By Joy

Jack/Daniel | Mature | AU, Season 8
17 pages / 7,226 words

Summary: Jack and Daniel get into trouble and words are their only way out. At first.

Author Note:  For Debbie. This is one of my many thanks for the Con. :)
And for Julia, who helped me touch my fantasy.

Jack sat down on the top step, close to the block of granite that Daniel had said was a pedestal or podium or some such, and laid his P90 over his lap. "Take your pictures and readings," he waved at Daniel and Carter. "Teal'c and I will take a look around." He saw Daniel disappear behind him and Carter took off to his left, moving slowly, staring at her little hand-held pad, taking readings he'd never pretend he understood. He could, he supposed, if he took the time, but he simply preferred the bottom line.

Taking off his cap, Jack ran his hand through his salt-n-pepper hair, scratching at his scalp, and was met with an arched brow from Teal'c... who hadn't moved. "What?" he asked.

"You are currently sitting down, O'Neill."

Jack threw him a look of annoyance and purposely remained where he was. "I'm gettin' old, Teal'c. Three clicks is a fair bit to walk these days."

"You are not that old," Teal'c rebuked.

"My knee says otherwise."

Not in the mood to argue, Teal'c gave him a bow of his head. "Then I shall proceed on my own."

"Knock yourself out. And remind me to requisition an ATV the next time I come out on one of these jaunts."

"ATV?" Teal'c asked.

Jack made a face. "Sorry. All-terrain vehicle." Teal'c gave him a slight smile and Jack scowled at him. "You knew that, didn't you?"

"Though we have never before used such a vehicle in the eight years I have been part of the SGC, I do believe I have amassed a great deal of knowledge."

"Right," Jack said. "Well, stop winding me up, Teal'c. I need more coffee to return the favor."

With another smile, this one obviously sarcastic, Teal'c turned away to scan the perimeter. Jack shook his head, dropping the unwise idea of loudly snarking back at him, and did his own scanning from where he sat. He winced as a throbbing pain shot through his knee and was keenly reminded why he was General now and not leader of SG-1. While he appreciated the leadership role as Commander, he didn't quite get why he was chosen. Still. It had its perks. Like now. He didn't have to come along on this rare, ordinary mission, but he missed being with his team.

Taking a deep breath, Jack looked at the dry, arid growth around the small set of ruins, surprised at how little the stuff changed from planet to planet. Here, it was like all the others, made up of wild grasses and scrub, where the few trees of the immediate area resembled saplings more than adult growth, as if whatever tried to take root here only managed to dwarf itself.

"Daniel?"

"Jack?" came Daniel's voice within the three-sided, dilapidated stone structure.

Jack turned on his left buttock to better look over his shoulder and had to lean back a bit to see past the podium or whatever the hell it was. For a brief moment, he was met with a sense of relief. The structure Daniel was surveying had no roof and the walls looked remarkably stable; there would be no cave-ins, no sudden accidents. "Find anything in there?" he asked.

"A lot, actually," Daniel answered.

It was that absent-minded tone Jack heard when Daniel was pre-occupied with filming and he narrowed his eyes. "Could you be more specific? As in, have you found anything useful?"

Inside the blueish-grey structure, Daniel rolled his eyes and set his camera on pause. He walked over to the "entrance" of the building and was momentarily distracted by the absence of the front wall. Old grooves marked the floor where it would have been, but they weren't torn apart by explosion or erosion and there were no leftover remains. It may have been made of another substance, perhaps moved for some reason. He bent down to touch the grooves, investigating their oblong shape, when he remembered why he'd gone over in the first place. With a grim sort of smile, he walked across the ten-yard platform that preceded the building and stopped at the podium.

"Ancient writing appears on all of the walls and there're two large sketches or drawings among the writings."

"Any ideas?"

"A few, maybe," Daniel answered, now distracted by the top of the four-foot high podium. Nicked and marred in places, it was slightly pitched, maybe two percent, but the tilt was strange and he wondered if maybe 'podium' was the wrong word. It started to feel like a monument of some kind. Still, its position on the platform, at the front and off to the right of the structure, implied some sort of speaking post. "The color doesn't match any of the other structures we've seen by the Ancients."

Jack turned a bit more to look at the podium, then decided he should get up to have a better look. Pushing off and thankful that he'd used his good leg, he walked up the step, wincing only slightly. "Yeah, you're right about that," he said, turning to look at the building.

Daniel didn't miss the wince and wished Jack had waited for the fourth surgery before going off-world. He would have recouped at the cabin, and though the terrain was worse than the planet, Jack never went there for hiking through the woods. At least, Daniel didn't think he did. "How's the knee?" he asked pointedly before returning to the subject at hand.

