“A bit of mango, blueberries, lime, ginger ...” Daniel answered.
“Ginger?” the older man asked with raised eyebrows. “I'm not so sure I want to drink it.”
“It's all healthy, Jack; you know ... good for you,” Daniel stated, leaning against the counter while he waited for their breakfast to cook.
“It might be healthy, but who'd want to drink it?” Jack questioned, still looking at the glass he held with skepticism.
“You're the one who told me to buff up,” Daniel replied, rolling his eyes.
“Suggested, not told, and only so you can protect yourself better in the field and against those NID idiots. I adore your delicious body whether its buff or not; and buff is one thing, but I never said anything about drinking fruitcakes,” Jack retorted.
Daniel chuckled, urging, “Try it, Babe. It's not so bad.”
Jack took a tentative sip, and then another, after which he shrugged.
“You're still alive,” Daniel taunted mysteriously, giving his lover the evil eye.
“Of course, I'm still ... Daniel ...” Jack replied, alarmed. “Exactly what did you ...”
Daniel couldn't hold his straight face and began to laugh, letting Jack know that he'd just been had.
“Very funny, Doctor Jackson,” the older man quipped.
“Thank you, Colonel O'Neill,” Daniel replied. He heard a sizzle and glanced back over his shoulder at the sausages that were frying heartily. “Oops.”
“Don't burn the meat,” Jack ordered.
“Aye, aye, Sir,” Daniel teased.
“Wrong service,” Jack responded. “And, Danny, let's stick with the regular juices -- apple, orange, protein ...”
Daniel just shook his head as he laughed in the kitchen. He rolled the sausages over and lowered the heat slightly.
“Jack ...”
“No, Daniel,” Jack instantly replied. “Boy, Dennis is still being a menace. Mister Wilson doesn't stand a chance. Danny, look at this,” he called out, looking over his lover as he held the comic section up.
~Okay, Jack. We'll have it your way ... through breakfast,” the younger man silently plotted.
====
Daniel glanced at his watch, then started the dishwasher. He wiped his hands on a towel, then smiled over at his unsuspecting lover.
~Time to go into action,~ the archaeologist determined silently. He started towards the living room where Jack had once again settled in on the sofa and was reading the paper, having advanced to the sports section. ~Oops!~ he thought, stopping to unbutton the top three buttons of his sky blue shirt, which was one of Jack's favorites. ~He, uh, likes skin ... mine, anyway.~
Daniel flinched at his brief bout of confidence. He was certain that he could sway his soulmate, especially with the display of extra skin. Normally shy and insecure, this type of exhibition was a bit unusual for Daniel. Yet, Jack loved him and told him so all the time, and, for some reason the younger man still couldn't fathom, his lover wanted him in every way, mentally and physically. So, on occasion, like now, he let his guard down and allowed himself to trust in Jack's love, using the older man's desire and affections to his advantage.
“Jack,” Daniel quietly called out upon entering the living room.
“Yeah, Love?” Jack responded, crinkling the newspaper for a second. He casually glanced up, then returned his gaze to the paper, only for his head to practically jerk up as he returned his focus to his soulmate. ~Oh, that's much better,~ he thought about Daniel's slight change in look. ~Hmm, he knows I like that. Brace yourself, O'Neill. He's up to something.~
The younger man smiled alluringly as he walked closer and then, doing something he only rarely did, he sat down on Jack's lap, crushing the newspaper to the older man's chest. The paper made crinkling noises as the two men kissed, their hands freely caressing the other.
After a few minutes of their tongues exploring the other's mouth and their hands tingling at the sensation of feeling the other's skin, Daniel calmly yanked the newspaper away from between them and tossed it towards the other end of the couch.
“I was reading that, you know,” Jack responded, though it wasn't full of much conviction.
“Jaaack,” Daniel spoke, the word drawn out tenderly as Daniel's finger gently ran over his lover's lips, then slowly moved down his chin. “It would only be a couple of hours. Think of it -- just you, me, nature ...”
“And forty or fifty other science teetotalers wanting to sniff nature's behind,” Jack whined. “Danny, we're in nature all the time.”
“Not like this,” Daniel responded, nibbling on his lover's right ear while his hand caressed Jack's neck.
