Notes: Once again, this is unbeta'd; all mistakes are mine.

"Daniel!"

'Mmm...wha'?'

"Daniel! Damn it, wake up!"

'No way...comfy. Nice and dark; warm, safe...doesn't hurt here; wanna sleep.'

"Daniel!"

'Ow! What the hell was that? Talk about your rude awakenings...God, it's not like I don't hurt enou--okay. Okay, ow. That's my chest; oh my God, that hurts!'

"Fuck, I know it hurts, I know; hang in there, Daniel. Just hang on--help's on the way."

'Jack? That's Jack.'

"Yeah buddy, it's me. Open your eyes, okay? I have to see--you have to stay awake, all right? Carter and Teal'c are gonna bring in the cavalry and then we'll blow this pop stand."

'Scared? Jack sounds scared. Jack doesn't do scared, and if he does, he sure as hell never shows it. I must be dying. Or dead. I'm dead again?'

"No. No, you're not dead--you're not gonna be dead, Daniel. Just...open your eyes."

I don't even realize my body is complying with his orders, but suddenly Jack's face manifests itself in front of me, dark eyes a stark contrast to the drained face they're set in. A deep grey sky is Jack's backdrop, and I become aware that cold liquid is finding my forehead and hair where Jack's body isn't blocking it. Rain. It's raining.

A funny, wry smile crosses Jack's face, not reaching his haunted eyes. "Yeah. Yeah, we picked a hell of a day to come out here, huh? Shoulda waited for the dry season."

Come here? Where's here?

Did I say that out loud? I must have, because the smile disappears, and Jack's face grows even grimmer. "P4C-629. Remember? Carter wanted to play astrophysicist extraordinaire with that comet, you and I decided to nosh with the locals...?" Oh...right. Did we piss them off or what? Become human sacrifices? Because it feels like someone lit a bonfire on my chest.

"Nah. Everything went off without a hitch...we ran into a bit of trouble on the way back to the 'gate. That's all. You took a bit of a tumble."

A bit? I crane my neck to try and get a better look at what seems to be compressing my lungs and sending sparks shooting to all my extremities, but Jack's hand is gentle as it pushes me back. "Don't. Don't try and sit up; you're gonna be fine. Trust me."

An annoying, niggling voice in the back of my head scoffs at this and reminds me of a few certain instances where my trust in Jack failed me. "Daniel. Shut up. Is that clear enough?" After everything that's gone on the past few months, the way I've been pushed aside--our friendship has been pushed aside--he expects me to just welcome him back with open arms?

"I know." Jack's voice is quiet, devoid of anger or frustration; just...hollow. "Dumb choice of words."

Shit. I said that out loud? I don't know why I don't know when I'm speaking and when I'm not. I feel...detached. Floaty. Dampness of my chilled clothes plaster them to me like a second skin, cooling the harsh, hot pain in my chest and abdomen. But it feels like I'm getting the peripheral sensation of it; as if I'm being pulled away from the pain, bit by bit. "Don't." Jack sounds alarmed now. He's alarmed, I'm alarmed...but it doesn't matter. I can just let go, surrender to a meaningless death on a no-name planet--but at this point, if the pain goes away, it won't matter how I die. Don't want to feel this--this ache that threatens to crush me into the earth.

"Don't!"

My eyes open again--I closed them?--as hands roughly shake my face. Jack is there, closer than before, hands on either side of my face. He's still looking and sounding pissed, but there's an edge to his expression, something that startles me. "J..jack?"

"Jesus," he expels on a harsh exhale. "Don't do that. Don't say that--stay with me here, Daniel. You can do this--piece of cake." He hunches a shoulder and turns his face slightly, brushing the material of his jacket against his eyes, not relinquishing his grip on me.

"What...what happened?" It's hard to get a breath; whatever I hit must have punctured a lung--or both of them.

Jack shifts slightly, and I feel his hip bump my side as he sits down. "The rain started as we were heading back from the village," he says, gaze holding mine. "We're at the bottom of a shallow ravine right now; you, uh...you lost your balance--slipped. It was hard to see--shouldn't have moved ourselves out of the village until it passed."

"What did I hit?" I force out as yet another wave of pain washes over me. Christ, whatever it was hit me hard.

"You...you kinda rolled over the side here. I started to follow you down, heard you yell. When I got here, rolled you over..." Jack swallows convulsively, and his gaze shifts unconsciously to my chest. I follow it as best I can, and for the first time, notice something...

What the hell is that?!

"Daniel! Easy; easy, calm down!" Jack's hands, turning my face to his; diverting my gaze from the--whatever it is sticking out of my chest. "It's okay; you're okay! Calm down; you have to breathe easy; slowly. Breathe, Daniel."

Christ, if I look as scared as he sounds, I'd give the girl in 'Psycho' a run for her money. No wonder! I've got a tree sticking out of my chest! Jack's voice filters through the haze of disoriented panic that suddenly sweeps over me, calming; he's trying to settle his own tone to get through to me.

"It's in there...it's deep, Daniel; I'm not gonna lie to you. It didn't...go all the way through. I don't want to pull it out though; I have no idea what kind of damage it can cause if I try. I cut it a bit--shortened it so..." 'So I wouldn't see it'

I grope blindly with my left hand, seeking purchase on Jack's wrist. His hand leaves the left side of my face and squeezes my hand hard, channeling strength through to me. His other hand pats my face gently, his thumb tracing idle circles over my cheekbone. "It's gonna be all right," he says confidently. "Carter and Teal'c are gonna bring Fraiser back, and she'll have you patched up in no time."

