Title: Alchemy
Author: Joolz
Feedback: If you like J, [email protected]
Rating: NC-17
Category: Slash, Crossover (Stargate/Sentinel), Angst,
H/C, Action/Adventure, First times,
Pairings: Jack/Daniel, Jim/Blair
Season/Spoilers: This story is set some months post Menace on
the Stargate side and some months post TSbyBS on the Sentinel side. We don’t care about ‘correct’ dates, do we? All that nasty Season 6 stuff never happened
and never will. Spoilers for Menace,
Archive: Please ask first
Notes: This story is for Blindwolf, for her generous
contribution to the MoonridgeAnimal Park
Auction. Thank you!
This isn’t a team fic in
any sense. There was too much going on
to even think about adding more characters!
Thanks to Shazz for the
alpha and Catspaw for the beta reads. It
is a great service they do for the fanfic community <g>.
More notes are at the end
of the story.
Summary: Four strong individuals come to grips with
what’s really important in life. Each
other.
Warnings: m/m sex, some Daniel and Blair whumping
Disclaimer: Not my lovely characters, just playing with
them.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Alchemy
“In
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Standing at the condiments
area of the Pod 4 basement cafeteria, Daniel Jackson saw a young man seated
across the room. Daniel had noticed the
man before. He always chose to eat alone
with a book open in front of him. Every
so often someone, probably a co-worker, would greet him and start a
conversation. The young man with dark
hair and olive skin would invariably remove his glasses, close the book and
give the other person his attention, though not his active engagement. He would smile and nod, and politely respond
to the person’s question or comment while clearly holding himself aloof from
the interaction. After a while the
person would leave and the man would return to his book.
Daniel had watched the man
enough to question his own interest. It
was apparent to him that the stranger reminded him of someone, namely
himself. Daniel recognized that he
behaved in exactly the same way, but that wasn’t the end of it. That they should both be resistant to
socializing wasn’t the issue, a lot of people were, especially those choosing
the solitary pursuits in which this institution specialized. No, it was the man’s eyes that drew Daniel to
observe him. They were evocative blue,
nice eyes, but there was a depth of sadness in them that froze Daniel’s
insides. Even when the man smiled it was
clear that underneath his heart was broken.
Daniel knew that his own eyes were the same; he saw them in the mirror
every morning.
Daniel took a deep breath
and started over. The cafeteria was
crowded at this hour, so if worse came to worse he could pretend that he just
needed a seat. Approaching the small table
where the young man was holding a large book with one hand and absently
stirring his beef stew with the other, Daniel waited for him to look up.
“May I?” he asked,
indicating the vacant seat.
The man didn’t speak, but
put his fork down long enough to gesture acquiescence with an open palm.
Daniel placed his tray and
his own book on the table and busied himself with re-arranging his lunch to a
more convenient configuration. He was
aware of the fleeting glances directed toward him over the top of the other
book.
As he began to eat the
other man pointed to the tome beside Daniel and asked, “Is that for work?”
Daniel nodded. “It was written by one of my supervisors and
I’m trying to catch up with the rest of the department.”
The other man squinted at
the cover. “Egyptian Squeezes? What, is that like some new cocktail?”
Daniel actually
smiled. “No. Egyptian Squeezes are bas-reliefs of
hieroglyphics pressed into paper. Since
they aren’t as spectacular as the ones carved in stone they haven’t been as
thoroughly studied. I’m reading about
methods of preserving them, which is tricky since they’re more than 3,000 years
old.”
The dark blue eyes
brightened with interest. “Cool! Are you in the Middle East Department?”
“No, the Anthropology
Conservation Lab. And you?”
“Ethnology. South America.” He extended his hand. “I’m Blair.”
Daniel took the offered
hand and shook. “Daniel.”
To Daniel’s surprise Blair
seemed to be taking the initiative in furthering the conversation.
“Have you been here long?”
“Five months, and you?”
“Six. It’s a pretty cool place to work, all things
considered.”
Daniel agreed. “We could do worse. The Smithsonian Institution is the top of the
line, even if we are in a glorified warehouse.”
Blair laughed and they
began a lively exchange about their current projects, with tangents into other
subjects. After a while Daniel looked at
his lunch companion curiously.
“You obviously have an
extremely wide field of knowledge.
What’s your academic background?”
At that the other man’s
face closed. He looked down and fiddled
with his paper napkin. “I’d rather not
talk about that if you don’t mind. Let’s
just say that my chosen field of study was not well received by the University
and leave it at that.”
Daniel sighed. “I can understand that. I was summarily ejected from the academic
world because my own post-doc work was a bit beyond the mainstream.”
Blair looked at him
again. “Really? I got booted before I finished my
doctorate. At least you got yours first.”
Daniel grimaced. “Um, two, actually. But it doesn’t matter, does it? We’ve ended up in the same place anyway.”
“Man, I had to do some
serious groveling to get this job.
They’ve got me tucked away where the public isn’t going to notice me.”
“Me too. An old friend of mine had to call in some big
favors to get me in here, and he had to promise that I would be a good little
boy and not rock the boat.”
“Man, it really sucks,
doesn’t it?”
“You can say that again.”
The two grinned at each
other with newfound understanding. Then
Blair looked at his watch and exclaimed, “Damn, I’m late getting back to
work. Gotta run.” As he stood and collected his tray he stopped
and looked at Daniel seriously. “It’s
been nice talking to you, Daniel.”
“You too, Blair.”
Sitting alone again Daniel
noticed that his spirits felt lighter than they had in some time. He smiled to himself as he finished his meal.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
After that the two found
themselves sitting together at lunch several times a week. Sometimes they shared interesting things they
were coming across in their work and sometimes they read in silence. One Friday at the end of their break Blair
paused and looked up at Daniel, who was about four inches taller.
“Hey, man, you wanna go
out for a beer later?”
From the look on his face
Blair thought that his new friend was going to decline and say something like,
‘I don’t like beer.’ Then Daniel closed
his mouth and started again.
“Yes. I’d like that.”
“All right. How about TGIF’s at eight?”
“That’s fine. I’ll see you there.”
On the way back to his
work area Blair stopped by the bathroom to wash his hands. Standing at the sink he looked at his face in
the mirror. He thought he looked thin
and pale, and wondered when he had gotten so much older. He didn’t think that it had happened all at
once, but the aging seemed to have progressed faster it did than for most
people.
His hair was pulled back
severely in a ponytail. Blair had
intended to cut it, but for him that would be the symbolic moment of no
return. He didn’t have much hope for the
future, but he couldn’t bring himself to literally cut himself off from his
past either. He never wore his hair
loose anymore, though.
He studied his own face
looking for answers. There hadn’t been
any there yesterday, and there weren’t any there now. Blair dried his hands on a paper towel and
continued down the hall.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
That night found the two
men seated on stools, leaning heavily on the gleaming wooden bar. Daniel had a Guinness in front of him and
Blair had chosen Newcastle Brown Ale. It
was practically a special occasion, after all.
Daniel was saying with
great animation, “It’s not that I don’t enjoy my job. I do.
It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. It’s just that I would like to be a little
more….”
“Active?” Blair suggested.
“Yes! Exactly.
What I was doing before was very exciting. I was actually working for the Air Force, if
you can believe it. Every day was an
adventure. I was getting to use my body,
not just my mind.”
“I know what you mean,
man. Before I came here I was working
with the local police department. Talk
about an adrenaline rush.”
Daniel was surprised. “You worked with the police department?”
“Yeah. I was kind of like a consultant on social
stuff. But Jim…” He broke off.
Daniel prompted, “Jim?”
Blair swallowed and went
on. “Yeah, Jim. He was my partner, a detective in Major
Crimes.” He peered at Daniel closely,
trying to see if this information provoked any recognition in the other
man. All he saw was an open face and
interest in the sky blue eyes. Blue eyes
like Jim’s, but a slightly different shade.
He shook his head. “Anyway, he
like, counted on me to watch his back, you know? It wasn’t just what I knew that was
important, but what I could do, too. I
was making a difference. I really got
off on that.”
Daniel nodded
emphatically. “Yeahyeahyeah! It was being needed for something more than
arcane knowledge and accurate spelling.
It was being part of a team where what was at stake was our very lives. People depended on me to do my part while
they did theirs and no matter what, nobody got left behind. I’ve never had that anywhere else.”
“So why did you
leave?” Daniel’s face fell and Blair
tried to backtrack. “Hey, sorry,
man. I shouldn’t have asked that.”
Daniel shook his head
sadly. “No, that’s all right. I just had to leave. Part of it was exactly what I was just
saying. I was becoming more of a soldier
than an archaeologist. It was addictive
in a way. I loved the action and the
power that I acquired within the structure, and I have to admit that I had some
anger issues to work out.” He grimaced
self-deprecatingly. “I got to enjoy
shooting a gun too much, helping to blow things up. I was trying to pretend that I was something
that I’m not, rationalizing lying to myself and to others. Every once in a while something inside would
cry out for me to stop, but I was caught up in the power trip.
“Maybe I would still be
there, still be living that life, but then there was Jack.” Blair nodded encouragement as Daniel
continued in a more subdued tone. “Jack
was my friend, my best friend actually, but it went sour. We weren’t getting along anymore. We were fighting, saying things to each other
that we shouldn’t. It was getting too
intense. I know that we still lo…” he
gulped, “loved each other, and that’s exactly why the distance between us was
so painful. We needed to be able to
trust each other completely, and that was getting shaky. I couldn’t face it anymore. I’ve never run from anything in my life, but
I ran from him and here I am, for what it’s worth.”
As Daniel was speaking Blair’s
face had gone pale. Daniel apologized,
“I’m sorry to be dumping all this on you, Blair. I don’t know why I told you all that.”
Blair swallowed the
grapefruit sized lump in his throat and answered, “Because even though what
we’ve lost seems too much to bear, like there’s no hope left, we still cling to
the need for one other person in the world to understand. It’s human nature. And because running away doesn’t solve anything,
choosing to be alone doesn’t cure the pain of being alone. Because while we’re still alive we can’t
totally give up.” The emotion that Blair
was feeling was much more visible than Daniel’s, and Blair looked down in
embarrassment. He whispered, “I miss
Jim, too.”
While Friday night revelry
went on around them Daniel and Blair sat staring into their drinks, each
wrestling with the past and the present.
Eventually Blair broke the
silence. “So I would ask you, ‘How about
those Redskins?’, but I’m still a Jags fan. So is Jim.”
“I was never much interested
in sports, but Jack got me hooked on the Avalanche. I used to ask him trivia questions just to
see if he could give me the statistics for any given player in any given
season.”
Blair asked, “Could he?”
Daniel’s eyebrows
jumped. “Apparently. But he could have been making it all up and I
would never know. That’d be just like
him.”
After a moment Daniel
snorted. “Aren’t we a pair?”
Blair laughed briefly in
response. “Yeah. We should write a
paper. ‘Models of Significant Relationships of Anthropologists and the
Incidence of Depression’.”
Daniel sat back in mock
protest. “Hey, it’s not that bad!”
“No, it isn’t. But it helps to let it out once in a while.”
“You’re right, Blair, it
does. May I buy you another beer?”
“Hey, man, I never, and I
mean NEVER, turn down a free beer.
Bartender!”
Armed with fresh drinks,
the two clinked glasses.
Daniel began, “Cheers.”
Blair continued, “Salud.”
“Nasdrovia.”
“L’Chiam.”
“Slaínte.”
This went on for quite a
while.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The number of artifacts
held by the Smithsonian was so great that not all of them had been
cataloged. This was one of Daniel’s
jobs. A new group of storage containers
had been brought to the lab and placed on the long tables against the
wall. He carried one box over to his
workbench and brushed the dust off the faded label that had been glued to the
top probably over a hundred years ago.
It read, ‘Egypt. Middle
Dynasty. Pharaonic Jewelry.’ Intriguing.
Daniel cut the twine
wrapped around the box and opened the lid.
Removing several layers of delicate tissue paper he exposed the first
item. As his blood ran cold he couldn’t
suppress his frustration.
“Shit, shit, SHIT!”
There in all its glory lay
a Goa’uld ribbon device in absolutely perfect condition. Daniel frowned menacingly at the object as if
he could will it away. Knowing that
these things were practically indestructible he removed it from the box and set
it on the counter before digging deeper.
Soon there were four of the offensive items marring the tabletop.
He leaned onto his stool
and stared at them, brows pulled low.
There was no getting away from it.
He was cursed to have the Goa’uld follow him wherever he went. And where the Goa’uld went, the SGC was soon
to follow.
He sighed and walked over
to the phone. On automatic pilot he
dialed the number that was so familiar to him.
“Hello. Yes.
This is Dr. Daniel Jackson. May I
please speak to General Hammond?”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The phone conversation was
winding down when the door to the General’s office banged open without even a
‘by your leave’. A tall, silver haired
man flew into the room.
“Thank you for calling,
Dr. Jackson. You can expect someone
there within the day. You’ll keep the
objects in a safe place till then?
Fine. It was good to talk to you,
son.”
As he hung up the phone
the other man shouted, “That was Daniel!”
“Colonel O’Neill, it’s
good to see that the intelligence acquisition and distribution capability of my
command is in good working order. Or
should I say the gossip mill?”
O’Neill was red in the
face and ignored his CO’s dry comment.
“But sir, that was Daniel! Why
didn’t you let me talk to him? Where is
he? Is he okay?”
The General raised his
voice to command level. “Colonel
O’Neill! You will calm down
immediately. Do you understand me?”
Chastened, Jack closed his
mouth and gulped, but looked at Hammond with big, pleading eyes.
“Sit down, Colonel.”
The other man bounced
excitedly in place. George could
understand Jack’s agitation, but he really had to insist.
“Down.”
Jack lowered his lanky
frame onto the edge of a chair and leaned forward. “Sir, what’s going on?”
Hammond took a breath and
began the explanation. “That was indeed
Dr. Jackson. He has been working for the
National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington,
D.C. for the last several months.” Jack
appeared to be about to interrupt and the General cut him off. “He’s fine, Jack. I’ve known where he was the whole time and
have kept tabs on him.”
“Why didn’t you tell me,
sir? Why didn’t you tell any of us?”
“Because Dr. Jackson
specifically asked me not to. The same reason
you didn’t track him down on your own.
He called just now because in his work he has come across some Goa’uld
technology; hand devices. Apparently
nobody else knows what they are, but I’m going to send someone out there to
transport the items back to the base for inspection.”
O’Neill’s eyebrows rose
expectantly.
“Yes, Colonel. You can go.”
The other man slumped in
relief. “Thank you, sir. I really need to see Daniel. Talk to
him.” Jack was at a loss to express the
profundity of this desire. “I really
need to, sir.”
The General couldn’t help
but respond gently. “I know you do,
Jack. It’s time the two of you
talked. I sincerely hope that you can
straighten things out.
“He’s at the Museum
Support Center in Suitland, Maryland, just outside of the District. Pod 4; that’s the fourth large section of the
complex. You can leave whenever you’re
ready and can arrange a flight. Give
Daniel my regards, Colonel. Dismissed.”
The decorated Air Force
Colonel wobbled quite noticeably on the way out the door and George watched him
go with a heavy heart. For all the power
of his office there were some things he just couldn’t fix. The relationship between these two stubborn,
passionate men was one of them. If he
could pull their ears and knock their heads together he would, but it was up to
them to repair the best partnership, the best team, that he’d ever known. He said a silent prayer that it would go well
in Washington.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Blair Sandburg often
worked late. A combination of actually
enjoying his work and the fact that he didn’t have anyplace to go, anyone to be
with, kept him busy in his office until long after his co-workers were gone. Sometimes when his boss was late leaving she
would swing by, turn out the lights in Blair’s office and physically lead him
to the exit, but usually it was up to him to call it a night.
This evening was no
exception. Blair was helping to analyze
items brought back by an expedition to the Chilean Andes, including examples of
lost craft forms, in an attempt to understand the ancient communities and
support the effort to revive traditional cultural practices within their
decimated modern remnants. As engrossed
as he was, at about 10:00 his stomach growled too loudly for him to
ignore. He decided it was time to go
feed himself and get some sleep.
As Blair walked down the
deserted halls his mind, as was its wont, wandered back to Cascade. He wondered for the ten millionth time how
Jim was doing. Surely Simon would call
him if Jim got into trouble; that was why he had left his number with the
Captain after all. So things must be
okay. Jim was probably getting along
just fine without him. He had
friends. He had spirit guides. His Guide and Shaman had done the hard work
of helping him understand, accept and control his senses, but now he could get
along as Sentinel on his own.
So caught up was he in
this much repeated train of thought that he ran into the man around the corner
before he even realized that he was there.
Blair jumped back apologizing.
“Sorry, man. I didn’t see you.”
Then the figure before him
began to register in his brain. He took
in the fact that the man was dressed entirely in black and was wearing a Kevlar
vest and a ski mask. Blair’s eyes
widened, his mouth fell open and he took another step back as the man raised a
gun with a long silencer extension.
When the weapon was level
with Blair’s chest the man pulled the trigger, then calmly stepped around him
as he fell against the wall and slid to the ground. Blair felt more surprise than pain, and then
he didn’t feel a thing.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dressed sharply in tan
chinos and black leather jacket, Jack couldn’t decide whether he was more
nervous or excited. He might be excited
because he hadn’t seen or spoken to Daniel in six months, and that was about to
change. Or he might be nervous because
he hadn’t seen or spoken to Daniel in six months, and wasn’t sure what kind of
reception he was going to receive.
Either way the effect was the same; a myriad of butterflies flapped
their wings against the inside of his ribcage.
He couldn’t believe that
he had carried out Special Ops missions and faced down aliens without blinking,
and here he was ready to turn to jelly because of one not-so-mild-mannered
archaeologist. Well, he could believe it because this one
archaeologist was the single most important thing in his life. Only problem was that he’d been a little slow
on the uptake and hadn’t figured that out until it was too late. Was it still too late? Was there a chance to fix things? That was the reason for the butterflies.
The guard at the front
entrance had relieved him of his side arm after it activated the metal
detector, promising to return it when the Colonel left. Getting a busy signal at Daniel’s extension
he had then politely given O’Neill directions on how to get to his friend’s
work area. This involved a good number
of twists and turns through two floors and seemingly miles of corridor.
Finally Jack found himself
standing outside the door with the words ‘Daniel Jackson, ACL Assistant’. What, Daniel Jackson without the Dr? And an assistant? The mind boggled.
Then he heard a noise from
within, sounding suspiciously like his best friend in the world crying out in
pain. Adrenaline immediately jumping
into overdrive, he burst through the door to find three men in black bending
over Daniel, who was lying partially hidden behind a bench table. One of the men was holding a tazer to
Daniel’s chest, causing his body to seize and arch up off the floor.
Growling, Jack took two
steps into the room and then dived to the side as one of the men swung a gun
toward him. Jack didn’t hear the shot,
but a ceramic pot over his head exploded into dust verifying the
occurrence. Frantically looking for a
weapon Jack pulled drawers out of the cabinet he was hiding behind and hit pay
dirt. There were tools in one of them;
for what he couldn’t imagine but some of them had sharp points, which was all
that mattered. He grabbed a handful and
scurried around to the other side of the cabinet as one of the men loomed into
view.
Jack squatted and leaned
around the corner to throw one of the tools at his attacker. He aimed first for the leg, knowing that it
wouldn’t be armored, and heard the man gasp as metal penetrated muscle.
Crouching behind the
barrier Jack called out, “I’m a Colonel in the United States Air Force and
security is on its way. Put down your weapons
and give yourselves up.”
He didn’t hear the men
speak, but some agreement must have been reached because a volley of bullets
covered their exit from the room. As
silence fell he heard Daniel groan and shift on the other side of the table. Checking that the coast was clear, Jack
sprinted to his friend’s side.
Kneeling, O’Neill took
inventory of possible injuries. One side
of Daniel’s face was already turning into a purple bruise, and he seemed
generally disoriented. Daniel’s eyes blinked
rapidly, but he didn’t appear to be aware of his surrounding.
Jack touched his
shoulder. “Daniel.”
The younger man flinched
at the contact and began to thrash defensively.
Jack grabbed him and held him still.
“Daniel, it’s me, Jack. It’s
okay, they’re gone. You’re safe now,
Daniel.”
Daniel tried to focus on
the man at his side, brows pulling down in confusion. Jack saw his mouth work in a motion that
could have been his name. Then Daniel
tried again and succeeded, croaking out, “Jack?”
“That’s right, Danny-boy. I’m right here. I swear, you get into so much trouble I can’t
conceive of how you got along without me.”
Daniel shook his head
slightly and stated, “Imagining.”
“Nope, ‘fraid not. I’m really here.”
Jack slid an arm under the
other man’s shoulders and lifted him up to lean against his chest. Daniel sighed and seemed to melt into the
warmth and support.
“So, Danny, you wanna tell
me what’s going on?”
Daniel cleared his throat
and leaned his head back to look up at Jack’s face.
“They wanted something.”
“Were they after the, you
know, snake stuff?”
“No. They kept asking where lot EGT-537B was. I wasn’t lying when I insisted I didn’t
know. They didn’t believe me.”