“What's with you and birds all of a sudden?” Jack asked.
“Don't you like birds?” Daniel inquired and then nibbled on his lover's lower lip.
“I love birds, but I don't want to commune with them,” Jack responded, not eager to go for a long exploration of birds.
“Two, three hours tops,” Daniel spoke about the bird-watching adventure as he planted a huge kiss on his soulmate.
Jack groaned, then shrugged.
“Yes?” Daniel prodded.
“What a way to spend a Sunday,” Jack groused.
“That's my teddy bear!” Daniel exclaimed, placing more kisses on his lover as the two began some heavy duty making-out.
====
A week later, Daniel walked through the Stargate, returning with SG-11 from a three-day dig on P3X-888. It had proved very successful, and SG-11 was hoping to get Hammond to agree to a longer term project. Daniel, too, was anxious to return to the forested planet, though he knew his lover wouldn't be thrilled with him going on another mission without him quite so soon.
After the debriefing and post-mission obligations were fulfilled, the archaeologist went in search of his soulmate. He had been a bit surprised that Jack hadn't already tracked him down. In fact, it was highly unusual for the older man to stay away from the younger one after being separated from him for even a day, and this had been three days.
~Three days?~ Daniel lamented as he smiled at a passerby in the corridor. ~Forget the days; it's been four very long nights,~ he thought, since the mission had begun with a late night departure from the SGC, something Jack had groused about when he had heard about it and again when it had been time for Daniel to leave.
“Hey!” Daniel said, opening the door to his lover's office. It was unlocked, so he had assumed the man was inside. “Jack?” Daniel called out, slowly entering the office, but seeing no one inside. ~That's strange. I know he was supposed to be here.~
The young man blinked a couple of times, then turned and walked out, closing the door behind him. He walked the corridors with his head down, not sure what to make of his soulmate's absence. His heart began to ache, wondering if maybe his little charade the week before had cooled Jack's emotions. After all, bird watching wasn't exactly Jack's thing, and the older man had whined his whole way through the adventure.
It wasn't that Daniel was much of a bird watcher himself, but he did like to experience new things, and that day, he had just wanted to give it a try and maybe learn something new.
~You never know when we might need that information, too,~ Daniel rationalized to himself as he watched the elevator doors open. He sighed, ~I had a good time. I ... I thought he did, too, even though he ... complained the whole time. I mean, that's what Jack does; he ... whines.~
Still, Jack had just lived through three months that Daniel hadn't, and while the archaeologist could understand it intellectually, he suspected that living with it emotionally was a bit different. The time loops had repeated over and over again every six to ten hours, and when SG-1 had finally managed to end the nightmare, roughly three months had passed.
~We were only given three days downtime,~ Daniel lamented. ~I shouldn't have pushed the bird watching. Jack was tired. It was just ... another day to me.~
Afraid their love affair was over, a despondent Daniel returned to his office and threw himself into research. In fact, he worked well into the night, hoping the backlog of the last few days would keep him from sleeping. He knew if he did fall asleep, he'd be awakened with a nightmare, the nightmare of being alone again, and he just didn't want to go through that tonight.
====
“Daniel, what the heck is going on?” Jack asked, barging into his lover's office shortly after ten o'clock. He didn't even allow Daniel to answer, continuing, “I've been waiting for you all night. The pizza's cold.”
Daniel stared at his lover, feeling confused; relieved, too, but definitely confused.
“You ... what?”
“Daniel, don't sit there staring like a fish. You have feet. Use them!” Jack barked, walking to the worktable, slamming Daniel's book shut, and turning off the desk light. “Let's go.”
Stunned, shocked, surprised, and feeling totally off-balance, Daniel slowly began to move, that is until Jack shouted again, prompting the archaeologist to dramatically quicken his pace, grabbing his jacket and following his lover without even taking a second to put the jacket on.
Jack moved quickly down the corridors, mumbling the whole time about inconsiderate scientists. Daniel kept one pace behind the older man, not totally sure if they were going to the locker room so he could change or just straight to the check-out point. He was admittedly grateful when their destination was the locker room. He really didn't want to leave in the blue BDUs he was wearing.
“Hurry it up, Daniel,” Jack harshly demanded.
