A/N: This was originally meant to be a DanJan fic. Then I changed it to a slash fic, then a general fic. I own nothing but the OCs and all mistakes are mine. Slightly AU. Enjoy, and please review.
Jack O'Neill cried out in pain as he took another blow to his already broken ribs. His hands were chained to the wall above him; some of his fingers were broken. His lips were swollen; his head was pounding like nothing he'd ever experienced. He'd lost his vision in his left eye. His shirt was torn, as were his pants. He tried to brace himself before the next hit, which was to his stomach. He wanted to scream out again, but he wouldn't give them the satisfaction twice. He had already vomited up his breakfast, which was a bowl of fruit loops.
Daniel Jackson watched helplessly as the man tortured his best friend. He too was chained to the wall, unable to help. He caught Jack's eyes briefly. The look told him not to worry, help was on the way. However, if this kept up, it would be too late.
He knew he had the power to stop it, to end Jack's pain and cries. All he had to do was talk.
"Tell me what I want to know," demanded the man – Daniel thought he had heard him say his name was Tito – as he clenched his fist ready to lash out again.
"Don't tell him…anything," whispered Col O'Neill.
"Silence!" commanded Tito. The four words had earned Jack a fist in the gut.
He and Daniel had been exploring some ruins on the edge of a village on PX3-362. The natives had seemed friendly enough to begin with. The ruins were fascinating (well, not to Jack) and told of the villagers history. Major Carter and Teal'c were getting a tour of the town. It was only when they tried to leave the ruins that they realised something was wrong. The exit had been shut off and there was a group of soldiers guarding it. Everything had gone down hill from there.
Daniel pulled at the chains. He had to help Jack, but he couldn't give away any information about Earth or the SGC. He tried lying, but the stammering and the pauses to think had been a bit of a give away. He knew that SG-1 was on their way with backup. He just had to stall until they arrived. Jack just had to hold on a little while longer.
He watched in horror as Tito pulled a knife from his belt and held it to Jack's neck. "Tell me, or else he dies."
"Alright, I'll tell you what you want to know," said Daniel, looking the attacker in the eye. "But you have to let him go first, or I'm not going to tell you anything."
Tito shook his head. "I don't think you're in any position to be making demands."
"Daniel," said Jack before he began a coughing fit. Every bone in his body ached. His stomach and ribs were on fire. Dr Frasier wouldn't be happy when she saw what a mess he was in.
"Now give me the gate address."
Daniel jumped when he heard an explosion in the distance. Jack heard it to, but couldn't figure out what it was. Tito swore when the sound of gunfire echoed through the prison. It was only a few seconds before the next explosion, this time much closer. He thrust the knife into the Air Force officer's stomach and then picked up Daniel's P-90 before running out of the cell.
Jack was unconscious now, blood pouring out of the fresh wound, dripping onto the floor. Daniel pulled as hard as he could, but the chains wouldn't budge.
"Jack!" he called out. He looked at the door of the cell, the sound of gunfire blasting through the complex. "We're in here!"
A few moments later the door was kicked down. Daniel had never been so happy to see Major Sam Carter in his life. She was about to say something when she noticed the Colonel against the wall. She dropped her P-90 and got straight to work on the knife in his abdomen.
She was so focused on O'Neill that she didn't even realise Teal'c had arrived to help until she heard the sound of his staff weapon firing at the chains about Daniel's head. The archaeologist rubbed at his painful wrists before picking up Sam's weapon and kneeling beside her.
"Daniel, what the hell happened?"
"They wanted to know where Earth is. Jack played dumb, I wouldn't tell them, so they hurt him," he said, gasping for breath. "Is Janet with you?"
Sam shook her head and ducked as Teal'c fired at the chains holding the colonel to the wall. She caught him and gently lowered him to the ground. "No, but Dr Costello is."
Captain Lorne and Dr Kate Costello appeared moments later. Kate instantly began treating O'Neill as Lorne and Teal'c stood guard. "What happened to him?" she asked.
"They tortured him for information," he said, looking at his friends still form. "Be careful. His ribs are broken, and I'm sure I heard something crack in his left arm."
I'm so sorry, Jack, he thought.
Costello exchanged a glance with Daniel. "We need to get him back. Now."
Carter nodded and activated her radio. "Major Murphy, report."
"We think we've taken all the guards out. You should have a clear path back to the gate," said Major Hayden Murphy.
Teal'c and Lorne left the cell first. Carter grabbed a 9mm and helped the doctor get the colonel out. They carried on down the corridor with out incident.
Daniel heard something behind him and span around, weapon raised. Standing in front of him was Tito. He smiled, knowing what was probably coming next.