Jack tightened his hold on
the still trembling man. “It’s going to
be all right now. I’ve got you.”
“Jack?”
“Yes, Daniel.”
“I think I need to change
my clothes.”
Jack wrinkled his nose but
reassured him, “Yeah. Electrocution will
do that. Just take it easy for now.”
O’Neill heard footsteps in
the doorway and looked up to see a pair of security guards training their
weapons on him. One of them shouted,
“Put your hands where I can see them and step away from Mr. Jackson.”
Jack snapped back, “That’s
Dr. Jackson to you, and I’m his friend, Colonel O’Neill, USAF. Three guys did this to him, didn’t you see
them? All dressed in black? You can’t miss ‘em.”
The guard took a step
forward. “I said step away NOW.”
Daniel breathed into his
chest, “Do it, Jack.”
O’Neill lowered Daniel to
the ground and stood, his hands raised.
One of the guards kept his gun firmly aimed while the other spun Jack
around and shoved him against the wall.
After patting him down he announced, “He’s clean. No gun.”
“Well of course I don’t
have a gun. The guy at the front desk
took it away from me. I can tell you it
would have come in handy when those intruders were torturing Dr. Jackson,
here.”
“I’m sorry, sir, we had to
make sure. There’s been a shooting.”
Daniel had managed to prop
himself up against the wall beside Jack, and he gasped, “A shooting? Who?”
“A guy on the first
floor. Sandburg. If you’ll excuse us we’ll keep searching.”
Jack yelled after them,
“Hey, call an ambulance for Dr. Jackson, will ya?”
Daniel was staring blankly
at nothing. He whispered, “Blair.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jim Ellison was plodding
through yet another report when the phone rang.
As Simon Banks came out of his office the detective was staring at the
handset. Simon took in the shock on
Jim’s face and headed straight for his desk.
“Jim?”
The other man looked up,
blue eyes huge, and said softly, “Sandburg’s been shot.”
Simon turned and bellowed
to his secretary, “Rhonda, call the airlines.
Get Ellison on the next flight to D.C.
It’s an emergency.”
+++++++++++++++++++++
Daniel was unsurprised to
find Jack sitting at his bedside. It
seemed the most natural thing in the world, and he had missed his friend’s
solid presence so much it brought tears to his eyes.
Jack’s fingers slipped into
the hair on his forehead and began to stroke gently. “Hey there, Danny.”
“Hey, Jack.”
“How’re you doing?”
“Fine.”
“Well, you will be
anyway. The doctor said that the bruise
on your face would fade eventually, as will the effects of the electric shock. She says you just need to sleep for a while
to get your strength back.”
“Thanks for coming to my
rescue when you did. Your timing was
impeccable as usual.”
An odd look passed over
his face. “Funny, I have the feeling
that I’m really late. But it doesn’t
matter. You’re going to come back to
Colorado with me where I can keep an eye on you.”
Daniel frowned. “I don’t think so, Jack.”
O’Neill held up a
finger. “Ah! I have one indisputable reason for you to
bail on this place. You work in something
called a Pod, Daniel. A Pod. ‘Nuff said.”
Daniel had to smile at his
friend’s irreverent humor, but admonished, “We’ll talk about this later. I think I’m going to need my wits about me.”
Jack sobered. “Of course.
And I don’t mean to pressure you.
Well, I do but I’ll try not to.
Okay?”
“Okay. Have they found out who those guys were?”
“Not a clue, but we will get them.”
“Jack, they said that
Blair was shot. How is he?”
Puzzled, O’Neill asked,
“Blair?”
“Blair Sandburg. Jack, he’s about the only friend I have here,
and I really need to know how he is. Can
you find out for me?”
“Sure I can, Danny. If it was the same guys that attacked you,
maybe he saw something that could help.”
“Just make sure that he’s
okay, that they’re taking good care of him.”
It was just like Daniel to
be worried about someone else when he needed to be looking after himself. “I’ll stay with you till you fall asleep
again, and then I’ll go check on him.
Okay?”
Daniel smiled sleepily,
“Okay.”
It wasn’t long before he
nodded off, but Jack stayed where he was for a while, memorizing the face on
the pillow. There was no friggin’ way he
was going to let Daniel walk away from him again. The archaeologist didn’t know it yet, but
resistance was SO futile.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jim Ellison was keeping a
similar vigil beside another bed. The
scene was pretty much Jim’s nightmare; Blair lying helpless in a hospital bed,
connected to various tubes, with a machine breathing for him. He was trying hard not to zone out as he
listened to every whoosh and gurgle even remotely connected to Sandburg’s
body. He consciously focused part of his
attention on the antiseptic smell in the air and the smooth metal bed railing
under his hand. And of course he didn’t
take his eyes off of his Guide.
Concentrating on his
senses allowed Jim to avoid thinking.
Thinking would have been too much under the circumstances, as it might
venture into areas such as the nearly four years he had spent with Blair and
the seven months he had spent without him.
Thinking would lead him down the avenue of guilt and anger and
loss. Thinking would take a man already
dangerously close to the edge across that line.
Instead he listened to the
hydraulic whir of the respirator as it drew in air, and the whistle of it being
forced into Blair’s lungs. There was
absolutely nothing he could do but sit there.
It was up to Sandburg to wake up and make everything right. The doctors had assured Jim that Blair would wake up, that the surgery had gone
well. He had waited this long to look
into his friend’s eyes again, he could wait a little while longer. Except that it was taking all his willpower
to do that.
A whispered echo of
Sandburg’s name drifting into the room from the hall suddenly shattered Jim’s
concentration. He cocked his head and
focused on the sound.
A man’s voice was
insisting, “Just tell me if he’s doing all right, for crying out loud.”
A nurse answered, “I’m
sorry, you know that the hospital has strict rules about patient
confidentiality.”
“Hell, I’m not asking for
the guy’s sperm count, I just want to know if he’s going to make it. If he needs anything.”
Without conscious
awareness Jim found himself opening the door and stepping into the hall.
“Thank you, nurse. I’ll take it from here.”
He turned to face the
silver haired man with a sense that his casual, relaxed stance hid a very
capable physical presence. The hair on
Jim’s neck stood up.
Jim confronted the
stranger, his eyes hard as steel. “Who
are you and why are you asking questions about Blair Sandburg?”
Half expecting the man to
bolt he was mildly surprised when he simply raised his eyebrows and answered,
“I’m Colonel Jack O’Neill, USAF. Who are
you?”
“Detective Jim Ellison,
Cascade PD.”
The Colonel drawled,
“Cascade, huh? Aren’t you a ways out of
your jurisdiction?”
Jim took another step
toward the man, flexing his shoulder muscles.
“You didn’t answer my question.
Why do you want to know about Sandburg?”
“Because a friend of mine
is evidently a friend of his. He sent me
to find out about Sandburg’s condition.
I’ll report back that he has his own pit bull watchdog, but he’ll want
more detail than that. He’s a detail
oriented kind of guy.”
“Blair Sandburg was shot
through the chest, nicking and collapsing his left lung. He was barely out of surgery when I arrived
from Cascade and he’s resting now.”
The older man snapped
sarcastically, “Thank you SO much for the information. Has he said anything yet? Did he get a look at the guy who shot him?”
Jim’s suspicion level
jumped another notch. “Why do you want
to know?”
“BECAUSE, Detective,
unfortunately it looks like YOUR friend was simply in the wrong place at the
wrong time. It was MY friend who was the
intended target of those bastards. They
tortured him and likely would have finished him off if I hadn’t gotten there in
time. I need to find out who they are so
I can make sure they never touch Daniel again.”
Interesting. “Daniel?”
“Doctor Daniel Jackson,
archaeologist, linguist, anthropologist extraordinaire. So do you know who did this?”
Jim relaxed slightly, but
maintained his defensive air. “I don’t
know, he hasn’t woken up yet.” Jim
bristled and growled much like the said pit bull. “But I’m going to find out.”
“Well, you can just stay
out of it. I’M the one who’s going to
get the sons of bitches.”
“Is that so? And exactly how are you going to do that,
flyboy? I’d like to remind you that I’M
the experienced detective. I have seven
years in Major Crimes and believe me, when someone hurts my… Blair… I consider
it a very major crime. I have the skills
and the connections with the local PD to get the job done.”
“Oh? You don’t even know why any of this happened.
I have access to the classified
information that’s going to be necessary to resolve it. And I assure you that I can do a lot more
than fly a plane.”
The feral gleam in the
man’s eyes said to Jim, ‘Special Forces’.
His stance relaxed and he looked at O’Neill speculatively. The other man un-puffed his chest in
response.
“Look, Colonel, why don’t
we pool our resources on this? I want
them. You want them. Does it really matter who gets them as long
as they go down?”
O’Neill considered
this. “That might work. There may be stuff that I can’t tell you, but
I probably could use the back up.”
Then Jim heard the soft
rustle of a hand against a sheet coming from the room behind him. He spun around to look at the door.
“Blair!” As he charged back into the room he barked at
O’Neill, “I’ll talk to you later.”
Without even waiting for
an acknowledgement from the other man Jim rushed to Blair’s bedside. He found his friend shifting restlessly. Jim leaned over and cooed, “Hey, Chief, you
want to wake up now?”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Blair didn’t really want
to wake up. He didn’t feel so good. And he was apparently dreaming that Jim was
there. Better to stay asleep. But the dream itself was prodding him.
“Come on, Chief, I know
you’re in there. Open those baby blues
for me, kid.”
Blair tried to comply and
managed at some length to pry his eyelids, which were as heavy as bricks,
ajar. There was that nice dream
again. The perfect smooth planes and
sharp angles of Jim Ellison’s face seemed to be floating before him. The face smiled with relief and Blair’s heart
skipped a beat.
“That’s it, Junior. I’m glad to see you.”
Strangely, Blair was
starting to think that maybe this wasn’t a dream after all. The setting was definitely hospital-like,
and in a dream the pain in his chest would probably have woken him up by
now. He was in a hospital and Jim was
here? His eyes widened in astonishment.
“You were shot,
Chief. Do you remember? But you’re going to be all right, I promise.”
He had been shot. He had a hazy recollection of that not-fun
event. But what the hell was JIM doing
there?
It seemed that his friend
could read his mind. “You put me down as
your emergency contact on the job application at the Smithsonian. The called me right away when you were hurt.”
Oh yeah. It had been a reflex of sorts. Jim just seemed like his next of kin, and was
a hell of a lot easier to get a hold of than Naomi.
“I haven’t been able to
find Naomi. If you can tell me where she
is I’ll call her for you.”
Blair shook his head in
negation and became very aware of the horrible feeling of a tube being down his
throat. He tried to lift his hand to
push it away, but Jim wouldn’t let him.
He guided Blair’s arm back down to the mattress and then pulled away as
though he had been burned.
“Listen, Sandburg, I know
that you may not want to see me, and I couldn’t blame you for that, but I’m
here to take care of you. You were shot
and your lung collapsed, which is why you’re on the respirator now. Try to relax and don’t fight it. The Doctor said that they’ll probably remove
it tomorrow, so just let it help you for now.
You’re really doing well, so don’t worry. You’re going to be fine.” Jim lifted his hand toward Blair’s face and
then dropped it away, much to Blair’s disappointment. “You’re going to be fine. You are.
You’re going to be fine.”
There was a look in Jim’s
eyes that Blair couldn’t really identify.
It was like sadness, worry, pain, and something like desperation. He couldn’t get enough synapses firing to
figure it out.
Blair noticed a movement
behind Jim and let his eyes wander in that direction. It was a large black cat that dimly
registered as Jim’s spirit animal, the jaguar.
The feline was pacing at the far side of the room like a wild thing
trapped in a cage. The agitation of the
animal was evident even to Blair’s dulled senses. He frowned and watched the animal sweep one
way, pivot, and then lunge the other.
Jim followed Blair’s line
of sight, but obviously couldn’t see what Blair was seeing and was disturbed by
that. “Hey, Sandburg, stay with me
here.”
Blair tried to focus on
Jim again but his cement eyelids were closing.
Before he fell asleep, though, he felt a moment of worry. Something was very wrong with Jim, and that
just wouldn’t do.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jack was extremely
displeased to have been ejected from Daniel’s room by the nursing staff,
especially since they had had no difficulty withstanding his fiercest
glare. He stalked down the hall cussing
under his breath.
A violent rattle of metal
and glass attracted his attention. Even
from the back Jack could see that it was Ellison shaking a vending machine to
within an inch of its life. With the
build that guy had on him, the machine didn’t stand a chance.
Frustrated at the
continued lack of cooperation, Ellison smacked the front pane of glass hard
enough to crack it under his palm.
Whoa! Maybe a little intervention
was in order.
Walking up behind the
other man but leaving a prudent distance between them Jack interrupted, “Hey, Ellison. Better lay off or the local cops’ll have you
for assault on an unarmed coffee machine.”
When Jim turned around
Jack almost took a step back, thrown off guard as he hadn’t been in their earlier
altercation. The detective’s face was an
open book revealing deep distress, his eyes unfocussed and desperate. This was a man on the verge of flipping out.
Jack quickly considered
the option of calling the paddy wagon, then decided to try and talk the man
down. After all, his friend had been
hurt in the assault on Daniel, which made him feel some responsibility for
Ellison. In the end he took a step
closer.
“Easy, Ellison. Jim.
Is it Sandburg? Is he okay?”
Jim blinked at the mention
of Sandburg’s name and started to calm down.
“Yeah, he’s okay. It’s just, they
made me leave him. We have the medical
personnel in Cascade trained to let us stay together, but here,” he shook his
head, growing frustrated again, “they made me…”
“Yeah, me too. Sucks, doesn’t it? Listen, do you have somewhere to stay?”
Jim shook his head slowly,
his eyes brimming over with sadness.
“Normally I would crash wherever Blair is. I know I said that he was my friend, but the
truth is I don’t even know where he lives.”
Jack nodded his
understanding and answered quietly, “I don’t know where Daniel lives,
either. So how about we go get something
to eat and find a place to sleep. The
Holiday Inn Express Georgetown is a couple of blocks down from the Medical
Center. It costs an arm and a leg, but
then so do all the hotels in D.C. How
does that sound?”
Ellison nodded in
agreement, slung the strap of his travel bag over his shoulder and submitted to
being led out of the hospital. Jack
placed a Gyro sandwich from a take-out place in his hands and he ate it
seemingly without noticing. Jack
couldn’t quite figure this out. He had
the impression that the other man was competent and intelligent, and yet here
he was close to breaking down. There
must be more going on that just his friend being shot.
Jack suggested they share
a room to keep down costs, even though the SGC was covering his bills. This detective from Cascade and his
anthropologist buddy had become part of the situation, and Jack would feel better
keeping an eye on them.
The detective followed
Jack into the room like a zombie and sat on the edge of a bed, staring at the
wall. Cautiously, Jack knelt down in
front of him and removed his shoes. Pulling
back the covers he rolled the silent man into the bed and tucked him in. Jim curled into a ball on his side and Jack
watched until he felt the man had gone to sleep.
Kicking off his own shoes
and settling back against the headboard of his bed Jack sighed. What the heck had they gotten into now?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jim woke up
disoriented. The sounds were all wrong,
as were the smells and the light.
Looking around it all came back to him.
He was in Washington, D.C. because Blair had been shot. This was a hotel room. The man snoring in the other bed was O’Neill.
When Jim came out of the
bathroom after showering and shaving O’Neill was awake and watching him
carefully. When they left the hotel the
Colonel was oddly solicitous and insisted that Jim eat breakfast before going
back to the hospital. It wasn’t until
they were devouring croissants and jam that it occurred to him that he didn’t
remember leaving the hospital the night before or going to the hotel. The pastry turned to rock in his
stomach. He was fine now, but he must
not have been yesterday. He sincerely
hoped that he hadn’t done anything conspicuous.
He looked at the older man
next to him and said hesitantly, “Look, I don’t think I was feeling too well
yesterday. Probably jetlag or
something. Thanks for looking out for
me.”
O’Neill waved it off. “No problem.
It happens. What say we head back
to the Medical Center?”
Jim was glad that they
weren’t going to talk about it. He
didn’t understand what had been happening with him lately and it made him
nervous to think about it.
After getting off the
elevator they first came to Jackson’s door.
O’Neill stuck his head in and pulled it out again, frowning. “He’s not in there.”
Jim directed his hearing
down the hall and around the corner. He
said, “There’s someone in with Sandburg.
Maybe it’s him.”
“Oh, I have no doubt
that’s EXACTLY where he is. Of COURSE he
would go wandering around the hospital when he’s supposed to be resting. Hey, wait a minute. How can you tell that from here?”
Jim tuned him out. He had heard Blair’s voice. Blair was talking!
Jim and Jack walked into
Sandburg’s room and sure enough, there was someone sitting in the chair at his
side. He was a handsome man with short
brown hair and stunning blue eyes, and Jim was sure that he would be even more
impressive in something other than a hospital robe.
And Blair, he was lying in
bed smiling at his visitor. A jealous
tremor stirred in Jim’s belly.
Jack put his hands on his
hips and pretended to scold, “So what is this?
An Anthropologists Anonymous convention?
Isn’t anyone aware that this is a hospital and that injured people are
supposed to follow doctor’s orders and stay in bed?"
The man raised his
eyebrows with a grin and rejoined, “That’s rich coming from you, the original
bad patient.”
Blair, beautiful
life-support-machine-free Blair, looked weak, pretty much like you would expect
after a gunshot wound and major surgery.
He smiled at O’Neill around the oxygen canula secured to his nose and
raised his hand to him. “You must be
Jack. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Jack moved forward and
took Blair’s hand. He quipped, “Damn, I
hate when my reputation proceeds me. It
takes away all the fun of shocking people,” but his brown eyes softened. Looked like Sandburg had made another
conquest.
The other man held his
hand out. “I’m Daniel and you’re
Jim. I’m glad to finally meet you.”
Jim shook his hand and
mumbled, “Thanks, same here”, but moved away as quickly as possible to take a
position on the other side of Blair’s bed.
He whispered hesitantly, “Hey Chief.
You’re looking better.” Blair was
looking up at him and it seemed that his face was glowing, though Jim thought
that was probably a trick of his vision.
His voice rough from the
irritating tube, Blair answered, “I am better.
Especially now that you’re here.”
Jim pulled up a chair and
sat in it before his knees gave way.
There were so many emotions swirling within him that he couldn’t find
anything to say.
Daniel explained, “Blair
is doing really well. So well, in fact,
that they removed the respirator this morning.
If he keeps on improving at this rate they may even release him in the
next couple of days. Can’t keep a good
man down, right?”
Blair smiled and nodded
weakly but never took his eyes from Jim’s face.
Jim stared back at him, peripherally aware that the other two exchanged
a questioning glance.
After a moment Daniel
offered, “Well, Jack, maybe we should give them some time.”
That galvanized Jim back
to functionality. They were going to
leave him alone with Blair! He didn’t
feel ready for that. When Blair had been
asleep it was one thing, but now that he was awake it was totally another
ballgame.
He cleared his
throat. “Actually, since we’re all here
maybe we should compare notes on what happened.
Colonel O’Neill and I have agreed to work together to catch the perps
who did this to you.”
Blair’s eyes widened
incredulously. “Jim, you agreed to work
with someone? Without a direct order
from the Mayor?”
Jim couldn’t help but
smile back, this felt so right. “Just
this one time, Chief. I don’t make a
habit of it.”
Blair started. “I guess I saw them first, but I can’t tell
you anything. I ran into a man in black
in the hall. He shot me. That’s it.”
Jim’s blood ran cold with
fear. How could anyone have done
something like that? Didn’t they know
how special Blair Sandburg was, how important?
How could they just take it upon themselves to dispose of his life so
casually? The reality that Blair’s life
could have been ended washed over Jim in a chilling wave. Of course he’d always known that was a
possibility, but this time it had been so close.
Jim jumped at the feel of
a hand on his arm. He looked up to see
Blair observing him with a frown.
Squeezing Jim’s arm, Blair whispered, “It’s all right. I’m going to be all right.”
Nodding numbly Jim moved
his arm away. Everybody was staring at
him. He cleared his throat and tried to
swallow the fear. Getting the proceedings
back on track, he asked, “So, Chief, you didn’t notice any identifying marks or
anything.”
“Sorry, man. It all happened so fast, and he was
disguised. I didn’t even realize that
there was more than one.”
Jack added, “That’s
okay. It was a long shot, anyway. I spent more quality time with them and
didn’t see anything either.” He turned
to Daniel. “How about you? What exactly happened?”
Jim found his curiosity
and investigative zeal engaged by the other man’s story. The men had burst into Jackson’s office,
roughed him up and asked where a specific ‘lot’ was. They used the tazer on him until O’Neill had
arrived to drive them off. Jim was sure
that he was hiding something, and noticed that he didn’t explain why the Colonel
was coming from Colorado at that exact time.
Coincidence? Both the men were
holding back, being careful what they said.
Jim probed, “So who were
they? You have any idea at all?”
The two exchanged a look
(they did that a lot) and Jack answered.
“We don’t know for sure, but there’s one place we always start when
something like this happens. The NID.”
Curioser and
curioser. Jim’s response was hard as
nails. “When something like this
happens? The NID? Want to explain that?”