Jack wrinkled his nose. "Being a bitch, and that goddamn hike over here didn't help."

"I have some ibu--"

Jack waved his hand at him. "I had some, Daniel, thanks."

"If you need more..." he said, leaving the rest.

"Noted," Jack replied, then gestured at the podium. "What's that on the top?"

Three rows of Ancients' lettering were etched into the stone. "'There are truths to be uncovered if you have the courage to seek them out,'" Daniel recited. "'Uncovered' and 'seek' are my own words though because I don't quite get the words they're using. I haven't run across any shifts in the Ancients' language so this may well be the first. They may be colloquialisms or slang. In that vein, they could mean something similar to the words I used or they could mean something else entirely."

Jack stood there listening, deciding he wouldn't interrupt this time. Sometimes, Daniel needed to voice his thoughts in order to work something out. When Daniel didn't say anymore, he asked, "That's it?"

"Yeah," Daniel answered slowly, caught off-guard by Jack's sudden allowance.

"So basically, we have a riddle?"

Daniel shrugged. "For us maybe."

"Right," Jack said, looking around, an idea occurring to him. "Did we just find some outpost of Oma's or something?"

Daniel's brows rose thoughtfully. "Possibly. I mean, inside, the walls seem to be saying something kind of like what we found at Kheb, and while none of them are in koans, they're not particularly--"

"Useful?" Jack interrupted, knowing he was winding Daniel up.

"Revealing," Daniel corrected, refusing to get back on that old subject about worth.

Jack sighed, twisting his mouth as he thought it over. "Okay. Well, finish your recording."

"I'm pretty much done," Daniel said.

"Already?"

Daniel nodded. "I was planning on evaluating the building itself, taking notes and such."

"For...?" Jack asked, not daring to speculate.

"The purpose of the structure," Daniel said, then laid his hand on the center of the podium top, "and this."

Jack grinned sarcastically. "Are you saying you don't have any ideas yet?"

"I already answered that," Daniel replied, completely stone-faced.

Jack sighed, hating when Daniel did that. It was his own fault, he knew that; too many years of cutting off one of Daniel's long-winded explanations. He was still doing it, too, except that now, Daniel was editing himself, and doing it at all the wrong damn times. "So what do you have?" he prompted.

"Long version or short version?" Daniel asked, grudgingly allowing a smile. Jack just looked at him. "I'm guessing short version."

"Good guess," Jack said with a touch of condescension.

Ignoring it as always, Daniel nodded, then moved his hand on the podium so the tip of his index finger touched the middle of the first row of letters. "I believe this is like the preface to a book," he said, then thumbed behind him, "and that's the book."

"Short book," Jack commented wryly.

"Well," Daniel drew out. "I think there're other pages, but I'm not sure. Remember Argos?"

Jack curled his upper lip and looked down at the podium instead of at Daniel as an image of Kynthia appeared in his head. With it came the horrible memory of rapid aging. "Unfortunately."

Momentarily embarrassed and wishing he could've used another example, Daniel quickly moved on. "The tablets we found there, along with the ones Machello used, were built from Ancients' technology. I think this is the same thing, only with some other kind of page-turning mechanism."

"Maybe we should get Teal'c to--"

"It's in Ancient, Jack, not Goa'uld. On Argos, the technology may have originally come from the Ancients, but it was all Goa'uld by the time we got to the planet. This stuff here is in Ancient, so there's no telling what kind of device is used to turn the pages. It may be a spoken word for all I know."

"Or a phrase," Jack said, nodding and pursing his lips as he looked at the podium. He had an idea to squat down and look it over, but instead, he pointed two of his half-gloved fingers at the side. "Take a look, see if it's powered by crystals."

"Won't make any difference, not right now," Daniel said as he looked down the sides without moving. "I'd still need to know the code key, so to speak."

"Right. So, what do you suggest? You can't take your time here, unfortunately, 'cause I have plans for us to leave this fair planet in about..."

As Jack checked his watch, Daniel said, "I could stay here," and braced himself for the expected reaction.

Jack stared at him, incredulous. "By yourself? Are you insane? We haven't even discovered what wacky wildlife or weather they have here and you're wanting to stay overnight?" Daniel shrugged and Jack knew immediately that he wanted to stay no matter how long it took. "Remember that planet I nearly got court-martialed over?"

Surprised, Daniel blinked quickly, not needing to search his memory. "The Gadmeer and their terraforming ship."

