Sudden Silence, a stargate: sg-1 fanfic

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters do not belong to me. This story is written for entertainment only. At least… I hope it's entertaining.

Category: Gen J/D friendship, Daniel whumping.

Warnings: This is NOT a death story, but if scenes like that bother you, then don't read this. Spoilers for 'One False Step'.

Author's Note: I wrote this one for the 'Jack crying' challenge on the Ancient Obsessions' list. Since I just can't picture crying over something sad, I figured it had to be over something else. It has been a great learning experience.

Hugs to Diney for doing the beta work.

This story assumes Sara never met any member of SG-1 (except for Jack of course), and that the events in 'Cold Lazarus' never happened. Also, the leading character's marital status in the end makes this story slightly AU, I guess. The setting is pre 'Meridian'.

Enjoy.

"Sudden Silence"
By Kreek©May06

Chapter 1

This wasn't one of the strangest phone-calls she'd ever had, but it was certainly one of the most worrisome. "Yes, of course." She waited for the woman on the other end of the line to finish her question. "I will tell him."

Gently, she put the green colored horn back in its cradle. It was one of those old-fashioned phones that actually required you to dial. The aversion her husband had developed for any communication device had led him to ban all phones from his house. However, she'd found this one stashed away in a box at her father's house. Reluctantly, her husband had conceded to having the thing in the living room.

The news that had reached her had left her startled and confused. For a second she could see the point of the man she loved. If they hadn't had a phone, this call wouldn't have happened. They would have happily lived on, regardless of the ghosts of the past. Ghosts she knew still haunted her husband at night, though he never talked about them.

She sat, rubbing her hands to stop them from shaking, because she knew this phone-call was going to change everything. Quietly she waited for Jack to come home.

Walking up to the front door, Jack paused for a while to take in the view surrounding him. His house was as it had always been. Nestled in a niche right next to a large pond, with nature's splendor like a beautiful painted picture wrapped all around it. The singing of countless birds wanting to let everyone know that spring had arrived topped the sound of fresh air rustling against the leaves. Only Jack didn't hear any of it. To him the painted picture on the canvas was silent; had been silent for over a year now. No matter how much nature screamed at him. Its joy couldn't reach his heart. Not after…

Abruptly cutting off his train of thought he picked up the groceries and went inside.

"Jack?"

Sara's warm voice thawed his heart somewhat. He'd found solace in her company. With her he could forget. Mainly because she'd been there when his son had died and understood his way of coping with life's darker side, his need for peace and quiet. There was a time when he would bury himself in his work. Flee into the clear chain of command structure that the military provided.

Not anymore.

Remarrying his ex-wife was one of the best decisions he'd made in the last year, and he hadn't regretted it since.

After dropping the groceries on the counter in the kitchen, he walked straight on into the living room. "Yeah, honey?" Finding her next sitting in the chair next to the phone, he could tell she was upset. Trying to soften the tense look in her eyes he leaned in to give her a kiss. "Sorry I'm a little late, but I ran into Burke. You know from the fish store? You know how he is; always trying to sell me-"

"Jack, who's Daniel?"

The question caught him completely by surprise, the name slicing through his heart like a knife. His limbs suddenly felt like they moved through molasses. He froze. A barely heard whisper escaped his mouth, "Daniel?"

His wife looked up at him, her expression trying to draw out the answers from his soul. A fierce determination glowed behind her green eyes. One he had to look away from. Turning his back towards her, he murmured, "He's… someone from my past. That's… all." He fell silent.

"I just got a call," she interrupted, clearly not amused. "From a Major Carter." She stood up to face him. "Jack, she wanted me to tell you that the airforce is officially listing him as dead."

Jack didn't even flinch. He just stared at the wall as unwanted memories started to push their way past his carefully erected boundaries in his heart and mind.

She noticed it, homing in immediately on the twitching corner of his lip, his deep intake of breath and his eyes that refused to focus on her. Grabbing his arm, she pushed, "I told her you didn't want to have anything to do with the military anymore." She pinched his arm, demanding his attention. "She said you'd want to know, because Daniel had been a real close friend of yours."

No reaction.

She valiantly continued, "At that point I could hear her sincerity; she'd trouble keeping her composure." The distress grew in her voice. "You never talked about him. I know you. You don't make friends easily. Especially after Charlie died. Jack… This major Carter told me he helped you get over Charlie's death."

"She had no right to-"

"Maybe. Or maybe she just knows you too well. Jack, if this… Daniel… really was your friend then he doesn't deserve the silent treatment. Tell me about him… Please?" Her eyes locked with his.

He grabbed her hand to loosen it from the grip on his arm. "It's in the past, Sara," he said, trying to keep his voice casual. "Let it stay there." unwilling to show the flood of emotions that he barely managed to keep at bay, he started to walk away.