Jackson stepped in,
“There’s a lot we can’t tell you because it’s classified. I can say that at times through our work at
Cheyenne Mountain we have acquired some article or information that the NID
wanted, and they have shown very little restraint in trying to acquire it. The thing here is that we don’t know what
the men were after. If we find that
maybe we’ll find out who they were. I
need to get back to work and look into what Lot EGT-537B is. The EGT probably indicates that it is from
Egypt, but I’m unfamiliar with that kind of alphanumeric designation. We need to find out why they thought I had or
knew about whatever it is.”
O’Neill interjected,
“That’s true, Daniel, but you aren’t going anywhere until the doctors say you
can. You rest up for a while and I’ll
sniff around our old friends, see what they’re up to.”
Jackson almost whined, “Jack,
I’m fine. I’m being released this
afternoon. And since when do you listen
to doctors anyway?”
“Since they help keep you
from running around making a target of yourself. Just because their first attempt wasn’t successful
doesn’t mean they won’t try again. Stay
here while I’m gone, okay? We’ll go to
the museum together tomorrow.”
The archaeologist
sighed. “All right, Jack, we’ll do it
your way.”
The older man seemed
surprised by the easy acquiescence. “Okay then.”
“Right.”
“Fine.”
“Absolutely.”
Jim interrupted the odd
exchange, “There are some people I want to contact too, but,” he gestured
toward his friend, who had fallen asleep again, “I don’t want to leave him
alone.”
Jackson volunteered, “I’ll
stay with Blair.” When the Colonel
raised his eyebrows he continued, “I’ll sit right here and rest, Jack,
okaaaay?”
O’Neill nodded with
ill-concealed displeasure.
Jim concluded, “So we’ll
meet later to compare notes.” As he rose
to leave he stopped and amended, “I understand about classified information,
O’Neill, but if I’m going to solve this case I’m going to need as full a
disclosure as you can give me.” He
warned, “Don’t withhold essential details.”
O’Neill nodded
steadily. “We’ll tell you as much as we
can.”
Jim strode from the
hospital room like a man with a mission.
He had phone calls and visits to make, evildoers to root out, a Guide to
protect and avenge.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
That afternoon Jack picked
Daniel up from the hospital in a rental car.
They swung by the hotel to get Jack’s things and then went to Daniel’s
Dupont Circle apartment. Finally being
alone together in such a private space made them both a little uncomfortable,
and Jack prowled the apartment while Daniel fed and reassured his fish. Eventually they made coffee and settled at
the dining table across from each other.
Daniel started, “So. Did you find out anything about the attack?”
“Not a damned thing. From what I can tell the NID actually isn’t
behind it this time. I tried my damndest
to keep them from becoming interested, too.
Last thing we need is them getting in the way.”
“I guess I’m not surprised
by that. I mean, if there was some
technology they wanted, like the hand devices I found for example, all they
would have to do is wait, as all things find their way to Area 51
eventually. And how would they know what
was in the Museum Support Center anyway?”
“How would anyone? That’s the question. If it wasn’t the NID then who was it?”
“Maybe we’ll find some
answers tomorrow at the MSC.”
Jack nodded than sat up
straight. “But I’ll tell you what I DID
find out. It’s about our friends Ellison
and Sandburg.”
Daniel frowned. “Jack, you had them investigated?”
“Of course I did. Like it or not they seem to be involved. Do you wanna know what I found? It’s interesting stuff.”
Daniel though for a moment
and then agreed. “I know that Blair has
something in his past that he doesn’t want to talk about and I feel
uncomfortable going behind his back, but I guess we need all the information we
can get.”
“Well, it seems your buddy
Blair was kicked out of Rainier University after he admitted that his
dissertation was fraudulent. He publicly
stated that it was a work of fiction. And
get this, it was about Ellison.”
Daniel’s frown
deepened. “What?”
“Sandburg’s dissertation
was about how Ellison is what he called a Sentinel. Has superhuman powers or something, like in a
comic book. Why would Sandburg do that,
hmm?”
“Jack, I may not have
known Blair long, but I’m sure he isn’t a fraud. There must be more to it. Can you get me a copy of the dissertation?”
O’Neill grinned in triumph
and dug into his bag, pulling out a thick document. “I just knew you would ask
that, so I beat you to it. It was hard
to get, too. There aren’t many copies
floating around. There was a big
publicity push by a publisher that brought it all out into the open, but they
only released excerpts to the press.
Just so happens, though, that the FBI managed to get a copy from the
publisher’s office and had it stuck in a file somewhere.”
He slid it across the
table and Daniel picked it up thoughtfully.
“I don’t know what’s in this yet, but you know Jack, there are reasons
other than fraud that someone might publicly denounce their work.”
That brought Jack up short. It was a subject that Daniel knew all
about. “Okay, I’ll keep an open
mind. There is something strange about
Ellison, but I wouldn’t have said he was Superman or anything.”
After a dinner from the
Indian take-out down the block, Daniel settled into the sofa to read. Jack watched a movie on TV from the seat next
to him. Without realizing it they relaxed
into easy companionship as though they hadn’t been estranged for six
months. Later, as Jack fell asleep in
the bed made up on the couch he felt hope stirring in his heart.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Blair was awakened from
his afternoon nap by the poking and prodding of a nurse, but was pleased to be
told that he was improving quickly. As
the woman left Jim slipped into the room and hovered by the door.
Smiling deeply Blair tried
to get Jim to sit down and relax. “Come
on, man,” he coaxed, “We haven’t seen each other in months. Sit down and talk to me.”
Jim moved across the room
and sat nervously in the chair by the bed.
His gazed flitted around the drab hospital room.
Blair demanded his
attention. “Jim! Talk to me.
What’s wrong? Are you all right? Is there something you aren’t telling me?”
“I’m fine. You’re the one in the hospital bed.”
Blair shook his head. “No way, man.
This is me you’re talking to. Did
you think you could hide anything from me?
No way in hell.”
“Nothing to hide,
Chief. You know, the local police don’t
have any leads on who shot you and worked over Jackson, but I did get some
interesting information on the two of them.”
While Blair was known as a
consummate obfuscator, he didn’t have anything on Jim Ellison when he was
intent on avoiding a subject. Blair knew
that they would get back to it later.
“They are an interesting
pair. I can’t figure out what a man with
Daniel’s background was doing working for the Air Force.”
“They have a whole cover
story about deep space telemetry research from a base beneath the Cheyenne
Mountain NORAD station, but nobody really believes it. Like you say, an Egyptologist doing
translations of radio signals? The base
is super top secret and has experienced several emergency alerts over the last
few years that are largely unexplained.
I don’t know what they’re doing down there, but it’s a lot more
dangerous than sitting and watching output from a radio receiver. The casualty rate is the highest of any
stateside base.”
Blair nodded. “That jives with what little Daniel told
me. How did you find all this out,
anyway?”
“I still have some
connections in the Army, Junior. You
haven’t made a clerk’s day until you’ve asked for the gossip. I wish I had someone inside the NID, I bet
they could fill in the blanks. Maybe I
should call your friend Jack at Rainier.”
“Don’t, man. You could both get in a lot of trouble and
besides, Daniel and his Jack will tell us what we need to know. It might be top secret for a reason.”
Just then an orderly
bustled in with Blair’s soft, nutritious and easily digestible dinner
tray. Jim took the interruption as an
opportunity to escape before Blair could turn the conversation back to them. He began inching toward the door.
“Visiting hours are almost
up, Chief, and they’re very strict about that.
I’ll just leave you to eat and get your rest and I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Blair stopped him,
“Jim!” When the tall man turned and
finally looked directly at him Blair stated for the record, “We ARE going to
talk. Don’t think we aren’t.”
He was dismayed to see his
friend’s usually stoic façade waver. Jim
whispered, “Whatever you say, Chief,” and slipped out the door.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The next day Daniel led
Jack through the halls of Pod 4 and Jack began his campaign.
“You know, you really
should come back to the SGC. Your
talents are going to waste here.”
“No they aren’t.”
“There’s so much cool
stuff going on there, you can’t say you don’t miss it.”
Daniel shook his
head. “I can’t argue with that, but
there’s cool stuff going on here too, Jack.”
“Come on, Daniel. How can museum work compare with traveling to
other planets, discovering their historical treasure troves?”
Daniel stopped and looked
at Jack thoughtfully. Then he led Jack
down a short hallway and used his employee ID card to open the locked
door. They entered a room that extended
into the distance, filled entirely with identical large, white cabinets.
Daniel turned to Jack and
began, “Allow me to explain to you what I do.”
He moved to a cabinet and pulled the double doors outward. Inside were a series of different sized
drawers. He selected a drawer at random
and pulled it out. Inside that were
several pieces of ancient pottery sitting neatly side by side. Jack couldn’t identify the culture or time
period, but they were obviously really old.
“Jack, this building and
the others in the complex are filled with the treasures of Earth’s past and
present. Between this facility and the
Museum on the Mall there are over 500 scientists and research staff working to
collect and preserve cultural and natural information. An incalculable number of artifacts are
evaluated and stored here. One of the
things I do for the Anthropology Conservation Lab is look over items from the
museum’s backlog of uncataloged materials, analyze them, and write up the
catalog entry for the ones that are worth saving.” He lifted an eyebrow wryly. “Perhaps you can appreciate that my superiors
often find my descriptions excessively detailed, but I may be the only person
to ever really try to understand a given piece.”
He nodded toward the
drawers. “Then we determine the ideal
conditions for preserving the item indefinitely; temperature, humidity,
lighting, etc. They are stored safely
but made available to the museum curators, researchers and other
institutions.” He slid the drawer back
in.
“Jack, the walls of this
building are eighteen inches thick. It
will survive most of what humans and nature can throw at it. What I’m doing here is helping to build a
treasure trove chronicling the history of the human race on Earth, the
precursor to all the other human civilizations we find out there. I think of it this way: thousands of years from now there may not be
any people left on Earth for one reason or another. Maybe a scientist from one of those other
planets will come to Earth wanting to understand who we were. Maybe he or she will find this building and
its contents more or less intact.”
Daniel’s eyes filled with emotion.
“All the glory that was the human race will be laid out before them, the
catalog entries stored for them to interpret.
I can imagine the joy that scientist will feel at the gift we have left
him.”
He closed the
cabinet. “What I do here may not be as
glamorous as traveling to other planets, but it is valuable. Just as valuable in its own way.” He led Jack back into the hall. “I feel incredibly lucky to have found a way
to use my knowledge and skills meaningfully.
You know how limited my options are outside of the SGC.”
As they walked Jack could
only stare at his friend, heart in throat.
This Daniel, doing this work, was so like the Daniel that Jack had first
known. This Daniel was filled with the
love of knowledge and culture. Of
interpreting and sharing it. How long
had it been since he had been able to experience that within the SGC?
Sure, it was more
complicated than that. There was the
whole protect-the-Earth-from-the Goa’uld scenario and the first contact
scenario, and there was no question that Daniel was incredibly valuable in
those capacities. But what about this
part of Daniel, that needed feeding and nurturing? They had been wrong to think that the other
aspects of his work with the Stargate project would be enough. They had been allowing this part of Daniel to
die, and Daniel had allowed it. Jack’s
love for the man burrowed even deeper.
They reached Daniel’s
office and went in, finding the debris of the assault cleared. Daniel closed the door behind them.
Jack didn’t know how to
respond to what Daniel had just shared with him, so he changed the subject.
“So why doesn’t it say Dr.
on your door? You still do have those
degrees fair and square.”
Daniel sighed and sat down
on a stool. “I guess it’s a kind of
camouflage. I’m better off if I don’t
draw attention to myself or encourage people to ask questions. Mr. Jackson can be just another staff
member. Of course my supervisors know
some of my history, but they’re glad for me to keep a low profile, too.”
Jack walked around the
room and stopped to fiddle with a caliper lying on a countertop. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Daniel
as he asked quietly, “Daniel, are you happy?”
There was silence and Jack
glanced at his friend to find him staring.
Eventually the archaeologist answered evenly, “I enjoy my work. I have a quiet, academic life. I’m content enough.”
Jack needed to know. “But are you happy?”
Daniel’s face changed as a
dam of pent-up emotion broke. There was
an expression of deep and abject sadness on that beautiful countenance the
likes of which Jack would never want to see.
Looking beseechingly at him Daniel answered, “How can I be happy? I’m missing half my soul.” His voice dropped so that Jack couldn’t hear
what he said next.
Jack moved a few steps
closer. “What?”
Daniel looked up at him
openly. “I said I’m missing you, Jack.
How can I be happy so far from you?
You’re my best friend, and for better or worse I find that I need you
around to be happy. Lord knows I didn’t
want to feel that way, and I’ve tried not to, but I don’t seem to have any
choice.” He finished with a flicker of a
smile that took the sting out of his words, “Damn you.”
Jack barely acknowledged
the surge of exultation he felt at Daniel’s admission and leapt into the
opening it created.
“I’ll move here, then.”
Daniel blinked in
confusion. “What?”
Jack rushed on, “I’ll move
here. Look, you know I’m getting too old
to be gallivanting around the Universe.
I could easily get assigned to a desk job in the D.C. area, maybe even
advocating for the SGC among the political wolves in my flashy dress
blues. Did you know I liked deep-sea
fishing too? Well there’s plenty of that
half an hour’s drive away. If Carter is
ever going to get the chance to develop her command abilities I’m going to have
to get out of the way and let her out of my shadow.”
He stopped and
swallowed. “And all of that is just an
excuse. I can’t be happy without you
either, and I deserve to be happy. We
both do. We’ve given enough and it’s
time for someone else to save the world.
I’m tired, Daniel. It’s time to
save myself. I want to be where you are,
wherever that is. I want us to be
happy.”
The brilliant blue eyes
had grown wide. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying screw duty and
responsibility, or at least redefine it.
I’m saying that I want to be near you.
Preferably I’d like us to live together.
If you don’t want that then I’ll get my own place and we can see each
other on the weekends or whatever. I’m
not willing to keep living without you, so if you don’t want to go back to
Colorado then I’ll come here. It’s that
simple.”
“You want to live with
me?”
“Yeah. In whatever capacity you’ll allow. It’s up to you.”
Daniel leaned back and
inspected Jack. “What brought this on
all of a sudden?”
“I’ve had a lot of time to
think. I may be slow, but I get there
eventually. I know who we are. I know what I want, what I need.”
Jack put down the coffee
mug that had found its way into his restless hands and went on
reflectively, “When I was a kid we used to
go visit my aunt in Des Moines, and she would take us to Riverview Amusement
Park, home of the amazing piano playing chicken. There was a ride called the Cat and Mouse
that we went on every time. It was like
a roller coaster built of wooden scaffolding, but so ancient that it would
rattle and sway when the car moved.
Along with the up and down sections there was one place where you went
straight ahead picking up speed and it looked like you were totally going to
fly off the end of the structure and land in the river. At the last moment the car veered to the
right and you plunged down the track instead.
It was great.” He smiled in fond
recollection. “We thought the whole way
that this would be the time the car really did fly off, or the whole thing
would collapse. As far as I know,
though, the Cat and Mouse never had an accident until the day the park closed.”
Daniel’s brows
furrowed. “This has to do with our
relationship?”
“I guess it does. We have our ups and downs, Daniel, and
sometimes the foundation seems shaky and it looks like we’re gonna crash. Ya see, our relationship is based partly on
the knowledge that we’re safe and partly on the excitement of the risk, and we
keep coming back for more. But no matter
appearances, we’re solid. We can trust
in our friendship, even if we have to take a sudden turn in a new direction
once in a while. It’s a good ride, the
best, and I don’t want to get off until the big guy in the sky drags me home
for dinner.”
“You have been thinking
about this. The roller coaster analogy
is appropriate, though I’m not sure where the piano playing chicken fits
in. But I think I understand what you
mean. You’re talking about love, something
not even we can control.”
“Got it in one. So wha’d’ya say? Are you freaked out by what I’m suggesting?”
Daniel shook his head
slowly. “No, not freaked out. Confused.
Stunned. Feeling like I shouldn’t
even hope to have something I want so much, or it will be taken away. I just can’t believe you said those things,
that you feel that way.”
Jack closed the distance
between them and placed his hands on the table on either side of Daniel,
surrounding the man within his arms. He
leaned down and whispered against Daniel’s cheek, “Believe it.”
Jack felt sexual tension
explode like a bomb in the small space between their bodies, and he knew for a
fact that it wasn’t all from him. “Want
you, Daniel.”
The answer was whispered
as well, “Want you too, Jack. Want you
so much.”
Daniel slid his hands
around to Jack’s back and pulled him forward until his thighs hit the stool
between Daniel’s legs. Daniel leaned
into his chest and held him close. Jack
did the same, enfolding the warm, solid body in all the love he felt.
Jack felt like crying, it
was so good. What was it Daniel had
said? That Jack was the other half of
his soul? That was it exactly. Half of his soul had been returned to him and
he couldn’t believe that he had ever been able to live without it.
As they clung together,
the smell of Daniel’s shampoo in his nostrils, Jack couldn’t help but notice
how hard he had become, how much he wanted to touch and caress and make love to
Daniel right then and there, to complete the union. With his last ounce of control he admitted to
himself that it wasn’t the right time or place.
It wasn’t that simple. He pulled
back so that they could look at each other.
Daniel’s face seemed to
glow with contentment, with happiness even.
He smiled softly up at Jack and warned, “You do realize that we’ll
probably drive each other crazy.”
“Yeah. And?
So? We’ll deal with it. It’ll be fun.”
“And you won’t want to
throw me through a wall?”
Jack leered, “Maybe up
against a wall. I may want to use my
whole body to press you into a wall so hard your head will spin.”
Daniel’s eyes twinkled
mischievously. “How hard, exactly?”
Jack groaned. “Good God, Daniel. If you’re not careful I’ll show you right
here.”
The smoldering eyes told
him that Daniel was thinking about it, then doubt flickered in. He asked, “Are you sure about this,
Jack? Are you really sure? I need to know.”
Holding Daniel’s eyes Jack
closed in again and brought their lips together. His heart pounding, he showed Daniel how sure
he was. To have Daniel this close, to
taste him for the first time, set Jack on fire.
All that existed was the body, the breath of the man he loved and
desired above all others. When he
finally broke away he was panting.
Daniel’s eyes opened
slowly to reveal glazed arousal. He
purred, “Oh, yeah.”
Jack’s next words had to
escape from between their again enthusiastically occupied lips. “Was there…any reason…we shouldn’t take this
back…to your place?”
Daniel mumbled his
response through the kiss, “Men in black, tazer, shooting.”
Those images cooled Jack’s
ardor like a bucket of cold water.
Daniel might still be in danger and they couldn’t get distracted
now. He stepped back, face flushed. “Damn, Daniel, I forgot about that. I guess we should put this on hold and do
some investigating.”
From his predatory gaze
Jack could tell that Daniel already considered Jack his own personal property,
but he said, “We are going to have to talk some more. There are things we said and did that we
can’t just pretend didn’t happen.”
“You’re right, but it’s
different now. Now you know I love you.”
Daniel took Jack’s
hand. “I think I always knew that. But it is different now, in a good way. I want this to work, Jack.”
A lump rose in Jack’s
throat. “I’ll do anything to make sure
it does. You can count on that.”
Another wave of heat rose
between them and Daniel stuttered, “Investigation. Public place.”
Jack agreed,
“Restraint. Patience. Hurry.”
Daniel grinned
warmly. “Okay.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
That afternoon Jim wheeled
Blair out to a waiting taxi and took him to his small house in the ethnically
rich Adams-Morgan neighborhood of DC. It
was a little unsettling that the hospital felt that Blair would be better off
at home, something about less chance of infection there.
With one arm behind
Blair’s back, Jim helped him into the house and straight into the bedroom. Blair was aware that this was the first time
that Jim had voluntarily touched him in the last few days. Jim steadied him as he removed his shoes, pants
and shirt and slid into bed in his boxers and tank. Jim gently tucked the blanket in around his
shoulders and asked softly, “Do you need anything, Chief?”
He thought, --Yes, I need something. I need you.-- Outwardly he only shook his head. Jim retreated to the living room and Blair
gave in to sleep.
When he woke it was dark
outside. Within moments Jim appeared
beside him with a glass of juice and a couple of pills.
“Hey there. Time for another dose of modern western
medicine.”
Needing only a little help
in sitting up Blair found that he was feeling a lot better. After downing the juice he was able to totter
into the bathroom under his own steam.
The return trip was tiring, but he made it to the bed and sat on the
edge.
Patting the mattress beside
him he invited his hovering friend, “Come and have a seat, Jim. I won’t bite.”
There not being any
conceivable excuse not to, Jim had to acquiesce. He sat gingerly on the edge of the bed
leaving as much space between them as he could.
Blair decided to start with something unthreatening.
“So, Jim, how is
everyone? Simon, Megan, the others?”
“Simon’s the same as
always. Connor went back to Australia
about a month ago. She left her number
with me if you want to call her. Joel’s
doing all right, but he’s thinking about retiring. Rafe and H are really picking up the
slack. They’re pretty much the star team
right now. Everybody misses you,
though. They keep asking when you’re
coming back.”
