feeling his neck crack as the bones settled back into place. His back had stiffened up considerably during his nap. He had a muscle relaxant in his pocket, a parting gift from Doctor Warner. He knew he couldn't take one right now even if he wanted to no matter how much the pain in his back was begging for release because he was behind the wheel of a car. He also knew that the pills would leave him groggy the next day. That meant no pill when he got home either.
“Why don't you follow me down the mountain?” Jimmy asked. “I'll lead, you keep an eye on my bumper. I'll tap the brakes every once in a while to make sure you're awake. I take a left at Cyprus but that should get you close enough to home that you should be able to make it the rest of the way.”
“You don't need to do that, Jimmy. I'll just slow you down. Don't worry, I'll be fine.”
“It's either that or I take you back to the mountain, sir.”
“What?”
“You're not safe on the road. If you want to go home, you'll follow me down the mountain or I'll call Doctor Warner and tell him we're on our way back.”
Daniel sighed. Jimmy was right, of course. He really shouldn't be driving in his present condition. He glared at the determined airman in front of him. “Have you been taking lessons from Jack O'Neill?”
“I learn from the best,” Jimmy said.
“In whose opinion?” Daniel muttered.
Jimmy held the door open for Daniel. As he closed it behind him he reminded Daniel, “Follow me down the mountain. It's pretty late and there's not much traffic at this time of night so we don't need to be in a hurry. Every time you see me tap my brakes do the same. It will help keep you focused. And keeping the window open wouldn't hurt.”
Daniel pulled the seatbelt over his lap. “Right, tap breaks, window open. How about Christmas music?”
“Pick the station and we'll sing 'em together.” Jimmy gave the door a slap and headed back to his car parked in front of Daniel's.
“Thanks, Jimmy,” Daniel said leaning out the window. “I really appreciate this.”
“No problem, sir. I need to make sure you get home safe for Christmas.”
“Hey, Jimmy,” Daniel yelled before the lieutenant got in his car. Jimmy turned back. “Don't call me sir. I makes me...uncomfortable.”
“Got your attention though, didn't it,” Jimmy called back over his shoulder.
The rest of the trip went slowly, and Daniel was more than grateful for Jimmy's help. He'd start to drift off and then see the tail lights in front of him blink. When Jimmy left him on Cyprus with a honk and a wave, Daniel was confident he could make the last couple of miles alone.
~::~
Jack turned the doorknob to Daniel's apartment, annoyed and relieved to find it open. Annoyed because Daniel had been careless enough to leave it unlocked, and relieved because it meant that Daniel had made it this far under his own steam. The coat by the door testified to the fact that Daniel was indeed home. Again, Jack felt annoyed and relieved. Annoyed because Daniel had dumped his coat on the floor in the hallway without hanging it up and relieved because it showed that Daniel was at least home. He tried to remember if the pre-ascended Daniel was this messy.
“Carter,” he said, shaking the snow off his hat, “give Rodriquez a call and tell him we've found our missing archaeologist, and then apologize to him for me for yelling at him. Oh, call Teal'c first and tell him Daniel's here.” Teal'c was still at Jack's house waiting in case Daniel showed up.
“I'm apologizing for you?” Carter asked. “Why don't you apologize for yourself... sir,” she said as an afterthought.
“Because I'm going to go make sure Daniel's alright,” Jack said walking down the hallway. “And because you're the major and I'm the colonel.”
“Good to be at the top of the food chain, sir?”
“If you ever want to find out, Major, you need to start dialing that phone.”
He left Major Carter muttering in the living room while he went to check on Daniel. According to Lieutenant Rodriquez, whom he'd woken up from a sound sleep, Daniel was fine, or had been when Rodriquez had left him three hours ago. Yes, Jack had yelled, and yes, he was going to apologize in person, but at the moment he wanted concrete, visible proof that Daniel was okay.
He almost tripped over a pair of shoes lying in the middle of the hallway. He was going to have to have a talk with Daniel about how non-ascended beings conducted their personal affairs, like locking doors and putting personal items in the places designated for them. Stepping around the shoes, he pushed open the bedroom door, relieved to hear the faint sound of snoring coming from inside. Stepping closer, he reached to down to place a hand on Daniel's forehead. No fever—thank goodness.
He called Warner, of course, when Daniel hadn't shown up on schedule. Warner had assured him that Daniel was fine—tired, sore, and a little run down, but otherwise fine. He'd checked out of the mountain about 1800. By 2200 Jack was worried. Even assuming that Daniel had stopped at home to pick up presents and change his clothes, Daniel should have been at his house a couple of hours ago.