"Just like you kept Charlie locked away?" she whispered.

He stopped abruptly to turn around.

"You refused to talk about what happened back then. You held it all inside. Walking away, every time I tried to talk to you. You're doing it again, Jack, creating a wall of silence."

Jack felt like a needle stuck on a record. Trapped in a memory. 'Silence'… that was the key word, wasn't it? He shook his head as a rising anger froze the words in his mouth. All he could do was walk away. Just like he'd done before.

Walk away and shut the gate…

He broke eye contact by shaking his head. Unable to deal with the unwanted memories he walked out, leaving his wife to stand shakily alone in the living room.

"Jack, go! It's me they want!"

His friend was cut off from the rest of his team.

Vines had whipped themselves around the archaeologist's wrists. Yanking him down in mid-run as they fled back to the gate. Hearing Daniel colliding hard with the forest-floor, Jack had turned. Only to find his way blocked by sweeping branches and lashing vines, which purposefully tried to keep them apart.

He reached for the grenade on his belt, but it was ripped out of his hands by a razor sharp vine coming from overhead. He nearly cried out in pain when the vine cut a deep gash in his hand while retreating with the device. Biting his lip he drew his knife.

Daniel was writhing on the ground, fighting the tightening vines that tried to keep him down and drag him back along the leaf packed ground. His black shirt ripped open as a vine violently lashed out at him to wrap itself around his waist. "Oh, God!"

His pain-filled cry made Jack lash out at the hostile foliage; determined to push his way through. But the moment he cut one of the green vines, the low humming sound the trees were giving off heightened to an ear-piercing shriek. Dropping the knife, he sank to the ground, barely hearing Daniel's desperate demand for him to go, as the noise filled his head with way too many voices…

Blinking his way out of the memory, Jack looked up, sucking in a deep breath. He was sitting on the edge of his bed. It was early evening, not yet dark, and a soft breeze came in from the bedroom window touched his cheeks, causing a shiver to run down his spine.

The mission had looked simple. Find out why the Goa'uld had left this planet, which was situated in the middle of their territory, alone. The planet -bearing a temperate climate- seemed fairly peaceful. Granted, the trees were huge. Much larger and broader than the Earth standard tree, but he hadn't assessed them as a threat…

"Sir," Carter whispered, "do you hear that?" She was standing close to a tree with a trunk twenty times the size of her in diameter. They'd been on this planet for over half an hour and hadn't talked much during their trek through the wood.

"Why are we whispering," he shot back.

"Shhhh," Daniel uttered, keeping his head slightly tilted.

"The trees appear to be humming O'Neill," Teal'c concluded softly.

"Really?" he stopped fidgeting to listen closely. Sure enough the trunk right next to him was giving off a low humming sound. If he concentrated he could actually hear voices embedded deep within the sound.

Sam smiled in amazement. "It sounds like they're…talking."

Jack turned to his linguist. "Any idea what they're saying?"

Daniel shook his head, raising his voice. "It sounds more like a constant stream of thoughts than an actual language-"

The humming abruptly intensified to a low drum, echoing his words back at him.

Startled, Daniel clamped his lips together.

Taken aback by the sudden increased sound, Jack looked at his friend for an explanation. Wisely keeping his voice down to a whisper he asked, "Daniel?"

"HELLO!"

Flinching at Daniel's sudden shout, Jack noticed he wasn't the only one. All around him the trees started to swing back and forth upon their roots as they intensified the word 'hello' ten-fold into a high pitched scream that banged on the inside of his skull, resulting in a paralyzing headache. Toppling over in pain, Jack fell to the ground along with the rest of his team.

Just as suddenly as it had started the shrieking stopped. The noise dropped to an acceptable level. Only this time, the humming sounded… angry…hostile even.

"Sir," Carter drew his attention in a soft voice. "I think the trees are sound sensitive."

"Ya think?" He snapped in a low whisper, getting up on his knees.

"I think it's more than that." Daniel chimed in softly. "Remember the planet where we accidentally changed the sound the local flora was making by killing one of the plants? All the indigenous people got sick. They only got better after we installed that sound device."

"Yeah, well these trees turned the volume down themselves." Jack muttered, rubbing his neck and standing up.

"That's just it. They seem far more 'intelligent' for lack of a better word. You saw how they reacted to my voice. They echoed it."

"I noticed," Jack said curtly.

"What if every sound is being echoed through the trunks, Jack? Listen." Enthusiastically, Daniel started to walk from one tree to another. "The humming is passing through these trees like a wave. Picking up sounds as it passes by."

"Oh my God," Sam whispered in awe. "It's a brilliant way of communicating,"

"Communicating?" Teal'c asked softly, voicing Jack's confusion.

"Yes, think about it," she explained. "If a tree got say struck by lightning on the other side of the planet, these ones would know about it within a day. A stream of thoughts may well be exactly what we're hearing."