“What do you tell them?”
“That it’s up to you.”
“And how about you,
Jim? How are you?”
Blair saw a spike of
defensiveness shoot through the other man.
“I’m fine, Chief. Let’s talk
about something else.”
Blair shook his head
firmly. “No. No more putting it off. What is it that you don’t want to tell
me? Is it your senses, have they been
acting up? And remember, I may not be a
Sentinel, but I can still tell when you’re lying.”
“I’m fine, Sandburg.”
Blair just looked at him,
waiting.
Eventually Jim’s attitude
deflated and he sighed. “There’s nothing
really wrong with my senses, they’re just diminished. I can still hear and see better than everyone
else, but nowhere near the level I’d gotten to when you were there.”
“How about zone outs?”
“Not really…”
Blair could tell that Jim
was holding something back. “Jim? Tell me.”
“Well, I’ve just… I’ve had
some episodes.”
“Episodes? What does that mean? Come on, man, don’t make me work for it.”
Obviously Jim didn’t like
talking about this. He stood up and
paced the length of the room then stopped.
“Sometimes I just sort of
drift off. It isn’t a zone out
exactly. Apparently I can function at a
basic level but it’s like I’m just not there.
I don’t remember what happened for a period of time. I’ve been on desk duty for a while because
Simon doesn’t trust me on the street. It
isn’t anything life-threatening, though.”
Blair had a sinking
feeling in his gut. This was not
good. “Like black outs? Jim, why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t Simon?”
Jim stood up rigidly
straight. “Because I wouldn’t let
him. I didn’t want you to come back
because you felt responsible for me.
This Sentinel thing is something I was born with and that I have to deal
with. It doesn’t have to rule your life,
and I don’t want your pity.”
Blair stared at him,
seeing how much effort Jim was putting into holding himself together. He was shocked and dismayed at what he was
learning.
“Pity? Is that what you think I feel for you?”
“You could. You’ve come out here and made a life for
yourself despite what happened. Why
would you come back unless you felt sorry for me?”
Blair patted the mattress
again. “Come and sit down. Please.”
Jim reluctantly retook his seat and Blair went on, “I worry about you,
Jim. That’s not the same as pity. It’s because I care about you. You’re still my friend. Please tell me how you are, I need to know.”
Jim looked Blair in the
face for a moment, searching his expression.
He then went on quietly, “I feel brittle, Blair. Like I could shatter into a million pieces
with the slightest touch. I feel like
I’ve hit bottom, like I’m dying. Nothing
matters anymore, and at the same time my emotions overwhelm me.” Jim swallowed and blinked back tears. “I feel lost and have no idea even where I’m
trying to find my way back to.” His
voice dropped to a whisper. “I don’t
know what’s wrong with me and I’m scared.”
The room seemed to be
spinning. Blair cried within himself, --My god, what have I done?-- This was all his fault for leaving Jim
alone. He had only thought about whether
Jim The Sentinel could control his senses and get along as a Sentinel without
him. Blair hadn’t thought that their
separation would be as hard on Jim The Man as it was on him, harder even. Jim had friends but there was no one who
could get as close to him as Blair had, no one who could help him. Jim was facing all this alone. He should have known. After all that had happened, he should have
fucking known.
Jim must have sensed
something of his thoughts because he looked up suddenly and went on, “I didn’t
want to tell you this. It isn’t your
responsibility. I don’t want you to come
back because I’m a basket case. I don’t
want you…” He faltered and fell silent,
staring at his locked and clenched hands.
Blair choked on the
words. “What don’t you want, Jim? You don’t want me?”
Jim looked at him again, a
wild fire in his eyes. “No Chief, don’t
ever think that. I want you. I miss you so much I can’t stand it. But it isn’t fair to you. You don’t owe me anything. All this time, ever since we met, it’s been
about what I want. I wanted help with my
senses. I wanted you to be there when I
wanted you, and to be gone when I didn’t.
I wanted your life to be dictated by my whims, and you tried to meet all
my demands. I wanted to keep you strung
along working on your dissertation, but I didn’t want you to publish it. I wanted,” he gulped, “I wanted to mate with
the woman who fucking killed you. I
wanted you to come back from the dead and you did. You always tried to give me what I asked for
and you forgave me for asking. You gave
me your life, Blair, and I took it. I
didn’t appreciate it. I was only
thinking about myself. You deserve
better. You deserve better than me.”
Listening wide-eyed,
Blair’s heart was in his throat. “Shit,
Jim! That is so not what happened. I started out wanting to STUDY you. I referred to you as ‘primary subject’. But you gave me so much more than I ever
imagined. You gave me your
friendship. You gave me a home. You gave me your trust, man, and I KNOW how hard
that was for you. I knew EXACTLY how you
struggled to be open to me and I took it for granted. If I asked too much, then it was my
fault.
“You have no idea how much
it meant to me that you, the most amazing man I know, should let me in like
that. I don’t mean amazing because of
your Sentinel senses, though that is a big deal. I mean because you have such a deep core of
nobility that shines through your sometimes-spiny protective armor. That nobility is your defining quality IN
SPITE OF the pain you carry inside. That
is so fucking amazing, man. That you
opened up to me is the greatest honor of my life, greater than any academic
degree could ever be.”
Sadness and longing
radiating from his face, Jim shook his head.
“No, Chief, I hurt you. You can’t
deny that. I hurt you over and over
again and I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah, you did hurt me
sometimes. But you know what hurt the
worst? Leaving you. It broke my heart and even that was my own
fault. I convinced myself that I had to
go, that you would be better off without me.
That was the biggest betrayal of trust yet. I shouldn’t have acted in the emotion of the
moment. I should have waited for things
to calm down and really tried to find out what would be the best for both of
us. And it isn’t only you I
betrayed. Don’t I have some kind of
responsibility to the tribe too? How
could I walk away from that?
“You want to know what I
want? I want to make it right. I want to come home and try again, and not
because I feel sorry for you, but because it’s my place. I miss you, Jim, so much. Can I come back?”
Jim was visibly shaking
and couldn’t respond. Blair reached out
and touched his arm and was surprised when the larger man flinched away. Blair felt a wave of hurt, and then reminded
himself of what he had just been saying.
He vowed not to react, but to respond.
He gentled his voice as if
talking to a skittish horse. “Jim, why
won’t you let me touch you?”
Though he didn’t answer
right away Blair could tell that Jim was trying. The tremors continued as, staring at the
wall, he forced out words. “Chief,
Blair, I’m scared that if you touch me I’ll lose it. Your skin, your scent, it’s practically all I
can think about. I need to touch you so
much that I might not be able to control it.
I might take from you what I need and hurt you again. I won’t do that,” he looked up with desperate
resolve, “I can’t. I don’t know what’s
wrong with me but it isn’t safe to get too close.”
“I don’t know what it is
either, man, but I doubt that keeping the distance is the answer. I miss you like crazy but I’m not having the
physical symptoms you are. I’m wondering
if it isn’t partly a Sentinel thing, you know, the Sentinel being separated
from his Guide. Either way I think the
answer is to close that gap, to let us heal together. I trust you, Jim. You won’t hurt me, trust me on that.”
Jim shook his head in
negation.
Blair felt a sense of
acceptance come over him. “I know you’re
scared, but you have to do it anyway. It
has to be, Jim. This is beyond either of
us alone, but together we can be whole.”
He scooted toward Jim, closing the space between them. He placed a hand on Jim’s back and began to
rub gently. “Release the need for
control. Trust yourself and me. We can do this.”
Jim’s body was vibrating
under Blair’s hand and Blair wondered for a moment if Jim wasn’t right. Could it be more than they could handle? But the answer was that they couldn’t allow
it to be. They had come through worse,
and this time all the answers were right here between them. There was no choice.
Blair reached up and
cupped Jim’s cheek in his palm, turning Jim’s head to face him. When their eyes finally met they really
looked at each other for the first time.
What they saw took them a step beyond friendship and into fate. They were two people bound together. Only denying that could hurt them. Jim stared at Blair as though he were a total
stranger and the most precious artwork at the same time.
Leaving one hand on Jim’s
back he slid the other one around Jim’s shoulder and drew him close. The Sentinel’s trembling increased as he
fought for control. Blair held him to
his chest and murmured, “It’s all right.
I’m here and you won’t ever be alone again. I’m sorry I left you, I’ll never do it
again. It’s okay to touch me, Jim. I want you to. I’m strong enough to hold you. Come back to me now.”
Jim dropped his face into
the crook of Blair’s neck but the rest of his body remained rigid and
tense. The Guide continued, “That’s
it. Relax into me, Jim. Let the fear go and let yourself find
me. I’m here, Jim. I am so here.”
Slowly Jim’s hands came up
to touch Blair in return, quaking with restrained emotion. “That’s good, Jim. Be gentle with yourself. Let yourself open up. I’ll keep you safe.”
The body leaned farther
into Blair as the arms tightened their hold.
Blair became aware that Jim was raggedly sniffing in the scent of his
neck and tilted his head in invitation.
The strong arms constricted further and Jim’s mouth opened to taste
skin.
It was with a sense of awe
that Blair felt the other man’s need. He
was slightly overwhelmed by it and aroused, but his first thought was for what
Jim required. Murmuring soft encouragement
he shifted them back onto the bed so that they could lie down. The pressure of Jim’s arms around his body
never abated, even as they relaxed onto the mattress.
As Blair lay on his back
Jim settled so that he was leaning onto Blair, on the side that hadn’t been
shot. Blair’s chest still hurt, but he
wouldn’t say anything that might interfere with the moment. He stroked Jim’s back and arms, continuing
the verbal reassurance.
Jim’s mouth and tongue
moved over Blair’s throat, reverently licking and sucking as though he could
draw the very essence out of Blair’s body.
“That’s it, Jim, taste
me. I’m here. Smell me.
I’m right here. Listen to my
heart, to the blood in my veins. I’m
strong. Feel my body next to yours,
right where it belongs. See yourself
reflected in my eyes. I love you, Jim.”
Blair wasn’t sure that the
Sentinel could understand him anymore at a conscious level. He seemed to have moved into a place of pure
instinct. But Blair thought that the
Guide’s voice would be reaching him to some degree, and Blair wanted them the
keep as much of a connection as possible.
Jim’s mouth moved up the
side of Blair’s face until his nose could rub against the dark sideburn. Releasing the grip of one arm Jim pulled the
band off Blair’s hair and carded it out with his fingers until it fanned around
his head. Jim gripped a handful and
brought it to his face to focus all his senses, taste, touch, smell, sight and
hearing, on the loose curls. He groaned
with fulfillment at the effect.
Lying enveloped by Jim’s
limbs, which were claiming as much of him as possible, Blair appreciated the
physical strength of this supreme male animal.
He reveled in the feel of Jim’s hips rhythmically pushing a rock-hard
erection into his thigh. Though he had
high hopes for later he realized that at that moment it wasn’t primarily about
sex, but about sharing every sensation the body was capable of. Blair admonished his own erection to wait its
turn.
Jim released the hair he
was absorbing and lowered his mouth to the base of Blair’s throat, latching on
again as though for dear life. Blair
growled softly so that Jim would feel the vibration and sure enough he
responded by increasing the intensity of his exploration. Forgetting the need for control Blair urged
him on with his hands.
Jim crushed Blair to him
again, the barely restrained violence taking his breath. It was as though the Sentinel needed to be
even closer, a primal urge to become one.
Blair tried to soothe the beast by stroking and murmuring in Guide voice
and Jim began to settle. His
explorations grew more sensual and less frantic.
Even though Jim was still
fully clothed and Blair wore his undershirt and shorts, Jim rubbed against him
languidly as Blair lay passively conserving his energy. One arm pressed beneath Blair’s shoulders,
Jim’s free hand roamed over Blair’s body brushing and squeezing every part
indiscriminately, heating him to the core.
When Jim’s hand closed over his groin Blair couldn’t help but to thrust
up into it.
The wild Sentinel, who was
Jim and wasn’t, growled and gripped him through the thin material. Jim’s leg crossed Blair’s thighs and pulled
him more tightly into his own needy groin.
Jim’s mouth continued to hungrily bite and lave the exposed neck and
shoulders, dipping occasionally to nuzzle into Blair’s armpit.
Blair couldn’t believe the
feelings flowing through his body. To be
this close to Jim physically excited him beyond his wildest expectations. He needed it and wanted more. As he tried to burrow closer to the large man
he willed his injured lung to hold off on the coughing fit that threatened to
erupt. Nothing could be allowed to
interrupt them now.
Jim released Blair’s penis
and slid his hand around to grip his buttock.
He turned Blair onto his side so that their groins pressed against each
other and Jim began to thrust powerfully.
Blair raised his leg and locked it around Jim’s back.
Gasping with desire as
well as pain, Blair moaned, “Yes, Jim.
That’s it. I’m Blair, your
Guide. I’m here. Always here with you.”
Rumbling with need Jim
locked his teeth into the soft tissue of Blair’s shoulder and reached around
behind and between Blair’s legs until he could take his balls in his hand. Jim thrust forward and Blair came with a
shout.
“Jim!”
Moving against him twice
more Jim followed to orgasm, at the last moment releasing Blair’s flesh from
between his teeth to emit a strangled howl.
After a shared moment of ecstatic tension both men slowly relaxed.
Soon, though, Blair felt
that Jim was still moving. His chest was
shaking and when Blair angled his head for a better look he saw tears running
down Jim’s face. Blair rolled onto his
back, pulling Jim over with him to lie partially on his chest. Blair held Jim tenderly, caressing his scalp
and back.
“That’s it, love. Let it out.
Everything’s going to be all right now, I promise.”
After a few minutes the
shudders of release, so unlike the fragile tremors of earlier, eased. Locked in a gentle embrace Jim let his mouth
find a comfortable place to attach itself to Blair’s neck and drifted to
sleep. As Blair began to relax into
sleep himself he heard an odd rumble and opened his eyes. There on the foot of the bed lay the jaguar,
stretched out languidly, purring with contentment. He smiled and kissed Jim’s forehead. “Good kitty.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
By the time Daniel and
Jack returned to the apartment the euphoria of earlier had given way to
nervousness. Daniel closed the door
carefully and turned to face the man who was his friend, and suddenly,
miraculously, something more.
Maybe. The information they had
gathered at the museum was neatly compartmentalized for later consideration. Right now there were more important matters
at hand.
Daniel looked at Jack
shyly over the tops of his glasses, while the other man held him in a warm gaze
complete with crooked smile. After a
moment Jack moved forward and gently pressed Daniel between his body and the
door. Taking Daniel's head between his
hands he sighed, “Daniel,” and then leaned in for a kiss. Apparently Daniel hadn’t been dreaming the
declarations of earlier. Jack’s mouth on
his began to quench a long held thirst.
The taller man held Daniel
in place with his body and his mouth as his hands began to roam up and down
Daniel’s sides and hips. The touch ignited Daniel’s need once again and his
arms reached up to embrace Jack’s shoulders, his hands cradling the graying
head. It seemed as though nothing else
in the world existed except the love for each other that they were finally expressing. Their tongues explored hot, wet cavities,
trying to reach ever farther into the other.
As much as Daniel was
enjoying making out with Jack, he became aware of a burning sensation in his
stomach that seemed to be expanding into his heart area. He broke the kiss and dropped his hands to
Jack’s shoulders and pushed slightly.
The other man simply transferred his lips to Daniel’s neck while his
hands slid down to cup Daniel’s ass.
Daniel felt himself start to hyperventilate. This was like an incipient panic attack that
was growing in intensity.
Daniel pushed again and
pleaded, “Jack!” When the other man
still didn’t release him, he shoved for real, creating a space between
them. He found himself clutching
handfuls of Jack’s shirt and panting raggedly.
He mumbled almost coherently, “Please, Jack. Sorry.
Just. I mean. Wait.”
Jack’s brown eyes showed
equal parts concern and fear. “What is
it? I though you wanted…”
“I do, Jack. Just wait.
Too much too soon.”
He broke away and walked
into the living room, pulling the fragile threads of his control back
together. Jack followed behind him and
spoke sharply.
“Too much? You look ready to me.” He pointed to the bulge at Daniel’s
crotch. Daniel cupped himself and felt
the blood pulsing, but over the years he had become very good at ignoring his
desires. He realized that probably they
were both a little raw and sensitive at the moment and that Jack was feeling
his hesitation as rejection.
He stepped forward and
gave Jack a brief hug and quick peck on the lips, then led him by the hand to
the sofa. As they settled in
shoulder-to-shoulder and thigh-to-thigh, he tried to explain.
“Look, Jack, until a
couple of days ago you were completely gone from my life, and we hadn’t exactly
parted on the best terms. I was
adjusting to that, or trying to anyway.
Now you’re here trying to crawl into my skin with me. Don’t misunderstand, I want you in my skin
with me. I do. But I can’t just turn off and on like
that. I need to get used to you
again. I won’t deny that there’s a deep
inexplicable connection between us whether we’re together or not, but the
surface connection hasn’t caught up with that.
Do you, um, know what I ‘m saying?”
Jack looked down, nodding
with embarrassment. He lay his broad
hand over Daniel’s where it rested on his thigh.
“I’m sorry, Danny. I know I shouldn’t be pushing you. It’s just that I’ve needed you so much and I
was afraid that this would never happen.
I guess I wanted to go as fast as possible before something interfered
to take it away from us.” Jack looked
slightly teary. “I couldn’t stand to
lose you again.”
“You won’t,” Daniel
promised. He slid his arms around Jack
and pulled them together until they were cuddling chest to chest. They just held each other for a while until
Jack sighed and relaxed.
Jack whispered into
Daniel’s neck, “What do you want?”
Drawing back until he
could see Jack’s eyes he replied, “Do you think? Would it be all right if I touched you?”
Jack’s mouth
twitched. “Oh, I think that could be
arranged.”
Daniel took Jack’s hand
again and led him to the bedroom, where he quickly stripped down to his
shorts. Carefully following Daniel’s
lead, Jack did the same. Daniel asked,
“Would you lie down on the bed?”
Jack did so silently,
positioning himself in the middle of the bed, face up, with his hands clasped
nervously over his stomach. Daniel had
to smile at the sight of Colonel O’Neill waiting for him like a blushing bride. He took pity and climbed onto the bed,
settling himself astride Jack’s thighs.
Neither of them were really talkers, so they just looked at each other
and allowed the silent communication to take them forward, their hearts opening
to each other in complete honesty.
After a minute Daniel
leaned forward and softly kissed Jack on the lips, then sat up again. “I’m just going to touch you. Tell me to stop if you want me to.”
With luminous eyes Jack
assured him, “Danny, I can’t imagine ever asking you to stop.”
Daniel smiled down at him
and directed, “Close your eyes and relax.”
Jack did as requested and
let his arms fall to the mattress.
Taking and releasing a deep breath, the tension in Jack’s body began to
bleed away.
Daniel looked at Jack and
let himself stare. He committed to
memory the changes in the handsome face that he seemed to know better than his
own. Of course he had seen Jack in just
his shorts before, in less even, but he had never been permitted to linger in
his appreciation. Now his eyes traced
the curve of muscle and bone across the broad shoulders and chest. He found he couldn’t be objective as he
reviewed the strong arms and furry abdomen.
Daniel didn’t care what anyone else might say, he was of the firm
opinion that this was the most exquisite body in the entire world.
It appeared that he had
mentioned that out loud, because Jack interjected, “Yeah, fine. But it’ll be even better when you make with
the touching. You remember that? Wasn’t there going to be some touching going
on here?”
Daniel admonished,
“Patience.”
“Danny-boy, I think I’m
all patienced out. If you don’t…”
Daniel lifted a finger
scoldingly. “Ah! You’re just lying there passively and
quietly, remember that?”
Jack opened his mouth
again and Daniel stopped him. “Ah!”
Sighing dramatically Jack
subsided.
Daniel smiled to
himself. This seemed so right
somehow. He was starting to take in the
fact that Jack really was here and that thing that had always been so special
between them was here too. He reached
out and cupped Jack’s cheek. There was a
roughness of beard stubble beneath his palm and folds of surprisingly soft,
wrinkled skin under the fingertips touching Jack’s neck. He brushed his thumb over the high cheekbone
with utmost tenderness. Jack’s head
listed slightly in the direction of the hand, but otherwise he stayed quiet.
Daniel was finding himself
almost overwhelmed with emotion at finally being able to touch what he had so
long dreamed of. He fought back a rather
embarrassing urge to bend down and just slobber all over that gorgeous
face. But after all, this was
touching-only time.
He carded his fingers
through the unruly graying hair, memorizing the shape of the skull. He would have to do a phrenology reading on
Jack later. That would be amusing.
Daniel rested his hands on
Jack’s shoulders, reveling in the simple pleasure of feeling the bones through
the skin. Jack, physical. Jack, present. Jack, love.
He slowly ran one hand
from the shoulder down over Jack’s chest, brushing through the light hair, over
a brown nipple, and onto the plain of the belly. While bringing that hand back up he repeated
the action with the other hand, then again.
His hands massaged, caressed their way down Jack’s torso over and
over. One hand swept over bone and soft
flesh, the other traced the sternum down the center of Jack’s body. The mat of hair tickled his palms. The nipples rose to points adding an
additional sensual texture. Daniel’s
hands cupped pectoral swells while his thumbs traced circles around brown areole.
