"Thanks," Philip smiled up at her, and she returned the smile with a flirtatious one of her own. Jack watched, secretly telling the brunette that she didn't stand a chance with that man, but then the reaction of Philip left him curious. The dark, good looking man watched her walk away - 'really' watched her walk away - then looked at Jack, his brown eyes shining as he gave a quiet laugh.

"Nice," he commented, shaking his head as he stirred his coffee. There was still a twinkle in his eyes as he looked up at the man opposite him.

"Sure, if you go for that kind of thing," Jack said absently as he stirred too many sugars into his black drink.

"Yeah, well, I guess she 'is' a little old," Philip said, but his eyes strayed over to where the pretty woman stood by the cashier's desk, returning the look at him. Jack looked over his shoulder and saw that the attraction was mutual. He was confused, considering this man was meant to be gay, but he was not inclined to find out more. Instead he turned back around and looked at his companion.

"So, you're Graham's brother, did you say?"

Philip looked over the gray haired man slowly, seeing lines on his face in the harsh light of the diner that he didn't see in the soft glow of Daniel's apartment. Nodding, he stirred his coffee slowly.

"Uh, yeah. But don't hold that against me," he said with a small laugh. Jack gave the mandatory smile in response to that statement as he stirred his own drink.

"And you know Daniel... as well," Jack said, laying the spoon on the table beside his mug. He cupped his hand around the hot steaming drink and lifted it to his lips, at the same time he looked up and meet Philip's eyes once more.

"Only thorough Grae," he said, swallowing a mouthful of drink then putting his cup down.

"Oh? So you're not.. close?"

Shaking his head and pulling a slight face, the handsome man said, "no. I mean, we're friends but, well, not close close."

Jack wondered what close close meant but Philip clarified it for him. "I dislike what Grae did to him. Danny's a nice guy, from what I can tell, and Graham just dumped him like hot coals when he thought things were getting too tough." He stopped abruptly and looked at Jack. The colonel's eyes rolled slightly.

"You mean, when he thought *I* was getting too heavy handed?"

Philip had the same way of holding his mouth open in agape that Graham did. He nodded then shrugged as he looked down into his cup once more.

"Graham's terrified of you, did you know that?" He asked candidly. Jack wouldn't have used the term 'terrified' but he had noticed the young technician was always nervous around him. It was pretty hard to ignore really. He gave a big shrug in return as he sat back, lying one arm out along the back of his booth seat and cocking his head slightly. His response made Philip laugh softly.

"I can see why, you're pretty intimidating," he confessed as he lifted the drink to his lips again.

Jack met and held his gaze then he gave a gentle, lop-sided smile as he said, "Me? Nah, I'm a pussy cat!"

Philip chuckled as he lowered his cup. "I'll bet. What's your ranking? Colonel?"

Jack raised his brow, a little impressed that the young man took such a good guess. "Yeah."

"I think I remember Danny saying something about it." He shrugged.

Jack sat forward, suddenly interested. "What else has 'Danny' said?"

With the brashness of youth, Philip pulled a face as he shrugged. "Not a lot. About you, I mean. He said how disappointed he was that your friendship meant nothing...Oh." He cursed himself for letting his mouth run away with him.

Jack mouthed the word 'Oh' as well when Philip looked up apologetically. The perfect nose screwed up as he said, "Sorry."

Jack shrugged. If it was the truth he may as well hear it. Philip fumbled inside his leather jacket and pulled out a packet of cigarettes. Jack watched him without expression as the youth searched through his pockets, clearly looking for his lighter. Reaching into his back pocket Jack withdrew his zippo lighter, which he always carried on him along with a Leatherman tool set. Force of habit made him keep such things on his person at all times. He never knew when they might be needed, like now. Besides, the zippo was a direct copy of the one he'd given to Skaara. He'd purchased another one to keep the boy close to him. He reached across the table and flicked the silver canister open. Philip looked at him from under long lashes, then placed the cigarette between his pink lips and cupped his hands around Jack's as he leaned forward towards the flame. Jack felt the squeak of sensuality as the good looking man sat back, blowing smoke from between his lips. His tongue came out to moisten the dry mouth before he put the cigarette back in place again. Jack flicked the cigarette lighter shut and slipped it into his back pocket.

