Part 40
As Jack tried to suppress his yawn Philip got to his feet beside him, stretched then flinched in pain as he grabbed his back.
"You okay, Philip?" Jack asked him, silencing Graham's next sentence. Both of them now looked up as the man standing rubbed the heel of his hand into his eye. Realizing he was being watched, the young man said, "I'm fine. My back's a little.. stiff..!"
He shot his lover a quick glance then went into the kitchen. Jack lowered his eyes to meet Graham's quizzical gaze. With a shrug, the colonel got to his feet then headed to the kitchen also.
Philip was just closing the fridge door when Jack caught up with him.
"You okay?" He asked again as he frowned and placed his hands on his hips.
"I'm just tired," Philip told him with a smile. "And as much as I'd hate to break this up, I think we really should go home soon."
Jack felt a small warmth flood through him to hear Philip call his house his 'home', and he gave a quick shrug.
"We can go now, if you want to. I'm just killing time out there," he said with a flick of his hand towards the living room. Philip grinned as he swallowed his mouthful of milk. "Killing time, huh?"
"Yeah, sure.." Jack met the cheekiness with a challenge in his eyes.
With a soft laugh, the artist crossed his arms over his chest and said, "You won't admit to it, huh?"
"Admit to what?" He tilted his head.
"That you're enjoying yourself. That Graham's not as bad as you kept thinking he was going to be, and he’s not as boring either - once you got to know him a little better."
"I have to admit that after a few beers and some potent pizza, he's not.. too.."
Philip chuckled then shook his head as he stepped over to his lover. "Shh." He placed his fingers over Jack's lips. "Not a word more. Hate to ruin your image!"
Jack kissed the fingers on his mouth then mumbled against them, "Okay."
Going onto his toes Philip kissed his lips with a tight mouth then he said, "But I really do need to break up this party. I need some more painkillers."
"Your back?" Jack asked.
"Yeah. Guess dipping's out of the question in the future!"
The older man rolled his eyes and nodded then he wrapped his arms around Phil's neck and bent to kiss his forehead. Graham came into the room and stopped mid-step.
"Sorry," he said, looking from Philip to Jack then at the floor.
"I'm sorry too, Grae. But we have to go home."
"You're not okay, are you?" Graham asked, coming closer to his brother and not even seeming to notice that Jack was wrapped around him.
"I've just got some back pain. It's nothing!" He said sternly, looking between the two men. "But I'm tired too and it's getting late."
Jack and Graham's eyes met and the colonel gave a slight shrug. Graham nodded slightly then reached out and touched his brother's shoulder.
"Okay, well, call me if you need anything. Did you get that letter?"
"Oh, shit.. no.." Philip looked up at Jack and fluttered his lashes at him.
"I'll get it. Where is it?"
"On my bed."
The older man stopped at the door then frowned. He couldn't recall anything on the bed - the last time they were on it. As if remembering that at the same time, Philip said, "Oh.. no.. I mean.. on the floor, beside the bed." Jack nodded and left while Philip gave his brother a quick, guilty, smile. Graham shuddered as he went to the fridge, and that made Philip chuckle slightly. He stepped closer to him, nudging him with his shoulder as he said, "Go on, admit it. Jack's a lot nicer when he's not being the Colonel."
Looking over his shoulder, Graham said in a low voice, "I can see... a little... what you see in him. Okay. Can we leave it at that?"
Philip gave a triumphant smile. "Sure we can."
Jack entered the room, and he was again wearing his sweater. He passed over a whole bunch of mail to Philip, who tucked it under his arm and then patted his brother's back as he said, "I'll call or come by, sometime soon."
Graham gave a faint smile as he nodded. "That would be nice." Then he met Jack's gaze and they gave each other a cursory nod before Jack held the door open for Philip to step through.
*
Jack switched off the light in the bathroom and then crossed to the bed. Stopping to remove his wristwatch, he looked at Philip, sitting crossed-legged on the bed, a letter in his hands. The young face was furrowed with a deep frown.
"What is it?" Jack asked as he peeled back the bedding and climbed in. He picked up the envelope and saw that it was addressed via Graham Simmons.
"I'm not sure.." Philip said with a soft voice then he turned to Jack. "I mean, it's about John.."
Closing one eye slightly Jack tossed the envelope down as he tilted his head in question, so Philip passed over the letter.
"This came via Graham. I guess the solicitor didn't know how to contact me and figured he'd trace Graham more easily through Military records."
Jack scanned the letter but Philip spoke before the content could really settle in for him.
"He's dead," Philip said, after sitting in stunned silence a moment.