Jack whispered harshly, "You're saying they're all connected?"

Daniel nodded, "And not just the trees. I also hear voices."

Putting two and two together, Jack looked around, listening to the irate voices amidst the low buzzing. "So, there must be people on this planet?"

Jack didn't like this. From deep within the humming, the voices turned more and more aggressive, the low noise attacking their senses. The place suddenly looked hostile. Did he imagine this, or did the wind suddenly pick up? Involuntarily he raised his P-90. "Okay, people. I say we move on… Quietly."

Chapter 2

Jack stood up, making his way over to the bedroom window. Leaning against the windowsill he stared outside at a world that seemed to have lost all its color. For weeks after he'd pondered over what he could have done differently…

A movement above him caught Jack's eye. His aim snapped upwards. Before he could let out a warning, thin vines lashed around his weapon, yanking it from his hands. All around him vines dropped down as quickly as a snake's tongue, ripping their weapons from their hands. No one had been able to fire one shot. Within a matter of seconds, the armory had disappeared between the canopy.

All except the Beretta Daniel was carrying. The archaeologist reached for his holster.

"No, don't." Jack ordered, reaching out a hand to halt Daniel's action. His loud words caused the volume around him to go up. The trees stirred ominously. Jack lowered his voice. "It will only get whisked away, like ours. You better hang on to it. We might need it…" His words caught in his throat as around them hostile looking people suddenly stepped in view, effectively cutting off their escape routes. "… later on," Jack finished cautiously.

The planet's inhabitants wore a bark-like second skin, it's dark brown surface carved and edged with randomly placed yellow spots. Where naked skin showed in face and hands, the coloring was a deep bronze. They were of average height, their lean muscular bodies leaving no doubt as to their stealth-like skills. What startled Jack the most though, were their eyes.

Pitch black.

Drawing back towards Daniel, Teal'c and Sam took on a defensive stance. Jack's first instinct was to draw his knife, but recalling his own words about weapons being whisked away earlier, his hand just hovered over its sheath instead.

The natives hummed to each other, a low bouncing noise. The trees picked up the sound, echoing it along through bark and native alike.

"Interesting, Sir," Sam said softly, "The second skin these people are wearing must have the same capabilities the trees have. It picks up and amplifies the sound."

Trapped and basically unarmed, Jack did not share Sam's intrigue. Eyeing the bark-like skin, he was shocked to find out the yellow spots were actually beak-like flowers, which insides were laced with tiny sharp teeth. Some of the people had one, others had two and there was one guy who actually had a whole bunch of them. As the natives stopped a few feet away from them, Jack made to touch one of the flowers. Angrily, the flora snapped its beak at him. Startled he pulled in his hand. "Cute," he whispered, grateful the thing's stem seemed glued to the bark. He turned, knowing when he was out of his league. "Daniel?"

The flowers gave off a sickly smell that lingered in the air, causing his archaeologist's hay fever to emerge with tenacity. A loud sneeze was all Jack got in return. The result was instantaneous.

A booming sound, originating from within the wide trunks around them, shattered the air in an obvious bout of aggressive rage. Painfully, it attacked their senses. Jack cringed, only semi aware that the rest of his team was reaching for their ears as well. The natives straightened, growling towards Jack's linguist.

A moment later the volume dropped to a frightening whisper. One of the men, the one with the most flowers on, stepped forward. His black eyes focussed on Daniel as he spoke harshly in a language Jack didn't understand.

"It's a Tibetan derivative. These people appear to be a tribe of some sorts," Daniel mumbled so that only his team members would hear. He shook his head, a clear sign the pain had gotten to him. "This one's the leader. You can tell by the amount of flowers he's wearing. He says: Distributor of harm… No, not 'distributor', destroyer… Destroyer of harmony, prepare to be…" He hesitated.

"What?" Jack whispered, biting back the sudden headache.

"I can't make it out. It sounds like 'constricted' or something."

Jack looked at him. "That doesn't sound too good."

The tribe joined their leader's angry tone of voice. Their whispers were echoing the words as they closed in on Daniel, who backed off. "It's not," he said warningly. "I… apparently I shouldn't have sneezed."

Jack noticed the hostilities were mainly directed at his friend. He grabbed him by the sleeve of his jacket and tugged, pulling him behind him.

"Loud noise must offend them, Sir," Carter chimed in softly. "It might even go beyond that. If life on this planet is connected through sound we might have actually done what they said. Destroyed the fragile harmony of this place, simply by talking out loud. No wonder these people are so worked up. Any outsider coming through the Stargate could easily destabilize the entire ecosystem."

"As the Goa'uld in the past most certainly have done," Teal'c contributed in a mere whisper.

