Part 53
Instead of going back to Jack's house, Philip asked if they could stop by his apartment, he had something there that he wanted to give to Jack. With some reluctance, the older man agreed and steered the car towards the heart of the city.
Slowly the two of them climbed the steps to the apartment then Jack watched Philip tremble with fatigue as he tried to find the correct front door key.
"Here," Jack said gently, easing the key ring from the shaking hands. Instantly locating the right key he opened the door. Philip went inside and headed straight for the kitchen, where he poured himself a glass of water.
"Philip?" Graham called out from the bedroom then came out. He was buttoning up his white shirt. Jack recognized that uniform anywhere - Simmons was obviously heading into work. "Oh," he said when he saw Jack standing in the living room.
"Hello, Simmons," Jack said as politely as he could.
"Where's Phil?"
"Getting a glass of water," Jack said, and then right on cue, Philip came out.
"I see you two are getting along," he commented dryly as he went between them and over to the shelf. He picked up a few books then put them back down again with some disgust as he patted his hands clean of dust.
"What the hell happened to you?" Graham asked, quickly following Philip to the other side of the room to check out the bruise on his forehead.
"Oh, that's... nothing." Philip glanced over at Jack then went back to his search under the cushions on the sofa. Graham, mouth hanging open in surprise, looked at Jack. The colonel shoved his hands into his pants pockets and shrugged.
Doing a double take, Graham then looked at Philip when he said, "I didn't know you were coming over tonight."
Philip, distracted by his search, addressed him without looking at him. "We're not, technically. I've just got a few things to do here."
"Philip, do you want me to help you look for whatever it is you're looking for?" Jack offered from where he stood near the kitchen.
The young man gave a tired smile and said, "If you don't know what it is I'm looking for, how can you help me look for it?"
Jack raised a brow. "If you gave me a hint..?" He came over to the back of the sofa and leaned onto it, peering at his lover on the other side. Philip straightened up and his wheezing was quite audible in the room. He gave Jack a smile though then his eyes squinted as he doggedly searched the room once more. "I'm looking for.." Suddenly his eyes widened and he said, "Ah huh!" Going over to the bookshelf he left Jack and Graham exchanging shrugs over the sofa.
"What's that?" Graham asked his brother when the young man tugged an item from the crowded shelf.
"It's a book of my sketches.." Philip brushed the dust off the forgotten book then opened it up. Both Jack and Graham moved over to him, standing slightly behind him and peering over his shoulder to the pencil-drawn sketches on the paper.
"Wow! Have I seen this book before?" Graham asked.
"I'm not sure. This is really old.." Philip said as he turned another page. Both Jack and Graham pulled up slightly when they recognized the man, Blair, on the page. He was naked and in a reclined position, one hand cupping his groin the other hand tucked beneath his head. The detail in the sketch was immaculate, bringing the image alive. Philip smiled shyly as he said, "It was... just a guess.." He looked at his brother who was peering over his shoulder. Graham turned his face to him.
"Well, it must have been," he said flatly. "Blair's hairier than that!" He went towards the front door as he said, "I'm just about to go and get some dinner before I head to work so I'll catch up with you soon?"
"Yeah, sure," Philip said, distracted by the book. "Paper.." he mumbled to himself then went off into his bedroom. Graham was pulling on his coat as he looked at Jack.
With his eyes on the doorway of Phil's bedroom, he asked, "Is he okay? He seems kinda.. odd.."
Jack tilted his head to one side in a shrug as he stepped over to the lieutenant. Speaking in a lowered voice, he told Graham, "He's been a little odd for the past few days, wouldn't you say?"
Graham blinked and looked up into Jack's eyes. "Regrettably, yes."
Jack nodded. "Ah huh. Thought so too."
"When he was over yesterday he..." He stopped talking when Philip reemerged from his bedroom with a small, badly wrapped gift in his hand.
"Where are you going?" Jack and Graham asked at the same time as the artist mowed through them, reaching for his coat.
"Out," Philip said as thrust the gift into Jack's hands so that he could shrug on the coat. Grabbing the gift back he kissed Jack on the lips before opening the door and leaving. Jack frowned as the door swung shut then he looked at the bewildered Graham.