The older man's mouth dropped open then he scanned over the letter, finally understanding the meaning of it all. John Weissmann was dead, having succumbed to a long bout of pneumonia. There was a scheduled time for Philip to go to the Office of this solicitor in order to settle some things left for him in John's Will.
"Holy.....shi.." Jack said as he read the long list of items bequeathed to the younger man.
Too caught up in his own devastation to realize he'd misinterpreted Jack's reaction, Philip said, in a voice that was low and terrified, "I know.."
Jack heard the tremors in the voice and realized that this news had rocked Philip, not pleased him. He placed the white piece of paper on his lap as he reached over and touched his lover's knee.
"Hey, come on…"
"I.. I.." Philip stared at the pattern on the quilt then shook his head. "I don't know.. what I feel.." He turned to look at Jack then blinked quickly.
The older man shuffled over then wrapped him in his arms as he cooed softly into his ear.
"It's really happened," Philip said, quietly stunned. "He's really .. gone.."
"I know.." Jack pulled back and cupped Phil’s face to stare directly into the watery brown eyes.
"He's gone.. and I'm..." Philip shivered violently so Jack pulled him closer and tightened his hold on him, constantly whispering words of reassurance in his ear. As Philip engulfed Jack in his arms he said, in a stunned voice, "I'm.... Then it's … you.." He squeezed Jack as tightly as he could as he buried his face and sobbed quietly. Jack clenched his eyes shut tightly as he pressed his lips to the soft, warm skin of Philip's neck. They laid, wrapped in each other’s arms, until both finally fell asleep.
*
Daniel yawned and hugged his cup of coffee a little closer to his chest as he waited for the General to enter the Briefing room. Sam was sitting beside him and turned to say something then she frowned when she saw the far-away look on his face.
"Are you okay, Daniel?"
"Huh? Oh, I was just.." He gave a dismissive shake of his head then shrugged. "Thinking about something I shouldn't have been thinking about. Sorry, were you talking to me?"
"No, I was just about to say that I think the General's going to be issuing us with a forth soon. It's been a week."
Teal'c entered the Briefing Room and nodded as he took his place on the opposite side of the table. All three members were aware of the empty chair that Jack used to occupy but no one would move in to take his place. It seemed even Hammond was aware of Jack's missing presence, sometimes glancing at the black leather chair as he addressed the team like he was expecting to find the Colonel there, dry-witted and sarcastic as ever.
The first week without Jack had been hard on them all, especially Daniel who was now aware of Jack's thoughts about committing suicide rather than face the inevitable. He wasn't about to share that with the others though, and the pressure of carrying that knowledge alone was getting harder for him. Sometimes he wondered if he should share the news, to get the others to help him convince Jack that there were other ways around the issue - if only he could come to terms with losing Philip first. Then he had moments of clarity where he knew he would never betray Jack's trust in him. If Jack had wanted the others to know the depth of his pain and despair, he'd take them into his confidence himself. It wasn't Daniel's place to tell them what Jack had confessed to him in private.
"Has anyone seen O'Neill recently?" Teal'c asked. Daniel was about to speak when Graham entered the room, glancing in his direction briefly before going to the desk in the corner and setting himself up to record the Briefing.
Teal'c, who was sitting with his back to Graham, seemed to watch his progress across the room even though it was behind him, as well as watching Daniel's shifting gaze at the same time.
With his head turned to face Sam, Daniel slotted his eyes across the table to look at the Jaffa as he said, in a low voice, "I have." He then turned his face slightly towards Teal'c to let his eyes stray to the corner where the Lieutenant had his head down as he worked.
"How is he?" Sam enquired. Daniel's head snapped around to look at her again.
Fiddling with the pen in his hands, he told her, truthfully, "He's... he's doing okay. Good days and bad days." Then he pursed his lips and shrugged.
"I bet," Sam said, turning her mouth down as she glanced at Teal'c, who was still watching Daniel.
Hammond entered the room and settled himself into the chair at the head of the table. "Morning," he said, shuffling the papers before him on the desk. Before starting with the discussion of how viable P3x564 was for a scouting mission he laced his fingers together and laid his hands on the table.
"Before we get started today, I just wanted to take a minute to thank you all."
"For what, Sir?" Sam asked with a frown.
