The next time Jonas managed to drag his eyes open, Teal'c was the one watching from the bedside chair. He had the opportunity to observe Teal'c briefly as the other man had yet to realize he was awake. He vaguely remembered the conversations from the other times he'd woken; Janet had said that Teal'c was his friend, he wondered if that was true. Teal'c had been nicer to him than anyone else on the base. There were a few people who tolerated his presence, but Teal'c had actually sought out his company on a couple of occasions. That, and Teal'c really seemed to enjoy teaching him self defense. He'd been pretty proud of himself for actually inflicting some damage on his attackers the fifth time around, they'd been more careful after that.

Teal'c looked up when Jonas groaned and quickly moved to help the younger man sit up more. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." Jonas forced a smile to his face; truth was, he felt like hell. "You don't have to sit here with me, I'm sure you have things to get done."

Teal'c had learned early on that Jonas had many different smiles, but he was only just learning what each one meant. The smile he was seeing now told him that Jonas was hurting and could really use a friend. "There is nothing that requires my attention more than sitting with you."

Jonas rewarded his concern with a real smile. "Thanks Teal'c. So, Maj Carter said you found the guys that have been attacking me." It came out as more of a hopeful question than a statement.

"Indeed, I just finished a most interesting conversation with them. They were escorted to the brig to await trial after Dr Fraiser completed her ministrations."

The light dimmed a bit from Jonas's eyes. "Dr. Fraiser helped them?" He tried to force his sadness away, no big deal, she was just one more person that had lied to him.

Teal'c laid a comforting hand on his arm. "She merely ensured they would survive to attend their trial. I believe she also took a small amount of pleasure in inflicting some pain when she administered the antibiotics." He smiled, glad that he wasn't the only one looking out for Jonas.

Jonas chuckled, he normally would have objected to someone getting hurt on his behalf, but this time it was just nice to know that people were looking out for him. His friends had taken care of him; it'd been awhile since that had happened. His job on Kelowna had left little time for friendships. He thought back to O'Neill's statement about wanting to get to know him better. "Teal'c, how do I get Col O'Neill to like me? I have a lot of respect for him and it would mean a lot to me."

Teal'c pondered that for a second, " I believe you are closer than you think JonasQuinn. Col O'Neill was quite upset when he found you, indicating that he feels some level of respect and protectiveness toward you already. I believe that he has already realized that he has been treating you unfairly. Continue to be yourself and he will come around."

"Thanks Teal'c, your friendship and advice mean a lot to me." He held up his hand, intending for Teal'c to shake it, but was surprised when Teal'c grasped his forearm instead.

"Likewise, JonasQuinn. I will leave you to rest now. I look forward to resuming out workouts when you are well enough."

"Me too, Teal'c."

STARGATE: SG-1

If it wasn't for Sam's quick reflexes, Jonas would have done a rather spectacular face-plant immediately outside the infirmary door. She held him for another minute while he fumbled awkwardly with the crutches. "You sure you're not a klutz," Carter asked with a touch of humor.

Jonas just smiled sheepishly. "We don't have anything like these on Kelowna. I think they're going to take some getting used to." He winced as his fumbling pulled at his injured ribs. "Thanks, by the way."

"That's what friends are for." She caught his wince and silently wondered if Janet had given in too easily. Jonas was already living up to his role as a member of SG-1 a little too well, he'd tried every conceivable argument to talk his way out of the infirmary. Apparently he was better at it than the rest of them though, because he managed to escape after only a day and a half. Of course, Sam now had the pleasure of teaching him how to use crutches; Janet had figured she was perfect for the job since she'd used them so many times herself.

Jonas managed to pick up crutch ambulation as quickly as he did everything else. A hundred yards later he was an expert. "Would you like to get something to eat? I need something real after what they tried to feed me in there."

Sam gave him a stern look, "Janet ordered me to take you straight to your room." It only took five seconds of Jonas's puppy dog eyes before she caved, "you win, lets go." She was rewarded with a blinding smile.

Upon reaching the commissary, Jonas immediately realized he had a major problem. With both his hands occupied by the crutches, he had no way to carry a tray. He tried not to let his surprise show when Sam came to his rescue, grabbing two trays. Having friends was going to take some getting used to.

"Why don't you get us a table, I'll get your food. What do you like?"