"That's the one," Jack said, pointing his finger. "We have no idea what else is on this planet. I'm not leaving you by yourself. We have four more hours and that's all the time you have." Daniel started to protest and Jack held up his hand. "For now. When SG-1 doesn't have another mission for a week, you and SG-11, if they're finished with their current job assignment, can come back here and poke around. This stuff's not going anywhere."

Daniel wanted to argue but he knew it was pointless; Jack was right, so he gave him a shrug and tapped the podium with his knuckles. "Okay. I'll record more of this till we're ready to head out. Maybe I'll find something to examine for the next time, providing I'm actually going to have the chance."

Feeling bad, Jack reached over and laid his hand over the trapezius muscle of Daniel's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "I promise, Daniel."

Suddenly the air around them changed, becoming slightly electrical, and both Daniel and Jack felt the hairs on the backs of their necks rise. Two seconds later, the air shimmered and a six-foot wide, semi-transparent force field shot up from the ground, rising over fourteen feet at least. It surrounded them, including the podium, and it was round, reminding Daniel of beaming technology. He looked up, expecting to find a ship hovering over them, but there was nothing but blue sky.

Jack turned in place, looking through the shield as he moved, when the muzzle of his P90 hit the energy field and bounced off, sending a shock wave up his arm. "Goddamn it," he said, transferring his weapon to his left hand as he shook his right.

"You okay?" Daniel asked as he lifted his hand off the podium's surface top.

"Fine," Jack frowned. "What the hell just happened?"

Daniel's expression equaled Jack's. "No idea. And the better question is why."

Jack turned in place and looked through the bluish haze of the force field. "I don't see them," he said, meaning Teal'c and Carter, and pressed his radio. "Carter, Teal'c?"

A moment later, Teal'c came running from one side of the structure, Carter from the other.

"Sam! Teal'c!" Daniel yelled, taking a step and waving at them. Unfortunately, his hand hit the shield and he yanked it back, hissing as he shook it.

Jack winced in sympathy. "Y'alright?"

"Yeah," Daniel said, annoyed. "Damn, that--"

He didn't get a chance to finish when he heard Sam call out, "Daniel!... General!"

They both called back to her, but she didn't reply. In fact, she looked right through them. Both Carter and Teal'c met on the platform and started for the podium, but the force field repelled them with abrupt harshness, rebounding them backward to land on their asses.

"They can't see us," Jack said, his frown deepening.

"No," Daniel said, slowly turning back to the podium, staring down at the letters. He suddenly wondered, thinking of Heliopolis, and passed his hand over the words. Before his eyes, they changed, reforming into other words. He snorted smugly and smiled. A small win.

"What?"

Daniel looked up, finding Jack watching him intently. "Oh, I just suddenly thought of Heliopolis, the off-world version. So I passed my hand over the surface and... the words changed. I don't have any idea how we activated it, though. I'm working on that."

"Daniel," Jack began, his voice becoming edgy.

"What? Neither of us did anything overt, so it had to be a combination of what you said and me hitting the podium."

"How could my promising you anything set that thing off?"

"I don't know! Remember the words on the... well, first page of this?"

"Remind me," Jack said, bracing himself for the rebuking scowl but Daniel didn't give it to him. Instead, it was the hard stare. Which, somehow, was worse.

"'There are truths to be uncovered if you have the courage to seek them out.'"

"Okay, and?"

"You made a promise to me. A vow," Daniel said, then waved at the podium's surface, "and apparently..." He really didn't want to finish that train of thought, but what else could a vow signify? It was too dangerous to contemplate, given the possibility of his long-buried feelings about Jack. What if the answer meant telling the truth? Butterflies of panic rumbled around his stomach and Daniel took in a deep, slow breath.

"What?" Jack prompted. "Did it somehow read my mind--a possibility I'm getting damn tired of by the way. If it's reading us, it's reading English. Does it have an automatic translator in there?"

"The Ancients were telepathic, remember? So this machine seems to be programmed to do that somehow. And it wouldn't necessarily be translating our English so much as reading the meaning in our minds, so that probably means it's not a translator exactly but--"

"Daniel."

"What?" Daniel said, looking at him with well-worn tolerance. "I'm doing my job, don't look at me like that."

Jack thought about arguing some more, but like Daniel, realized that the other man was right. "Right, sorry about that. Okay, first order of business is to somehow get out of here. Carter and Teal'c are already working on the problem from out there," and he pointed to Sam and Teal'c, both of them reading Sam's hand-held pad. Her lips were moving, as were Teal'c's, but they couldn't hear what they were saying.

Something jarred Daniel's memory and he had no idea where the memory came from. "We can't hear them," he stated.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Well, duh, Daniel. No radio pick up and they can't see us. Apparently this thing is one-way."