Daniel tightened his finger on the trigger, but then hesitated. Unlikely for Tito, Lorne had no problem putting a bullet through the guy's head.
The rest of the prison was free of guards. The bleeding from Jack's stomach wasn't getting any better.
"Daniel Jackson, are you injured?" asked Teal'c.
He shook his head. "No, my wrists hurt a bit, but I'm fine."
Carter dialled the gate and radioed for a medical team. She made sure that Col O'Neill was safely though before she pushed Daniel and the other members of the rescue team through the wormhole. She took one last look around before she followed her friends back to Earth.
Janet Frasier was waiting with a medical team at the SGC. The alarm blared for an incoming wormhole and Sam's IDC was received. She'd put the infirmary on stand by ever since only half of SG-1 returned from their latest mission.
Col O'Neill was carried through the gate on a stretcher. Janet took one look at him and immediately began baking orders at her staff.
"Is any one else injured?" she asked Dr Costello.
"No. Only the colonel."
Janet cast a quick glance at Daniel. He nodded to her, letting her know he was OK. She helped get Col O'Neill onto a gurney and wheeled him to the infirmary.
General Hammond left the control room and went to greet his men. "Dr Jackson, pleasure to have you back with us, son."
Daniel nodded. "Thank you, General."
Hammond turned to look at the whole team. "Alright, I want you all to go to the infirmary to get cleaned up. We'll de-brief in an hour."
Everyone nodded and began to pile out. Daniel stayed behind to answer the General's question about Jack and joined his team a few minutes later. He received his post mission exam and was told to eat and then get some rest.
He sipped at a cup of coffee that had been offered to him and sat down next to Sam, waiting for news of their injured friend.
"Are you OK?" asked Sam.
Daniel shrugged. "Physically, I'm fine."
"Mentally?"
He shrugged again. "I could have stopped this from happening. I could have stopped them from hurting him, but I didn't."
She put a hand on his shoulder. "You couldn't have known this was going to happen."
Daniel sighed and looked at his watch. The de-briefing would begin in a few minutes. "We'd better go," he said, getting up off the chair.
General Hammond was waiting for them in the briefing room. He'd been to the infirmary to check on his teams, but Dr Frasier was busy with O'Neill in surgery.
Everyone sat down and the meeting began.
Major Carter gave a report on the planet and it's inhabitants. Tito's men.
Daniel told him about how the team was separated and the trap that had resulted in their capture. He told them of Tito and the horror that he had put them through. Carter told him that the rescue mission went smoothly and only O'Neill was injured.
The General nodded and dismissed them, telling them to get some rest. The three members of SG-1 went back to the infirmary for news of their leader. He was still in surgery.
One of the doctors wrapped a bandage around Daniel's wrists and gave him some aspirin, which he swallowed with some coffee. He just couldn't shake the feeling that this was all his fault and that he could have prevented his friends suffering.
"Why don't you get some rest?" said Sam.
Daniel rubbed his eyes. He hadn't slept for over twenty-four hours. Nodding, he said, "Wake me up if they have any news on Jack." He got up and made his way to his usual infirmary bed. He really didn't want to sleep, but knew his body needed the time out. Jack would be in surgery for hours, he'd be awake by then.
Just a few minutes, he told himself as he drifted off into a deep sleep.
"Daniel? Daniel, wake up," said Sam, gently shaking the sleeping archaeologist's shoulder.
"What?" he mumbled, sitting up and putting his glasses on.
"Col O'Neill just came out of surgery."
He got up and the two went to join Teal'c and General Hammond.
Janet opened the door and snapped off her blood-covered, throwing them in the nearest bin. She wasn't surprised to see SG-1 waiting for her.
She smiled. "He'll be OK."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well done Dr Frasier. Call me if there's any news," said Hammond, as he left the infirmary and went to finish the pile of paperwork waiting for him in his office. He wanted to find out more about the Colonel's condition, but he trusted his staff to do their job.
"Can we see him?" asked Sam.
Janet smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry, we're just getting him settled in. It will be a while before he's up to visitors," she said.
"Janet, please," said Daniel, looking down at the small doctor.
She shook her head. "Maybe in a little while."
The group stayed in the infirmary for another hour in case Janet gave in and let them see him. But no luck. Eventually Sam went to her lab to work on a new proton generator and Teal'c went to kelnoreem in his quarters, leaving Daniel alone.
Janet had finished checking up on Col O'Neill. The surgery had gone as planned, but as well as the stomach wound he'd broken two ribs, cracked three and had broken his wrist. He was also going to have a very painful headache for the next few days.