"For working under some pretty extenuation circumstances. I know it came as some kind of shock to you all that Colonel O'Neill retired as abruptly as he did, but I wanted to take this opportunity to tell each and everyone of you that I'm proud of the work SG-1 has done up to this point. The Colonel's presence is greatly missed by you all, I know that. Hell, I miss him too. Him and his smart-assed comments-" The ruddy face involuntarily broke into a gentle smile, then he grew serious again as he said, "But the time has come to face the facts that Colonel O'Neill is not returning to the SGC." He lowered his voice out of reverence as he said, "So it's with a great deal of regret, let me tell you, that I have had to assign you all a new Commanding Officer. Now, I'm sure you'll all agree that filling the Colonel's shoes is a big ask and SG-1 needs a strong military mind in the lead. That's why I'm assigning Colonel..."
"Colonel?" Daniel piped up quickly, silencing the General immediately. "What about Sam?"
"I'm not ranked high enough to lead the team, Daniel."
"What about the time we met the Salash? You led us then, and you did that very well!"
"It's not the same," She said with some embarrassment before turning back to the General.
"I don't understand?" Daniel said, shaking his head then parting his lips as he stared at the rotund man at the end of the table.
"While I agree with you, Doctor Jackson, that Major Carter did excel on that mission, she was merely filling in for her Commanding Officer. As a Major.."
"Stan's a Major and he leads SG-9..." The anthropologist argued passionately. Sam lowered her face and blushed but remained reticent beside him.
With a somewhat bemused smile on his face, and a little aggravation in his voice, Hammond said, as kindly as he could under the circumstances, "SG-9 is a Negotiation Team, Son..."
"And SG-1 is a Field Unit. That's what Jack's always telling me.. What.. he used.. to always tell me.." Daniel said, and then tilted his face as he jutted his chin and blinked quickly.
Hammond sighed then said, "SG-1 is our flagship. It needs someone of a high rank as its leader."
"Daniel," Sam said in embarrassed exasperation, "It's okay, really! I understand that I'm not the right person for the position."
"Well, I'm glad you do, Sam!" He hissed then sat around and glared at the folder on the table before him. Carter blushed as she shot a sidelong glance at the red-faced General then internally she cringed, wondering what he might do to the insubordinate civilian.
"I know you have some troubles following the way we do things around here, Doctor Jackson, but you are out of order. Do so again, and I will suspend you."
Tossing his pen across the table, Daniel got to his feet and said, as he leaned in and pressed his fingers against the tabletop, "Suspend me. Find another archaeologist for SG-1, for all I care!" Then he stormed out of the room, leaving the others in shock behind him.
The Major's eyes met the incensed glare of the General. He bit his lips together then sighed as he said, "Dismissed."
She got to her feet and said, "I'm sorry, Sir. Daniel's under a lot of pressure at the moment."
"I know that, Major. As are you, and as is Teal'c."
"With all due respect Sir," She said then shot Teal'c a quick look, "Teal'c and I are both trained soldiers. We understand military protocol. Daniel's.... He's an civilian archaeologist who's going through a very tough time at the moment. SG-1 really needs him, Sir. Especially with the loss of the Colonel."
Hammond's small blue eyes shifted across her flushed features then he met her gaze. "I'll take all that into consideration when I'm deciding the right action against him. Dismissed."
Sam clamped her eyes shut as she tilted her head and sighed through her nose. Rubbing the side of her neck she opened her eyes and looked at Teal'c.
"It would appear that Daniel is in trouble."
"Yep," She said, sounding very miffed. "I think he might be."
*
Daniel had been summoned to Hammond's office and as he approached he noticed Graham still in the briefing room. He stopped by the office door but heard the sound of soft Texan voice in conversation. Assuming the General was on the phone, Daniel passed by the office and entered the briefing room and stood staring down at the gate. SG-7 was about to embark on a mission to P4r909, a peaceful world where no one had ever heard of the Goa'uld.
"You're either brave or stupid," Graham said from behind the desk.
Daniel didn't jump or even look over at him. Instead he laughed softly as he crossed his arms over his chest and said, "Just pissed off."
"About?"
"At just about everything." Turning now he looked at the man staring back at him. His eyes slowly moved across the face that he once new so intimately. Graham's good-looks still distracted him, and he could often close his eyes and see what he looked like with sweat beaded across his ebony brow as they made love. He loved everything about that face from the way the near-black brows arched over the cimmerian eyes to the sharpness of his nose to the full, pouty mouth. He shivered inside then forced himself to look away, just in time to see the last member of the team step through the gate. With a hesitant smile he said, "Some days more things than others get me down."
"Yeah,” came the soft sigh from the corner and when Daniel swiveled around to look at him he saw that Graham had started shuffling the papers on his desk, keeping his head down.
"How's Philip?"
Graham's head snapped up and his lips parted slightly, revealing the tips of his two front teeth. His dry lips continued to peel apart slowly as he said, "He's .. good.. at the moment. Haven't you seen him lately?"
