Title: Friday Night Chats

Author: Secret Art

Date: 9^th November 2004

Category: angst, friendship

Pairings: Sam/Jack, Sam/Other

Spoilers: Chimera, general knowledge of events up until then

Summary: Daniel gets a late night visitor

Feedback: can only make me better

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author.

Jack grinned as Daniel finally opened the door. "Hey Danny boy!"

Daniel blinked, trying to wake himself up. "Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing here?"

"What are YOU doing here?"

"It’s my house."

"Oh." Jack looked around in confusion. "What am I doing here?"

Daniel sighed. "Probably exactly the same as every Friday, you went out, got drunk, got depressed about Sam not being around so came here."

Jack looked down at the floor, scuffing his shoe against the wall.

Daniel sighed, knowing that he couldn’t just call Jack a cab like normal, they had to sort it out eventually.

"You might as well come in." He moved to one side, waving his hand for Jack to enter.

Jack smiled sadly at his friend, stumbling slightly as he walked into the house, collapsing straight onto the couch.

Daniel closed the door with a sigh, taking his time as he walked towards Jack, unsure of what he was about to face.

"Jack? You’re going to have to talk to me about it sometime, that is why you keep coming here right?"

"I don’t want to be at home, it’s so quiet there."

Daniel sat in the chair opposite him, examining him as closely as any artefact. "It’s been quiet for a while now."

"I know, but it’s only now…only since…it never felt empty before."

"You lived on base Jack, you wouldn’t let yourself be at home long enough for it to be empty."

Jack didn’t reply, his focus moving to a point on his shoe.

Daniel shook his head silently, moving to switch on the TV, relaxing on the couch next to him as a historical documentary started.

"But you had to go home after Pete ended up at the base, you found it too painful to be around him, seeing how much she worried. So you went home, but it was only once you got home that you actually realised how empty your home now is."

"How do I get it back?" Jack looked towards the TV, barely focusing on what was happening, letting the words surround him, dim down the noise in his head.

"She’s moved on Jack, I don’t know if you can." He sighed, rubbing his head with his hands. "She hasn’t talked to me about it, or Teal’c, but Teal’c told me what happened, well as much as he knew anyway. She wasn’t going to wait forever for you to open up, it wouldn’t be fair on her. Jack, she waited nearly two years, which is a lot longer than many people would have in her position."

Jack nodded, feeling his walls slowly starting to fall. "I was an idiot Daniel. I pushed her away, I pushed her so far away that she had to leave." He laughed harshly. "She was right." At Daniel’s confused look he continued. "She wouldn’t sell her house, said that we’d need it. I never understand what she meant, but she knew; she knew that I’d go back to my old ways, that I’d push her away, that it wouldn’t last. So what was she doing with me in the first place?"

Daniel smiled. "That I do know. She loves you Jack, always has always will do. That’s why she risked the pain; that’s why we all do. If we weren’t willing to accept the risk none of us would ever stand a chance. She just needs someone Jack, and you haven’t exactly been open lately, so she turned to someone else."

"And now I’ve lost her forever." Jack sank into the couch, looking up towards the ceiling.

Daniel just watched him, seeing the walls raising quickly, knowing that any further conversation was pointless.

"I should get home, you need your sleep space monkey, big mission in the morning."

"They’re ruins."

"Exactly," he lifted his head, slowly climbing to his feet before patting Daniel on the head. "And we all know how much you love your ruins."

Daniel watched in silence as Jack called a cab, appearing completely sober and totally in control.

"Jack."

"What?"

"She won’t be with him forever. She’s still married to you, which means a lot more than you probably realise."

Jack looked at him, but Daniel couldn’t read him, didn’t know if what he had said was getting through, or if Jack already knew it and just needed to hear it from someone else.

They waited in silence for the cab to arrive, Daniel turning back to the documentary, listening to what Jack was doing, not surprised when he barely moved at all.

Hearing the cab Daniel finally turned to look at him, seeing him in pretty much the same position he had been in before.

"I should go."

"Sure… Jack."

"Yeah?"

"I’m free most Fridays."

He smiled, laughing slightly before leaving the house, Daniel waiting for the car to leave before switching off the TV and heading back to bed.

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