He had called Rodriquez next. Rodriquez reported that he'd found Daniel asleep by the side of the road somewhere around 1930 hours. It was now past midnight. Jack mentally kicked himself. He'd known when he left work that morning it was a bad idea to leave the mountain. He should have waited for Daniel and personally escorted him out of the mountain and home. The thought of Daniel driving when he was so tired.... Well, Jack had been more than relieved to see Daniel's car in the driveway. Still, if Daniel had made it this far on his own, why hadn't he come the rest of the way and made it over to Jack's? The tree, the lights, the gifts, the team, all had been waiting for the arrival of the guest of honor.
They'd been unsure of the return date for SG-9 and Daniel. Negotiations rarely went as planned but he knew from the daily reports that Daniel was trying to hurry them along so that everyone could be home for Christmas with their families—Daniel included. Jack, Carter, and Teal'c had impressed upon Daniel that this Christmas, his first since his return, was going to be a celebration for all of them. Last Christmas hadn't been the same without him. Carter had gone to her brother's house, Teal'c had spent a few days with his son, Rya'c, and Jack had gone to his family in Chicago. They loved their families, loved spending time with them, but it didn't erase the fact that Daniel wasn't there, and it hadn't really been Christmas without him. All of them had simply gone through the motions and come home.
Tonight they had the tree, the dinner, Christmas spirit in abundance--and still no Daniel. Jack had finally called the mountain to track him down. Warner's appraisal of Daniel's condition didn't have Jack particularly worried, at least no more than usual. A pre-ascended tired and overworked Daniel was par for the course and Jack hadn't noticed any changes in that personality quirk. Actually, he knew more about Daniel's habits and idiosyncrasies than Daniel did, and Daniel working to the point of exhaustion certainly fit the mold. Jack knew that even if Daniel didn't. If Daniel was tired, he could call and they'd celebrate the holidays the next day. It didn't matter to Jack, or to Carter and Teal'c for that matter, when they celebrated, just that they did it together. This was the first Christmas they'd spent together since Daniel's ascension and return, and they were going to relish every minute of it.
His concern had escalated when he couldn't find Daniel. After a call to Daniel's cell phone had gone to voice mail, Jack started to get worried. It wasn't like Daniel to not show up, at least not without calling. Daniel wasn't the most punctual of people but he wouldn't leave his friends waiting and worried about him.
“Is he okay, sir?”
Carter's approach caught him off guard. He jumped.
“He's fine, Carter. Just like I said he would be.”
“Just like I...” she sputtered. “You were the one who yelled at Rodriquez, threw me into the car, broke every speed limit at least once to get here--”
“I get it, Carter.”
“I'm just sayin', sir.”
“Say a little less, Major.”
The grin on Carter's face didn't entirely hide the worried look in her eyes. “I'm just going to, you know, see if he's--” She reached a hand over to place it on Daniel's head.
“I already checked. No fever. As far as I can tell, he's just asleep.”
“Why didn't he call?”
“I don't know,” Jack said. “It's not like Daniel. Maybe he was too tired.”
“I can't imagine Daniel forgetting to call no matter how tired he was.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Do you think we should wake him, just to make sure he's alright?”
Jack watched the sleeping man stir. His arm snaked out to grab the pillow, pulling it in close and muttering something in his sleep. There was a sigh and then Daniel settled again.
“No,” said Jack, “I think we should let him sleep. Rodriquez told me he only slept a few hours a night all the time they were gone.”
“Why doesn't that surprise me?”
“Yeah, Colonel Miller wanted him to sleep, ordered him to sleep in fact, but Daniel said he had too much work to do.”
“Sounds like our Daniel.”
“He told Miller he needed to get the treaty settled so that he could get home in time for Christmas Eve at my place.”
“So why didn't he come over?”
“I don't know.” Jack didn't want to let his worry show, but knowing how hard Daniel had worked to get things done ahead of schedule, working almost to the point of collapse, Jack couldn't figure out why Daniel hadn't come over or called.
He sat on the edge of the bed, tempted to take Carter's suggestion and wake the sleeping man. Instead he turned to her. “Why don't you head back to my place and pack up the stuff under the tree. Get Teal'c to help you with the dinner fixings, and come back when you're done.”
“Yes, sir,” Carter said. She ran her hand gently over Daniel's hair before she left.