"Thanks," he said, his voice soft and deep.

"You know, smoking is not good for you?" Jack couldn't resist, being the reformed smoker that he was.

Philip rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know," he said, puckering his lips and blowing the smoke out again, then he pointed towards Jack with the hand holding the cigarette. "So why do you carry a zippo then?" A smile tugged the corners of the small mouth.

"I used to smoke, a long time ago," Jack said, then added, "until I met someone who showed me how stupid it all was."

Lifting his brow slightly, Philip sat forward in his seat. "Yeah? Do tell!"

Jack saw the smirk in his eyes and shook his head at the likeable young man. "No. Suffice to say, he taught me well!"

"Ah!" Philip nodded as he pointed to Jack again. He sat back in his seat as he looked over the small, white stick between his fingers then shrugged and butted it out. Looking up at Jack he smiled.

"Yeah right!" Jack laughed. Like he believed Philip had just given up smoking. The attractive youth shrugged.

"It bothers you," he said honestly. "So I can wait until later."

Jack was stopped by this sincere gesture. "Thank you." He said.

Philip smile was again breath taking. "Are you hungry? I'm hungry!" He announced then looked around to catch the eye of their waitress once more. She came over, her short dark hair framed her pretty face and she wore a little neckerchief tied around her throat. Producing a pad from the pocket on her apron and a pencil from behind her ear she smiled at Philip and asked, "What would you like?"

He looked over the menu then blinked as he looked up at her. "I'll have a toasted ham and cheese on rye. Jack?"

The officer merely indicated to his cup and she nodded before returning to the kitchen. She was soon back with the coffee, refilling both cups then, with another smile just for Philip she went off to make his sandwich.

While the younger man ate his food they discussed trivial things like what Philip did for a living. He was a librarian and worked in the local library. He told Jack that he mustn't have gone there lately or else they would have met sooner. Jack honestly couldn't recall the last time he visited the library and Philip teased him with a shake of his head. Finally, after he was through with the food, he pushed his plate aside and sat back. Now he really craved a cigarette but respected his companion too much for that.

Part way through their conversation about Jack's marriage break up, the waitress came to the table to collect the plate. Jack was relieved for the interruption, for some reason he'd strayed into an area of conversation that he wasn't able to share with anyone before, yet here he was spilling it out to a man he'd just met.

As the waitress reached down for the white plate Philip looked up at her.

"Thank you," he said. Jack noted the twinkle in the dark eyes and considered how very attractive the man was. He was obviously not the only one to notice as the young waitress turned to Philip and said, "I'm about to go off now, and I was just wondering.. did you.." She paused as she shot Jack a quick look and the officer turned to look out the window. Turning back to Philip, she smiled once more. "Did you need anything.. else?"

"Oh," he said in a soft voice, then looked across at Jack. "Jack? Did you want anything more?"

The colonel looked at the waitress then at Philip. "No, *I * don't," he said, pointedly. Her smile faltered slightly so she turned back to Philip again. He shook his head as he said, "Sorry, but no. Thanks, though," he added out of politeness. The waitress looked disappointed then turned and went back to the cashier's desk. Jack slowly turned to look at Philip and he could see that the man was politely holding back any comment for the sake of the waitress, who would still be within hearing range.

"We were saying?" The librarian said, dipping his face and running his finger around the rim of the coffee mug. Jack's opinion of the young man went up a few notches because of his gentle handling of the delicate situation. He straightened up and took the opportunity to steer the conversation off himself and back to where he wanted it to be.