"Everything," he admitted honestly.

Sam shook her head as she moved down the line picking out food she thought he'd like. She vaguely remembered seeing him dipping his French fries into his shake. Gah, what she wouldn't give to have his metabolism. She couldn't help but smile at the way his eyes lit up when she returned with what were apparently some of his favorite foods. She wondered at how unhappy his life must be if something like that could make him so happy. "Jonas, I owe you an apology."

His eyes widened in confusion, "for what?"

"I was so busy dealing with my grief over Daniel's death that I didn't even realize how hard things have been for you. I mean, you-"

Jonas cut her off with a raised hand. "Sam you don't owe me anything. Just having your friendship is more of a gift than I ever hoped for." He shifted uneasily; suddenly nervous with the direction the conversation had taken. "So, about the hyperdrive instability?"

"Oh no you don't, no shop talk while you're on medical leave."

Jonas looked over Sam's shoulder at Jack, wondering if he'd ever understand half of what the man was saying, "Shop talk?"

Sam chuckled at his confused look, "he means, we're not allowed to talk about work. Have a seat, sir."

"Don't mind if I do. How are you feeling Jonas?" Jack tried to let his voice relay his genuine interest and concern.

"I'm fine Col, thank you for asking."

Damn, was there always going to be that fear in the kid's eyes when he looked at Jack. "That's good to hear. I thought you might be interested in this." He gently laid an ornate chess board on the table.

The Kelownan immediately disregarded his fear of the Col in favor of examining the board in great detail. He recognized many of the carvings from Dr Jackson's notes. "Sir, this must be at least a millennia old. Those carvings are of the Greek Goddess-"

"I know Jonas, Daniel told me all about it a couple of years ago. Have you played chess since you've been here?"

"Chess, no sir, I haven't."

"Good, maybe I'll actually win a game or two then."

Carter took that as her cue to leave, the two men had a lot to talk about. "Well, I'm beat. I'll see you tomorrow Jonas, good night sir."

"Night Sam, and thanks." He turned back to the board as Jack began setting out the pieces. "So, how do you play sir?"

The Col quickly explained the basic rules and premise of the game. They played the first game in near silence, but it was the most comfortable silence that had ever existed between the two men. Jack sighed with relief when he won the game, barely; the kid picked things up way too damn fast. "You up for another game?"

"Yes sir, maybe I'll be able to beat you this time," Jonas tried with a cautious smile.

"Yeah, you probably will. At least I managed to beat you once, Daniel won every game he and I ever played on this board." Jack quickly tried to rectify his mistake when he saw the fear and hurt invade Jonas's bright green eyes. "You're actually a lot like Daniel, and believe it or not, that's a good thing."

Jonas tried not to blush at the obvious compliment, "it is?"

"Oh yeah, see Daniel was one of my best friends. The fact that you're so much like him means that you're also the type of person I could become good friends with." The light that came to the kid's eyes seemed to fill the slightest bit of the hole that had been left in his heart by Daniel's ascension.

"Really?"

"Yeah Jonas, really. But I gotta ask, how old are you?"

Jonas chuckled, wondering how many times he'd been asked that particular question. People always thought he looked way too young to have achieved the things he had. "I'm 41, sir."

Jack's face registered his complete shock, "Wha-"

"Of course, that's in Kelownan years. Let's see, one Kelownan year is roughly two-thirds of an Earth year, so that would make me 25 this planet."

Jack's eyes receded back into his head at that. "That's more like it. So, you like hockey?"

Three games later, Jack was watching the kid's eyes drift closed. Unfortunately, even half asleep Jonas was still kicking his ass. "Ok, time for bed. Come on, I'll walk you home." Jack wondered if Jonas would get the underlying connotation of that statement. They quickly packed up the chess board and headed for the VIP quarters.

"I really appreciate you teaching me chess sir."

"No problem, I enjoyed getting my ass handed too me the last three games." Jack opened the door and ushered Jonas into his own room. "You need help with anything, you know, getting ready for bed and all?"

"No sir, I think I'll manage." He picked up the chess board from his desk where Jack had set it down. "Don't forget your board, sir."

"Why don't you hang on to that, I think Daniel would like you to have it. Rematch tomorrow night?" We can invite Sam and Teal'c too if you want."

"I'd like that sir."