"Daniel! Forget it, we are not going back to PX3886."
"Fine! I don't understand why you guys have me around. You never listen to me anyway."
Jack just watched as Daniel made his way down the ladder. It had started out as a good night just hanging out, watching the stars, a few beers...Daniel had been so upset lately, Jack knew he missed his wife and damnit if the kid hadn't gotten through his tough exterior. He made him feel protective. He hadn't felt that way since...Charlie.
Jack looked up and watched Daniel cross the lawn, "Ah, Damn."
Just as Jack stepped off the bottom rung of the ladder, he saw the headlights. He started to run, "DANIEL!"
Daniel was half way across the street when he heard Jack yell and before he could even turn everything went black.
Jack watched as the car tried to brake and swerve. He saw Daniel turn and then he was in the air being thrown against the windshield and then to the ground.
"Oh God, NO!" Everything seemed to slow down as Jack skidded to a halt beside him. "Daniel?"
Daniel was lying on his side facing away from him. Jack gently turned him over and gasped as he saw the blood. There was a long gash in Daniel's shirt and Jack could see the deep cut on his side. Jack looked up when he heard the car door.
He watched as the driver of the car got out. He couldn't be more than 16. Suddenly time rushed back to normal and he was yelling at the kid to call an ambulance. He looked around and saw that some of his neighbors had come outside and were now hovering around Daniel. Daniel...
Military training catching up to him, Jack began to check out the damage to his friend. He noted there were a lot of scrapes on his arms and another gash on his forehead. Next he felt for broken ribs and found two. He started checking his arms and legs for fractures...
"Jac...?"
Daniel's eyes were open, "I'm here Danny. It's going to be ok."
Daniel tried to turn his head, "Jac...?"
Jack could here the catch in his friend's breathing. From experience he knew that wasn't a good sign. When Daniel started to gasp for breath, Jack lifted him into his lap. "Hey kid, stay with me...Danny?" He could hear sirens in the distance and hoped they got here quick.
Daniel was lying with his head against Jack's chest, "Sorry...Ja..." A coughing fit stole his breath.
"Danny, don't be sorry, just stay with me here. You hear me Danny? Don't do this to me..."
Daniel could feel his eyes getting heavy and knew that he couldn't keep them open much longer. "Tired..."
Jack felt his heart sink as Daniel's eyes closed and for the first time in a long time he sent a silent prayer and hoped someone was listening. Someone touched his shoulder and he looked up to see the paramedics talking to him. He had been so focused on Daniel that he hadn't even noticed their arrival.
As they lifted Daniel and placed him on a stretcher, he began to cough again and this time Jack saw the blood on his lips. He watched as they did their own assessment of Daniel's injuries. One of the paramedics pulled him aside and he tried to focus on what he was being told.
"Sir? Sir, would you like to ride with him?"
Jack felt overwhelmed as he looked around. He saw the kid from the car talking to the police and the startled faces of his neighbors. Everything was tinged blue and red as the police lights flashed over and over. Something on the ground glinted and caught his eye. He stooped down to pick it up and his hand came back with Daniel's glasses...
"We have to go now sir."
***
Jack sat in the corner of the ambulance. He watched as the paramedics attached LEDs and an IV. They cut away what was left of Daniel's shirt and applied bandages to the gash in his side. Jack didn't want to see anymore so he tried to focus his attention on talking to Daniel. He knew that Daniel probably couldn't hear him but he wanted his friend to know that he wasn't alone. Jack reached out to brush a stray curl from Daniel's forehead and saw his eyes open. At first he was relieved but the sound of an alarm going off quickly made him panic.
"We're losing him. Let's defib. Charge to 300. Clear!"
Jack watched as Daniel arched off the stretcher.
"Again. Clear!"
Jack closed his eyes.
"Got him! Ben, he's not breathing get him bagged!"
Jack opened his eyes and watched as they intubated Daniel. He felt the ambulance stop and the doors flew open. Just as they rolled the stretcher out he saw Daniel open his eyes again and then he was wheeled into the ER.
***
"Jack?"
He looked up to see Captain Samantha Carter and Teal'c in front of him. He heard a familiar voice and could see General Hammond speaking with a nurse not far away.