"Except it shouldn't be."

"Excuse me?"

Daniel frowned darkly and tried to put aside the fact that he was remembering something he shouldn't be, something Ancient. The force field was normally one-way, normally containing but not fully restrictive. They should be able to talk to Sam and Teal'c. Because they couldn't... did that mean that the force field was meant only for them? Were they being punished? "Okay, something's wrong."

"The Ancients' version of Spidey Sense telling you that?" Jack snapped.

Daniel let out a short snort. "Don't snap at me, Jack. I don't know. All I know is that this damn thing is supposed to be one-way."

"Then clue me in, Daniel. I'm not the mind reader."

Daniel sighed and closed his eyes, trying to figure out why he knew what he knew. After a minute, it was no good. He shook his head again. "All I know is that we're supposed to hear them. Because we can't, we're cut off, trapped, and because we are, that means that maybe we're being punished."

Jack's brows rose. "Punished? For what? Standing here?"

"Well, you made a promise," Daniel said, lowering his chin as he repeated the information, thinking it through. Was the podium and the building behind it some sort of ritual temple for oath making? He looked up at Jack as part of the answer began to sink in. "You made a promise you had no right making because you can't promise me that I could come back here."

Jack sighed and closed his eyes and decided that now was not the time to argue that particular point. "Tell me what you think this thing is for, Daniel."

"I think this is a place people came to declare unbreakable oaths. If you made a vow that was untrue..."

"You got locked up?" Jack asked, incredulous. "That's stupid. How could they get out of it, be removed so that the next... oath maker... could come up here?"

"By correcting the oath, I imagine."

Jack sighed and stepped closer to him, his hand going to Daniel's shoulder again. "Does that tell you how to correct the fuck-up?"

Daniel felt a warm comfort fill him, as he usually did when Jack touched him, and years of practice allowed him to take a breath and let the feeling flow over him without any further internal focus. "I think so. But it's not very helpful. It says, 'Break free the lies that keep you... bound, I think... speak now the truth that... something... ties.'"

"Swell, that's clear," Jack asked, rolling his eyes.

Daniel rolled his back. "It pretty much says that you have to trade one oath for another. Or say what you were really feeling, behind the lie."

"I wasn't lying," Jack replied automatically, and on the heels of his words, the force field began to solidify.

"Um..." Daniel began.

"Great. We're trapped in a lie detector."

"Apparently."

Jack scowled and let out a heavy sigh. "Why just me? Shouldn't it be both of us, since we're both in here?"

"I think I'm collateral damage. I'm not the one who lied," Daniel said, but the force field solidified even more. They could just barely make out Sam's and Teal'c's features now.

"You did something wrong," Jack remarked dryly.

Embarrassed, Daniel said, "I just touched it. I didn't make a promise."

Jack eyed him carefully and realized he wasn't the only guilty one. The fact made him feel oddly better. "No, but you said that maybe you'd find something to examine next time, providing I'd let you have the chance." He paused, noting that Daniel was looking away in that habit he had whenever he was embarrassed. "You were humoring me, weren't you? You didn't believe me for a moment. That's why you're stuck in here with me."

Daniel's lips thinned and he didn't answer right away. When Jack gave only a nod of satisfaction for being right, he felt absurdly grateful. At last, he lifted his chin and admitted, "No, I didn't believe you."

Jack met his gaze evenly, and thinking perhaps this was part of what was needed, sucked it up and said, "And I lied. I couldn't make that promise."

But nothing happened. "We're not making oaths or declarations," Daniel said. "We're only agreeing with each other."

"Well it's a start," Jack grumbled, then winced.

"Knee?"

"Yeah."

"Sit down against the podium," Daniel suggested, gesturing. "There's room."

Looking around warily, assessing the room he actually had, Jack handed Daniel his P90 and sat down, his back against one corner of the podium, knees up nearly to his chest. He rested his forearms over them and took the P90 back, setting the butt of the weapon between his feet.

"You should lean against the flat surface, Jack."

"And have you stand over me while trying to read that?" Jack asked, pointing. "No offense, Daniel, but this is hardly the place for me to have your crotch in my face."

They both froze then as the exactness of the words hit them. Daniel bit his lips together and coughed, trying to rid himself of the warmth generating deep in his belly.

Meanwhile, Jack covered his eyes with his gloved hand. "Um, okay, let me rephrase that." He paused, trying to think of a better way to say it, but no matter what he thought of, he knew it was too late. "Ya know what, never mind. Let's just say there's no room for you to study the podium."

"Right," Daniel said, swallowing, then both of them watched as the force field grew a lot more dense. Only vague shadows of one person remained. "I think we fucked up again."