After several minutes
Daniel branched out, including the ball of the shoulder and the muscled arms in
this petting. Daniel experienced Jack
through his hands, taking in the other man’s essence and making it his own.
For his part, Jack lay
limply with his head tipped back, mouth open in a stupor of pleasure.
Daniel stilled and brought
one palm to rest over the center of Jack’s chest and simply felt the rhythmic
vibration of the heart within. He
inhaled deeply, understanding the unity of that heart with his own. When he broke the contact Daniel reached up
to hold Jack’s face again, and leaned in for another kiss. Jack responded languidly, contentedly tasting
Daniel’s lips and tongue. Daniel was
aware of but didn’t react to the press of erection on erection as he inclined
forward. The heat of their bodies formed
an exquisite layer around them, holding them in safety.
Daniel sat back and
shifted off of Jack, then whispered, “Can you turn over?”
Jack’s answer was no more
than, “Mmmm,” but he forced his reluctant limbs to roll him to his side before
collapsing face down. Daniel resumed his
position over the thighs, and began exploring the back of Jack’s head and nape. When satisfied, he dragged his hands down the
strong back, appreciating the power contained within the envelope of soft
skin. Daniel stroked and massaged to
find and trace every muscle and protrusion of bone.
Slowly a hunger began to
grow within him, a desire for even more of the man under him. He tilted his hips forward slightly so that
his cock pressed into the cleft between Jack’s cheeks, two thin layers of cloth
separating them. As his hands kneaded
skin, his groin made itself at home against the softer mounds of flesh.
Jack didn’t react more
than a moan and a clenching of muscles, whether from a recently discovered well
of patience, or because he was unable to move Daniel didn’t know. He loved having the ability to direct their
interaction, having Jack at his mercy, so to speak.
The thrusts of his ardent
cock against Jack’s rear grew in urgency, but Daniel began to pull himself back
from the brink. This was still about
touching. Daniel straightened his legs and
lay forward, covering Jack’s body completely with his own. His genitals pressed between Jack’s thighs,
he stilled and simply wrapped Jack in his arms, holding him with every ounce of
tenderness he possessed. Jack groaned
and sighed, and tuned his head to nuzzle Daniel’s cheek.
After enjoying the
closeness for a while Jack whispered, “Let me turn over.”
Daniel lifted himself on
his arms and legs, allowing Jack to wriggle onto his back. He lowered himself again and this time they
wrapped their arms around each other.
Jack sought Daniel’s lips and they shared a soft kiss, lapping at each
other’s tongues. Daniel felt strong
hands working their way down his back and wasn’t disappointed when they
continued on to clasp his ass. He moaned
into Jack’s mouth and twitched his hips forward, running his erection along the
length of Jack’s. The older man spread
his legs, allowing Daniel to settle between them and bringing them into an even
better angle of contact.
Stimulation mounting,
Daniel growled against Jack’s lips, “Love you, Jack. Love you more than anything.”
“Love you more.”
“No, I love you more.”
“Nuh-uh.”
Daniel thrust into
Jack. “I. Love.
You.”
Jack thrust up into
him. “Back at’cha, rock-boy.”
Daniel wasn’t sure exactly
how it happened, but all of a sudden there was no cotton separating them. His cock was rubbing skin with Jack’s, the
two held together by Jack’s hand around them.
He moaned and thrust again, completely losing the ‘touching only’
thread. There was nothing in the universe
more important than getting closer to Jack.
He pushed at Jack with his body and Jack pushed back.
Obviously his
concentration had slipped quite a lot, because next he found himself pressed
into the mattress by Jack’s weight. He
thrust up. Jack thrust down. Daniel’s hands sought skin and hair, finding
an abundance of both. Jack crushed his
mouth against Daniel’s and there was no going back.
Daniel threw his head
backward, gasping, and Jack latched onto his throat. Daniel thrust into Jack’s hand again and again,
competing for dominance over the other hot organ sharing the space. Jack began to nip and lick and suck in a
frenzy while Daniel insistently pulled his lover’s pelvis closer.
Jack croaked,
“Daniel. Oh, god, Daniel. Yes!”
Daniel thrust into the heat
a few more times and then was blinded and deafened by the explosion of his
orgasm. He did feel Jack stiffen
against him and pulse wet fluid onto their joined bellies. Daniel was aware that he was saying
something, but couldn’t figure out what it was or even what language. All he knew was that he had never felt a more
complete rightness in his life. He would
never, ever lose this. Now that he knew,
nothing could ever take him from Jack or Jack from him. They were one, fait acompli.
He smiled and kissed the
side of Jack’s face where he had collapsed on top of Daniel. Then he kissed him again. Then he laughed.
Jack lifted his head to
look at Daniel. “You getting loopy,
Daniel?”
Daniel just laughed again
and grinned stupidly.
The other man’s answering
smile was impossibly tender. “You are
everything to me, Daniel. Everything.”
In that case, all was well
with the world.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jim didn’t wake until the
next morning, when he was slightly surprised to find his head pillowed on
Blair’s shoulder and his arm draped across Blair’s waist. He leaned up on one elbow and gazed down at
the most beautiful sight it had ever been his privilege to enjoy. He had a vague recollection of how the
previous evening had ended, and the concentrated scent of semen, his and
Blair’s, filled in some of the gaps. The
mere idea of sex with Blair, aided by the dark stain on the front of Blair’s
boxers, caused his penis to begin to fill and Jim smiled in contentment.
Unfortunately he became
aware of the discomfort of dried semen in his own pants. Reluctant to move from Blair’s side he
nevertheless forced himself to crawl out of bed and practically swaggered to
the bathroom. The shower water felt like
silk on his skin and Jim couldn’t help but whistle happily.
Once clean Jim thought
about getting dressed, but then he looked at Sandburg, sprawled in the middle
of the bed, and opted for fresh shorts only.
Grinning like the cat that got the cream he strolled out to the kitchen
and began exploring. When he carried his
tray of cereal, milk and fruit salad back into the bedroom, Blair was just
emerging from the bathroom dressed in his bathrobe, rubbing the water out of
his hair. Jim felt his face break into
the widest smile of his life and was gratified to see Blair’s features light up
in response.
Jim purred, “Come back to
bed, Blair, and let me feed you.”
Blair’s mouth was hanging
open in amazement at the change in Jim’s mood.
As the smaller man perched on the edge of the bed and surveyed the
breakfast offerings, Jim asked, “Did you think I might panic and run away this
morning?”
Blair answered
tentatively, “Ah, well, it wouldn’t be unusual behavior on your part, big guy.”
“All in the past,
Junior. We’re starting over and I’m going
to do my best to NOT be such a repressed asshole. I can’t promise that I’ll be what you’d call
‘normal’, but I’ll try.”
“That’s more than I would
ask for, Jim.” Blair’s eyes shone. “You don’t have to change for me.”
Jim became serious in a
heartbeat. “Yes I do, Chief. I want to be the kind of person you
deserve. You’ve just saved my life
again. You’re the only person in the
world who makes me smile from deep down inside.
You fill my heart. I love you,
Blair.”
Blair looked like he might
cry. “You stun me, Jim. I’m all choked up.” He swallowed and continued, “How’re you
feeling?”
“So much better I can’t
even tell you. My senses are all
incredibly sharp. I feel more alive than
I have in months. There’s still something
shuddering inside, you know, and my emotions are all over the place. I don’t know whether to cry or to laugh, or
maybe both at the same time. But I feel
like a new man, because of you.”
Jim moved to the head of
the bed and propped up some pillows.
Patting them he directed, “Come up here, Chief. Breakfast in bed.”
Blair gingerly settled
himself against the headboard and gasped slightly, one hand going to his chest
over the gunshot wound. His heart rate
increased in response to the sudden pain, then slowed as it passed.
Jim handed him a bowl of
fruit, waited until he had eaten most of it and the cereal too, and then asked
quietly, “Blair, about last night. I
need to ask. Did I hurt you?”
Returning his intense gaze
Blair reassured him, “No, Jim, you didn’t hurt me. Not any more than I could handle. Don’t think of me as delicate. You didn’t do anything I didn’t want you to
do.”
Jim shifted closer and ran
a finger over Blair’s cheekbone and down along the line of his jaw. “Good.
I don’t think I was as careful as I should have been when you’re
injured. It won’t happen again.” Jim didn’t regret anything that had happened,
but he was a little embarrassed. “And I
didn’t ask you if you wanted to, you know.”
Blair’s answering smile
was sensual. “Hey, you didn’t hear me
objecting, did you? It’s something
that’s been a long time coming between us, and we both needed it. You wanna do it again?”
His own heart rate sped up
as he intoned, “That would be a
‘yes’. In fact, later, when you’re
better, I’m going to want you inside of me.
As far inside me as you can go.”
The smell of arousal was
confirmed in Blair’s suddenly luminous eyes.
He opened his mouth but ended up having to swallow instead of
answer. Eventually he croaked, “Um,”
cleared his throat, “how much later?”
Jim smiled erotically.
“Just as soon as you’re ready, Chief.
But not before you can take it physically. I’m going to cherish you. I’ve learned my lesson.”
Blair leaned forward and
hooked his hand behind Jim’s head, pulling him in until their lips almost
met. He breathed, “I want you now. I’ve wanted you forever. Don’t make me wait any longer.”
Jim was surprised and
excited by this response. “You’ve wanted
me? You aren’t just… being generous?”
“Oh, man, how could I not
want you? Look at yourself. You are the most perfect, gorgeous man I’ve
ever seen. Your face, your body, the way
you hold yourself. I’ve been hot for you
for a long time. You’re the real thing,
the whole package. And I love you,
too.” He leaned even closer. “Let me make love to you.”
Blair brought their lips
together into their first kiss. Jim’s
insides melted into pure mush at the rush of hot emotion welling up within
him. He held Blair’s head between his hands
and deepened the contact, driving his tongue into the willing mouth. They tried to lick each other’s tonsils until
Jim finally broke away, gasping.
“Sandburg, you’re so damn
sexy. I want to make love. But I repeat, I won’t hurt you.”
Blair grinned
mischievously. “Come on, man, use your
imagination. It doesn’t have to
hurt. I’ll let you do all the work, but
I want you and I want you right now!
We’ll be careful.”
Jim felt his resistance
weakening. Like he could ever deny Blair
anything! Unsure, he asked, “What would
we do?”
Smiling like a maniac Blair
moved very fast for someone recently released from the hospital. He scrambled to clear the breakfast tray
away, setting it noisily on the side table, and then turned back to face Jim
and the bed. Holding Jim’s gaze he let
the robe fall open and drop to the floor.
Jim frowned at the large
bandage across Blair’s chest, but was quickly distracted by the wonder that was
naked Blair flesh. He looked his new
lover up and down, taking in all the minute details of the variety of textures
and colors making up the beautiful man.
The soft, curly hair hanging to his shoulders around the masculine face
and neck. The short, springy hairs
forming a perfect pattern on the sturdy torso.
The swell of thigh and calf muscles.
The thick cylinder of flesh beginning to stand up from his groin. He could distinguish the scents of each patch
of flesh and hair, and found himself drawn to the musky pubic thatch.
Blair’s voice broke
through, “Jim! No zoning, and that’s an order.”
Jim nodded dumbly and
closed his mouth. He waited for Blair’s
next directive.
Blair took a step toward
the bed then stopped, his startled eyes widening. He commanded, “Wait right there!” and sped to
the bathroom. He was back in a moment
with a tube in his hands.
“Are you ready, Jim?”
“And then some,
Chief. But I repeat, I won’t…”
Blair interrupted
impatiently, “Hurt me, I know. Trust me,
Jim. You remember how to do that?”
Emotion closing his throat
again, Jim nodded. Blair climbed onto
the bed and arranged himself leaning against the pillows and the
headboard. He eyed Jim, who was still
standing by the side of the bed.
“Take your clothes off.”
Jim was glad to
comply. Taking his clothes off entailed
only sliding his shorts down his hips and letting them fall to the floor.
Blair groaned, “Oh, man,
oh, man. Come over here.”
Jim knelt on the bed
beside Blair.
Dragging his eyes back up
to Jim’s face he asked seriously, “Have you done this before?”
“No, but I’m not totally
ignorant. Anything is good for me,
love. Anything you want.”
Suddenly Blair looked a
little bit nervous, but excitement was clearly winning out. He held Jim’s eyes. “I… I need to prepare you.”
Jim turned toward the foot
of the bed and positioned himself over Blair on hands and knees. His rear was presented a foot in front of
Blair’s face.
Blair groaned again and
grabbed his own cock, squeezing the base for all he was worth. Jim could hear the heart pounding in his
lover’s chest and became concerned. He
turned to look back at Blair, who glared at him evilly.
“What, are you trying to
kill me here?”
Jim began to move off of
his partner but felt hands like steel bands clamp onto his hips, holding him in
place.
“Don’t EVEN think it. You stay right where you are.” He groaned again. “God yes, right where you are.”
Jim felt the breeze on his
skin as Blair leaned forward and began to lick the backs of his thighs. Strong digits handled his ass and lower back,
massaging sensually and deeply. Jim
himself was starting to sweat from the stimulation and his genitals felt heavy
dangling between his legs over Blair’s stomach.
He wanted full body flesh to flesh contact right now, but this was
Blair’s show and he forced himself to stay still.
His lover’s talented mouth
moved to kiss his perineum, the sensitive flesh between his scrotum and
asshole. The sensation was too much and
Jim’s arms began to shake. Blair whispered against his skin, “Dial it down,
Jim, or you won’t last. It’ll still be
good if you aren’t quite so sensitive.
Jim did as he was told,
lowering the touch dial a couple of notches until he could stand it without
collapsing. After considering it he
lowered smell and taste as well just to be safe.
Blair resumed kissing and
nibbling the soft skin between Jim’s legs then reached out his tongue and
pulled one of Jim’s balls into his mouth.
As pleasure vibrated through him again he reconsidered the dial
settings, deciding not to turn them down any more. He would have to learn to take what Sandburg
could dish out.
After an eternity in
hell/heaven Blair pulled back and blew a stream of cool air over his wet,
heated flesh. Then Blair’s tongue
flicked the pucker of his asshole. No
one had ever, ever touched Jim this intimately.
He liked it very much.
After the tongue had
teased him for a while Blair pulled back again and Jim felt a fingertip, slick
with lube, begin to massage the ring of muscle.
Even at this early stage Jim began to relax, wanting more. Soon the finger gently breached him, reaching
into his body where no one but his doctor had ever been, and that was a
completely different thing.
Responding to the new
sensations, Jim gasped and started to shake again, and Blair’s finger stilled
where it was while he caught his breath.
Blair’s other hand stroked his haunches and back while his smoky voice
whispered endearments.
“Oh, Jim, you are so
beautiful. Your trust means more to me
than anything in the world. I’ll never
let anything come between us again. I love
you, Jim. I adore you and I want
you. You are so perfect.”
The finger began to work
its way in again, rubbing and loosening.
Too soon it pulled out, but never lost contact with his skin as another
joined it. The process repeated and sweat
began to pour off Jim’s neck and forehead.
He longed to see Blair’s face, but somehow the fact that he couldn’t
without turning was also powerfully erotic.
He was figuratively and literally in Blair’s hands, his most private
parts exposed and given freely.
Jim lost track of time and
of what exactly was happening until he heard his Guide’s voice again.
“Beautiful Jim, can you
turn around and face me? Careful.”
Three fingers were still
inside him but Blair held his arm down as far as it would go so that Jim could
pivot without losing the connection. He
settled over Blair straddling his thighs and took in the glowing face that he
loved. They spared a moment to just look
at each other.
Blair’s hand was still
between his legs, the fingers gently massaging him inside. Jim’s joy was almost overwhelming, but he had
to say something.
“Blair, everything I
wanted before, thought I wanted, it was only covering up what I really
needed. I could never say out loud how I
felt about you in my heart, but impatience and dismissal flowed from my mouth
like an open tap. I want you to know
that none of that was what I really felt.
It was my fear talking. What I
needed all along was to belong to someone, heart and mind, body and soul.” His eyes teared with emotion. “I couldn’t believe that anyone would really
want that much of me. But that’s what
you’re offering now, isn’t it?”
Blair nodded mutely,
concentrating fully on Jim’s words.
“I want to belong to you,
Blair. I’m more grateful than you know
that you want me. I’m going to try to
show you, to tell you, how grateful I am.
I think I can do that now because I hit bottom. I have nothing to lose. The pain caused by not saying what I felt,
not telling you how much I love and need you is worse than any imagined
fear. I can’t lose you again. I’ll do anything to keep you. Let me say this for the record. I love you, Blair. I need you.”
Blair swallowed and then
responded, “You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that. I always knew that a lot of it was fear based,
and I knew that in your way you loved and cared about me, but you never showed
any sign that you needed me. Not that
you would admit. Not even in these last
months where you preferred to suffer in silence than admit you needed me. I thought it was pride, that you felt it
would make you less of a man. And I… we
couldn’t be together in any sense unless you could be vulnerable that way. You’re human and so am I. We need each other. That’s a beautiful thing, man, not a
weakness. Thank you, Jim, for taking
that step. Thank you so much.”
Jim leaned forward,
holding his weight on his arms, and kissed Blair softly. “I am all yours, Chief. Heart and mind, body and soul. If you want me.”
Blair whispered back, “I
want you. God how I want you.”
Jim sat back and picked up
the tube of lube. When Blair reached for
a small packet Jim crooned suggestively, “I know I’m clean, Blair, how ‘bout
you?”
The dark head nodded. “Got checked.” As Blair’s fingers continued to caress his
opening, Jim squirted cool gel onto his own hand, which he gently wrapped
around the hot erection standing up from Blair’s body, eliciting a gasp from
his lover, and began a slow pumping action to spread the lubricant evenly.
Touching another man this
way should have seemed strange, but this was Blair’s body. Jim was fascinated by the ardency of Blair’s
cock. Heat flowed through the protruding
veins and it was thick and ruddy, hard and soft at the same time. Jim was in love with it already.
Smiling at the whimpering
noises coming from his lover, Jim lifted his body and positioned himself over
the organ. Blair’s fingers finally slid
out of him and Jim lowered himself slowly.
Jim was so well stretched and relaxed that there wasn’t even a hint of
pain as they joined, not even to Sentinel senses. Jim sighed with relief as he pushed Blair
farther into his body. This was it. This was what he had needed all those years
and he hadn’t even known it.
Beneath him, Blair rocked
his head against the pillow and murmured, “Jim, Jim.” His hands stroked Jim’s thighs tenderly.
His body came to rest
against Blair’s, fully impaled. Their
blue eyes locked in wonder and pleasure.
Jim clarified again, “I
love you, Blair. I need you.”
The other man blinked back
tears of joy. “I’m yours too, Jim. Please let me be yours.”
They grinned happily at
each other, then Blair’s eyes turned sultry.
“Ride me, Jim. Let’s have sex.”
“Don’t have to ask me
twice, Chief.”
Jim lifted and lowered
himself, reveling in the feel of Blair’s hardness sliding against his inner
passage. Small noises began to escape
from him as he moved. Just when he
thought the pleasure of the connection couldn’t become more intense, Blair
shifted his hips and his cock touched something inside of Jim that made him
shout out loud. What the hell was that?
Blair informed him smugly,
“That’s your prostate, big guy. Not
overrated, is it?”
Jim shook his head in
amazement and thrust down, looking for that explosion of sensation. He hadn’t had any idea that Blair could do
this to him. He laughed out loud and did
it again. Jim’s astonishment increased impossibly
as Blair’s hands found Jim’s cock and began to fondle it lovingly.
Jim’s movements became
more urgent as he drove them together.
Blair responded by pushing up into him with each rhythmic lunge. Jim’s awareness expanded beyond his own
pleasure to encompass his lover. Blair’s
heart was pounding and his skin burning.
Sweat beaded his body decoratively, glittering to Jim’s eyes like
diamonds. Every molecule of Blair’s body
was focused on Jim, was straining to drive farther into him. Nothing existed for Blair except the need to
be part of Jim, who in turn wanted to take in as much of the other man as he
could.
Jim’s rapture grew, his
sexual need grew, until his body tingled inside out, from top to bottom. He was about to release any control he had
maintained when a sound broke through to his rational mind. It was a wheeze and a rattle coming from
within Blair’s body, from his injured lung.
Blair was writhing beneath him either oblivious to the pain or ignoring
it. Jim couldn’t allow that. He stilled his movement suddenly and Blair
gasped in frustration.
“Calm down Chief. Take slow, even breaths. Your lung’s having a hard time, and you
remember what I told you.”
Blair nearly snarled up at
him, “God, Jim! Oh my god don’t stop
now! Pleasepleaseplease!”
Jim could identify with
the urgency and smiled down at his handsome partner. Without resuming the athletic coupling he
concentrated on Blair’s phallus within him.
He felt the throbbing and pulsing of blood and the need for
release. He tightened his internal
muscles in a fluid motion that kneaded Blair’s cock from base to tip. When Bair gasped and stared at him in
amazement Jim repeated the action.