"Colonel O'Neal, where is Daniel Jackson?"
Jack looked back at Teal'c, "He...He's still in surgery. They haven't told me anything yet."
Sam sat beside him and took his hand, "How are you sir?"
"I'll let you know when I figure it out." With that he stood up and began to pace the waiting room. He stopped when General Hammond entered the room followed by a young doctor.
Jack looked up as General Hammond and the young doctor entered the room. The general made a slight gesture in Jack's direction and then motioned for Sam and Teal'c to follow him out. This left Jack and the doctor alone. Jack could feel his heart beating.
"Jack O'Neal?"
"Yeah, that's me."
The doctor held out his hand and Jack noticed again how young he looked.
"I'm Doctor Goldstein, the doctor in charge of Daniel Jackson. Mr. O'Neal, I have you listed as next-of-kin."
Jack dreaded what was coming next. He could tell that the doctor was uncomfortable which he knew meant bad news. "How's Daniel?" //Please don't tell me he's dead...//
"Well, Mr. O'Neal, he made it through the surgery. We lost him twice on the table but he seems to be a fighter..."
Jack smiled at that one, "Yeah, he's pretty tough."
"Ok, now I know this is hard Mr. O'Neal,"
"Jack."
"...Jack, but I don't want to give any false hope..."
"Tell me."
"He had two broken ribs, one of which punctured the right lung. He was in full respiratory failure when he came in but he IS breathing on his own now. Just to help conserve his energy right now, we still have him on the respirator. He has a lot of minor cuts and bruises as well as the deep laceration to his right side. He also had a nasty cut on the forehead and we're pretty sure he'll have a concussion from that..."
Jack gave the doctor a suspicious glance, "pretty sure?"
"We won't know until he wakes up. Our main concern right now is internal bleeding. We'll keep him under close observation for the next 24 hours. After that we'll just have to wait and see. Now, is there anything else I can answer for you?"
"Can I see him?"
***
The doctor pointed Jack toward a room and then went to speak to the nurse. Jack was left standing in the hall staring at the door...Daniel's door. He wanted to go in, but he was afraid. What if Daniel didn't make it, what if he was already gone? Jack practically ran to the door. He only paused for a moment before pulling it open and stepping inside.
//Oh God, Daniel...//
Daniel lay on the bed with various tubes and wires connecting him to the machines that were all around him. They merrily blinked and chirped as Jack stepped closer to the bed. Daniel's normally pale skin was even paler, almost the same color as the white sheets on which he laid. Jack cringed at the tube that was taped to Daniel's mouth, feeding him precious oxygen, helping him breath //...helping him...the doctor said he was breathing on his own...that's good// Jack reached out to brush a stray lock of hair away from Daniel's face, "Hey Danny, it's me. Don't worry kid, you're going to be fine."
Jack looked up as the door opened and a nurse came in and started checking the IVs and wires. "Dr. Goldstein wanted me to let you know that you can stay as long as you like. Normally we limit visits to patients, but right now Dr. Jackson is the only one in here so..."
Just then Jack remembered Sam and Teal'c were waiting in the lobby, "Can he have other visitors? He has some more friends outside."
"We're not supposed to let anyone but family members in the ICU," she looked at Daniel, he really was kind of cute, "Ok, ten minutes and only one at a time. I could get in a lot of trouble for this..."
"I know Daniel would really appreciate it. Isn't that right Danny?" Jack brushed another stray lock of hair away from Daniel's face.
The nurse smiled at the gesture, "Ok, well if you need anything I'll be right outside at the nurse's station."
Jack smiled down at Daniel, "still charming the ladies, eh Danny?" //Not that you ever noticed// He patted Daniel's hand and then turned to go.
***
Six hours later found Jack O'Neal sitting in a chair waiting for Daniel to wake up.
Jack didn't know how it had happened. He had thought he managed to keep everyone out. After Charlie...Charlie. He couldn't think about that now. Daniel was going to be fine. He had to be.
Jack looked up at Daniel's face.
"You're going to be fine, Danny. You hear me? You're going to be fine." //You have to be...I can't go though this again//
"Sir?"