"I think so, too," Jack replied. "And I think that either Carter or Teal'c has gone to the gate."

Daniel turned around, trying to peer through the field on the other side of the podium. He could barely make out another form. "No, I think one of them's over here." With a sigh, he squatted down, maneuvering so that he was pretty much straddling over Jack's left foot. "Now, um, there appears to be only one way out of this."

"Make another oath?" Jack asked, not looking all that keen about it.

"Or declare some truth," Daniel said, showing the same look. In fact, he had a bad feeling.

Jack grimaced and covered his eyes even more as he bent his head down slightly. "Right."

A minute passed. Then another. And another. During the silence, the field suddenly turned an opaque, shimmering blue. And closed in a few inches. Jack's eyes widened and automatically, Daniel sprang to his feet and helped Jack to his.

"I don't think we have an unlimited amount of time," he said.

"And if that field closes in on us?" Jack asked.

"Um, I'm assuming we die."

"Helluva way to make someone promise something, or declare their undying loyalty."

Daniel told himself not to say it, but it was out of his mouth before he could stop himself. "Or love," he added slowly. Jack turned his gaze from the energy field and rested it on him. His brown eyes reflected the glow from the force field and Daniel thought to look away but refused to do something so cowardly. "Well, it's logical, isn't it?" he asked, trying to sound matter-of-fact.

Continuing to stare at him, Jack felt a knot begin to grow just below his diaphragm. He knew damn well this was a dangerous road to take, but what the hell else could this stupid thing want? "Yeah, it is. Except that forcing someone to declare something like that sort of makes it invalid, doesn't it?"

Daniel swallowed. "Meaning if they said it under duress, it doesn't exactly count?"

Jack swallowed, too. "Maybe. Except it's not an out."

"No, it's not. Once said, it can't be taken back, and it makes the swearer look like a complete asshole."

Jack lifted the right corner of his mouth in half a grin. "It does."

They both sighed, and as close as they were, facing each other, it felt both intimate and awkward.

"So..." Jack began.

Daniel looked at the podium, and suddenly passed his hand over it again. The words reshaped but they simply returned to the previous 'page'. Looking up at Jack, he said, "Just checking."

"Ah."

Meeting his gaze again, Daniel said, "So... you were gonna say?"

Jack shook his head, trying to deny, avoid, delay, something. Then the force field moved in a few more inches. They were running out of time. "Um, what, uh, do you want to say?"

Daniel tilted his head slightly, doing his own assessing. "Content-wise or specifically?"

"Daniel," Jack said, a little annoyed.

"What?" Daniel asked defensively, wishing Jack didn't look so goddamn calm about it. "You want to discuss it, come to an agreement on what to say, or do you just want to hear what oath or declaration I plan to make?"

"Um, actually, was wondering which you were going to make. Oath or declaration?"

Daniel blinked at him. "Oh. Um, I can't think of an oath, actually. I mean, whatever I declare, an oath would follow... um, if I wanted to go all out."

Jack's grin increased suddenly. "All out?"

"You know, just in case it wants more," Daniel said, feeling his cheeks grow hot. He looked away, as if thinking it over, and ended up focusing just over Jack's shoulder. "For example, if I said I loved you, I'd then follow it with something mushy like, 'I promise to love you till the end of time,' or some... such... silly... romantic... um, thing." When Jack's brows rose high in surprise, Daniel's cheeks grew hotter. "Um, for example." Jack didn't say anything, but he cleared his throat and looked down. At Daniel's throat. At least, to Daniel, it looked like that was where he was staring. "Jack?"

"As an example," Jack copied, slowly, wishing the Ancients would choose that moment to strike them with lightning or a storm. A malfunctioning force field would be nice.

"As an example," Daniel echoed, waiting.

"Daniel?" Jack asked, as an intensely giddy feeling began to play with his stomach. He raised his gaze back to Daniel's face, and for a moment, he was completely distracted by the flushed cheeks. He wondered if they mirrored his own.

"Jack?"

"Why'd you choose that as an example?"

Daniel started to answer, but found his mouth moving and nothing coming out. Several explanations vied for control and none of them sounded right. In the end, he stopped trying and swallowed instead.

Jack watched him struggle and perversely found it amusing. "Daniel Jackson, the man who can talk my ear off, and he's suddenly at a loss for words."

Daniel frowned at him. "Very funny. I don't hear you telling me anything."

"You weren't telling me anything, either," Jack countered.

Daniel swallowed. "Okay, to answer your question, I chose that because it's what I'd actually say. Only... maybe not the mushy part. Even... if it's true."

Jack stared back, the words sinking in. "Love me," he echoed.