"Okay, that's not normal," he admitted, pointing at the door.
"No," Graham agreed. "I wouldn't say so either!"
Both men hurried from the apartment to follow him. As they ran down the stairs, Jack cursed under his breath, "For crying out loud! He moves like a goddamn snail most of the time, how the hell did he get down here so fast?"
Graham, jogging a step behind him, responded with, "Maybe he took the service elevator."
Jack tilted his head up and groused, "There's a service elevator? Why didn't anyone tell me there was a damn service elevator in this building?"
"We never use it," Graham replied.
"Peachy," Jack said, jumping onto the landing then hurrying down the next flight.
As they reached the bottom, both only slightly out of breath, they searched the foyer for Philip but there was no sign of him. Jack pulled the door open and looked out onto the street but it was dark out there and snow was falling so visibility was poor.
"Great!" He grumbled.
Graham looked up as he said, "Maybe he's not down yet?"
Jack nodded as he wet his lips. "Maybe." He shoved his hands onto his hips s he looked around them. "So, any ideas as to where he might have wandered?"
"No," Graham said with a shrug. "Who do you think the gift was for?" he asked. Jack stared at him a moment then shrugged wordlessly.
"Jesus," Jack cursed under his breath after walking in circles around the empty foyer for a few moments trying to work out what to do next. "How the hell did he disappear so damn fast?" Suddenly he thought about the diner. "Maybe he's gone to Joe's?"
"Joe's Diner? Why?" Graham frowned.
Jack gripped the door handle and tugged the glass door open. "Because that's where we used to go - sometimes.."
"Okay," Graham said as he hitched up his coat collar.
Jack paused in the opening. "You got time for this?"
"Yeah, I'm not on duty until 2100."
"'Kay, let's hope we find him by then!" Jack said as he headed out into the cold night.
The street was eerily abandoned. The howling wind and the heavy drift of snow seemed to keep most people off the street and at home, in front of their fires.
"Colonel, I have to level with you," Graham cried out over the roar of the wind, as he walked beside Jack, both men huddled against the on-coming snowdrift. "This isn't good."
"I know, Lieutenant!" Jack replied then twisted to look at him. "He's had a rough forty-eight hours."
Graham nodded then hollered, "Did he tell you about Todd?"
"Yeah," Jack yelled back. "That pretty much shattered him. Of course, I saw it a mile off!"
"Blind Freddy could, Sir," Graham admitted through a mouthful of snow. Jack looked at him a moment then nodded.
"Did you ever say anything to him? Todd, I mean?"
"Yes, I did," Graham said, nodding in case Jack didn't hear his words over the growling wind. "I told him to back off."
Jack turned to look at him again, this time in surprise. With another nod, he said, "Thank you."
"No problem, Sir," He said, then stated, simply, "I did it for Phil."
Jack eyed the man beside him again then shrugged. "Fair enough."
They reached the diner and both went in, but apart from a few patrons, none of which were Philip, it was empty. Jack recognized the woman behind the counter but couldn't recall her name. He stepped over to her.
"You know Philip Simmons?"
She seemed to give that some thought then said, "Oh, yeah. Haven't seen him in a long while though."
Jack nodded. "Thanks. You just gave me my answer."
"Oh? Okay then," she said with a smile before she offered him coffee.
"No, thanks," Jack said before heading back to Graham who was standing by the door, looking out at the increasing snow.
Jack checked his watch. It was eight-fifteen. He leaned past Graham to peer out at the snow then he cursed under his breath.
"What happened to his head?" Graham asked. Jack twisted to look at him.
"He .. umm," he faltered then shrugged. "He ran into the back of my car last night as he pulled into the driveway."
"What?" Graham's eyes went wide. "Dammit, I knew he was too tired to drive! Now I wish I'd insisted on taking him home!"
"So do I," Jack said flatly. "So does my car."
"Much damage?"
"My car's drivable.. Does that paint a picture for you?"
Graham nodded. "It does. Sounds like he hit hard. Didn't he brake in time?"
"By the looks of it, he didn't brake at all."
Graham sighed and bowed his head.
"Cars are cars - they can be replaced. My biggest concern is his sluggish behavior at the moment. It's not a good sign."
