Part 89
Night fell around Daniel. The crouched man ached in every joint of his body as the cold started to seize his constricted muscles. He’d been against that boulder now for at least an hour, maybe more. His hand had loosened only slightly on the stick but his eyes and ears remained vigilant, aware of every tiny sound in the unfamiliar forest.
He wanted to pee. No, he desperately needed to pee but he couldn’t move. Although there had been no sound for a while now, he wasn’t sure he was alone – yet. He tried to still his breathing so that nothing interfered with his listening but that only made him gasp for breath when he forgot to breathe again. As the light around him dimmed even further he wondered, for the hundredth time in a short while, whether Jack was safe.
Night fell more and the cold seeped through what little clothing he had on. He started to feel damp as the thick, moist air permeated the cloth and caused his skin to start to tingle then ache.
Once it was completely dark he felt he could make his move. He hoped the night made the stalker as blind as he was. He straightened out his aching body, his joints popped as he stood up and stretched towards the sky. He yawned but made sure he made no sound with it, and then he carefully guided himself back in the direction he’d come from. Instinct was going to be his only friend now and he was glad that he had good instincts and knew he could rely on them.
*
As Philip gathered his clothes into the bag on his bed the nurse, Anna, entered the room. She stood at the end of the bed and smiled as he winked at her while he stuffed another top through the zipper.
“Are you nearly ready to go?”
“Almost. Just waiting for my ride.”
“Your brother?”
“Yeah,” Philip nodded as he paused in his actions and gathered up the zipper in his fingers. He tried to bite back the hurt in his voice as he said, “Seems I’m not important enough for a Colonel’s escort anymore.”
She raised her brow and smiled, completely unaware of the hidden meaning of his words. When he found out he was being released he called the base only to be told that Colonel O’Neill was not on the Base at the moment. When he asked for Daniel Jackson, he was told the same thing. After his conversation with Graham in the gym a few hours ago he had come to believe his fears were unfounded, but now – well he had a few questions for Graham when he showed up, that was for sure!
“Only I thought,” Anna said, concentrating on her hands on the table. “Perhaps your girlfriend would come by and collect you.”
“Ah!” He said with an arch of his brow. “Well, it seems that my partner is too busy to come and collect me too.”
The pretty nurse frowned at that. “Really?”
He shrugged and went around the bed to the bathroom. Sounds of bottles and tins being gathered together tinkled into the room and then he returned and dropped his toiletries into the bag as well.
“Is she crazy?” She joked then gave a nervous smile. Philip smiled at her in return and he gently cupped her chin in his hand.
“You are very sweet.”
The nurse blushed then bowed her head. “Aw, you’re just saying that!” She said in exaggerated bashfulness as she pantomimed toeing at the ground. He laughed.
“I mean it too! One day, you’re going to make some man very happy, Anna,” he said her name softly and she smiled again.
“Not when all the good ones are already taken,” she said to his back as he turned to check if he’d left anything in the drawers. He looked over his shoulder at her.
“Now, you don’t mean that!” He smiled at her then zippered up the bag.
She lifted her chin defiantly. “Don’t I?” She met his eyes in a challenge. The door swung open and Graham entered the room. He looked worried.
“What’s wrong?” Philip asked. Anna quickly looked between the two men then made her excuse quietly before she left the room. Philip sat on the edge of the bed and clasped his hands in his lap. “Grae?”
“Nothing.” The older brother shook his head then asked, “Are you ready?”
“As I ever will be." Phil slotted his eyes towards the man beside him as he asked, "Did you manage to get through to Jack?”
“Huh?” Graham’s clouded eyes cleared as he nodded. “Oh, yeah. He said he was sorry but that he couldn’t leave what he was working on because they’ve almost worked it out.”
“But no phone call?” Philip asked.
Graham arched his brow. “Well, no. He’s in the deepest recess of the mountain, Philip. He has no time for communication..”
“So,” the brother said with the patience of a detective about to unravel a complicated plot. “His partner, who almost died last week, is being released from hospital and he’s too busy to even make a phone call to me?”
Graham shrugged as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I’m sorry. And I’m sure he is too.”
The ebony brown twitched. “Cut the crap.”
“What?”
“You say he can’t take the time to place a call but he seems to have plenty of time to chat to you, why is that?”
Graham blinked as he stared at the enraged face. “Don’t you believe me?”
“When did you talk to him?” Philip folded his arms over his chest.