"Yes, well…" Daniel stated, bumping into Jack as the tribe's leader and the vicious plants on his body came a bit too close for comfort, "Whatever these people did with them, it was sufficient enough for the Goa'uld to wipe this planet from their cartouche." He listened to the voices within the whispering sounds around him. "Apparently 'constricting' has something to do with choking… me."

Jack's head snapped up at the pronoun. "Okay, that's it. We're out of here." He still kept his voice low, trying to avoid witnessing a repeat of the booming noise. The last thing they need now was to get incapacitated by that annoying sound.

A vine dropped down from above them, intending to snare the archaeologist's wrists, but this time Jack was ready. He drew his knife and lashed out at it. The thing pulled back.

The leader hissed. The other tribe members started to move in.

Sam, Teal'c and even Daniel reached for their knifes, trying to hold the natives off.

More vines whipped at them from above, one of them hitting Jack on the cheek. The razor sharp edge left a deep cut. He cried out in pain, causing the foliage to reciprocate with a loud boom that made the ground shake as it grew painfully loud. Fighting against unconsciousness, Jack noticed some of the tribe members had fallen over. His voice barely audible over the terrible racket, he yelled, "Go!"

As one they started running back to the gate.

Jack didn't see where he was running. Vines hit them from all sides. The trees were angrily moving on the spot, doing more than waving in the strong wind that had suddenly picked up. Dead leaves blew in their faces, razor sharp, leaving scratches where it touched the flesh.

Although he didn't remember the heavy foliage on the way over, the vines grew thicker, the forest denser. Keeping an eye out for Daniel who was right behind him, Jack nearly bumped into Teal'c as the Jaffa came to a sudden stop.

"We appear to be surrounded, O'Neill."

Heaving, his hands on his knees, Jack looked around. Vines and branches were intertwining between the barks of the large trees, locking together to enclose a small clearing. The only opening that the rapidly growing foliage didn't cover was the path they just came from. Peering through it, Jack spotted flashes of native people drawing in on their position. He looked up at the Jaffa who didn't seem like he'd exerted himself at all, and hissed, "Cut your way through."

"Sir, I don't think that's…"

"Carter."

The moment she neared the branches with her knife, the twigs seemed to unlock and then close up again as soon as Daniel got near them. "Sir, if I cut them, there's a good chance we'll get knocked out by that sound again," she whispered harshly. "Besides, the wall is growing thicker, I don't think a knife's capable of doing the job."

"Oh for crying out loud, just…" he was rudely interrupted by a hoarse cry from Teal'c who, without warning, knocked him off his feet.

A vine, as thick as an anaconda aggressively rushed passed him over head. Jack could hear the wind displacement as it angrily went for its target. Daniel screamed when the vine hit him full force in the chest. He was blown backwards against the barrier of branches, which immediately started to wrap their vicious little twigs around him.

Lying on his back, Jack noticed that the vine swinging silently above him was covered in a slimy, sticky substance. Following its snake-like shape with his eyes he spotted something huge… and yellow between the upper branches of a massive tree. A flower, just like the one they'd seen on the chests of the natives, only far bigger. It dropped another thick, sticky vine towards him. Quickly rolling back onto his feet, he avoided the thing and made his way over to Daniel.

His friend lay quietly against the barrier. Sam and Teal'c pointed their knives at the thicket. The twigs, which held him hostage retreated, respectfully.

"Daniel," Jack hissed his concern.

The archaeologist's face was covered with the white slimy substance the vine had given off. His eyes were closed.

"Daniel."

"Jack, I…" his friend spoke too softly, fighting to wake up.

"Come on, Danny." He gently slapped the man's face. The mucus on his friend's cheek clung to his hand. Instantly his fingers started to stiffen.

"God," Startled, he snapped his hand back to try and rub it clean on the leaf covered forest floor.

"What is it, O'Neill."

"That slime, or whatever the hell it is…made my fingers feel numb." Icy fear gripped his heart.

Daniel was covered in the stuff.

Sam knelt next to him, studying the mucus on Daniel's face. "The slime on the vines must have sedative properties, Sir. The plant must use it to catch its victims," she spoke as quiet as possible, her tone urgent. "We must get this stuff off of him as quickly as possible."

"Teal'c, Carter, secure the surroundings." Wasting no time, Jack took off his vest and jacket, while Sam and Teal'c took up defensive positions against the fast approaching natives. The flower above had drawn in its vines. Apparently it had done its job. Taking his jacket, Jack used it to rub his friend's skin clean of the gory substance. He grabbed his canteen to splash water over his friend's face.

Groaning, Daniel regained some of his senses.

"You all right?"

Daniel nodded and covered his face with his hands. Slowly, he sat up. "Give me a moment."

"I don't want to rush you, but we don't exactly have a hell of a lot of time here." Jack urged.

"Sir."