"I believe we came here to discuss what Graham did to Daniel actually."

"Ah, yeah," Philip nodded as he lifted his mug to his lips. Quietly he said, through a sigh, "So we did." He gave Jack a shy smile and the colonel tilted his head slightly. Jack wondered if he wasn't a little taken aback by the sudden subject change and he knew he didn't want to offend Philip or have him think that he wasn't enjoying getting to know him better.

"That's not to say that I haven't found the past," Jack checked his watch and was surprised to see that they'd been there over an hour already, "hour fascinating!"

Philip smiled as he dipped his face. "I've enjoyed getting to know you better too, Jack."

The older man felt a warm sensation in the pit of his stomach but he ignored it. It was just fascination and he didn't need that stuffing up his life at the moment. What he did need was some guidance as far as Daniel was concerned and Philip had proven himself a helpful ally in that area, as well as being a completely 'likeable' young man.

Jack noted how Philip's eyes flicked up and watched the waitress leave the diner then he looked back at Jack. Resting his chin in his hand, Philip sighed and raised his brow a little. Jack frowned at the reaction. His reactions were those of a person with someone waiting for them at home. Either that or this man had high principles and was just a genuinely 'nice' person. Jack had instantly liked him, despite his first reactions of thinking he was Daniel's newest lover, and for some unknown reason, he trusted him enough to want to talk about this. Perhaps he was just tired of keeping it all to himself. He wasn't sure what prompted him to accept the invitation to discuss something so person with a complete stranger, but here he was, and as he looked at Philip he saw someone he felt he could trust.

"Graham?" Jack encouraged the conversation again. Philip's brown eyes moved to look at Jack.

"Yeah, so what 'is' your problem with Graham? Was it totally about Daniel?"

Suddenly taken aback, Jack raised his brow as he sorted through a barrage of answers to that impertinent question. He eventually found a response he felt comfortable with.

"On a personal level, I don't have a problem with your brother," he said quietly.

Philip frowned as he shook his head slightly. "Then what?"

Jack kept his face down and didn't respond.

Philip drew his own conclusion. "You just didn't like him in a relationship with 'your' friend, is that it?"

"No, I didn't," Jack said quietly.

They sat in a long silence, neither knowing what to say next. Philip looked at Jack, a man he'd only just met but for some strange reason, instantly liked. Now he felt let down by the stranger.

"I guess you are homophobic then? Daniel 'was' right." Philip concluded, with a heavy disappointed sigh.

The colonel shook his head. On hearing the tone of Philip's voice something compelled him to prove him wrong. Staring across the table into the dark, honest eyes, Jack confessed; "Daniel couldn't be more wrong - actually."

They remained in a locked stare until Philip's mouth gaped open. "Oh, I see!"

Jack's brow crinkled. "Do you?"

Philip stared at him longer then leaned forward, dropping his voice and leaning towards Jack. "You like Daniel."

A loud sigh escaped the colonel as he sat back in his seat, his eyes remaining locked with the strangers. The stranger who saw him for who he really was.

"Yes." Jack blinked then he finally lowered his eyes from the cimmerian eyes opposite him. He felt like the wind had been knocked from his sails as he reached for his coffee mug. Without meeting Philip's eyes again, he finished his drink then sat back, staring out at the passing traffic.

Philip saw how totally exposed Jack was. He bit at his bottom lip as he looked at the forlorn man. From the little he knew of Jack, he decided he liked him. He thought, given the right opportunity, Jack might just be able to win Daniel over - afterall, Daniel did care for him a lot more than he was prepared to admit to of late. He had two ways of going with this. He could either go back and tell Daniel straight out that Jack had feelings for him and he should discuss it with him, or, he could help Jack bring Daniel to that realization himself. In the long silence to follow, Philip made his decision about which way he was going to handle this situation. Cupping his hand around his mug, he smiled to himself as he looked over at Jack - who was still staring out of the window.

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