September 1999 – NID secret stronghold …somewhere in Tennessee.
Marched forward, the barrel of his own gun digging into his back, Jack could not believe this was happening. As soon as he heard the door close behind him Jack eyed Daniel and pinned him in place.
"Daniel, of all the stupid, half cocked schemes, why did you do that?" He shouted, advancing forward, ignoring the fear in Daniel's eyes as he involuntarily backed away.
"I thought I was protecting you, I didn't know what else to do." Daniel squeezed his eyes tight and put both hands out in self-defense. When the expected explosion didn’t happen Daniel risked a peek through one slittered eye.
"Daniel," Jack's tone turned gentle, almost mocking, "I don't need your protection."
If things weren’t so dire at the moment Jack would be laughing right now.
"Well I don't need yours” Daniel, indignant as ever, threw his words right back.
"Yes, Daniel. You do." Jack couldn’t stress it enough.
"Err, what?" Daniel snapped out, eyes narrowing mischievously.
"You do need my protection, always have always will." Jack said plainly.
"You arrogant, self righteous-” There was no anger behind the words, even Daniel knew getting mad wouldn’t help their current situation.
Said situation being they were locked in an eight by ten closed walled cell with no windows, in the basement of some building where the chance of anyone stumbling across them was extremely slim.
"Ah, language Danny, it doesn't become you, and cut the crap.” Jack was never one to pussy foot around.
Daniel didn't understand, never had and probably never would, but Jack was going to lay it out for him to make of what he will. "Daniel, I mean this in the nicest possible way, but you can't be who you are without someone there to watch your back."
"That makes no sense, I-"
"Ah! Zip it," Jack clamped his hand over Daniel's mouth, effectively shutting him up. "You are stubborn, argumentative, strong willed, and so god damn naive sometimes it's difficult for me to believe you've made it to the age you have."
Daniel, looking puzzled, carefully removed the hand from his mouth to speak. "I don't know whether to be pleased or insulted by that."
"Promise me,” Jack stressed, “next time you'll come straight to me."
"Jack they said-"
"I know. I know what they said. That's why they went for you. They knew you wouldn't take the chance."
"They knew I was the weak link." All indignation gone, Daniel faced a home truth that he would rather never have had to entertain.
Jack dropped the last of the irritation and anger from his voice. "Daniel, you are the glue that holds us together, there is nothing weak about that, and don’t you forget it."
Jack bent down, trying in his usual comic way to look Daniel straight in the eye, which was hard to do when he was examining his shoes.
Jack rubbed one hand up and down Daniel’s sleeve.
"Okay, I promise." Daniel said looking up, over the rim of his glasses.
"You promise what?" Yeah it was patronizing, condescending and Daniel probably had several other words to describe his attitude at this moment, but Jack knew this was important. Not just to prevent anything like this happening again, but to finally put to rest all his doubts over the NID sting and get Daniel to understand exactly why he had taken them out on his own in the first place.
Daniel huffed, and refused to look at Jack, rolling his eyes like this exercise was an entire waste of time. "I promise to trust you can look after the both of us, and to leave dealing with the shady types to you, Sam and Teal'c."
Jack smiled, that’s my boy, “that's all I ask."
Daniel did make eye contact this time and said with a mischievous grin, "But I do not need your protection. I can handle myself just fine."
Footsteps sounded outside of their unadorned cell, drawing both guys attention. The jovial mood that had slowly formed quickly vanished.
“Well it looks like you might just have to prove it.”