He looked up at Carter's urgent whisper. The tribe angrily entered the clearing and blocked the opening behind them. The leader's black eyes fastened feral-like on the figure sitting on the forest floor. The flower above them started to move again, vines came down. Daniel had his head down, trying to negate the narcotic effects still running through his system.

"Okay, that's it." Jack reached for the vest, grabbed something and stood up, placing himself between the tribe and his friend. Flanked by Sam and Teal'c he challenged the leader, his eyes devoid of mercy, "See this?" The grenade he held in his hand halted the entire tribe in their tracks. The vines above froze in their descent. Warily, the leader eyed the destructive device. He seemed familiar with it. Looking the man straight in the eyes, Jack hissed, "When this thing goes off it's going to give so much noise, it'll blow away your entire ecosystem."

"Sir," Sam objected, "We can't actually use that. The whole planet will be destroyed…"

"Right now, I don't care a rat's ass about this planet. If this will get us out of here, then so help me God, I will…"

"Jack."

His friend's voice shattered his single-minded focus to get his team out of this mess. He looked down into stale blue eyes.

"You can't."

Jack knew Daniel meant it. He'd give himself up if it meant saving an entire planet. Well not as long Jack was alive to prevent it. "Watch me, Daniel," he snapped, holding the grenade a little higher. He stepped forwards.

Along with its leader, the tribe drew back. The sounds they made were soft and sounded frightened. Jack moved over to the thicket and ordered his friend, "Tell them to release us."

For a second Jack thought Daniel would just keep silent. But if there was anything his archaeologist had learned over the years with SG-1 it was to know when to keep quiet and let Jack take the reigns. The warm blue eyes that met him were full of misgiving, but he didn't voice them. Instead Daniel turned his head towards the leader and uttered a few soft words.

The natives hissed; the sound was echoed through the trunks around them. With a rustling sound the twigs unlocked. Vines and branches drew back, clearing a path leading straight to the gate.

"Come on," Jack urged. Motioning his team to go.

Teal'c picked Daniel up from the ground. He carefully proceeded into the corridor lined with excessive foliage. Jack followed, but a humming sound coming from behind them made him anxiously slow down until Sam had caught up with him. "Straight to the gate, Carter," he ordered. The trees were picking up the humming. The sound preceded them through the trunks and disappeared in the distance.

"Sir," his second in command spoke in quiet urgency as they cleared the corridor and started running. "Either that tribe just relayed what has happened to other tribes, or…"

"Or they sent out a warning that we are coming, I know," Jack finished. "Keep running, the sooner we're out of here, the better."

Chapter 3

Close to the gate now, Jack ordered Teal'c and Sam to take point and make sure the gate was still secure while he kept pace with Daniel who had trouble keeping up, due to the slime's lingering effects.

But the trees had been waiting for him to do just that.

As soon as Sam and Teal'c had put some distance between them, branches raised out of the ground. Growing in an alarming rate, they attempted to ensnare the running archaeologist. Ducking and avoiding the hostile foliage, Daniel managed to push his way through, narrowly missing the constricting foliage.

It started to get dark as they barged through the enclosing shadows, through the huge trees swinging their branches evilly down at them. The path ahead of them cleared. Followed closely by his friend, Jack sprinted towards it.

The wind picked up, until it reached the strength of an oncoming storm. Sharp edged leaves blew in their faces, making Jack miss the silent creeping vines on the forest floor. He missed the signs that would have told him the forest was holding back, until the trap could be sprung. When it did, Daniel's panicked scream made his heart lunge in his throat.

"Jack!"

He'd never heard Daniel's voice sounding so high-pitched before. Simultaneously, the whipping of multiple vines lashed through the air, the sound cutting through the wind like a knife as they got hold of both the archaeologist's wrists and jerked him off his feet. When Jack turned, Daniel was already down.

To Jack's horror more and more of the vines lashed out at his friend, wrapping themselves around an arm or a leg, and ripping open flesh where their razor sharp edges touched the skin. Daniel's cries echoed through the trunks, making Jack double back with fury..

But sweeping branches and lashing vines purposefully trying to keep them apart, blocked his way. Jack reached for the grenade on his belt. A razor sharp vine coming from overhead ripped it out of his hand. The vine cut a deep gash in his flesh while retreating with the device, but Jack didn't even feel it. Biting his lip he drew his knife.

"Jack, go! It's me they want!" Daniel was writhing on the ground, fighting the tightening vines that tried to keep him down and drag him back along the leaf packed ground. His black shirt ripped open as a vine violently whipped itself around his waist. "Oh, God!"

Moaning, Jack woke up.

The Stargate was located on a clearing upon a low hill, covered with lush green grass. The tree line started a couple of dozen feet down hill, and he found himself lying on the ground, not far from the nearest trees.

"Sir."