Graham nodded despondently. "I know."
Jack watched the glum face. "Better hit you with all the good news at once," he said dryly. Graham frowned and looked up at him. "We'd just been to see Janet about his eyesight when we got to your place."
"And she said?"
Jack took a moment, trying to find the best way to deliver the news. With a slight sigh he said, "His going blind..."
Graham gave a stifled groan as he shook his head. "No!"
"He was really quiet after that, but he's been really quiet since Tuesday."
Rubbing the heel of his hand into his eye, the younger man mumbled, "I knew things were bad, when he came around yesterday."
"How so?"
"He'd stopped coming to me with his problems since you and him.." He paused then shrugged. Wetting his lips he continued, "But when he came around yesterday I knew things were not great for him, let's put it that way."
Jack eyed him, appraising the wrought expression before he said, "Suppose if I asked what you two talked about..?"
"Even if you made it an order, Sir, I wouldn't tell you," Graham told him. Jack nodded.
"Fair enough," he said then checked his watch again before looking out the window.
"You're going to have to go soon."
"Yeah," the lieutenant said, without enthusiasm. Jack looked at him again then touched his shoulder, and Graham looked up.
"I'll find him.."
"And then what?" Graham asked, pressing his lips together before adding, "We both know where this is heading..."
Jack's lips parted slightly as he stared at the dark eyes - so much like Philip's, especially this close. "Well, we have to be ready for it. Contingency plan.."
Graham gave a heavy sigh then said, "I'll put in for some time off. Effective immediately."
"So will I."
"Don't you think that's going to look a little suspicious?" the younger man asked.
"Hammond knows. He doesn't know the who, but he soon will."
Graham blinked then said, "It.. um.. it's not going to be easy.. Is it, sir?"
Jack gave a mirthless smile as he shook his head. "No, it's not. And if you call me Sir once more when we're off duty ..."
Graham gave a weak smile. "Sorry.." He checked his watch. "I have to go. SG-4 are heading out late tonight on a follow up mission to P4r3999." He hitched up his collar again and went over to the counter to grab a sandwich to go.
"Why is that designation familiar?" Jack wondered aloud.
Graham shoved the sandwich into his coat pocket as he said, "You and your team went there about eight months ago. For a Rites of Passage."
Jack shook his head. "Still not ringing any bells."
"Not to worry. SG-4 will be back after lunch tomorrow. They'll probably be able to remind you of it, if you're still interested," he said, gripping the rod and pulling the door open. The rush of cold wind swirled around them and snow drifted onto the threshold of the café as the two men stepped out. Soon they came rushing back in - Graham's beeper had gone off.
He read the scrolling number on the black box attached to his belt then said, with some surprise, "That's Daniel's phone number!" Immediately he moved over to the phone on the wall.
Jack watched him make the call and mumbled, "Still remember it, eh?"
Rushing back across the diner Graham announced, "He's at Daniel's," as he pushed on the door and raced out into the unforgiving cold once more.
Jack frowned. "What the hell is he doing there?" He ran out the door before it had time to swing shut.
*
The anthropologist let the two snow-speckled men into his warm enclosure. "He's okay," he told them quickly, seeing the concern on both faces. "He's.." Twisting his head he looked towards his living room then back at Graham, "He's a little confused though."
Jack screwed his nose up and asked, "What's that smell?"
"Agh, yeah," Daniel clenched his teeth as the grimaced. "He's smoking again.."
He looked at Jack and shrugged when the older man screwed his face up as if to say, 'you're kidding?'.
Graham nodded and looked up at Jack, who gave a sharp nod and went to go but Daniel held him back. "He asked for Graham."
"Oh," the brother said, smoothing his windblown hair as he stepped into Daniel's living area.
Daniel remained with Jack by the front door. They both strained to listen to the soft conversation but it was no use.
"Graham hasn't got time for this," Jack whispered. "He's meant to be at work in half an hour."
Daniel scrunched up his face. "Ooops."
Rolling his eyes Jack sighed and leaned back against the wall, "God, that smell!" He said of the cigarette smoke wafting throughout Daniel's apartment now. Resting his head back, he asked, "So, what happened?"