"No," Daniel said with a shake of his head. "We've been on missions..."
"I know," Simmons said then blushed and lowered his face. "I mean, I open the gate for you some days."
"Of course," the anthropologist said with a small smile.
"I saw them both last night."
"Both?" Daniel arched his eyebrows high in surprise.
"We shared pizza and a few beers." Graham now smiled like that was some triumph. Daniel took one step closer.
"I didn't realize you and Jack were getting along these days?"
"We're not." Graham went back to nervously shuffling his papers. "We're trying - for Phil's sake."
With a nod, Daniel said, "Of course."
"Doctor Jackson!" Hammond barked from his office when he spotted the wayward archaeologist in the briefing room.
Daniel quickly looked at the man behind the desk then said, "Destiny calls."
Graham glanced at the window adjoining the two rooms then back at Daniel. "Just.. don't do anything stupid in there."
With an arch of his brow, Daniel muttered as he turned, "I think it might be too late!"
Graham watched him go, even watching him settle into the chair in the office before he gave a heavy sigh, rubbed his hand over his mouth then shook his head before gathering up his papers and leaving the Briefing room.
*
Sam watched Daniel enter her lab.
"What happened?"
"He told me off," Daniel said with a condescending look on his face. "It was like I was back in school!" He started to fiddle with a small box on her desk.
"But what about the team?" She took the box from him and put it down again.
"Oh, I'm still on that!" He said as if it was never in jeopardy. "He told me that SG-1 really needed me now - especially with Jack gone."
Sam bit her lips as she gave a small smile then she nodded and looked up at her friend. "Well, that's good news then."
"I still think it stinks that you can't lead SG-1."
"I don't have the tactical knowledge, Daniel. The leader of SG-1 has to be way smarter than me on tactical issues..."
With an incredulous look in his eyes, the anthropologist said, "This *is* Jack's old job we're talking about, right?"
With a sly grin she shook her head as she told him, "The Colonel knows all kinds of stuff that I can't possibly know. Stuff that he knows so damn well it looks like he makes it up on the spot when we're out in the field..”
With a teasing chuckle, Daniel said, “Well, he does, doesn’t he?”
Sam smiled at him. “No, he doesn't. It's all programmed into him and he oozes it when he's out there."
In mock seriousness, Daniel crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at his friend. "You mean that incompetence Jack likes to have us all believe in is just a façade?"
Sam smiled again at the sharp wit – it reminded her of someone else! "Yes, Daniel it is. He's way smarter on issues like tactics than I could ever hope to be. SG-1 needs someone who can think like he can, who can out maneuver the enemy, and who can sometimes out-think them..."
"I thought he always left that stuff up to us."
She laughed. "It appears that way, but have you ever noticed that he listens to us before acting.."
"He listens to you, " he said, holding up a finger. "I think he has trouble hearing me when it came to advice on missions." He gave a slightly self-effacing laugh before dipping his face.
Sam felt his discomfort and lowered her voice as she told him, "I think he's always listened to you more than you realize." She arched her brow to drive that point home. "Don't forget.. he was once convinced he was in love with you."
Looking over his shoulder at the corridor outside the office, Daniel muttered back, "Don't remind me!"
"Is it such a bad thing?"
Occupying his hands with a contraption on her desk that precariously balanced a metal rod between two wires, Daniel seemed to think about that a few moments before shrugging. "As a friend, Jack has made a few mistakes, granted. But as the leader of our team... I don't know." He sighed forlornly. "I mean, you and Teal'c know what's going to be expected of you, but what about me? Is this new leader going to care about my opinion? Jack, who was a friend, rarely seemed to... but at least we had some kind of working relationship. I knew what to expect from him, most of the time. What's this stranger going to be like?"
Sam finally understood his concerns. "Well we'll know soon enough. P3x564 is our last mission as a three-man team. As of 0600 tomorrow we're getting our forth."
Daniel sighed as he pressed his lips together in a tight white line. That was not good news to him.
End of part 40
Stories on this page are the property of Nessessitee and Slida. Please do not copy these without the written permission of the Author. All Rights are acknowledged for MGM, Gekko and Stargate Productions as to the Copyrights of the characters within this story and no infringement on the copyrights are intended. For the Bombshells Series the character of Philip Simmons is entirely the creation and intellectual property of Nessessitee and Slida.
While the performances given by RDA and MS help to fuel the author's desire to write for their characters in a niche that she feels is present on the actual show, the portrayal of their characters in loving relationships in no way reflects the Author's opinion of the men's private life, nor should it be construed in that manner.