Jack sat and watched Daniel. The deep sleep of a few minutes ago turned to tossing and turning. Daniel started to mutter in his sleep, calling out something that Jack couldn't make out. The tossing and turning quickly became a restless flailing of arms and legs. Daniel was having a nightmare. About the time Jack decided to wake him up, the blue eyes opened on their own, dark patches under his eyes telling Jack how hard he'd been on himself.
“I've got you!” Daniel shouted bolting upright in bed.
“Got who?” Jack asked, reaching out to put a hand on Daniel's arm. He wasn't sure if Daniel was really awake yet and he didn't want him falling out of bed.
Daniel blinked looking around the darkened room without seeing anything.
“Who have you got, Daniel?” Jack asked again.
“What?”
“You said, 'I've got you.' Who have you got?”
“Jack?” The voice sounded faint and confused.
Jack rubbed his hand along Daniel's arm. “That's me. Are you awake now?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Let's answer one question at a time, shall we? Mine first. Are you awake now?”
“Am I awake?”
Jack looked at Daniel closely. He didn't seem to be asleep but he wasn't responding to simple questions. “Daniel, do you know where you are?” Daniel's eyes had a vacant look to them that was raising Jack's anxiety level considerably. “You're in your room at home. You're okay. You just woke up from a bad dream.” He repeated his questions. “Are you awake? Do you know where you are?”
“I thought you said one question at a time?” Daniel finally answered.
“I'll take that to mean that you're awake now,” Jack said noticing that Daniel's eyes seemed a little more focused, “but you still haven't answered my other question. Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn't I be okay?” Daniel asked. “Just because I wake up to find you sitting on the edge of my bed?”
“Very funny, Daniel. If you didn't want me sitting on the edge of your bed, you shouldn't have given me a key to your house.”
“You told me you've always had a key, even before I ascended.”
“I have always had a key. And I have one now which is why I'm sitting on your bed. Although the door was unlocked.”
“Did you sit on my bed before?”
“I'm not going to answer your question until you answer mine.”
“What question?”
Jack said it slowly. “Are you okay?”
Daniel looked around the room and back at Jack. “I had a bad dream, I think.”
“Bad dream?”
“I dreamed I was falling down the side of a mountain.”
“Rodriquez.” Jack nodded.
“How did you know about Jimmy?” Daniel asked in surprise.
“I called the infirmary when you went missing,” Jack said, unable to entirely hide the anger in his voice.
“Missing? I wasn't missing; it was you guys who were missing.” Daniel choked back the last words and ducked his head. Jack saw his face flush.
“Missing?”
“I...um...” Daniel kept his eyes on his hands twisting in the sheets.
“We weren't missing, Daniel, you were. We were at my place waiting for you to show up, or at least call.”
“Show up?” Daniel asked looking up. “Show up for what?”
“Christmas Eve.” Jack said, disappointed that Daniel hadn't at least told them he wasn't coming. “You said you were going to--”
“I'd never miss Christmas Eve, Jack! I've been looking forward to it for weeks.”
“You did miss Christmas Eve,” Jack insisted, “as of a half an hour ago.”
“What?”
“It's after midnight. Christmas Eve ended a half an hour ago.”
“No! That's not possible. It's the day before Christmas Eve. Or it was when I got back. I'm sure of it.” Despite his declaration, Daniel looked anything but sure.
“You were gone for eight days. That means you got back on Christmas Eve.”
“We weren't gone for eight days, Jack. I remember. I kept track because I wanted to get back in time to finish some last minute....” Daniel's voice trailed off.
Jack saw him trying to make the numbers add up in his head.
“I know we were gone seven days,” Daniel said, “seven days.”
“How long a day, Daniel?”
“How long?”
“How many hours in a day on P2W 877?”
“Twenty eight,” he said without hesitation. “Oh! Damn!”
Jack saw the moment the realization hit him. Seven twenty eight hour days on 877 or eight twenty four hour days on good old planet earth.
“Jack, I'm so sorry! I thought...well you know what I thought.” He paused and looked up at Jack sitting beside him. “I ruined your Christmas Eve.” Daniel struggled from the bed to stand before Jack.
Jack tried to stop him but Daniel was too fast for him.
He continued without seeming to notice Jack reaching for him. “I knew it had been seven days, but I forget to factor in the extra hours in the day. And you, Sam, and Teal'c were expecting me....” He repeated it again. “I'm so sorry, Jack. You must think I'm an idiot.”
“Daniel, how much sleep did you get when you were gone?”
“Ummm...enough,” Daniel said vaguely. “I wanted to hurry things along so that we could get back... Colonel Miller has a family, and Jimmy was going to...”