"He came to see Todd.." Daniel told him. Jack's brow furrowed.
"Todd left yesterday."
"Apparently," the younger man said, holding back any further comment on that topic.
Jack was surprised. "You didn't know?"
Shaking his head, Daniel said, "Seems Phil had a gift for him.."
Jack closed his eyes slowly and took in a deep breath. "So that's who it was for."
"When he couldn't get an answer I think he must have remembered what happened and he came here instead."
"He's okay though?"
"He's got a bruise on his forehead?"
"Ah, yeah," Jack said, rubbing at his eye. "He hit his head yesterday."
"I see," the host said then frowned as he chewed his bottom lip. Jack looked at him then looked away towards the living room.
"I have to go break this up. Simmons won't make it to work if I don't get in there.." He pushed up off the wall and cautiously entered the main area of Daniel's apartment. Graham and Philip were sitting side by side on the small sofa, turned towards each other and deep in conversation by the looks of it.
"Hey there," Jack called out then smiled when Phil looked his way. Least his eyes were dry, Jack thought to himself as he asked, "Everything okay?
Philip smiled in return then screwed his face up as he brought the hand holding the cigarette to his head where he tapped the tips of his fingers against his forehead. "I forgot something.." He said, then tilted his face and looked up at Jack standing in front of him now. Running his hand up the back of the sturdy leg he said, with a gentle smile, "Just forgot something, that's all, hunny."
Jack watched the way he blinked slowly though. "Yeah, so I heard. Was that for Todd?" He pointed to the parcel on the seat behind them.
Phil, again with strange lightness, said, "Yeah. A going away present."
"You can post it to him," Graham offered.
Philip turned his head, the movement slow and gradual, as he said, "Great idea."
"Another great idea would be for you to go to work," Jack told Graham, with a jerk of his head towards the door.
"Oh, of course! You're going to be late!" Philip said, suddenly recalling that his brother had been on his way to work when he left their apartment earlier.
"No, not if I leave right now. You sure you're okay?" Graham said, rising to his feet. Philip smiled languidly then took a long inhale of the smoke before coughing harshly. Jack cringed but Philip seemed to think nothing of it.
"I'm fine," he said, waving the hand holding the cigarette around. Jack and Graham exchanged concerned glances at Phil's unexpected sanguinity. "I've got Jack and Daniel to talk to. You go! You'll be late!" He pushed on Graham's leg as he laughed quietly. The brother stepped away and Philip turned to Jack, who was now sitting on the coffee table watching him. "You'll look after me, won't you?" He said, and the smile on his face and the twinkle in his eye set Jack's nerves on edge. There was something definitely not right about all this, but he gave a nod and clasped Phil's hand that was seeking his.
"You betcha," he said, and then brought the joined hands up to kiss them.
Over by the door Graham and Daniel watched the exchange then looked at each other.
"I don't like leaving him like this," Graham admitted.
"Jack's with him now."
"And I'm sorry about the smell. God knows why he took up smoking again."
"Dying man's wish, he told me," Daniel said then pursed his lips and shrugged.
Graham nodded numbly, hesitant to leave. Daniel reached around him to grab the doorknob, but he was reluctant to open the door as well. They were close when Graham said, "Before he left yesterday, Todd said something.."
Blinking quickly, Daniel tilted his face and asked in a quiet voice, "What?"
Graham's eyes traced over the features of the handsome face beside him. Daniel needed a shave and his hair was tousled like he hadn't even bothered to brush it for the two days he was off duty. It was a look he used to see a lot - on Sundays. As his eyes focused on the mouth, watching the lips part slightly, Graham said, "It's.. it's nothing.." He blinked and looked into Daniel's eyes once more.
The anthropologist frowned and bowed his head questioningly, "Are you sure?"
With a nervous sort of shrug, Graham said, "Yeah, I'm sure. I should go."
Daniel's grip tightened around the knob and twisted it, opening the door for him. Then he stood, one arm against the door edge, and watched as Graham walked towards the elevator.
As he waited, for what seemed like ages, for the car to arrive Graham turned back and saw that the door of Daniel's apartment was still slowly closing.
<end of part 53>
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.