Blair’s mouth formed an “O” and his eyes widened even farther.
Holding his partner’s hips
stationary he continued the contractions, increasing the tempo as he became
more proficient.
Blair turned red and
gasped. His heart rate rocketed but his
lung sounded better. Jim concentrated on
driving his lover over the edge and was gratified when Blair threw his head
back and silently shuddered. Blair’s
essence pulsed into Jim in hot splashes that filled an emptiness in Jim’s soul,
making him feel whole for the first time in his life. Who would’ve thought that this was what he
needed to answer all those driving needs?
A simple act of love with the man who had become his entire world.
Blair relaxed beneath him
but his hands resumed their sensual handling of Jim’s genitals. One hand cupped and petted his balls while
the other increased the pressure and pace of its pumping. Jim found and held Blair’s languid gaze as he
moved toward his own release. He let
Blair see his love and desire, even as he moaned through his orgasm. Blair’s hands stilled and they stared at each
other as their breathing slowed.
Blinking, Jim tried, “That
was…”
Blair agreed, “You said
it.”
Jim lifted himself off of
Blair and carefully lay next to him, bringing his hand up to brush the sweaty
curls from the beloved face.
Blair beamed softly. “Heart and mind.”
Jim completed the pledge,
“Body and soul.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jack and Daniel had to
knock twice before the door opened. Jack
blurted out, “Hey, we’ve been trying to call, but,” before he fell silent and
joined Daniel in staring.
Jim was standing before
them in jeans that where not entirely fastened, with a shirt hanging from one
hand. Yes, the hard biceps and pecs and
the flat abs leading to a narrow waist were distracting, but that wasn’t
all. The man looked seriously different. There was a light in his eyes that definitely
hadn’t been there before, and an air of confidence radiating vigorously from
all that skin.
Jack and Daniel remained
in the doorway but leaned in to watch Jim as he bustled toward the other side
of the room, chatting cheerfully.
“Have you? Sorry about that. I turned the ringer off so it wouldn’t disturb
Blair while he was resting.” He smiled
blindingly. “Would you believe it? The kid doesn’t have any of the modern
conveniences like an answering machine or voice mail.”
He reached down and
flipped a switch on the phone, then pulled the shirt on over his head, in the
process revealing even more of the intricate pattern of musculature.
Jack and Daniel’s heads
swiveled as another voice chimed in, “That’s because I’m hardly ever here. The phone hasn’t exactly been ringing off the
hook the last few months, you know. And
besides, most civilized people now communicate by email.”
Their mouths fell open
even farther. The man standing in what
had to be the bedroom doorway appeared to have little in common with the Blair
Sandburg they knew. True, Jack had only
met him in the hospital where he had been looking exceptionally washed out and
weak, but the change was a shock even to Daniel.
Clearly it was Blair. The height was right and the blue eyes were
unmistakable, but there ended the similarity.
This man was wearing boxer shorts and a white tank that revealed
unostentatious but sleek muscles and a generous sprinkling of body hair. And then there was the nimbus of auburn curls
that framed a face transformed by a deeply contented smile. His eyes shone with impishness as he teased
the other man. He was positively
glowing. It had to be said, no matter
how clichéd, even with beard stubble he looked like an angel.
Jim put his hands on his
hips and scolded, “And just what do you think you’re doing, Darwin? Get back in that bed right now.” He crossed the room in a few steps and
wrapped an arm around the younger man, who had started forward into the living
room. The order was apparently
rhetorical because he made no attempt to reverse Blair’s trajectory.
“I feel totally fine,
Jim. Stop hovering.”
As Ellison helped Blair
lower himself into a chair he bent down and whispered, “That’s the painkillers
and the endorphins, sweetcheeks. Don’t
get over confident.” Jack and Daniel
heard that perfectly clearly.
Jim settled onto the arm
of the chair and ran his hand under the mane of hair to rest on the nape of
Blair’s neck. Blair, officially the host
as it was his house, noticed that the visitors where still standing in the
doorway.
“Where are my
manners? Come in, come in! We were just going to call you, weren’t we,
Jim?”
“Of course we were,
Chief. Take a seat.”
Closing the door behind
them, the pair settled themselves on the sofa facing the other two.
Blair went on, “Yeah, we
wanted to find out how it went at the museum yesterday. You did go, right?”
They nodded in unison.
Jim continued, “We’re
ready to get going on this investigation.
Those bastards have been on the loose for too long now. Time to stop fooling around and crucify their
asses.” His eyes burned suddenly with a
frightening ire.
Blair patted Jim’s thigh
and didn’t lift his hand away. “Down,
big guy. I’m sure that’s why Daniel and
Jack are here. Let’s let the men speak.”
Jim and Blair fell silent
and looked at the visitors expectantly.
Jack and Daniel glanced at each other.
Jack cleared his throat. Daniel
spoke for the first time.
“It’s good to see you
looking so much better, Blair. No one
would ever guess you’d been shot.”
Blair lit up again. “That’s because Jim’s been taking such good
care of me.”
The two grinned stupidly
at each other and Jack and Daniel exchanged another look, this time with slight
rolling of the eyes on Jack’s part.
O’Neill leaned forward and
said, “Right. Let’s get down to
business. We’ve solved one mystery and
created another.”
Daniel took over. “Right.
I did some searching for item EGT-537B and found the reference buried in
a memo that I hadn’t even seen yet. The
day before the attack I had just gotten a new shipment of uncataloged pieces,
and the memo was stuck inside one of the boxes.
It was apparently a last minute addition to the group and hadn’t been
processed with the rest of them.”
Jim prodded, “Don’t keep
us in suspense, Jackson. What was it?”
Blair frowned and slapped
Jim’s thigh playfully. “Let him tell the
story in order.”
“Well, the memo gave the
item’s name as ‘The Wing of Aset’. The
Wing of Aset, or Isis as the Greeks later called her, is a mythological
reference. You see, the legend tells us that
Osiris, Isis’ brother and husband, was murdered by Ra and his body parts were
scattered and hidden all over upper and lower Egypt. Isis, in her determination to bring back her
lover flew all over the region and one by one retrieved the dismembered
pieces. Isis is often represented as
kneeling with outspread wings in recognition of this feat. It has been claimed that the wings of Isis
hold the power to reanimate the dead or to grant eternal life to the living.”
Blair practically
bounced. “Cool! So did you find it? Was it there?”
Jack drawled, “Well, yes
and no.”
Daniel dug into the
shoulder bag sitting by his feet and brought out a wooden box about ten inches
long and three inches wide. “We were
speculating that perhaps the Wing of Isis might have been some form of
transportation technology…”
Jack elbowed him in the
side. Now it was Jim and Blair’s turn to
exchange looks.
“… of a rudimentary,
primitive sort. But what we found was
this.”
He opened the lid to the
box and stood to set it on the coffee table in front of the other two. Blair leaned forward to peer in.
“Dust? That’s it?”
Jack took up the
explanation. “Dust. We thought of sending it back to Colorado
Springs for analysis, but that might take longer than we have. Maybe you know of a lab around here that
could have a discreet look at it.”
Blair looked up at the man
next to him. “Jim?”
Ellison reluctantly let go
of the smaller man and picked up the box.
With a set, serious face he looked into the container then brought it
closer to his face and sniffed. Finally,
he reached in and extracted a pinch of the dust and touched it to his
tongue. Looking up, he said, “It was a
feather. Common, garden-variety
feather. Don’t know what species. It was stained with some kind of die, yellow
and red. At some point bugs got into the
box and destroyed it. Their remains are
in there too. Nothing worth killing
for.”
Two sets of eyebrows shot
up at the pronouncement. Blair
interjected nervously, “Jim has a feel
for this kind of thing. His guesses are
usually fairly accurate.”
Jack shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. We know.”
Two sets of blue eyes
looked back at them.
Daniel finished, “I read
your dissertation.”
Blair’s eyes grew wide and
his face pale. Jim rubbed his back and
said casually, “It’s all right. No,
Chief, it’s all right.”
Blair stared at him.
“B..but?”
Jim looked at Jack and
Daniel. “So that’s it? All this was about some old box full of magic
feather dust? There’s nothing else?”
Jack shrugged. “Ya see, that’s where the second mystery
comes in.”
Daniel clarified.
“Actually there are several. In the
first place how did anyone know that the item was there and due to be delivered
to my office? What did they think was
actually in the box? Why would they go
to all this trouble to get it? And most
importantly, who would care enough to risk killing for it? Certainly there’s a black market for Egyptian
artifacts, but to try to steal one from the Smithsonian in this manner? That doesn’t seem likely.”
Blair considered this for
a minute. “Well, it could be along the
lines of what Jim said. Magic dust. Or magic at any rate.”
Jack prompted him, “Care
to elaborate?”
Blair stood up and began
to pace, ignoring Jim’s scowl. “I’m just
thinking out loud here. The Wing of Isis
has a reputation as a powerful magic symbol or implement. There are still people who take ancient
Egyptian magic quite literally. They may
believe that it will in fact grant them eternal life. That would be worth killing for.”
Daniel’s brows
furrowed. “Or maybe they were expecting
powder.” He pinched the bridge of his
nose, closed his eyes and recited, “ ‘The very early Egyptians were famous for
their skill in transmuting metals. They
employed quicksilver in the processes whereby they separated the metals gold
and silver from native ore. From these
processes there resulted a ‘black’ powder or substance which was supposed to
posses magical powers and was identified with the body which the god Osiris was
known to possess in the underworld, and was thought to be a source of life and
power.’ That was the basis of alchemy.”
Jack was skeptical. “Come on, who would actually believe in that
crap?”
Blair had an answer. “Oh, there are the Rosicrucians and The
Golden Dawn.“
Daniel added, “The Knights
Templar or their successors.”
Blair sat back down. “The
Freemasons.”
“Cabalists and Christian
esoterics.”
“The Enochian, Hermetic,
Greek and Chaldean magical traditions.”
Daniel nodded. “Etcetera.”
Jack sputtered,
“Etcetera? There are more? That’s just nuts.”
Jim had to agree. “Come on, Chief. It’s the twenty-first century. Nobody could still believe in that stuff.”
Blair answered, “Well,
probably most of the members of these groups wouldn’t. But, like, there are the inner circle
die-hards, you know. And anyhow, there
are things out there that sound unbelievable in the twenty-first century but
are true anyway.”
Jack nodded. “Like Sentinels.”
Not to be outdone Jim
added, “Or whatever it is that goes on under Cheyenne Mountain.” Then he changed the subject. “Chief, how do you know so much about this
stuff?”
“Naomi, my mother,” he
clarified for the newcomers, “was willing to try pretty much anything, but
there were some things that even she disapproved of. The fact that Naomi avoided esoteric sects
like the plague made me want to find out all about them.” He grinned.
“Drove Naomi crazy. Anyway, I did
look into it pretty thoroughly. Turned
out it wasn’t my scene either, but from an anthropological point of view it’s
all fascinating. Traditions handed down
over thousands of years through closed, secret societies, totally unknown to
the general public. It’s not just
science fiction, man.”
Jack sighed, “So where
does this get us? Say you’re right,
Sandburg. If it is one of these nutcase
groups, how can we find out which one?
And we still don’t know how they knew about the thing either.”
Daniel offered
tentatively. “I’ve been thinking about
that. It has to be someone inside the
MSC. Someone with access to the uncataloged
materials or along the process of sorting them and sending them for
review. The rest of the shipment to my
office was documented through an email, but that add-on section wasn’t, which
narrows down the possibilities quite a lot.”
Jim, who was now
unconsciously rubbing small circles on Blair’s back, commented, “An inside job,
eh? Then we’ll just have to draw them
out.”
Blair queried, “You
thinking of going undercover? Or setting
a trap?”
Jim smiled again, but this
time it was wicked. “I’m thinking a
rat-bastard trap.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Colonel and the
archaeologist decided to walk back to Daniel’s place from Sandburg’s
apartment. They stopped for dinner at an
Ethiopian restaurant, where Jack surprised Daniel by knowing exactly how to use
a piece of flat bread as a fork. They
ended up feeding each other bites of spicy dishes and surreptitiously licking
each other’s fingers.
The evening was balmy and
city life swirled around them, but it was as though no one else existed. They were so comfortable together, despite or
perhaps because of the new direction their relationship had taken, that it
seemed like a couple of years had dropped away.
For now, anyway, the turmoil that had led to Daniel’s exile was like a
bad dream from which they had finally awoken.
They were discussing their
new friends as they arrived back at the apartment. It didn’t take any great observational skills
to see that Jim and Blair had rather more than resolved whatever had been going
on between them, too. They had both been
slightly shocked by the openness of the other couple’s expressions of affection
and closeness.
Jack asked, “So, we don’t
do that, do we? We aren’t so…” He waved a hand in the air.
Daniel lifted his eyebrows
and completed the question. “Sappy?”
“Yeah.”
Daniel was confident. “No, of course we aren’t sappy. We are responsible adult men who live within
the confines of current standards of propriety.
And we’re normal guys, who don’t participate in public displays.” Daniel sat down on the sofa and cocked his
head. “Or maybe we’re just more
repressed.”
Jack slipped off his
jacket and shoes and ambled over to the couch.
He climbed onto Daniel and settled straddling his lap. After carefully removing Daniel’s glasses and
setting them on the side table he permitted his mouth to become reacquainted
with his lover’s.
He asked softly, “Do you
think, Daniel, that maybe sometimes we could be just a little, you know, sappy?” He nibbled on the rim of Daniel’s ear,
eliciting a lovely nuzzling action in response.
“Well, Jack,” there was a
hitch of arousal already in Daniel’s voice, “maybe once in a while we could be
the slightest bit romantic. I actually
wouldn’t mind telling you, showing you, how much you mean to me. Not all the time, of course. We have an image to maintain, after
all.” Daniel tipped his head back and
Jack moved down to taste his neck, feeling the pulse under his tongue.
Jack approved, “Right, so
no flowers and chocolates.”
“I don’t know about
that. I really like chocolate.”
“Chocolate is in, then.”
Jack planted an open mouthed, wet kiss on Daniel’s Adam’s apple. “And maybe wine and candle lit dinners.”
Daniel groaned in
agreement. “That…that would be good.”
Jack leaned until they
were both lying on their sides facing each other. Daniel was heavy where he lay on one of
Jack’s arms, but the other one snuck between their bodies to begin unbuttoning
Daniel’s shirt, revealing morsels of skin.
Daniel reached behind Jack and started to pull his shirt from his
waistband, leaning enthusiastically into the task until…
… they fell off the couch,
landing painfully on the hardwood floor.
After his ears stopped
ringing from the impact of his head against the floor Jack suggested, “Bed?”
“Um, yes.”
Daniel scrambled to his
feet and pulled Jack up as well. Jack
grabbed Daniel around the waist and manhandled him in the direction of the
bedroom. Daniel wrapped his arms around
Jack’s shoulders and turned until he could push Jack backward through the
door. Jack was about to flip Daniel onto
the bed when he reconsidered. First
things first.
“Clothes.”
They were equally speedy
in removing every speck of clothing, though perhaps Jack had the advantage of
already having taken his shoes off. They
leapt together onto the bed and wrestled for position. Both were sweaty by the time Jack admitted
that Daniel was on top. Not that it was
a hardship.
There were so many things
about loving Daniel that amazed him. One
of them was this; that they were evenly matched physically and didn’t have to
worry about holding back with each other, although Daniel was
characteristically considerate of the older man’s dodgy knees.
With a last shove to
Jack’s shoulders, ordering him to stay, Daniel slid down so that he was eye to
eye, so to speak, with Jack’s burgeoning erection. To Jack’s delight, Daniel seemed perpetually
fascinated by that part of his anatomy.
Luckily, he was well to impressively endowed in that area, which helped
relieve his insecurity at seeing his own body along side Daniel’s sleek,
youthful one. After all, size matters.
Running one finger down
the side of his object of scrutiny, the younger man commented seriously, “My
what a lovely cock you have. A truly
magnificent throbbing love machine, manhood, tool, boner.“ This had been another pleasant surprise. Daniel liked to talk dirty. Woo hoo!
Daniel went on, “Prick,
phallus, woody, staff, manly unit.”
Jack couldn’t stop a snort
from erupting from his nose. Daniel took
his eyes off the erection and looked up at Jack.
“Manly unit? Did you just say that?”
Daniel objected with
linguistic indignation, “I’ll have you know, Jack, the term is in popular
usage.”
Jack chuckled, causing his
cock to bounce and bob.
Daniel looked down and
told it, “Manly unit.”
There was a slight pause
before both of them burst into unrestrained laughter. Gasping for breath, Jack informed his friend,
“Daniel, you’ve definitely been reading too much porn.”
Daniel was all sincere
innocence. “Is that even possible?”
They laughed again and
Daniel’s face did that thing that turned Jack’s heart to mush. He smiled that smile where the corners of his
eyes wrinkled, his lips pursed and his cheeks puffed out. Jack had always loved that too rarely seen
expression, and now he knew it meant that Daniel was thinking profoundly
lascivious thoughts. Go Daniel!
Jack shook his head. “Hell, I don’t care what you call it as long
as you do something with it.”
The predatory sparkle in
his lover’s eyes intensified. Planting a
quick kiss on the organ’s wide head he began to crawl back up Jack’s body,
pressing their erections between them, stopping only when he could stick his
tongue in Jack’s mouth.
After a very hot minute he
queried, “Do something with it? What
exactly did you have in mind, Jack?
Maybe frottage?” He rubbed his
hips suggestively against Jack’s. “Were
you considering… fellatio?” He ran his
tongue slowly around his open lips and Jack gasped at the erotic pulse that
shot through him.
Daniel pushed Jack’s legs
farther open with his knees and let his full weight settle, pressing Jack into
the mattress.
Teasing Jack’s mouth with
his lips and tongue he questioned further, “Or perhaps you were thinking of…”
he skipped a dramatic beat, “penetrative sex?”
Jack groaned, synapses
frying a mile a minute. But no, the
verbal torture wasn’t over yet.
Daniel breathed into
Jack’s mouth, “Homosexual intercourse?”
Jack opened his legs wider, brought his knees up, and thrust into
Daniel’s pelvis.
“Anal intrusion?”
This, the whole meal deal,
was something they hadn’t done yet. The
mere thought of it drove Jack absolutely crazy with desire. He groped at his partner, running hot hands
over smooth, soft skin and digging into firm muscles. Daniel in turn kissed the hell out of him,
and then calmed Jack with his hands. He
sat up again, looking down with dark, aroused eyes.
“Do you want that?”
Jack nodded rapidly. That was a big yup-er! He croaked, “Yes.”
Daniel stretched toward
the bedside table and rummaged in a drawer.
Jack blinked in admiration as his eyes traced the perfect outline of
Daniel’s elongated body from the armpit along the side of the ribcage, over the
narrow hips and down the length of the muscular leg. He was sure that there was nothing he could
have done in this or any other life to deserve the incomparable flawlessness
that was Daniel. He wanted to bite into
that flesh and eat him whole. He settled
for skimming his palm lightly down the path his eyes had traveled, groaning yet
again with desire.
Daniel found what he was
looking for and rearranged himself to straddle Jack’s thighs. Jack was surprised and tried to open his legs
again. How else was Daniel going to get
to where he needed to go?
Daniel laid a hand on the
flat of Jack’s stomach to hold him in place and lifted himself to his
knees. He flipped the tube open and
pressed the clear gel onto his fingers, then reached behind to touch himself.
Jack’s ability to speak
was extremely limited at this point, but he managed to ask, “What’cha doing?”
The blue eyes locked with
his. “I’m preparing myself so that your
beautiful, hard erection will fit into my body.”
Okay, probably every drop
of blood he had was now crowding into his penis. The quiet ones are always full of
surprises. He reached for Daniel. “I want to.”
“And you will, many, many
times. Now, though, I’m doing this for
you. I want you to see how much I want
you, Jack. I’m giving myself to you.” His body tilted as he hitched his hip to
touch himself deeper. “This is our first
time. You’re going to know that I’m
yours. All of me.”
All of him. Jack didn’t argue. Another thing he had learned was that Daniel
liked to lead in bed. He wasn’t into
domination; he happily accepted it when Jack wanted to take over. It was just that this was how Daniel
was. He had a strong sense of the
sensual and the erotic, and the confidence to say what he wanted. Jack found that he was perfectly content to
let Daniel orchestrate. As with most
things, he was usually right.
As Daniel worked, Jack
studied the torso towering over him; the sculpted chest, the small, supple
nipple surrounded by smooth skin, the flat belly. Daniel’s cock bobbed above his own, of equal
length but thinner. Like everything else
about Daniel it was the ideal expression of grace.
Daniel squirted more
lubricant on his hand and smoothed it meticulously onto Jack’s manly unit. His brows furrowed as he gazed speculatively
at the glistening organ. Looking up at
Jack as though over the rims of his glasses he quipped, a brief smile quirking
his lips, “I’m ready to give this a try if you are.”
“Oh, yes. Ready.
Very ready.” Then Jack grasped
Daniel’s arms to still him and said with meaning, “I am ready, Daniel. I’m ready for you. For us.”
Daniel nodded and lifted
himself up far enough to move over Jack’s erection. Jack positioned himself with one hand while
the other caressed Daniel’s hip tenderly.