Daniel started to sway as the exhaustion caught up to him. Jack stood up, grabbing Daniel's arm to keep him from falling to the floor.
“You need to get back to bed,” Jack said firmly.
“I'm fine,” Daniel muttered.
“Sure,” Jack said, “and as soon as you've had some sleep, you can tell me again just how fine you are.” He pushed Daniel back on the bed and heard him hiss.
“Your back?” He watched as Daniel grabbed the covers in his fist.
“Muscle spasm,” Daniel ground out. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, waiting for the pain to pass. “I'll call you tomorrow—today,” Daniel muttered almost too softly for Jack to hear. “I'm fine, really.”
“Call? Why would you call? Carter's on her way back with the stuff. We're just going to crash here for the rest of the night and start this whole party over again tomorrow.”
Daniel pushed himself up on an elbow. “You don't have to stay, Jack. I don't want to ruin your Christmas any more than I already have.”
“Ruin my Christmas? Are you kidding?” One thing ascension hadn't done for Daniel was make him any easier to understand. The man was a genius, had always been a genius, and he was still as dense as a post. He couldn't understand the simple fact that nothing was more important to Christmas this year than his living, breathing presence.
“You guys waited all night for me. I don't want you to--”
“Oh fer cryin' out loud! Daniel, we waited because we want to have Christmas with you.”
Jack could see the grimace of pain on Daniel's face.
Jack sighed, knowing the answer to the question before he asked it. “Did you take anything yet for your back?”
“Needed to be awake to wrap presents,” Daniel muttered, almost asleep.
“Where's your medication?” Jack heaved an exasperated sigh when Daniel didn't answer. He figured the pills were probably in Daniel's coat pocket. He walked back to the hallway to find the coat. Sure enough, the pills were there along with Daniel's dead cell phone. He stopped in the kitchen to get a glass of water, put in a call to Lieutenant Rodriquez, called Carter and Teal'c to check their ETA, and made his way back to the bedroom.
He shook Daniel gently. “Here, you need to take one of these or you're going to be miserable in the morning.”
Daniel sat up, fumbled for the pill and swallowed it with a gulp of water, barely opening his eyes during the process.
Jack figured he was still asleep and working on autopilot.
“You're still here,” Daniel said.
Not asleep then.
“Yes, Daniel.”
“I lost a day,” Daniel muttered.
“Not lost,” Jack said, easing Daniel back on the bed, “just misplaced.”
Although Daniel was all but asleep, Jack could see a small smile on the tired face.
“Oh, Rodriquez said to tell you that the plan went off without a hitch.”
“Jimmy?”
“I called him back to, you know, tell him you were alive and well.” And to apologize, Jack thought. “Anyway, he said you'd know what it meant.”
The smile got a little bigger.
“Rodriquez seems like a nice guy.”
“Yeah.”
“Go to sleep, Daniel.” Jack shook his head. He wasn't going to get anything coherent from the man until he had at least ten hours of sleep. He looked down to see his friend breathing deeply. Jack took a deep breath of his own, glad to see Daniel safely asleep in his own bed.
He was about to walk out the door when he heard a mutter from the bed.
“What Danny?”
“Found it,” came the voice a little louder.
“Found what?”
“Found the day.” Daniel gave a deep sigh and settled back into sleep.
Jack chuckled softly. He'd found the day, alright, and he wasn't the only one. The prodigal was back in the fold. He hadn't fallen off a cliff or driven off the road or been snatched up by the ascended. He was here in his own home on good old Terra Firma with his friends around him. They'd found all they would need to make this the best Christmas Jack could remember in a very long time. Daniel was still unsure of his place in the world, still unsure of his place with his friends though. How he could have thought they wouldn't be waiting for him was beyond Jack's imagining.
This Christmas would be the perfect time to show Daniel just how much his return meant to all of them.
In a minute Jack was going to check Daniel's kitchen for necessary pots and pans. If he needed to, he was going to run back to the house and pick up any Christmas presents they'd left behind, and maybe the tree. He needed to call Janet and Cassie with the new plans for the holiday. And as soon as Carter and Teal'c arrived, he'd have them set up a supply list for Christmas dinner and decorations. In a minute it would be Christmas again.
But for this minute…
Jack sat back down on the bed and placed a light hand over the shoulder of the friend he'd lost. The friend who'd come back to him. Everything else that happened today, the food, the laughter, and the presents, would be secondary to this minute—second to the solid form of his best friend sleeping peacefully under his hand.
He walked to the door, stopping long enough to whisper, “Merry Christmas, Daniel,” and pulled the door closed behind him.
~::~
finis