Jack looked up to see Captain Carter standing beside him.
"You need to get some rest, sir."
"I'm fine, Sam," He looked down at the hand he was holding.
"He's going to be ok, Jack."
"I know."
Sam looked down at Daniel and for the first time in a long time she noticed just how young he looked. "I'll be outside if you need anything...not supposed to be in here."
"Thanks Sam"
He turned his attention back to Daniel as she turned to leave. Sam reached for the door, "This wasn't your fault Jack."
Jack heard the click of the door closing.
***
Twelve hours after he arrived in the ICU, Daniel Jackson woke up. At first it was like being underwater. He heard sounds but couldn't make them out. Then as he steadily floated to the surface he recognized individual voices. He decided to just float there for a while because while he couldn't remember what had happened to bring him to this place he did remember the pain. As he listened he heard Sam and Teal'c and another voice that he couldn't place. Once he thought he heard General Hammond. But mostly he heard Jack. Jack was telling him that everything was ok and that he needed to wake up. He listened to Jack talking and something in his voice made Daniel think that maybe Jack was right.
The pain was excruciating. At first all he could feel was the pain in his chest, then he opened his eyes. It felt like a knife stabbing into his skull.
"Daniel?"
Jack was out of his seat and leaning over Daniel. He watched as Daniel's brow furrowed in pain and he reached a hand up to gently smooth his hair away from his face. The soothing gesture seemed to relax Daniel so he kept caressing his brow. He watched as Daniel's eyes fluttered and then opened only to squeeze shut in pain.
"Hey there Danny...'bout time you woke up"
Daniel tried to say something and it was then that he became fully aware of the breathing tube. He started to choke.
"Daniel!" Jack reached over and pressed the nurse's call button, "Come on Danny...Relax...Everything's going to be ok..."
Daniel reached his hand up and started to pull on the tube. Jack didn't know what to do so he grabbed Daniel's hands and held them away from the tube. Daniel for his part was still fighting the machine and he began to thrash around. Just then the nurse rushed in and administered something into an IV on Daniel's hand. Daniel slumped back and Jack watched as the nurse rechecked his IVs and LEDs. Daniel's eyes were still open but Jack could see that they were glazed over. He reached out his hand and began to gently brush Daniel's brow again. He watched as Daniel's eyes slowly closed and was startled to notice that his hand was shaking.
***
"I'm sorry, but there is very little else we can do."
Jack just stared at the young doctor.
"He's developed an infection and while we are giving him antibiotics to combat that, he's developed some other complications that we just can't do anything about."
"What...what other complications?"
Doctor Goldstein sighed, "he's bleeding internally."
Jack let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding, "but can't you operate for that?"
"Normally we could. But in Daniel's case he's bleeding subcranially. Jack, it's a brain hemorrhage. I'm afraid it's inoperable due to the location. I'm sorry."
"Sorry? What does that mean? Are you saying he's going to...to...?" //This can't be happening!//
The Doctor placed a hand on Jack's shoulder, "I'm terrible sorry. We'll make him as comfortable as possible."
It was just too much for him to accept. "But he seems fine, I mean...he's awake and he..." Jack swayed and would have fallen if the doctor hadn't steered him into a chair. //Daniel...// "Does he know?"
"Yes. I told him just before coming in here."
Jack just nodded and walked out of the office. As soon as he left he saw General Hammond talking to Sam and Teal'c. He saw her nod and he could see Teal'c square his shoulders. Sam turned and looked right at him, her eyes watering.
He couldn't handle this. He had to get out of there.
***
Sam wondered the halls of SGC. She had been looking for him over two hours now. She couldn't think of where he might have gone. She had already been to his house and all of his old haunts, the ones she knew about anyway. She had even went to Daniel's apartment. Not knowing where else to go she came here. She was about to give up when she decided that she would try one more place.
Captain Samantha Carter entered what was known officially as the embarkation room. However, most just called it the Stargate room. At first she thought she had been wrong again, but as she turned to leave she heard a noise.
"Jack?"
"Over here Sam."
She turned toward his voice and saw him sitting on the floor against the back wall, "what are you doing here sir?"