Despite the cold fear battling for dominance along with the searing pain in my chest and the cold of the rain beating down on us, I feel a sense of calm coming over me that for the first time since I woke up doesn't have anything to do with the floaty feeling of detachment that lingers on the edge of my consciousness. A rush of memory assails me; times just like these when Jack was there for me...different, but no less overwhelming pain of the staff blast I received on Klorel's ship nearly two years ago, the shocking, stabbing pain as my appendix seemed to spontaneously combust. Countless other instances over the years when Jack was right there, battling it out along with me or just sitting at my side, offering silent strength and comfort. I laugh, painfully, to myself as I realize that this is what it takes these days to bring back the feeling of family, of friendship that seems to have been lacking the past few months.

Jack's forehead creases in confusion; he must think I'm going nuts. "What's so funny?"

I shake my head slightly. "I missed this," I admit, and then chuckle again as his face goes blank. "This...friendship thing."

I've got to be loopier from the pain than I thought--I'd never put this out in the open, otherwise. Neither of us would. It's just not something we do.

Jack's eyes grow darker, and he ducks his head slightly. "I know," he says simply, then abruptly lifts his head to meet my gaze again. "The past...few months have been..." he flounders for the proper words, then shakes his head, squeezing my hand a little tighter. "I'm sorry," he says solemnly, taking me by surprise. "I've been acting like a bastard lately; I know it."

Okay, this was unexpected. "Why?" I find myself asking. Hey, since we're being honest and open here.

Jack snorts. "Jesus, I don't know...I guess...you were getting too close, I think. I was getting too close. Things always get completely fucked up when people get this close, especially in the kind of work we do, and there's been enough of you dying or coming close in the past few years to...I don't know. Make me...leery, I guess."

My eyes start to burn, and I swear vehemently as I realize that I'm going to wuss out and cry here. I can always try and pass it off as rain, or tears of pain...Jack's thumb swipes under my eyes, and he forces a slight smile. "I'm sorry," he repeats, but suddenly his voice is far away; so far away...a peal of thunder drowns out the rest of his words, and my head is starting to spin. Darkness clouds the edges of my vision, and I watch Jack's face twist into an expression of horror, his mouth forming words I can no longer hear, as the world goes mute and the picture fades to black.

=====
=====

The first thing I'm aware of when I wake up...well, it's the fact that I'm awake at all. Familiar, welcome sounds filter into my consciousness. The soft beeps of machinery that tells me someone--apparently me--is being monitored (and apparently I'm alive!), soft, muffled voices carrying from across the room...

Light filters through the darkness of my closed eyelids and I experimentally open them slowly. I manage to lever them to half-mast before I have to slam them shut past the glare of the overhead lamp. A chair nearby suddenly scrapes back, sending a slice of discomfort through my foggy head, and I feel my right hand, which I become instantly aware is held in some warm weight, squeezed gently.

"Daniel?"

I turn my head toward the sound of the thick, soft voice, immediately aware of who is at my side. "Jack?"

A soft exhalation that sounds suspiciously shaky escapes my companion, and the light overhead clicks off as I squeeze one eye open as wide as I can. Jack is sitting beside me, one hand wrapped around mine, the other dry-washing over his face before pulling away to reveal exhausted eyes that brighten slightly in a welcoming smile. "Hey Danny Boy; welcome back."

I breathe in deeply, marveling at the fact that it doesn't kill to expand my lungs anymore. That crushing weight on my chest is gone, and the searing ache has dulled to a tolerable hum. "I went somewhere?"

Jack's face tightens, and his free hand finds its way to my hair where it sits comfortably. "Yeah." He sniffs, and I realize I cut it way too close again.

"Doctor Jackson." Voice quiet, relieved and surprised, Doctor Fraiser appears at the other side of my bed, a warm smile on her face. "Welcome back--you had us all very worried."

"When did I..." I trail off, trusting them to pick up on the rest of my question. Last thing I remember was getting some things out in the open with Jack before everything just closed off.

"About eight hours ago," Janet replies. "You were unresponsive when we found you and Colonel O'Neill at the ravine. It was...difficult to revive and stabilize you enough to bring you home, but once we got here the, uh, object in question was safely removed from your chest." She smiles tightly. "We had to repair a tear in your right lung, and you have a few broken ribs, but luckily that was the worst of the damage the branch caused." She quickly checks out my vitals, scribbles a few notes on my chart, and leaves us with a smile. I turn immediately back to Jack, who is studying me with unusual seriousness.

"Unresponsive?" I choke out.

Jack nods. "You were dead," he admits, and the fact he doesn't dance around the subject tells me just how shaken he is. "While we were talking, you just...your eyes--they sort of glazed over. I yelled at you, shook you--you just slipped away." He clears his throat, and the hand in my hair tightens slightly before tousling it gently. "Don't do that. Not anymore."

My own throat closes over and I nod. "Are we okay?" I venture timidly.

As usual, Jack reads into the profound, endless inferences of that question, and he smiles, a genuine smile, patting the side of my face and ruffling my hair again. "Yeah, Daniel. We're fine. Better than fine."

I just think it sucks for something like this to happen to make us realize it.

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The End

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