"Yeah," Daniel said, swallowing again, and swallowing wrong. He coughed, then coughed again, and when Jack reached around him to thump his back, he grabbed his arm. They froze, arms practically around each other... more or less... and Daniel heard himself say, "I love you. There, I said it."

Jack was perhaps half a foot away but to him, it seemed a lot closer than that. He saw the fear in Daniel's eyes, waiting for rejection, or to be dismissed. Jack had to admit it; both were on his mind. But the force field was edging closer. And Daniel was waiting. Just the once, Jack knew he couldn't get out of it with a sarcastic comment.

"I love you back," he whispered, then fear kicked him in the gut and he loudly added, "but we should, shouldn't we? After almost ten years saving each other's asses, being there through everything?"

Daniel couldn't believe what he was hearing, but at the same time, he wasn't even remotely surprised that Jack would say that. "As friends, is that what you're saying?"

Jack cleared his throat and slowly pulled his arm from Daniel's grasp. "Yeah, as friends."

The round wall of the force field closed in several inches and Daniel's eyes widened. He looked at Jack in a panic. "Don't do that. Say it and mean it."

Jack swallowed yet again. "Did you mean it?"

"I did, and you know I did. Say it and mean it."

"But what about--" Jack started to argue.

"No!" Daniel said, closing his eyes in a practiced grimace of irritation. "Don't do that, Jack. This is no time to weigh the pros and cons and whether or not it's advisable." He opened his eyes and leveled Jack with a firm look. "Just... say it."

The force field closed in again and now he could feel the electric tingling only half a foot away. This was it.

An idea overcame Jack with a surety that he couldn't explain, and he reached up with his empty hand and cupped the back of Daniel's neck. Watching the surprised look on his face, and recognizing the even-more-surprising expression of desire as Daniel's pupils grew, Jack leaned in and whispered, "I love you back. For real, this time."

Their noses were inches away now and Daniel closed his eyes and held his breath, waiting for the force field to stop moving and disappear. But then... he felt Jack's breath on his face and opened his eyes in time to see him leaning closer. Daniel sucked in a breath when he realized what Jack was going to do.

Then he did. Jack's lips touched his and they were soft, giving, and pressing for more contact. Daniel closed his eyes again and leaned into him, opening his mouth. Brushing his lips over Jack's, he whispered his name, then Jack made a funny sort of growling sound that went straight to Daniel's cock, and that was all he could stand. No more foreplay. He took Jack's head in his hands and kissed him back as passionately as he could, seeking his tongue and finding it.

It was like sparks had hit him, and Daniel opened wider, moaning into his mouth when Jack curled his tongue around his own. For a second, he parted, needing to speak, to somehow describe what he was feeling. Except all that came out was, "Oh shit." At least, it started to come out.

"Shut up for once," Jack murmured gruffly, then he kissed him, hard, and it was Jack's turn to feel the sparks, amped up by the burning friction of Daniel's light stubble. It was a pronounced male sensation that felt right, giving Jack an epiphany of sorts: he'd found something he'd been missing, and felt whole. The feeling was so intense he didn't want to let go of it.

What came next was a humming noise from the force field as it tightened around them. Startled, Daniel whispered Jack's name again but Jack tightened his arm around him and kissed him even harder. It was almost as if he were kissing him goodbye and Daniel gave it right back as he angled closer, trying for more body contact. The energy of the field closed around them completely and the electrical contact turned to a warm tingling as it enveloped them.

Daniel tried to ignore the anger he was starting to feel; his mind screaming, "But we spoke honestly! Doesn't that fucking count?" and he could feel the same through Jack's kiss. They weren't so much kissing any more as holding on... then the energy field slowly dissipated and both of them realized they were no longer shielded.

It was over. Separating slowly, and taking a careful look around, it took a few moments to realize that they weren't hidden anymore. And that Sam and Teal'c were standing two yards away, staring at them in shocked surprise.

Jack cleared his throat and Daniel copied him, and before either of them even thought about explaining, and lying through their teeth, Jack grabbed Daniel by the arm and moved quickly away from the podium and down the stairs, off the goddamn platform altogether.

Jack's knee protested, but he didn't give a damn. His attention was on Teal'c and Carter. He exchanged embarrassed looks with Daniel before giving their teammates their full attention.

"Um, what the hell was that about, sir? Daniel?" Sam asked with a strange look on her face. She was also blushing.

"A little oath taking," Daniel said, knowing the answer was inadequate.

"I see," Teal'c said, looking less puzzled than Sam.