Then the younger man began
to lower himself. Jack felt him push
until the head of his cock broke through the outer ring of muscle. It felt like heaven. It felt better than anything had ever felt in
his whole life.
Daniel grunted and froze,
his hands braced on his thighs. Jack saw
the grimace of pain that he tried to hide, then Daniel started pushing again
too soon. Jack gentled him with hands
and voice. “Slowly. Take your time, Daniel, there’s no rush. Wait till you want more, love. Wait till you want me.”
Daniel panted and fixed
his gaze on Jack’s face. Gradually he
began to relax, and then eased himself farther down. His progress was slow but determined. Eventually he let his weight rest on Jack
with a sigh, holding all of him inside.
They sat that way for a
while. Jack reached up, glad for his
long arms, and caressed Daniel’s face, brushing through the sweat with his
fingers. He then let his hands trail
down his torso and arm, reassuring his lover with his touch.
Daniel blinked down at
him. “I love you, Jack.”
“I know you do. I hope you know how much I love you, too.”
The smile quirked
again. “I think we’ve covered that,
actually.”
Jack grinned back. “Just so you know.”
“And, um, you know what
else? I think I like this. A lot.”
Jack thrust up gently,
moving inside of him. “You like that?”
Daniel nodded. “A lot.”
“Glad to hear…”
Anything else he might
have said was cut off as Daniel rocked forward and back. Daniel was so tight around the sensitive
organ that the pleasure was incredible.
Daniel continued the rocking motion, a dreamy expression on his
face. Then he stopped and leaned
forward, stretching to find Jack’s mouth.
After a loving kiss, he pulled back, letting Jack see that the special
smile was there again. He whispered
suggestively, “You wanna be on top?”
Yup, that was another
affirmative. Jack held Daniel in his
strong arms and rolled them over carefully, being sure to not break the
connection. He positioned Daniel’s bent
knees under his elbows and kissed him again.
Their tongues stroking each other, Jack thrust into Daniel. Daniel moaned and Jack did it again.
A steady stream of, “Jack,
yes. Yes. Jack, yes,” encouraged him to go faster,
harder, deeper. After a while all sense
of where he was and what he was doing was subsumed into an overwhelming feeling
of unity with Daniel. Finally, after all
the years and all the longing, they were one.
They were one hot, sweaty, laughing, crying, shaking entity, moving
together in shared exaltation. He didn’t
want it to stop. He wanted to live this
way for the rest of his life. But then
the joy he was feeling burst out in a fiery explosion that obliterated
everything else.
In time, after perhaps
eons, he became aware of lying entwined with Daniel, the evidence of his
lover’s joy sticky between them. Elegant
fingers touched his hair, easing him into contented sleep.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
After the visitors left
Sandburg had been fed, medicated and put to bed. He slept straight through until the morning,
when he woke to find a big ol’ lummox of a fella wrapped around him. He was all set to lay some lovin’ down on the
lummox but the clock was uncooperative.
Jim cleaned him with a
cloth in the bathroom so as to not wet the bandage and this time when Blair
washed his hair in the sink the extra set of hands made it a very pleasurable
experience. He definitely needed to make
a note of that for future reference.
After a quick breakfast
the pair headed back to the hospital so that Blair could be checked over and
declared to be healing nicely. Then they
made their way out to the Museum Support Center to begin setting the trap,
joining the others in Daniel’s office.
The first step was to
figure out who might have found and then passed on the information about the
Wing of Aset. Sitting at Daniel’s
computer Blair hacked into the personnel records. With Daniel peering over his shoulder Blair
identified all the people who worked in the dusty storerooms of unsorted stuff. He then narrowed it down to the people
present when Daniel’s last delivery was being prepared, and further still to
those who then had access to Pod 4.
Since there had been no sign of forced entry they figured that someone
must have been able to let the assailants into the building in a way that
circumvented the security checkpoints.
In the end they came up with one suspect.
Jim briefly looked over
the personnel file and declared, “I don’t think so,
Chief. Try again.”
Blair looked at Jim
curiously. “Why? Because she’s a woman?”
“Not just because she’s a
woman, no. But look at her. She’s somebody’s grandmother.”
The file was that of one
Marie Kormer, a 62 year old clerk in the Collections Management
department. She had worked for the
Smithsonian in some capacity for most of her adult life and had very little
noted in her file except for periodic reviews that found her work
adequate.
Blair grinned. “Ah-ha!
That’s just what she wants you to think!
This is practically the invisible woman, here. Who better to spy for the bad guys?”
Daniel added thoughtfully,
“You know, it doesn’t say anything here about her private life. It’s possible that she has been a member of
one of these organizations since she was younger. And also, we should keep in mind that there
were priestesses in ancient Egypt as well as priests. The desire for knowledge and power isn’t
gender specific.”
Jim held up his
hands. “Okay, you’ve made your
point. Colonel, what do you think?”
Jack frowned at the photo
of a plump, matronly woman with tightly permed hair of indeterminate
color. “Well, she’s not exactly what I
was expecting either. Are you two sure
about this?”
Blair shook his head. “We can’t be 100 percent sure, Jack. But she’s the only one who had access to everything. The log even shows that she was here the
night of the attack. She didn’t leave
until nearly eleven PM. It’s a lot of
coincidence.”
Jack didn’t appear
convinced, but he conceded, “Okay, I’ll buy it.
I’ll have a full background check run on her, but in the meantime we can
proceed.” He turned to Jim. “You on board with this, Detective?”
“We know she wasn’t one of
the men in black, but it doesn’t take youth or strength to have set the hit
up. I say we go with it for now. If she doesn’t take the bait we’ll have
another look.”
Blair was tremendously
pleased that they were accepting the conclusions of his detective work. He was also excited about his role in the
next step of the plan, setting the trap.
It was almost like the old days, him and Jim and the other detectives of
Major Crimes pulling together to catch the bad guys. For a moment the nostalgia made him sad, but
he brushed it off and concentrated on the plot.
Lunchtime found Blair and
Daniel back in the building’s cafeteria.
They stood with their trays accepting the concerned inquiries and good
wishes of their co-workers. It was an
extremely rare occurrence that museum staff should be shot or tortured, so
everyone knew roughly what had taken place, if not the specifics.
The two drew out the
socializing until a table was vacated directly next to one Mrs. Marie Kormer,
then they excused themselves and claimed it.
Blair waited until he was sure she had noted their presence, then he began.
“Hey, man, it’s cool that
everybody cares, isn’t it?”
Daniel agreed, “Yes. It’s amazing how much people know about what
happened. I don’t even understand it
myself.”
Blair waved a fork
excitedly. “So Daniel, finish with what you started to tell me before. Do you think it’s real?”
“I really don’t know. It appears to be. And obviously somebody thought it was. But it’s the only artifact of its kind known
to be in existence so it’s difficult to tell.”
Kormer had stopped eating
and her posture had turned rigid.
Yes! It looked like they had been
right about her.
Blair sat back in
amazement. “The Wing of Aset. Is it true
what they say? That it can…”
“Blair!” Daniel shushed him and looked around
nervously. He then leaned forward and
lowered his voice, though not so far that the woman couldn’t hear him. “Let’s not get into that. I’m edgy enough having the thing in my office
as it is. I’m used to working with
ancient artifacts, but this is so old and so valuable that I want it out of my
hands as soon as possible. It gives me
the creeps.”
“Really? So what are you going to do with it?”
“Well, it’s all right in
my safe for now, but they’re coming to get it first thing in the morning.”
“They? Who’s coming to get it?”
“Um, I’m really not
supposed to say. All very ‘need to
know’. I don’t even want to think about
it.”
Blair prodded, “Are you
sure you don’t want to try and use it yourself?
This is a great chance…”
Daniel was firm. “No, Blair. The sooner it’s gone the
better.” He then changed the
subject. “So how’s the intern they have
filling in for you working out?”
Blair grinned. “Oh, he’s young and enthusiastic, I’ll give
him that much. Do you know what he
wanted to do? I’ve got this filing
system, and he wanted to…”
The suspect had heard
enough. She stood and walked away
without even bussing the tray with her half eaten meal.
Blair winked at Daniel,
who responded with waggling eyebrows and the dry comment, “The game is afoot!”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jim and Jack stood at a
water fountain in the hall outside of the cafeteria trying to look
nonchalant. Jim was idly flipping
through the pages of a newspaper grinning widely. Jack glared at him and snapped, “What?”
“It’s going well. We have ourselves a couple of real actors
there. The suspect’s buying it hook,
line and sinker.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Her pulse skyrocketed and she started
sweating as soon as they started talking.”
Jim was having fun. He was
aware that the fact that he knew all these things and yet hadn’t so much as
looked in the direction of the cafeteria since they’d been there drove the
other man nuts. O’Neill was obviously
dying to question him but was holding back, for now anyway.
He snapped the paper
smartly. “Heads up. The suspect is on the move.”
Jack bent to take a drink
from the fountain but eyed the extremely average looking woman as she strode
out of the door. Jim thought that Blair
had been right in his evaluation. In her
ordinariness this person was almost invisible.
No one would look twice at her as she moved around the building in her
standard ‘office worker’ skirt and blouse and sensible shoes. The two men, neither of whom enjoyed that
type of camouflage, sauntered casually after her as she disappeared around the
corner.
They watched her get into
an elevator. Jim approached the closed
metal doors and cocked his head, sorting through the rattle of gears and whine
of tense cables to catch the telltale clicks as the car passed each floor. After a moment he turned to his companion.
“Third floor.”
As they pushed into the
stairwell and raced up the steep flights, Jim had no problem hearing the
muttered, “Just my luck. Ma Barker HAD
to get off at the highest floor. Could she
have gone easy on my poor knees? No, of
course she couldn’t.”
They arrived slightly
winded at the desired floor and it took Jim a moment to track the target. Then he murmured, “This way,” and led down
the hall to the left.
Pausing at a corner he
listened again. He heard the buzz of a
touchtone phone dialing and filed it for later analysis. Then he listened in on the short
conversation. After a minute he nodded
and turned to walk back down the hall.
“Okay, we’re on for
tonight. She reported what Sandburg and
Jackson said to someone she called ‘Prime’, and he told her to let the team in
the outer door at the loading bay on sub-level one at midnight. This is almost too easy.”
“Yeah, well the
super-senses help. You’re a walking
surveillance team all by yourself.”
Jim smiled and admitted, “Yeah. It does come in handy now and then. Shall we go find our better halves? Or is Daniel your better three-quarters?”
Jack grumbled something
about no respect and Jim smiled again.
The Colonel was more fun to needle than just about anyone he knew, and
he could give as good as he got.
Jim felt a deep sense of
relief at developing a friendship, and respect despite what Jack might say,
with someone who knew what he was and accepted it. The last time that had happened was with
Sandburg, and then the whole thing had been new to both of them. Jim was starting to think that this might be
something he could live with after all.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
There was a whole
afternoon to kill before the evening activities, so while Jack and Daniel
stayed at the museum to keep an eye on things Jim took Blair home and attempted
to put him to bed again. Despite the
lingering pain and the fuzziness brought on by the meds, Blair was sick of
sleeping through everything and would agree only to rest on the couch, and even
then with the provision that Jim join him.
Jim sat leaning against the arm of the sofa and cuddled Blair against
his chest, their legs stretching out along its length.
Blair had barely snuggled
in before he fell asleep. He woke in the
early evening warm, cozy and encircled by a pair of loving arms.
“Oh, man, Jim! I’m so sorry.
You must be stiff as a board by now.
Let me move so you can get up.” He
tried to wriggle out of Jim’s embrace, but the other man wouldn’t let him.
“Don’t you go anywhere,
Chief.” Jim sighed. “I enjoy just being able to hold you. I’m trying to make up for lost time.”
“You sure?”
Jim tenderly pulled him
back against his chest. “What do you
think?”
Blair smiled with
contentment and relaxed. He enjoyed the
simplicity of their current connection, but felt he had to bring up a subject
that was weighing heavily on his mind.
“Jim, there’s something I
wanted to talk to you about. It’s, well,
it’s about what happens next. When we go
back to Cascade, I mean.”
Jim agreed, “Yes, there’s
a lot we need to discuss. A lot has
changed since you left, but I didn’t want to deal with that until you were
ready.”
“I guess I’m ready. I’ve been trying to figure out how I’m going
to fit into your life now.” Blair
snorted. “Hell, I’m trying to figure out
how I’m going to fit in my own life.”
“Well, Chief, that’s going
to be up to you to decide. Hopefully up
to us together, but the options are fairly broad. You see, I’m going public about my senses.”
Blair jerked upright and
turned to stare at Jim.
“What? After all that happened NOW you’re going to
go public?”
“Yeah. You see, I was wrong not to do it
before. I was wrong to let you destroy
your life to keep my secret. I was wrong
and selfish and cowardly. I’m going to
try to make it right.” Before Blair
could question him more Jim went on calmly, “Do you remember what that
publisher was telling you, about what a breakthrough piece of work it was? He was talking Pulitzer Prize, Nobel Prize,
wasn’t he? That wasn’t just because of
bestseller potential, it was also because it was going to open a whole new
field of knowledge to the world. Do I
have a right to stop that for my own personal reasons? I don’t think so. I’m not the only one effected by this.”
He continued, “Think about
it, Chief. I was on the verge of either
committing myself or being committed to an institution when you found me. How many people do you think are sedated and
in straightjackets right now because no one knew how to help them, or in the
cemetery? Think of the people around the
world who could be reevaluated and helped by your work. Think of the children that might be growing
up worried about being freaks. We’ll
never know how many there are unless people start looking for them. How can I let others suffer and lose their
lives to madness just because I got lucky?”
Blair gazed at him in
amazement. “You really mean this, man.”
“I do. And before you go thinking I’ve suddenly
become a saint you should know that it was outside forces that got me
started. Just a couple of weeks after
you left I got a call to report to the Mayor’s office. The Chief of Police and the District Attorney
were there when I walked in. The Mayor
asked me point blank, yes or no, if I was what you said I was. I had to tell the truth. I wouldn’t have expected it, but they were
fairly pleased by the news. They think
it will reflect well on them and on Cascade to have a Sentinel working for
them. The ironic thing is that it wasn’t
long after that that my senses began to deteriorate.
“Anyway, they’ve spent
these last few months going over my cases to make sure that the guys I put away
won’t be able to appeal because of it, and it looks good.”
Jim looked at Blair
seriously. “But that’s not all. I’ve been talking to your faculty advisors
and your dissertation committee, too.
They now know that you weren’t making it up and why you said that you
were. Some of them weren’t all that
surprised. There are still people at
Rainier who think very highly of you.
They just want you to finish revising it as you had planned to and then
present it. I don’t think you’ll get
much challenge over it at this point, especially after I gave them some
demonstrations.
“So you can submit your
diss and get your doctorate. They plan
to release it in a totally different way than the last time. They’re talking about publishing it as
science book and placing excerpts and articles in scholarly journals. I’m sure it will get some public attention,
but hopefully not in the media circus kind of way, and maybe people will
identify other potential Sentinels and the focus won’t only be on me. And if the worst happens, I’ll be ready for
it this time. The publicity will
actually give me a measure of safety I didn’t have before.”
Blair nodded. “So that’s why you didn’t mind that Daniel
and Jack knew about you. Everybody’s
going to know soon enough. When will all
this happen?”
“I’ve been waiting. I needed to know if there was a chance for
you to forgive me and come home. I’m
going to need you more than ever once it becomes common knowledge. You’re going to need me to convince the
skeptics. Uh, besides, it is YOUR
dissertation. It won’t be published
without your approval.”
“So if I hadn’t been shot,
it would have all stayed on hold? My
God, Jim! Why didn’t you call me?”
“Because I’m through
forcing things on you. It had to be your
decision.” The quiet confidence that had
been emanating from Jim seemed to evaporate at this point. “If you hadn’t been shot, would you ever
have, you know, called me yourself?”
Blair had to consider the
question for a moment. “I don’t know,
Jim. I think so. I wasn’t strong enough to go on living
without you forever. I felt the need for
you, as a Guide and as a man.” He
grinned thinly. “But I’m glad I got
shot. There’s a lot of work to do.”
Jim brightened. “You mean you’re up for this? You want to go ahead?”
“I am like so up for
this. What you’ve described was my
dream, I mean beyond my own selfish desire to get the letters after my
name.” He bounced on the couch
cushion. “I want to help people, just
like you do. You are so beautiful and
special, man. The world needs as many
people like you as it can get. And if
there’s help, then maybe there won’t be any more like Alex. That was just too sad.”
Jim’s body tensed. Any mention of Alex seemed to provoke a
reaction like that. He would never be
able to forget the outlaw Sentinel who had come between Blair and him and had succeeded
in actually killing Blair. The
broad-minded anthropologist mostly felt sorrow for the woman’s lost potential
and humbled by how Jim, or his power animal, had been able to cross over and
bring him back. But Jim would probably
never release the guilt of allowing it to happen in the first place and of then
continuing to be drawn to her by some Sentinel instinct he couldn’t understand
or control. Blair wondered how Jim would
react if they ever did find other Sentinels.
Jim answered
stoically. “It’s not going to be easy,
Chief. Not at any step along the
way. I don’t know what’ll happen once it
comes out. I don’t know if we’ll be able
to stay with the department, or if we’ll have to give that up altogether. If you need to go on tour to teach people
from your experience, then I’ll go with you.
Who can predict what’ll happen?
But once they understand about Sentinel and Guide, no one will try to
separate us. We’ll be a team of two,
forever.”
Blair leaned in to kiss
Jim lightly on the lips. “That, man, is
my very deepest dream.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Eleven o’clock found Jack
and Jim accommodating themselves in a storeroom near the loading bay. They sat in silence, similar training
preparing them to wait without moving for as long as necessary. After the initial strangeness Jack had found Jim
to be a good man to work with. He
relished the testosterone laden bonding of two military men on an
operation. The only thing marring the
picture was the dull expression on Ellison’s face when he was using his senses;
vacant stare, mouth hanging open. Oh,
well. No one was perfect.
The minutes ticked by
quietly, giving Jack a chance to reflect on recent events. It was kind of ironic. Daniel finding Goa’uld technology in the
nation’s largest museum collection was not a good thing. Daniel being attacked and nearly killed was a
very, very bad thing. But on the other
hand, they had brought Daniel and him back together, really together, which was
about the best thing ever. Once they got
this operation over with they could begin to think about the future, which was
still somewhat a gray area.
Suddenly Ellison
stiffened, signaling that something was happening. They each checked and readied their
weapons. Because of the extenuating
circumstances Jim and Jack had a special dispensation from museum security to
carry arms within the building, but after long debate they had decided not to
notify security or the police about their plan.
There was just too much risk of the word being leaked to the wrong
people. Dear Mrs. Kormer had been an
unexpected surprise and they decided to only trust themselves for the time
being.
Jim pushed the storeroom
door open slightly and they prepared to move.
The detective raised one fist and Jack froze. The signal was a reminder of their shared
military background, but Jack briefly felt a flash of annoyance. He was a Colonel and the other man had been a
Captain when he left the Army. Jack
couldn’t help feeling that he should be leading. He should be making the decisions and taking
the greatest risks. It was who he was. However, if he had learned anything over the
years it was to take advantage of the special skills of his team members, and
there was no denying the edge that Ellison’s mysterious abilities gave them.
Jim was concentrating on
whatever it was he was hearing, but suddenly turned to Jack with widened
eyes. He held up three fingers to
indicate three subjects. Then he raised
one finger and pointed in one direction, then in another direction, then in a
third. Great, the enemy team had split
up. They hadn’t been counting on
that.
Jack whispered softly,
knowing the other would hear, “You follow one and take him out. I’ll follow another. We’ll both head for Daniel’s office to
intercept the third.”
Ellison nodded and
disappeared into the corridor heading to the right. Jack crept down the hall to the left, his own
senses sharpened to the maximum. He
caught sight of a figure in black as it turned a corner and followed carefully.
Dipping one hand into his
jacket pocket he pulled out the cell phone Daniel had loaned him and quickly
dialed his friend’s office number, thinking to warn him of the third
intruder. The phone rang, but no one
answered. Jack frowned and picked up the
pace. There was no point in drawing this
out; that man in front of him was going down.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
As Jim and Jack went off
to play on their ‘mission’ the two scientists settled in to wait in Daniel’s
office, each submerging himself in a book.
After only about ten minutes Daniel looked up to find Blair slumped in
his chair asleep. He looked remarkably
uncomfortable, not to mention in danger of falling off at any moment.
Daniel stood and moved a
stack of folders off of a more sturdy, padded chair that had been hidden away
in the corner. He then shook Blair gently
and murmured, “Um, Blair? You want to
move to somewhere more comfortable?”
Blair sat up straight and
insisted, “I’m fine! I’m awake. No problem.”
Then he actually opened his eyes, looking around in mild surprise.
“Yeah, you’re awake. But why don’t you sit over here anyway?”
Blair eyed the chair
sleepily. “Well, yeah. I might as well.”