“I bumped into him at the urinal, if you must know! It’s the only time he could talk to me, and we don’t have pay phones in the urinals on the base, Philip!” He snapped then rubbed his face with his hand as sighed heavily. He hated having to lie to him.
Philip chewed his bottom lip for a moment then he said, “Graham, he’s not at the base..”
The older man blinked quickly then looked up into the wide, brown eyes. “What?”
“I called the base. Jack’s not on the base. Neither’s Daniel.”
Expressions flitted across Graham’s face then he shook his head and said, “Who the hell did you talk to there?”
“I don’t know..”
“Well whoever they were don’t know shit, basically. Jack and Daniel are both at work, right now!”
Philip frowned and his rage faltered. “You promise me?” He asked.
Graham looked right into his eyes as he said, “I swear to you, Philip, that they are working, right now!”
The younger man smiled with relief as he gave a soft sigh. “Thank God!” He said, in a shaky voice. “When they told me that I thought.. I.. Well, I think you can guess what I thought!”
Graham nodded. “I know exactly what you thought!”
Philip bowed his head and chuckled in relief once more. “Well,” he said as he slung his bag over his shoulder. “Let’s get me the hell out of this joint!” He cast his eyes around the hospital room once more then smiled at his brother, who was gathering up the tripod and bag of art supplies.
“Let’s get you out of here – and home.. where you belong!”
Philip shuddered then said, “I just kept imagining I’d be going home with Jack, somehow.”
Graham turned to him and looked at him sympathetically. “I know. But this is how things are when you date a military person. Jack’s career will keep him away from home, sometimes for days, with little or no warning. I thought you would be used to that by now.”
Philip nodded then shrugged. “I guess I never get used to him not being around me.”
Graham nodded slowly as he gave his brother a long look. “Let’s hope you never have to!”
Philip frowned but nodded. “I’ll say. Come on. I can’t wait to get home and see that place again!”
“I can’t wait to get you home.. the place needs a good tidy up!” Graham teased him and almost managed a convincing smile.
Philip laughed light-heartedly now as he clapped his hand across his brother’s shoulders, “Man, I’m so looking forward to living a normal life again!”
As the brothers left the room the door closed slowly behind them, closing off a part of Philip’s life that was now over with.
*
Jack’s shaky hand reached carefully for one of the thicker sticks near the fire and then he gathered one of the hot rocks towards him as well, burning his fingertips on the scorching surface of the stone as he hurried to get himself some weapons. The soft footfalls in the cave grew closer as Jack gripped up the hot rock over his head, ready to be hurled at the uninvited guest. No shadow was cast and the body was into the small clearing before Jack had any warning.
“JESUS!” The two men yelled at the same time as they startled the other. Jack immediately dropped the rock as Daniel charged over to him, dropped to his knees and embraced his friend for dear life.
Jack wrapped his arms around the shivering body and he gripped him close. “I thought you were dead!” He whispered into the cold ear.
Daniel shivered at the warm breath then he pulled back and cupped Jack’s face in his hands as he said, “I damn near was!”
Jack stared into the watery pools of blue then tugged his friend against him again, both of them gaining immense comfort in the embrace. “Don’t do that again!”
“I got water!” Daniel said as his lips brushed Jack’s ear. “But I lost it again..”
“It doesn’t matter!” Jack cooed as he stroked his hand down the curved back, unable to believe yet that Daniel was back and that he wasn’t alone anymore.
“There’s a MALP at the Gate..” Daniel said as he suddenly remembered it. He pulled back and looked into brown eyes just as tear-filled as his own. He brushed his thumbs across the wet lashes as he said, “The gate’s broken, Jack.” He felt that lump in his throat again and tried to swallow to remove it but it only made his throat ache more.
“How?” The flushed-faced man asked weakly.
“One of the chevron’s has been shattered..”
The older man closed his eyes tightly as he growled. His head rolled back and slammed against the rock wall behind him. “Shit!”
“I left a note, telling them not to try to rescue us,” He paused as Jack’s eyes met his own. “What would be the point?”
After a few heartbeats and some ragged breaths Jack finally nodded and muttered, “You’re right.”
“One of the aliens has been killed too. I’m not sure why but I think it had something to do with the gate.” Daniel settled next to Jack but they remained entwined in each other’s arms, unwilling to relinquish the contact. Daniel rolled his head back, resting it against Jack’s shoulder as he looked into eyes that were too close to really be in focus. “I thought I’d go and drag the carcass back here. If we’re Robinson Crusoe, we may as well start acting like it!”