"Are you all right, O'Neill?"

His friends' voices slowly reached his still comatose brain. "Sir, where's Daniel?"

Jack's eyes snapped open at the name and he sat up. Too quickly it seemed, because his vision blurred instantly. Rubbing his temples he grunted, "The forest…has got him. Guess those evil little twines dropped me off here."

"We spotted the vines dragging you into the clearing, O'Neill," Teal'c explained. They retreated once we got near."

Jack looked up. Sam was kneeling next to him, while Teal'c stood waiting near the DHD. The tree line behind them seemed to flow. Like a tidal wave bouncing off the clearing. Rocking back and forth, the numerous trunks hummed viciously. Given with what he learned the trees were capable off, Jack knew that going back in there would be suicide. "Teal'c, dial the gate. Sam, go with him…" He stood up. "I'm going back for Daniel."

Sam's fierce objection was understandable. "No way, Sir. I'm not going to leave you and Daniel…"

"It would seem unwise for you to go after Daniel Jackson on your own, O'Neill," Teal'c interrupted her. His rigid stance the only thing conveying how upset he was at the idea.

"Look, you guys, this is not open for debate. When we all go, the noise is bound to betray us. On my own I can keep fairly quiet without that whole forest acting up as a resonance board."

"In that case, Sir," Sam said wisely, "wouldn't Teal'c be the better option?"

Jack looked at her for a moment, than simply said, "No." Their eyes locked. Beneath deep pools of blue he could easily read her concern. He hoped she could read his too. She bit her lip and then looked away in understanding. "Give me your knife," he asked quietly."

Handing over her knife, she said, "Sir, if you're not back in two hours…"

"I know… come and get me."

Though, obviously not liking it one bit, she nodded her assent. "Good luck, Sir."

Teal'c dialed home. The trees visibly shrunk back at the loud kawoosh the gate projected. When his friends had gone through the even horizon, Jack turned to head back towards the forest. He had no idea where Daniel had been taken, but with any luck, he might be able to find his way back to the point where they were ambushed and take it from there.

He neared the tree line. The thicket seemed to have calmed down. Its humming had lowered to a harmonious song. Jack figured that as long as he kept silent, he wouldn't have too much of a problem making his way through these woods. He was about to enter the dark forest when a soft voice, heard in between the low humming, froze him in his tracks.

"Jack…"

"Daniel?"

He could hear him. Hear him in the whispers surrounding him. The trunks seemed to be filled with the despair the one word spoken by Daniel projected.

"Jack, it's killing me… I can't breathe…"

Afraid they might lose the connection if he spoke up too loudly, Jack forced himself to speak in a low voice, "Where are you?" He took a step closer to one of the wide trunks lining the forest. It took a while for the answer to reach him.

"Yellow…flower." He could hear the weakening of Daniel's voice. "It has its vines, all around…m-" His voice was suddenly cut off by a squishing sound that seemed to take away his air. A sharp intake of breath and then, "…Oh, God." The sudden gasping conveyed through the tree trunks made Jack call out in despair.

"Daniel!"

The trees reacted violently. Wind picked up speed again, shrieking in his ears. Attuned to his friend's voice, his mind blocked out the sound of the raging wind when a soft panicked cry, no more than a whisper reached him, "It's… too late… Jack."

Ignoring, Daniel's words, Jack started running. He'd just cleared the first dozen trees or so, when a shot rang out. Freezing him mid motion. Him, and all the plant-life surrounding him.

The Beretta… Daniel would never fire it, unless…

The wind and air pressure dropped. His ears popped as all movement around him froze to a stand still. The entire planet fell silent. Overcome by a sudden dread, Jack called out in the still air, "Daniel!"

The silence he got back was numbing. Nothing reacted. The trees stood stock still, not a leaf rustled in the still air, as if the entire planet had fallen unconscious. Frantically trying to pick up any sound he leaned into a tree. Quick shallow breathing was relayed back through him through its bark. "Daniel?"

"Jack…I'm sorry…" Daniel's whisper died down.

Jack heard the soft despair. The regret that he wouldn't be able to make it out. "No, no, don't do this to me," he whispered fiercely. "Daniel!" But only the rapid breathing remained, until finally that too, stopped.

Jack sank down against the tree. The horrifying stillness surrounding him entered his heart, a cold empty quietness that held him in its grip as tight as one of the vines.

He knew his friend was dead…

He didn't remember much afterwards. He vaguely recalled heading over towards the yellow-flowered clearing, but halfway through, the earthquakes began. His self-preservation had kicked in and he'd tried to make his way back to the gate. Images of trees falling over still wrecked his nightmares.

That, and Daniel's panicked filled scream when he was pulled down.