"It's an oath maker," Daniel tried again, gesturing as he rubbed his lips together, feeling the memory of the kiss like a burn. He was glad he wasn't blushing anymore, but he wasn't so sure Sam's was a good thing. "We had to make an oath and um..." He couldn't lie now, not for himself. But Jack needed covering. "I did. So Jack humored--"

"No, I didn't," Jack said, and he had no plans to say another word about it. He held up a finger at Daniel, silently telling him not to lie for him. Turning to Teal'c and Carter and deciding that, for now, it was better to shut up and process than explain, he asked, "So, Carter, you finish your preliminaries or do you need more time?"

She blinked at him, then frowned. "Actually, sir, there wasn't anything here, till you and Daniel found the... whatever that was," and she gestured at the podium. Then came the look Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c were all familiar with. Curiosity. It tended to override all other concerns, and for the moment, Jack was grateful.

"We have time, Carter. Knock yourself out. Just don't make any pronouncements or declarations or oaths while you're doing it."

She frowned at them, even more puzzled, and Jack didn't dare ask what she was thinking. Turning to Daniel, he grinned and asked, "You need to take more pictures?"

Daniel wanted to talk to him about what happened, but he knew now was not the time. He returned the smile and said, "Yeah, there's obviously more to it than what I thought."

When he turned away and started to head back up the steps, he caught the expression on Teal'c's face. The Jaffa gave him a measuring look, then eventually smirked and walked away, resuming his patrol. Daniel didn't know if that was good or bad, but he wasn't all that comfortable with it, either way. Maybe they'd talk later. During a workout in the gym, no doubt. The place where Teal'c felt it necessary to give his sage advice. Daniel was suddenly thinking up excuses not to go.

. .

On the way back to the gate, Jack was trying to figure out a way to explain what happened in the force field, but by the time they got to the gate, the only thing he could tell Carter added up to nothing more than the dreaded Don't Ask, Don't Tell. At the DHD, he said, "Carter, Teal'c, I'd appreciate it if you left out what you saw when that force field let us go. Everything else, put on the report, but I'd take it as a favor to me if you left that last bit out."

He waited, taking in their silent looks, then added, "It's not an order."

Teal'c lifted his chin and said, "I saw only that you were released, nothing more. Is there something else we should know, O'Neill?"

The two of them traded long looks, with Jack expressing his gratitude by giving the Jaffa a knowing grin. Turning to Carter, he inclined his head. "Carter?" She simply nodded, but said nothing, and Jack wasn't all that reassured. "Is there a problem?"

"No, sir. I'm just... processing. Maybe we could talk about it later?"

He gave her a business-like look. "Tomorrow?" he half-asked, knowing damn well she'd meant today.

She nodded again, then looked at Daniel. "You, too," she said, then looked away, appearing more confused than before.

Daniel cringed. "Sam?"

"I'm fine. We can talk tomorrow," she said, suddenly busying herself with dialing home.

Daniel looked over at Jack but said nothing, and suddenly Jack wondered if maybe Daniel thought his 'non-order' meant more than the report. Oh boy. As the gate activated, Jack walked over to him and said, "Dinner tonight? We definitely need to talk."

Daniel let a smile slowly curve his mouth upward. "You want a Powerpoint presentation with that?"

Jack started to walk past him, heading for the gate steps, but paused to leaned in and whisper in his ear. "Only if you leave out the Powerpoint and just give me a practical demonstration."

The heat generated by the intimacy of Jack's voice in his ear caused Daniel to pause and wait for his teammates to go first, then he let out a slow breath and walked through the event horizon.

. . .

Daniel was extremely nervous as he drove out of the mountain just past 8 p.m. He'd gotten his preliminary work done and was ready for tomorrow, but it all felt surreal; he still couldn't quite grasp that the evening he was about to have was real.

As he drove to Jack's, hoping to god that the man was already home and wouldn't make him wait, Daniel wondered what exactly was going to happen. Jack's words in his ear had been implicit, but they'd also been vague. Exactly what had he meant? Was he teasing? Did he tease? Was he being sarcastic and kidding? Daniel had absolutely no clue about this side of Jack and every goddamn time he thought about more than kissing, his legs got weak, his palms began to sweat, his heart raced, and he couldn't quite make his stomach settle down.

Sexual intimacy with Jack. Sex. Sex with Jack. The words made him shudder, not badly but it was uncomfortable in the way that the unknown was uncomfortable. This was also an area he'd forbidden himself to fantasize about, and now, it was... happening? About to, anyway? Maybe?