She looked around and saw Daniel sitting in a chair staring into space, the way he did when he had a brilliant idea. Except she doubted that was the case. She walked up to him and sat down on a chair opposite him. It was late at night, all the staff getting ready to go home. She was the only one on night duty.
"Are you OK?" she asked him.
He jumped when he heard her voice and looked up. "Oh, hey," he said. "I'm sorry?"
She smiled warmly. "I asked if you were OK."
He nodded slightly. "How is he?"
"Well, he appears fine, but we won't know until he wakes up," she took a moment to study him. The two had been friends for years now and she knew when something was bothering him. "Anything on your mind?"
He shrugged.
"You know you can tell me anything, Daniel," she said, putting a hand over his. "Doctor/patient confidentiality, remember?"
He sighed and looked down at their hands. "It's my fault, Janet," he whispered.
She gave him a confused look. "What is?"
"What happened to Jack. It's my fault."
"What do you mean?" she asked, leaning forward in her chair.
Tito's words echoed in his mind like thunder. "He shouldn't have had to get hurt. If I had just told Tito what he wanted to know, maybe Jack would be alright."
Janet squeezed his hand gently. "His is alright. And who's Titio?"
"The guard who tortured us for information."
She nodded to herself and waited for him to continue. She didn't want to force information out of him. She would suggest that he see the SGC's shrink, but she knew that he'd just make up an excuse not to.
"If I had just told him something, anything, maybe this wouldn't have happened," he said.
"And if you had, do you think he would have let you live?" she asked. "Or do you think that the Colonel would have wanted you to tell them how to get here?"
He considered Janet's words. She was right; Tito wouldn't have kept them alive after he had gotten what he wanted. He thought back to their escape, why had he hesitated to put a bullet through the guy's head? He deserved it.
"Maybe your right," he said, running his free hand through his hair.
She smiled. "Maybe I am, and maybe you should get some rest."
He nodded and stood up. "Thank you, Janet."
"I'll let you know if there's any news on the Colonel."
He smiled at her before turning around and walking to his quarters. He opened the door and collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Janet let SG-1 visit O'Neill the next day. He was hooked up to a dozen machines, all helping to keep in alive in various different ways. The colour had been drained from his face, making his hair look greyer than usual. Janet told them that he should wake up in a few days and that no permanent damage had been done.
Sam, Teal'c and Daniel spent the day with him in case he woke up, but he didn't.
Daniel sat there, mentally apologising to Jack. He knew the Colonel hated the infirmary, he wasn't going to be happy when he found out how long he was going to have to stay in bed.
A day or so later, he finally woke up. Carter was with him at the time and went to fetch Janet.
"Hey, Colonel," she said, checking his vitals. "Can you open your eyes for me?"
Unable to complain, he obeyed the command. The light was blinding his eyes, causing his vision to go blurry. Or maybe that was the blow to the side of his head he took, he didn't know. He didn't remember much either.
"What happened?" he mumbled.
"Long story," said Carter, getting up to radio the others.
Jack had fallen asleep by the time they arrived. Janet had asked him a few questions, which he did his best to answer in his injured, drugged state.
The next time he woke up, Daniel was by his side. The archaeologist was typing up his mission report, his eyes fixated on the screen.
"Hey," whispered O'Neill.
Daniel looked up and smiled. His put the laptop down on the floor and asked, "Are you OK?"
"I'm good."
Which Daniel knew was military speak for 'hurts like hell'. "Do you want me to get Janet?" he asked.
"No."
Neither of them said anything for a few seconds, both waiting for the other to start a conversation.
"I'm sorry, Jack," mumbled Daniel.
Jack looked at him, his chocolate brown eyes showed a mix of confusion and pain. "For what?"
"This. What happened to you is my fault," he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I could have stopped them from hurting you, stopped them from torturing you…" he trailed off.
"It's not your fault."
"Yes it is, Jack, and I'm sorry."
"Daniel, I'm glad you didn't give them the information they wanted," said Jack. "I told you not to and you didn't, and they didn't find Earth."
"That's cause they're dead," he smiled grimly.
Jack nodded slightly, his eyelids becoming heavy. Stupid drugs. "You're forgiven, even though you have nothing to apologise for," he said before he gave in and drifted off to drugged sleep.
Daniel nodded to himself and took his glasses off, rubbing his eyes. He sat there for a while, letting what Jack had said sink in. He lent back in his chair, listening to the beeping of Jack's heart monitor. It would be weeks before he healed, but once he had, Daniel knew he'd be back to his old self.
He smiled to himself, the guilt of the last few days finally beginning to leave his conscience.