They had tried to get back to the planet for weeks. But the Stargate wouldn't lock anymore, confirming that the place had been destroyed. Jack had opted for them to check out what happened by ship. However, Sam's calculations revealed that the planet's location was very isolated. Even if they took a ship from one of the nearest planets with a stargate, the journey would take months. With the threat of the Goa'uld increasing by the minute, Hammond couldn't afford to miss any of his people, let alone his flag team, for that long. In the end he'd been forced to order SG-1 to get on with their jobs.

Jack had done what he always did. You lose people, and you move on. Outwards there was no sign of the pain he felt at losing the archaeologist; the new missions went well. But both Sam and Teal'c knew better. When they asked him about it, when they pushed, he closed up. Either that or he rudely told them to change the subject.

He didn't recall when exactly he started visiting his ex-wife again. But he'd found it a relief to talk to someone who knew nothing of the SGC and she didn't ask questions. With her he could forget about this 'other life' he led. So, after his marriage, when the opportunity came to retire, he took it. Sam stayed with the SGC, but Teal'c went home.

His new life wasn't as glorious as the old one, but it had its plusses. For one thing he could go fishing every day if he wanted to. The trouble was that he found no pleasure in the simple activity anymore. Not like he used to. Because sitting on the edge of his pond or in a small boat forced him to mull things over, to recall the past, to recall Daniel, and he didn't want that. Jack had lived in that state of forced forgetfulness ever since, pretending that nothing was wrong.

Until he came home this afternoon.

Sara's mention of his friend, her accusation that Daniel deserved better than to simply be forgotten, cut through his heart like a knife. He didn't understand it. He'd lost friends before, Kawalsky for instance. But that loss didn't make his hands shake unexpectedly at times for months after. Or make him wake up in the middle of the night, screaming. This felt more like when he lost his son, if anything.

Still standing at the windowsill, Jack closed his eyes, admitting to himself how strong his friendship with the archaeologist had been, not that he'd seen Daniel as his son, but it did equal the bond he'd had with Charlie. The emptiness, the guilt over possibly having made the wrong command decision during that devastating mission and the grief of what he'd lost… who he'd lost, hit him hard

He sat down on the bed again and lowered his head in his hands; unable to release those desperately needed tears.

Sara paused, hand on the doorknob of the bedroom when she saw her husband sitting there. Looking lost. During this last year, she'd gradually noticed a change in her husband. Nothing big; perhaps he was more lenient; more humorous and was definitely more himself than she had ever known him to be. She wished she could have met the man… this Daniel, who'd succeeded where she couldn't.

The grief Jack obviously now felt touched her deeply. Vowing that she'd find out a bit more about his friend, if not from Jack, then maybe from Major Carter, Sara refrained from entering the room. With tears stinging in her eyes, she quietly closed the door.

Chapter 4

Busy redecorating the spare room, Jack was attempting to construct one of those do-it-yourself nightstand kits, while his wife stood on some stairs trying to properly apply the wallpaper when there was a knock on the front door.

"Jack, could you get that please?"

"Dammit!" Jack cursed out loud. His left thumb was already black and blue from the accidental hits it received, and the last incident just mere seconds ago caused him to furiously rub it against his trousers as he tried to negate the throbbing pain. He looked up, "What?"

"The door," she emphasized, nodding towards the hallway.

"Oh, yeah, right." Jumping at the chance to get away from those darn hammer and nails, he dropped his tools; the small drawer he had managed to put together collapsed into a heap of wood.

It had been a few days since Carter's phone call. After that difficult evening, the next morning, he'd told Sara a bit about Daniel. Not only because he knew she'd found out eventually on her own, but also because suddenly… he needed to. Not much, nothing that would breach security, but just… little things. Like the man's irritating habit to question his every decision, or like Daniel's infuriating ability to walk his own path, literally. "Stubborn, head strong, that's what he was."

She did not question the anger in his voice. Either she understood it or she'd decided just to listen. Or maybe both. In any case, recalling his friend's frustrating habits softened the horrifying memories and the scream he still heard.

Deep in thought he opened the front door and froze…

"Hi Jack."

His throat only released a soft whisper filled with disbelieve, "D…Daniel?"

Standing in the doorway, his friend looked remarkably… solid, as if last year's events hadn't happened at all. The archaeologist waved amicably with one hand, the corner of his lip twisting in an uncertain smile.

Jack stared at him in utter shock.

Daniel smiled softly, "Yeah, Jack, it's me. Uhm… can I come in?"

"Wow…" Raising his hands in an attempt to hold off the illusion, Jack took a step backwards, increasing the distance between him and the apparition, which he was sure it had to be. "Now, w… wait a minute." He stopped to stare at him. Then slowly cocked his head and hissed, "Daniel… you are dead."

"I know."

"I saw it. Well… I heard it, but on that planet hearing was seeing so-"

"It's me, Jack. I'm here, and I'm real."