Jack’s hand came up and lightly cupped the side of Daniel’s throat. “You’ll be all right doing that on your own?”
Daniel blinked and noticed the light stroking of his friend’s fingertips down the side of his neck. “Yeah,” he said as a tingle ran through his tired body. “I’ll grab some vine from out there and tie it up and drag it back here. If I skin it we can use the fur to sleep on, or under..”
Jack nodded and continued his unconscious petting.
“And we can eat the rest of it.”
“Big animal. We couldn’t possibly eat it all before it went off,” Jack said.
Daniel sat up and hugged his knees to his chest as he stared into the fire Jack had sustained in his absence. “So? We eat what we can and when I have to I’ll go out and kill another one, and another one..”
He stopped talking when he felt Jack’s hand on his back. There was movement, a soft grunt and then Jack appeared by his shoulder. “You’re not a killer, Daniel.”
The blond head turned. “I’ll do what I have to to survive Jack. And to keep you alive.” His eyes searched the rugged face then met the worried gaze. “We could be here a while,” he tried to say that with a smile but his mouth only twitched half-heartedly, then it turned down as he returned his attention to the fire.
*
Philip entered the restaurant, instantly liking the ambience and the décor of the place. He straightened his tie as he scanned the bar for his dinner companion. He knew what he’d be wearing – beige pants and a dark sports jacket. At that instance he recognised the back of the man leaning against the bar, one foot resting on the silver footrest. Philip then noticed the woman beside him, wearing a very revealing dress as she, quite obviously, flirted with him. As he crossed to the room the young man couldn’t help but bite back his smile. Touching his hand to the back of the dark brown sports jacket he caught the attention of his companion.
“Hey!” Graham smiled as he turned to see who’d touched him.
“Hey yourself!” Phil smiled also. “Sorry I’m a little late..”
“I got here early,” Graham said when he saw Philip eyeing off the two glasses before him, one of which still held some whiskey. “Oh, Philip this is Claudine,” Graham introduced him to the woman and they exchanged polite smiles and nods. As Philip turned back to Graham his expression clearly asked if the older brother was ready to start dinner, but Graham cut him off with “Claudine’s dinner date has stood her up.”
Phil looked at her again, almost blinded by the sheen off her pale pink lip-gloss. With a forced, polite smile he said, “That’s very rude..”
She smiled coyly at him. “Isn’t it though? I was just telling Graham that some men just don’t know how to treat a lady..”
“Obviously,” Philip said, trying not to sound as disinterested in her plight as he felt. With some reluctance he looked back at his brother and almost expected Graham to tell him that he’d suggested she eat with them but the older brother downed the remainder of his whiskey, gave a sigh as the warm liquid trickled down his throat then he said, “Ready?”
“Sure!” Philip nodded and stepped back to give him room to get away from the bar.
Graham tossed some money onto the bar then said, as he pushed his wallet back into his pant’s pocket, “I’m sorry I can’t invite you to join us, but my brother and I are celebrating something tonight..”
Claudine’s face lit with a smile. “I thought he was your brother. Good looks definitely run in your family,” she said, mostly to Graham.
Philip, standing at her side and therefore out of her view, rolled his eyes then made a gagging motion. Graham’s lip curled in a suppressed smile so Philip reached forward and gripped him by the arm, “Actually, noses run in our family…”
“So do legs..” Graham managed to mutter as Philip yanked him away from the woman, who was laughing at their obvious jokes.
“Well it was lovely meeting the two of you,” she said.
Graham stopped and then said, “Pleasure to have met you too. Let’s hope your date is just late..”
Philip saw the look of disappointment in her eyes as Graham left her. He threw a little wave over his shoulder then hurried towards the restaurant with Graham.
“Rack’em and stack’em, brother of mine!” Philip teased him with a friendly nudge.
Graham resisted the temptation to turn for one more look as he said, “under different circumstances I might have been interested.”
Philip thought that was because they’d promised to go out together for dinner and that Graham didn’t want to break that promise. He patted his brother’s shoulder as he said, “Thanks.”
Graham frowned, unsure why he was thanking him but then he remembered that Philip didn’t know about Daniel so wouldn’t know that his lack of interest had more to so with his lover than the evening with his brother. Philip was saying, “I’m honoured that you gave up dinner and quite probably sex with Claudine on my behalf this evening”
“Yeah,” Grae said with a grin. “It’s all about you.”