Daniel steadied him as he
moved the few feet to his new resting place and sprawled onto the
upholstery. He blinked up at Daniel a
few times and mumbled, “Thanks,” then promptly nodded off again. Daniel smiled at his new friend and retrieved
a spare lab coat to drape over him for added warmth.
Daniel tried to
concentrate on the book, but kept glancing nervously at the wall clock. Of course Jack and Jim could take care of
themselves, but still. Having had
firsthand experience he was uneasy that his friends were planning to meet up
with the men in black, even forewarned.
Something could always go wrong.
After checking the clock
for the hundredth time Daniel caught a movement in the doorway out of the
corner of his eye. Turning, he was
surprised to find Mrs. Kormer gazing at him mildly. Mildly except for the gun pointed directly at
him.
“Uh, hello.”
The grandmotherly woman
stepped into the room but kept enough distance so that Daniel couldn’t threaten
her.
“Mr. Jackson, I had rather
hoped that you would have shown the discretion to absent yourself this
time. There was really no need for you
to have been further involved in this, but since you’re here you will take the
article out of the safe and give it to me.”
Daniel’s brows pulled
together and he looked at the woman over the tops of his glasses, hoping to
appear innocently puzzled.
“The…article?”
“EGT-537B. Hand it over now and you won’t be hurt.”
“EGT-537B? I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking
about.”
The woman straightened her
gun arm menacingly. “Do not be fooled by
my appearance, Mr. Jackson. I am not
stupid nor am I frail. I entrusted this
mission to so-called ‘experts’ the last time, but this time I will make sure
that we acquire the Wing. Stop stalling
and get it now, otherwise I’ll shoot you and open the safe myself. You’d be surprised what information a clerk
can gain access to. The combination was
quite easy to obtain.”
She stood watching him
expectantly and Daniel supposed that he had better play along and wait for an
opening. Since he could now identify her
as an accomplice to two counts of assault and attempted murder it seemed unlikely
that she intended to let him live. Jack
would absolutely kill him if he got back from his mission and found Daniel
dead. That would not be a pretty sight
at all.
He rose slowly with his
hands out to his sides. “I, uh. You want me to open the safe?”
“Now please.” She gestured with her gun toward the wall
behind him and to the left. Daniel
backed up until he bumped into the wall, always keeping his eyes on the
gunwoman. He reached back to feel the
edge of the framed fire-safety instruction sheet and swung the casing away from
the wall on its hinges. Gingerly, he
turned to look at the combination lock on the safe door.
“Now, Mr. Jackson.” She sounded perfectly deadly.
Daniel was extremely
annoyed at the way the evening was going so far, but was careful not to appear
anything other than a timid scientist.
He turned and began spinning the dial.
“I don’t know who you are,
but you don’t really think this thing has magical powers, do you? I mean, it could bring a very good price from
a collector, but is it really worth all the trouble you’re going to be in?”
Kormer sneered, “You have
no idea of the value of the Wing of Aset.
Money has nothing to do with it.”
The lock clicked on the
first number of the combination and Daniel began turning the dial back. “I hope you won’t be disappointed with
it. It really isn’t all that
impressive.”
Suddenly the desk phone
rang shrilly, making them both jump.
Still as statues, the blue eyes and the colorless eyes held each other
as the device sounded several times and then stopped. Then she lifted an eyebrow impatiently and
waved the gun at him.
The lock clicked again and
then the tumbler fell into the third slot.
The door latch released with a snap and Daniel opened it to look
inside. The only thing in there was a
box made of heavy brown cardboard.
Daniel was almost beside himself with irritation, mostly directed inward
at this point. He should have considered
the possibility that the situation would go this far and planned ahead to have
a decoy stashed away.
He lifted the 6” X 6” box
and turned to set it on the counter.
“Open it. I want to see it.” Kormer’s eyes shone with undisguised greed.
It didn’t take much
pretending for Daniel’s hands to shake as he pried the flaps of the box open
from their overlapping closure. As the
first edge popped out he feigned a nervous jump that sent the box to the
floor. As he bent to retrieve it,
calculating the chances of successfully rushing the woman, she swung the gun
toward him angrily.
At that moment a metal
bookend flew out of nowhere, hitting her gun hand and knocking it
sideways. Daniel took advantage of the
diversion and launched himself forward, grasping the portly figure around the
waist and slamming her to the floor, one hand pressing the woman’s wrist to the
ground. He thumped her hand sharply
against the floor and it opened, letting the gun fall free.
Daniel was slightly
overconfident with his easy victory over the unimposing character and gasped at
the severe pain of a well-aimed knee connecting with his groin. That was it, no more Mister Nice-Guy. Daniel leaned up, raised his fist and hit her
solidly on the jaw, snapping her head back harshly. The woman went limp under him and Daniel hung
his head, trying to breathe through the pain.
After a moment he looked
up at Blair, who was standing next to him.
The younger man asked,
“You okay?”
Peering up through
watering eyes he answered dryly, “As a friend of mine would say, just
peachy. Find something to tie her with,
would you? Oh, and thanks for the help.”
“Any time, man.”
Between the two of them
they hefted the woman into a chair and tied her in place with plastic packing
cord. Then Daniel returned to the fallen
box and scooped the topmost ribbon device, which had tumbled onto the floor,
back inside and secured the lid. He
calmly placed the parcel back in the safe and closed the door, ignoring the way
Blair’s eyes followed his movements inquisitively.
Daniel and Blair slumped
onto stools and grinned at each other sheepishly. Blair quipped, “And we thought the other guys
were going to get all the action.”
Daniel’s lips twisted
wryly. “Blair, I am completely serious
when I say how very, very grateful I am that we subdued her. I would have heard about it until my dying
day if Jack had had to rescue me from a senior citizen.”
Blair snorted. “Amen to that, brother.”
They waited in silence for
several minutes until Blair looked at the clock and frowned. “They should be back by now, shouldn’t they?”
“I’m sure they’re
fine. If I know Jack he’s probably
savoring the chance to beat up on the bad guys.
He’s a man who knows how to hold a grudge.”
“Yeah, you’re probably
right.”
They waited some
more. Daniel was aware that their
captive was awake again, but she hadn’t said anything and he wasn’t
particularly interested in engaging her in conversation either. He checked the clock, not quite as worry-free
as he had appeared to Blair.
“Oh, shit.”
Daniel looked up at his
companion, who was staring over Daniel’s shoulder at the door. Swinging around, who was looming there but a
ubiquitous man in black? Oh, shit was
right. He stood and edged toward Blair.
The masked figure glanced
from Mrs. Kormer to Daniel to Blair. The
woman broke her silence by hissing, “Kill them, you idiot!”
Even with the mask on
disgust was evident in the man’s attitude toward his bound co-conspirator. Sneering, he hissed, “You should have
followed the plan. You know the
penalty.”
With no further
deliberation the man acted. He pointed
the gun at the woman restrained in the chair and fired. A neat round hole appeared in the center of
her chest, and with no more than a gasp of surprise she died.
Daniel tensed to
counter-attack, but the gun was again pointed at him. By his side Blair was gaping wide eyed at the
corpse and the assailant, who moved silently forward.
The man barked, “Where is
it?”
Daniel answered more
calmly than he felt, “It isn’t here, of course.
It’s in a safe place.”
The gun swung smoothly to
point at the center of Blair’s chest and Daniel tensed again, ready to shield
his friend if necessary.
“Tell me where it is or I
kill him.”
Daniel’s mouth hung open
in consternation. Their leeway for bluffing
was running out. “It’s, it’s…”
At that point the laws of
physics bent to somehow allow both Jim and Jack to hurtle through the narrow
doorway into the room at exactly the same time.
Together they lunged at the enemy, knocking him to the floor. Daniel tackled Blair to the ground and pulled
him behind the table. He heard Blair’s
grunt of pain, but continued to shelter the other man with his body as the
sounds of fighting and gunfire filled the room.
The noise ceased and
Daniel raised his head to glance up apprehensively. He looked directly into Jack’s rugged,
concerned face, which was flanked by that of Jim.
Jack and Daniel’s eyes met
and held, wordlessly reaffirming that they meant everything to each other.
“Hey.”
Daniel smiled softly for Jack. “Hey.”
A voice complained from
beneath him, “Hello? I’ll be all right,
too, once you get the fuck off of me.”
Daniel rolled away from
Blair and Jim was there immediately, running his hands over his partner as he
helped him sit. After a moment Jim
shifted his attention long enough to gaze at Daniel meaningfully. With sentiment obviously from the bottom of
his heart, the Detective murmured, “Thank you.”
Daniel nodded. He thought that Jim’s opinion of him had
probably just quadrupled. The fact was
that Jim wasn’t the only person who cared about Blair, but Daniel wasn’t going
to protest. The Sentinel could be a very
valuable ally, should one ever be needed.
Looking up, Daniel took
the hand that Jack offered and was pulled to his feet, ending up chest to chest
with his lover. Jack cupped the side of
his face and Daniel thought for a moment that the older man was going to kiss
him, but then Jack stepped back and looked around, focusing on the dead woman
in the chair.
“Seems you’ve had some
excitement here, eh Danny? Wanna tell me
about it?”
“You tell me what happened
with you first.”
Jack filled him in while
Jim, after stroking Blair and manhandling him into a chair, phoned security and
the police. Apparently neither Jim nor
Jack had had difficulty subduing the men they were following. Daniel’s story was slightly more exciting.
Soon the room was filled
with all the different people needed to document a crime scene, and the four
friends were herded to different corners for questioning. As Daniel carefully explained what had
occurred his eyes met Jack’s across the room.
His pulse quickened and he felt a thrill of excitement much stronger
than the fear he had experienced earlier.
He smiled and his love smiled back.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The aftermath of their
operation was not entirely satisfying.
They had two dead bodies and not much else. The men that Jim and Jack had incapacitated
had disappeared without a trace. There
was apparently another insider, one who had let the assailants in while Kormer
was upstairs getting a head start, but beyond Jim’s assurance that it was a
male they had nothing to go on. The
background check on the woman had so far revealed nothing of interest, though
they were still digging. The phone
number Jim had identified was listed as never having been assigned.
The authorities were
taking the double assault on the venerable institution very seriously and the
investigation would continue, but for the moment they still didn’t know who was
behind the whole thing and there was a good chance that they never would. For one thing, the police weren’t very open
to Blair’s secret cult theory, and to be fair there was absolutely no hard
evidence that it was anything other than a straightforward attempted art
theft. The four principal players had
been ordered directly not to engage in further detective work, and in truth
they were ready to put it behind them.
That afternoon Jack and
Daniel stood at the table with the brown cardboard box setting between
them. Jack poked his finger into the
jumble of metal and stones.
“Yup, there’s your basic
brain fryer. I could’a lived without
ever seeing another one of ‘em.”
Daniel got this sort of
soft, sentimental look on his face that Jack had never seen before.
“Oh, I don’t know. I think I might have a special place in my
heart for these particular brain fryers.
They did bring you here, after all.”
Jack smiled with pleasure
and ducked his head. He absolutely LOVED
when Daniel said things like that, but he wasn’t used to it yet. He returned to the practicalities.
“I’ll take this back to
the SGC as originally planned. I owe it
to George to hell him in person that I’m leaving his command.”
Daniel’s face twitched
like he had a secret. “Actually, I was
thinking about going with you. I wanted
to ask General Hammond in person if he would consider allowing me to come
back.”
There was a slight ringing
in Jack’s ears and he thought that maybe he hadn’t heard right.
“What?”
“I don’t want you to
retire or transfer. I want to go back
with you to the SGC.”
“But I thought you loved
it here. I thought this was important to
you.”
“It is. But you were right about my missing the
action, and if I’m not mistaken you’re not quite ready to give it up,
either. The Museum Support Center will
still be here a few or twenty years from now, won’t it? There will always be more to do. We can come back when the time is
right.” He frowned. “That is if there’s still a space for me at
the SGC.”
“A space? Are you kidding? There’s a gaping hole, a chasm. We’re talking Grand Canyon, here.”
Daniel’s frown
deepened. “You did replace me in SG1
didn’t you?’
“Oh, yeah. We picked up this kid who’s kind of like you
except that he’s nothing like you. He
was visiting Earth on a diplomatic mission when his home world apparently blew
itself up.”
Daniel looked
distressed. “His world blew itself
up? The whole thing?”
“Yeah. The Tok’ra went by to check it out for
us. Apparently they were experimenting
with a powerful new explosive and had some kind of accident. There’s nothing left but smoking rubble.”
“My God, that’s
horrible! And the guy who’s been working
with you is the only one left? Is he all
right?”
“Took it surprisingly
well, I thought. But he’s heard so much
about you that he’ll probably worship at your feet. And he won’t be the only one. Hammond has a whole new appreciation for
exactly how lucky he got with you. He’ll
roll out the red carpet.”
Jack had a moment of
worry. “Are you sure this is what you
want to do? I know you weren’t happy
there for a long time, and it is the military, Daniel. It won’t change much. And besides, what if being there brings back
bad memories for us? For example, what
if being in the Gate Room reminds you of me shooting the android?”
Daniel stepped closer and
touched Jack’s chest with his fingertips.
“Jack, for me the Gate Room will always mean first and foremost a
certain ‘Spacemonkey’ hug.”
Then he turned away and
wandered a few steps before continuing.
“There’s something I wanted to say to you about the incident with
Reece.”
Jack jumped in, “You know
I really am sorry that it worked out that way.
I didn’t…”
Daniel interrupted
him. “I know, Jack. I understand now what happened, all the other
things that were going on that I didn’t know about at the time. I’m not still angry with you about that. This is something else. I wanted you to know that part of it was
always that I was angry with myself.”
He sank onto a stool. “I was horrified with myself, in point of
fact. I’ve done a lot of things that I’m
not proud of, that I find difficult to come to peace with. What I did to Reece was just another one.”
“What you did to
Reece? You tried to help her. You tried to save her.”
“I lied to her, Jack. I stood there and promised that I would take
care of her, that I would protect her.”
He grimaced bitterly. “I knew that
for the outright lie it was when I said it.
I could not for one minute protect her from anything, as was very
shortly proven. But she was like a
child. She was afraid and I told her she
could trust me. She believed me. It makes me sick to think about it.”
Jack reminded him gently,
“You were trying to save us all, Daniel.
It was a brave thing and nothing to be ashamed of.”
Daniel looked down at his
hands. “When was it that I became
capable of sacrificing innocent lives without blinking? Some time before the Summit, I guess.”
“I’m more sorry than you
can know that working with me has put you in the no-win situations that it
has. To your credit you fought it all
the way along. In fact, as I recall you
didn’t end up killing anyone at the Summit.
You almost got killed yourself trying to save Sarah. And you didn’t kill Reece, I did. That wasn’t your fault. Daniel Jackson is a man who cares about
people. Hell, he cares about funny
looking aliens, too. A lot of… beings…
are alive and better off today because of Daniel Jackson. But if you come back you’ll be put in the
position to choose between one life and another again. I guarantee it.”
Looking up at Jack,
Daniel’s eyes narrowed stubbornly. “This
break has been good for me. My thinking
is clearer than it’s ever been. If I go
back now I’ll fight even harder. I want
to help those…beings. I want to help you
and Sam and Teal’c and the Earth. But I
won’t lose my humanity to do it. I
refuse to. And I won’t let any of you,
either. I’m going to argue with you,
Jack. And a lot of the time I’m going to
win.”
A broad smile lit up
Jack’s whole face. “Nothing would make
me happier than to lose a battle to you.
Bring it on, Jackson.”
Daniel’s smile grew to
match that of Jack, then he went to the phone to make arrangements with his
supervisor. Jack started planning
everything out in his mind. Of course
when Daniel got back he would stay with Jack, just like before. He knew that Carter would try to be all
‘helpful’ in finding him another apartment, so Jack would have to firmly nip
that in the bud. He had every intention
of seeing to it that Daniel never got around to getting his own place. Neither of them would ever, ever, ever, ever
be alone again.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Blair’s insistence that he
needed to get outside and get some exercise finally won out and the four
friends found themselves walking along the well-tended grass of The Mall. Jim kept his hand on the small of Blair’s
back, both to offer support and to receive reassurance, while Jack and Daniel
teased and played, punching and shoving each other flirtatiously.
In the deepening twilight
they wandered slowly past the dark, low wall of the Vietnam Memorial, the glow
from the illuminated White House to the right and far to the left the small,
beautiful Jefferson Memorial. By the
time they reached the Lincoln Memorial and climbed the steps to gaze on the
majestic statue, Blair was ready to rest for a while. He and Jim sat with their locked hands
sheltered between them. Several steps
below them the other couple sat side by side, close enough that their shoulders
could touch if one leaned toward the other to murmur a comment. They were all mesmerized by the magical glow
of the tall, white form of the Washington Monument reflected in the half-mile
long pool. There was something about the
stately structures around them, shining in the darkness of the night, which
awed and uplifted them.
Jim had been quiet and
contemplative all evening, and Blair finally asked what he was thinking.
Jim squeezed his hand
tighter and gazed out over the rippling water.
“I’m not a religious man, Blair, you know that. But sometimes I wonder. Sometimes I could almost believe in
miracles.”
Blair really wanted to
hear more. “Miracles?”
“Yeah. Maybe not miracles. Maybe it’s magic. I was thinking about what Daniel said, about
how the Egyptians believed that by mixing different metals magical powers were
formed. That by combining two different
things they were transmuted into something entirely new and dynamic. Today it would only be chemistry, but to them
it was supernatural. I can understand
that.”
He went on quietly, his
eyes focused on some distant point. “I
feel like that’s happened to me, Chief.
I was one thing; Jim Ellison:
cop, ex soldier, Sentinel. I thought
that defined me. Then after you left I
was melted down into more basic components.
It was literally like being placed in a furnace and all those things
that I thought were important about myself burned away. I was liquid, unformed.”
He turned to look at
Blair. “Then I found you again. Somehow when we touched the essential me came
together with you and I became something greater than I could ever have been
before. I was reborn.“ Jim grimaced.
“There I go sounding religious, but there’s nothing I can call it but
miracle, magic, divine intervention, and I’m so grateful. I’m not reborn as the old Jim Ellison, but as
Jim, partner to Blair, who has a whole new chance at life. Who I am now is inseparable from you. I can’t be that person without you.” He shook his head as though to clear it. “Does any of this make sense?”
Blair nodded
solemnly. “Yes, it does. I feel the same way. It’s like two very different metals have been
blended into a new alloy through some cosmic alchemy. You were always a wonderful person Jim, don’t
ever think otherwise, and I was pretty good too most of the time. I liked myself. Then when we were apart my soul turned to
dust. You wouldn’t have recognized me,
Jim. Coming together again we’ve become
something greater. We’ve turned into
gold. That’s how I see us, our
relationship: precious and powerful and beautiful. What are the chances that we should have
found each other in the first place and both lived long enough to get to this
point? It’s like maybe there’s some
being that needs us to be together, needs what we can become and do to exist in
the world.”
Below them Jack laughed at
something Daniel said and a sparkling look passed between them. Blair speculated, “The same may be true for
those two as well. They’re both strong
individuals, but together? Is there any
force in the universe that can stop them?”
Looking around to make
sure they were slightly hidden by the shadow cast by a granite column, Jim
slipped an arm behind Blair’s back. They
sat together, aware of each other’s warm presence.
Blair went on, “The more I
think about it though, the less I think it’s a miracle. Not that I don’t believe in higher powers,
but most of this we’ve done ourselves. It may seem sudden to you because of your
crisis, but we’ve actually been building up to it for a long time. Just think of what happened after, you know,
Alex.”
“After you died.” Jim looked stricken and tightened his arm
around Blair.
“Yeah, after that. I know you remember, even if we’ve never talked
about it. And you’ve done a phenomenal
amount of work while we’ve been apart.
I’m so proud of you, Jim.”
Jim reflected on that for
a minute. “I think the connection we
made when our spirit animals merged saved my life, too. Later, in Peru, I had to make a choice. I could have joined with Alex and gone into
darkness, but I was able to choose you.
You were the light. It could have
gone either way, Chief, I was weak, but in the end I couldn’t let you go then
any more than I could let you go at the fountain. Any more than I could really let you go these
last months.”
Blair squeezed Jim’s
hand. “Exactly. We have choice in this. We’ve chosen to embrace each other and
whatever that brings in life. I think
that’s where the people who are looking for power through magic or money or
whatever have it wrong. Power comes from
within, from the choices you make. From
your ability to be open to losing yourself, not knowing what you will gain.”
Jim looked at Blair
shyly. “From love.”
Blair leaned into Jim’s arm and beamed up into
his face. A breeze, perhaps the breath
of the future, moved over his skin and through his hair. “Love. The most powerful force in the
universe, man. With as much of it as
we’ve got, we’re gonna work miracles.”
End
Story notes:
My apologies to the Museum
Support Center for the liberties taken.
My apologies to anyone involved in esoteric groups, also for the
liberties taken. No offense intended, it
just made for a good, mysterious villain.
While the myth of Isis and
Osiris is ‘real’, the Wing of Aset was entirely my invention.
The passage at the
beginning of the story, as well as the material quoted by Daniel, was
paraphrased from “Egypt Magic – Antiquity of Magical Practices in Egypt. www.touregypt.net/egyptmagic2.thm
“ .
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