Daniel took a step forward, and it was all Jack could do to not draw back from him again.

"Remember that yellow plant? The vines pulled me inside, and it held me in some sort of stasis, keeping me alive, while it occasionally tapped into my bloodstream to eat. Sort of a symbiotic relationship. I was lucky, it was one of the few plants to survive that earthquake; most of the trees were destroyed. Teal'c got me out. Did you know he traveled for over four months to get there?"

His ramblings certainly sounded real. "Teal'c?"

"Yeah, big guy? Jaffa symbol on his head? You can't miss him."

Jack didn't hear a word Daniel said, instead he reached out to pinch him mercilessly hard on the upper arm.

"OUCH!" His friend recoiled, hand protectively over his upper biceps, and his eyes shooting fire, "What the hell d'you do that for?"

"Just… checking. I'm just…" He shook his head. Daniel looked, forlorn. His face was full of red scratches, though he looked okay his eyes betrayed his story.

A year's worth of grief and sorrow caught the words in Jack's throat. He couldn't stop it, couldn't stop a multitude of feelings attacking him all at once. He touched his friend's face. It was enough for relief to wipe all those emotions away like a cleansing shower.

Daniel pulled him in. And for the first time in over a year Jack's vision blurred.

"Jack! Who is it?" His wife shouted from the bedroom.

Reluctant to let go, Jack eventually stood back, tears of joy glistening in his eyes. He turned as Sara walked into the hallway, rubbing her hands clean on a piece of cloth. She stopped at the sight in front of her.

"Sara," Jack croaked, "meet Daniel. Daniel, Sara, my… wife."

"You remarried?"

"Yep."

Sara walked forwards. Her eyes searching for the truth settled on Jack's, on his still wet cheeks. Turning towards Daniel, she said softly, "Oh my God."

Jack desperately tried to pull himself back together, but didn't quite succeed. He needed to some fresh air, right now. "If you'll excuse me, I… uhm…" he motioned at the pond in front of the house. "You'll be here when I get back?"

Stepping aside to let him pass, Daniel nodded. "I'm not going anywhere for a while."

Sara watched her husband go, heading for his favorite site at the pond. "You know, this is the first time, he's cried in over a year," she spoke softly.

"Yes, I know."

The answer surprised her. Her eyes shifted to watch Daniel as he stared after his friend. Just looking at him she could tell there was a strength about him that rivaled Jack's. His watery blue eyes told her that, along with a hint of stubbornness this man truly cared. "Thank you."

Daniel turned to face her. "It wasn't me. He did it all himself."

"Why didn't you call ahead that you were coming? We… Jack had no clue you were still alive."

"O-h," Daniel's eyes sought his friend again. "Let's just say I wanted to surprise him."

She frowned as a thought hit her. Amazed by his cunning she accused, "You planned it?"

A grin tugged at his lip. "You know how he gets. If he knew I was coming, I'd have been met by a closed up, military Jack." Daniel took a deep breath. "He needed this."

"Oh he did," she smiled warmly, "he most certainly did." She hesitated, "Want to come in?"

"If you don't mind, I'll just… stay here for a while."

She nodded in understanding. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

It didn't take long for Jack to regain his equilibrium. Marching back to the house, he spotted Daniel standing at the front door, exactly where he left him. Just to make sure he wasn't dreaming, he shouted, "Daniel!"

Having lost sight of Jack, Daniel was leaning against the frame of the door, staring at nowhere in particular. Startled, he looked up.

Walking up to him, Jack asked, heaving, "D'you know how to build a nightstand?"

"What?"

"You know… one of those, do-it-yourself kits?"

"No."

"Good, you can help, get inside, it's getting cold." Holding open the door for his friend he was surprised to learn the archaeologist hadn't moved. "Daniel?"

"I uhm…"

"What?"

"I sorta have this aversion to anything… indoors."

"Well… get over it," he ordered brusquely, knowing his friend didn't need pampering right now.

No answer.

"The plant, right?"

Jack was presented with a slight nod.

"Yeah, I can understand why a year being cooped up in that damn thing would make you claustrophobic, but Daniel…" he dropped his voice, "The SGC is underground!"

"I know that. I'm trying, Jack."

"We'll try together, now come on," he urged.

Daniel hesitated, but not for the reason Jack had expected. "Does this mean you're coming out of retirement?"

"Yeah, sure… why not. Besides, someone has to keep you out of trouble out there."

"What about, Sara?"

"Well, I'm gonna cut down on the hours, you know… get into work a little later, going home a little earlier. I have to keep her happy you know."

Daniel smiled, the tiredness draining from his face.

Jack nodded at the door, "Come on." Upon seeing the hesitation in his friend's eyes, he gently grabbed Daniel's arm to steer him inside.

With a bang, Jack closed the door behind them.

The End