Daniel raised his fist to knock at the door, thinking that his time on the Goa'uld space station had been less scary. Then the door was opening and the moment Daniel saw him, he was certain about the comparison to that mission. Scary? Fucking frightening. Because Jack... oh shit, he looked good. He wasn't supposed to. He was supposed to look baggy and grungy and his usual drabby at-home self. But Jack had done the unexpected. Again. Daniel found himself staring at the typical grey Air Force t-shirt and the atypical black jeans that weren't baggy. And Jack's legs seemed to go on forever. He stood there holding a beer and a smirk on his face, and it took a moment to register both.

"Sorry," Daniel said. "Um, hey, Jack. Been home long?"

Jack opened the door wider, making room. "Get in here."

Daniel walked in, jacket in hand, and as Jack closed the door behind him, he felt his body heat--it could be his imagination though because Daniel knew he wasn't that close. But there was a tingle that ran down the back of his legs, telling him that right now, Jack could be across the fucking room and Daniel would feel him.

"Cooking?" he asked as he distracted himself with the scent of something Italian.

"Done and in the oven. Want a drink?" Jack asked, lifting the beer in his hand.

"Something stronger?" Daniel suggested, relieved to be able to talk normally. He draped his jacket over a dining chair and followed Jack into the kitchen. As Jack took a tumbler glass from the cupboard, Daniel noted that the Jack Daniel's was already sitting on the counter. "Have you had some already?"

Jack grinned lopsidedly without looking at him and retrieved some ice from the freezer. Dropping it into the glass, he poured a few fingers' worth of whiskey, then handed the drink to Daniel. "A bit, yeah."

Daniel took a mouthful and swallowed quickly, gasping a bit at the burn of it as it went down. He expected it to make him feel better but his stomach wasn't getting with the program.

"Hungry?" Jack asked, taking a long sip from his bottle.

Daniel watched the way he eyed him as he swallowed, at how provocative and self-assured it looked, and became perversely irritated. "Aren't you the least bit nervous about this?"

Jack looked back at him, taking in Daniel's jeans and white button-down shirt, the way both seemed to be straining against what they covered, and he suddenly swallowed. "Yeah."

Daniel grinned. "Are you stuck on monosyllables now?"

"Hungry has two," Jack quipped.

Daniel took another drink, with less burn this time. "So it does." He glanced at the oven read-out and noted that it was sitting at a low temperature. The food was on hold. Daniel cleared his throat and stuffed one hand in his pocket as he braved the front. "That, um... that was some kiss."

Jack felt his muscles relaxing. Just a little. But not quite all of them. "Yeah, it was. Who knew?"

More monosyllables, Daniel thought. "Neither one of us," he answered, then drained his glass quickly and decided it was now or never. Setting the glass on the counter, he stepped closer to Jack as he realized his heart was racing again. Reaching up with a slightly unsteady hand, he cupped Jack's cheek and stroked part of his mouth with his thumb. "I'd like to know if it's as sweet the second time around."

"Sweet?" Jack asked.

Daniel swallowed. "Sweet."

Jack gave him a long, searching look as Daniel touched his lips with his thumb. He considered having sex in the kitchen, then dismissed the idea. No soft surfaces. Instead, some play was in order. Maybe to relax, maybe to wind up. Jack really didn't care, but either way, something needed to happen before all the serious talking began. He reached up and stilled Daniel's hand, then with his eyes locked on Daniel's, took his thumb into his mouth. Daniel's lips parted in surprise, pupils dilating with arousal, and when Jack sucked at his thumb, Daniel made a small breathy sound that made him smile.

Rubbing Daniel's wet thumb over his lips, Jack said, "Let's find out if it really is better the second time around."

"Are you sure?" Daniel asked. He knew he was shaking from excitement and he tried to quiet his body but the rising anticipation wasn't helping.

Jack smiled as he set down the bottle and slowly leaned forward, cutting down their separation inch by inch. He was teasing, and he knew it, and it was exhilarating. "This will be different."

Daniel swallowed again, staring at Jack's lips, his eyes, and trying not to look down. "It will. But it feels..."

"Weird?" Jack asked, arching that broken brow as his smile changed into something decadent.

Daniel felt a tremor run through him, gazing at that expression. "A good kinda weird?" he half-asked.

"Let's hope so."

"But what if..." Daniel paused, then looked down, only he passed Jack's groin--barely--and focused lower. "Your knee."

"You're good at improvising, Daniel."

Daniel smiled crookedly, feeling the bad sort of tension leave his body. "So're you."

At last, Jack leaned in completely and brought their lips together in a soft kiss that slowly became heated and passionate and desperate. As he slid his hands over the small roundness of Daniel's ass for the first time, and moaned into his mouth when Daniel returned the caress, Jack thought, no, it wasn't just as sweet the second time around. It was better.

~

end