"I still can't believe Dr. Fraser let you out first," Jack complained.

He may have promised not to try to escape early, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to whine about it. Somewhat to his surprise, Daniel was here for that. For whatever reason, Daniel had overcome his usual aversion to hospitals, and had so far spent hours listening to Jack gripe about the nurses, the food the nurses brought, and the fact that he was bound by honor not to escape ahead of schedule.

Between times, they played cards. Carter, also still infirmary-bound, would sometimes join them, but mostly she was either reading or pretending she wasn't working on a project remotely via notebook or laptop. Today, however, she had finally wiggled her way out from under Dr. Fraser's thumb. Actually, Carter had escaped the infirmary, and was probably well enough that Dr. Fraser wouldn't have the orderlies drag her back. That meant that, for the moment, Jack was the only patient being kept here. That was technically a good thing, because it meant nobody was seriously ill or injury. But it was also a lonely thing, and Jack was inexpressibly grateful for Daniel's company.

"I got hit by a bullet," Daniel reminded him, "You got an alien disease."

"Bullets still kill people last I checked," Jack argued.

"Not when they barely graze your shoulder. Scar did more damage than the bullet."

"Speaking of," Jack said, "How is that jerk anyway?"

"Still a jerk," Daniel replied with a nod, "But... I think it'll be worth it."

"Did you ever figure out what they wanted?"

"I asked Ginger," Daniel answered, "And she said something kind of like... 'you wouldn't understand.'"

Jack nodded, not the least bit surprised.

"Who got saddled with that assignment anyway?" Jack asked.

On account of his injury, Daniel had been required to teach a crash course of Howler linguistics to a team who then had to go out and face talking to the monkeys without him. Daniel had been getting regular reports from them, and they read like the team thought they were being punished for something, only they couldn't figure out what. Jack found them extremely amusing. Daniel seemed disappointed in the team's lack of ability to see the importance of what they were doing.

"SG-9," Daniel answered, in a tone that inquired 'who else?'

"Remind me to send them a sympathy card," Jack said.

"The Howlers weren't that bad," Daniel protested.

"Please," Jack groaned, rolling his eyes.

"No, I'm serious," Daniel said, "Remember that planet a few months ago where they tried to drown Teal'c?"

Jack grunted noncommittally.

"The planet with the Linvris? That was a fun time," Daniel continued with sarcasm, having suffered the worst time of any of them except perhaps Teal'c on that one.

Jack frowned, but refused to concede the point.

"Svoriin," Daniel said simply.

"I'll never see bugs the same way again," Jack admitted.

"The Keeper's planet?" Daniel persisted.

"Eh..."

"What about the prison planet? I not only got to experience what it was like to be nearly choked to death by a guy who should have been named something absurd like Tiny, we freed a mass murderer."

"You're just a little ray of sunshine today, aren't you?" Jack asked.

"Look, all I'm saying is those were all way worse than what the Howlers did," Daniel concluded.

"The fruit didn't almost kill you," Jack said.

"No," Daniel muttered, "But I did almost get my arm torn off."

He didn't remind Jack that particular incident had been caused in part by his taking Jack's advice, but Jack flinched anyway.

"Anyway, much as that would've sucked," Daniel said, pretending not to notice Jack's reaction, "it's not the worst thing that's ever happened off-world."

In the lapse of conversation that followed as Daniel slid the playing cards out of their box and tried to shuffle them without disturbing the still healing injuries on both arms before giving it up and handing the deck over to Jack, the silence itself seemed to speak, to say what Daniel couldn't. Regardless of wind, weather, men, monsters, imprisonment or torture, for Daniel there would only be one worst mission, and they both knew which one that was, so there wasn't any need to say it aloud.

"Yeah," Jack said quietly, staring at the cards as he dealt them, "You're right."

"Yeah," Daniel agreed quietly, sipping from the thermos of coffee he'd brought with him, and making a face that suggested someone in the mess would be hearing from him, "Sometimes that sucks too."

There was increasing evidence to support Carter's theory about the origin of the Howlers, and the device's part in it, but there was so far nothing to suggest that there was any way to reverse the genetic alterations. Not after so many generations. Carter thought that might have been what the Howlers were hoping for all along, but Daniel had doubts that anyone really understood what the Howlers wanted; not even the Howlers themselves seemed clear on it.

"Daniel," Jack said suddenly, "Why don't you go home? You don't have to be here. I know you hate hospitals just as much as I do. So what are you doing here?"

"What? I can't keep a friend company?" Daniel asked, implementing a forced smile that barely reached his lips and sure as hell didn't make it all the way to his eyes.

Jack just gave him a stern look, and waited.

Daniel sighed, pretending to be sorting the cards in his hand, "The, uh, rug..." he cleared his throat, "Couldn't get the blood stains out of it. So I... uh... I threw it away."

"You? You threw something away?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Daniel said quietly, "And now there's a... a big... empty spot in my living room. And... I don't like... walking across it. Or looking at it. Or looking at something else to avoid looking at it."

Jack sighed as comprehension dawned. This wasn't the first time Daniel had killed, but it was one thing to kill the enemy in the field, or even to make a mistake that got an innocent killed. It was quite another when the killing ground was your own living room, and the dead a monster from your own past.

"Have you ever thought of owning an actual house?" Jack asked.

"What?" Daniel looked up, startled.

"I mean it. A little place somewhere closer to work, further from the neighbors, easier to keep the cops out of next time you have a home invasion... fewer stairs... Or," Jack continued, "You could just keep hiding at the SGC. Teal'c doesn't seem to mind living here. I mean, you already come here on two thirds of your days off to be close to your precious artifacts, it's not like it'd be-"

"No, it's not a bad idea," Daniel interrupted, "It's just... I.. I actually had thought of it."

He did not add that he was surprised Jack had thought of it, though they both knew that's what he meant. Jack, who had planted himself firmly in a cabin by a pond with no fish, and had every intention of remaining there until he died in a permanent fashion. Jack, who abhorred the idea of moving house, regardless of how many unhappy memories it might be filled with. But Daniel wasn't like Jack.

Jack smiled crookedly, "Well, after I get outta here, I have some time off coming up. What's say I help you move all your stuff?" Again, he did not add.

"I'd like that," Daniel said, looking as if a tremendous weight had just been lifted off him.

Jack knew it wasn't the prospect of moving all that junk by himself that made his spirit quail at the thought, it was the reality of having to face all those memories by himself. Jack knew, because he'd done it himself a time or two. In a way, that was part of his aversion to moving. If you didn't move, you could put the painful memories into a closet and... while not forgetting them, just sort of... leave them there. But it went against Daniel's nature to hide, even from painful memories. Which told Jack that the pain Daniel kept in that apartment must be worse than he'd suspected, otherwise Daniel wouldn't be hiding out at the SGC.

"That still doesn't explain why you're hanging out in the infirmary," Jack pointed out, "You've got an entire lab full of lovely knickknacks that probably need dusting or something."

"I do," Daniel replied, then sighed and looked Jack in the eye for the first time since they'd started playing cards, "But you came with me to face a monster that you didn't ever have to see; the least I can do is visit you in the hospital."

"And lose at cards," Jack pointed out, having won four out of five games they'd played in the last week.

"And lose at cards," Daniel chuckled agreeably.

They were quiet for awhile, just playing cards and enjoying each other's company.

Finally, Daniel broke the silence, quietly saying, "Thanks, Jack."

"For what?" Jack asked, knowing Daniel wasn't talking about the offer of help moving out of his apartment.

"For coming after me."

"Anytime, Danny. Anytime."

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the story, thanks for reading (and reviewing), goodnight everybody.