"I..."
Sam sank to the floor beside him. They sat like that, staring at the Stargate for what seemed like hours.
"Daniel used to come here. He would just sit and stare at this thing for hours."
Sam looked over at Jack. His gaze was steadily fixed on the Stargate and he looked like he was in shock. She could understand that feeling. It just wasn't fair, Daniel...
Jack turned to look at her and found her staring back at him, "It's not right, Sam. He should be here. Not in some hospital waiting to die! He should be out there..." he made a slight gesture toward the Stargate.
"I know. I know, Jack."
They fell back into silence. Sam couldn't help but think that Jack was blaming himself for something that wasn't his fault. Not knowing how else to say it, she decided that being straightforward was best.
"It isn't your fault Jack."
His head snapped around and she could see the anger in his eyes, directed at her, but mostly directed at himself. "What do you know about it? I was there!"
"Jack, how can you possibly think you caused this? You weren't driving that car! You didn't get that kid drunk and then hand him the keys!"
"I was there Sam. I should have done something!"
She saw the anger drain from his face and she could tell he was near the breaking point. "There was nothing else you could have done Jack."
He felt the tears start. He hadn't cried since Charlie...and now Daniel...
Sam wrapped her arms around him and held him close. She knew he was being torn apart, Daniel was the closest thing to family that he had left. And to lose him like this...
He cried silently in her arms and she just held him. She could tell he was trying to pull it together and when she thought he was going to be ok she said, "He's been asking for you, Jack."
Shifting out of her arms, he stood up and took a deep breath, "well then Captain, I guess we should go pay our space monkey a visit."
"Yes, sir."
***
"...Sam. And you have to take care of Jack. I don't think he's going to be able to deal with this very well."
"Do not concern yourself, Daniel Jackson. I will do this."
"Promise?"
"On my honor as Jaffa, I swear it."
"Hey Danny. Teal'c. What are you guys talking about?"
"Jack!"
Jack didn't know whether to laugh at the expression on Daniel's face or to crawl off again and save himself some pain. Fortunately, he was spared that decision as Sam poked him in the back as she walked past him. "So, what are you swearing Teal'c?"
"Oh," Daniel lowered his head, "Nothing...it was nothing."
Jack watched as Daniel tried to sit up. He was pale and looked gaunt. //Oh God, he looks bad.//
Daniel thought that Jack looked pretty bad, "You look like shit Jack."
Taking that as her cue to leave, Sam gave Daniel a peck on the cheek and patted Jack on the back. "Come on Teal'c, let's go find some coffee."
Jack watched the door close behind Teal'c before turning back to face Daniel who was watching him with worried eyes.
"So, where ya been Jack?"
"I ah...I had some things to take care of...back at base. Ah, how are you feeling?"
Daniel looked down at his hands, "I'm doing ok. I..."
Neither of them really knew what to say so they sat for a few minutes in silence. Jack noticed that most of the machines Daniel had been connected to earlier had been removed. He had been moved into a private room on the critical care ward not long after waking up in the ICU, before they found...before...Jack shook his head, as if to ward off thoughts best left alone, and leaned over to help Daniel pull his blankets up more securely.
"Thanks."
"No problem, Danny."
"Jack?"
"Yeah, Danny?"
Jack could tell that he didn't know how to ask what he wanted to. He laid a hand on his shoulder, "Whatever it is, you can ask me."
***
"Sir?" Sam was staring at Jack like he had lost his mind. Jack for his part, pretty much agreed with that assessment but repeated himself again anyway.
"I said we need to come up with a plan to get Daniel out of here."
"That's what I thought you said," Sam took a deep breath, "Sir, I know this is going to be tough but this is the best place for him..."
Jack's eyes flashed with anger. "The best place! He's dying Sam! He doesn't want to die in here, he...he asked me!"
"Jack," Sam placed a hand on his arm, "I just..."
Jack looked up again. This time his eyes were full of anguish, "It's the only thing he's asked me for. Probably the last...the last thing he'll ever ask me for. I'm not gonna let him down."
Sam took a deep breath, "Ok, what do we do?"
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