Philip gave a slight frown then saw the teasing grin on his brother’s face. “Of course it is!” He joked along.
*
When Daniel returned to the cave he was covered in blood. Smears of it was dried on his bare stomach while sprays of it stained his green fatigue pants, boots and what was left of his black t-shirt. There was a bright red streak across his golden brow where he’d swiped the back of his hand to wipe away the sweat of his hard work. He carried what appeared to be the arm of the beast, in two parts, then he dropped the meat, still attached to the bone, into the fire and squatted wearily beside the heat to warm up his frozen and numb body.
Jack watched him closely, worried about the vacant stare in the blue eyes.
“Danny?” He had to call a few times to get his friend’s attention. Tired eyes met his own. “Are you okay?”
The golden lashes fluttered then Daniel silently shook his head before he looked back into the flames. Jack sat quietly, patiently allowing the distant man the time to come to terms with what he’d just done. Jack cursed the leg that now throbbed and burned. If it wasn’t for the injury he could have saved Daniel the task of gutting and skinning the dead animal, but he was immobile, unable to even shift slightly without the pain searing through his thigh, hip and now his stomach. He knew he was getting worse and, on inspection of the wound, he had a fair idea what was wrong. He’d not seen many cases of gas gangrene in his life – just the one – but it was enough for the memory to burn into his mind so brightly that he could still recall the screams of pain and the sheer hell his good friend had suffered with in the final days of his life while the poison seeped throughout his body.
He was grateful for one thing though, that it wasn’t commutable and that Daniel would be safe from it, provided he didn’t have any abrasions himself and come in contact with the weeping mess he used to refer to as his knee.
Another thing he was grateful for was that the odor of this particular form of gangrene wasn’t offensive. It was actually rather a sweet smell, and the puss was clear. Small mercies, he thought as he felt his back ache as the poison invaded his body. He didn’t know whether he should tell Daniel or not, would that worry him or did he need to know to prepare himself?
“I’ve hung the skin in one of the other clearings. I’m hoping it will dry out over night and then we can use it.” Daniel gathered up some of the fruit and took it over to Jack. He bit into the rind and peeled off a small circle of skin then he crushed the fruit in his hand to pulp it. Carefully he cupped the back of jack’s head and helped his friend drink the juice then he eased him back against the rock again. “You’re looking flushed. Are you feeling okay?” He asked as he put the fruit aside and peeled another one for himself to drink.
“Daniel,” Jack said in a hoarse voice. The dull, blue eyes shifted to meet his eyes. “You need to know something..”
“What’s that?”
“My leg..” Jack winced as he tried to get up off his numb butt cheek. The anthropologist moved onto his knees to get closer to Jack then he peeled back the sodden cloth and saw the mottled brown flesh. He frowned then quickly looked at Jack. The older man nodded and said, “Gangrene..”
Daniel’s face contorted with anguish as he shook his head. “No!” he said then bit back the hot tears as they filled his eyes. He reached up and cupped Jack’s face as he whispered, “I’m sorry, Jack. I’m sorry..”
Jack laid his hands over the ones gripping his cheeks. “It’s not your fault, Danny!”
“I didn’t do a good enough job on your leg! Oh, shit ..!” He sniffed back tears. The colonel gripped his face and pulled their foreheads together.
“Don’t blame yourself! This wasn’t your fault! I was the fool who got shot!”
“You came to save me!” Daniel’s words were thick through tears.
“Yes, I came to save you and now I’ve condemned you to live alone on some godforsaken planet!”
Daniel swallowed noisily. “Jack, don’t say that!”
“It’s true.. but you have to know. You can’t eat me..”
“JACK!”
“I mean it Daniel! If you could, I’d insist on it, but you can’t.. I’m full of poison!”
The younger man pushed away and fell onto his backside as he stared in horror at Jack. “I’d never have eaten you!”
“Don’t be stupid! And don’t you dare bury me in my clothes! You need them!”
“Jack!” Daniel shook his head as he covered his ears. “Stop it!”
“Okay!” Jack held his hands out and Daniel turned to look at him then he crawled back against the hard body and cuddled against the warmth as he buried his face in the curve of Jack’s neck. “Okay..” He cooed softly as he caressed his friend’s shoulders. Jack’s head ached as he closed his eyes and allowed his mind to slowly shut down.
<End of part 89>
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.