“Jack, I'm not a dog, so stop barking at me and ordering me around,” Daniel finally retaliated as his shock ebbed slightly.
“Barking?” Jack challenged.
“I may let you get away with that, to a point, on a mission, but not here,” the younger man stated sternly as he began to change his clothes.
“You could have called, Daniel,” Jack argued.
“Me? You were supposed to be here, working,” Daniel responded.
“I left you a message,” Jack stated.
“Mes...message?” Daniel said, gulping, having suddenly realized he hadn't checked his cell phone. ~Gawd, I'm an idiot.~
“Yes, you know, one of those things where you tell someone something, like, oh, 'Daniel, I'm at home, planning. See you at six'. Things like that. A mes...sage,” Jack enunciated slowly.
“I ... I just ... I mean, I ... gawd,” Daniel sighed, slumping down onto the bench in front of his locker. “I didn't check my cell phone.”
“You were expecting me to leave the message on your voicemail *here*?” Jack angrily asked.
“I was just ... surprised that you weren't, uh, well ...”
“Daniel, just change your clothes, and meet me at the house. We're having pizza, *cold* pizza,” Jack sarcastically spoke before turning and walking out of the equally cold locker room.
~I don't know if he hates me, or ... I just ... don't know,~ Daniel sadly lamented.
====
A bit hesitantly, Daniel entered Jack's country-style home. He felt more like an intruder than someone who lived there, or even a guest.
“Jack?”
Jack emerged from the kitchen, a beer in his hand, and said, “Pizza's in here.”
Daniel nodded as Jack returned to the dining area just off the kitchen.
~So much for a welcome home kiss. Four freakin' nights, and ... gawd, it must be over,~ Daniel decided, walking into the kitchen like a man on death row walking to his execution. He was a bit surprised when the pizza was still intact. Jack hadn't eaten a piece. In fact, the older man had a bowl of soup in front of him. “Soup and pizza?”
“You can have the pizza,” Jack replied. “I'm happy with this,” he added, taking a very small spoonful of soup, something which the younger man noticed.
Daniel sat down and reached for the supreme pizza, deciding to eat it cold. After all, Jack's house was very chilly at the moment, maybe not in temperature, but definitely in emotion. He was bracing himself for the inevitable. He'd always known it would happen, and apparently, today was the day.
“Eat it, Danny, don't study it,” Jack snapped, seeing his lover staring at the pizza like it was an artifact.
“Right,” Daniel replied dryly. He was about to take a bite, but instead dropped the piece of food back into the large cardboard box. “Jack, I'm sorry. I know you're unhappy. Let's just get this over with.” Daniel stood, saying, “I'll get my things and ...”
“WHAT?” Jack shouted, grabbing Daniel's arm and pulling him back down. “What's wrong with you?”
“Me? You're the one acting like a grizzly bear. I just figured you ... I mean, that you ... we ... that ...”
“Angel, why do you always assume the worst?” Jack asked, intentionally using the endearing moniker to drive home the fact that all was well between them. ~I can see it on his face; geez, he thinks we're through, again,~ he sighed, rubbing his forehead in frustration.
“Ha...habit,” the younger man replied as his eyes bore into Jack's for the truth. ~And the way you're acting.~
“I'm tired, and I'm hungry, and I've had a bad day. I'm sorry if I'm not being as lovey dovey as you'd like, but I'm not the one who didn't check my messages, am I?” Jack challenged as he finally released Daniel's arm. He took a spoonful of soup, a large one, and when he swallowed it, he grimaced and exclaimed, “Blast it!”
“Jack?”
“Too hot,” Jack said, stirring the soup with his spoon.
“Oh,” Daniel uttered, still feeling uncomfortable. “Are you sure ... about us?”
Jack groaned and glared at his lover, finally saying, “Yes, Daniel, I'm sure.”
“Then stop barking at me. I've been gone for three days and four nights, and you haven't even said 'hello'. You haven't even touched me,” the younger man said softly, quickly adding, “I don't count you bullying me around as touching me.”
“Danny, I'm sorry. Tomorrow, okay? Can we just eat and go to bed?” Jack asked.
“Fine,” Daniel responded, though not convinced. “Actually, I'm not hungry. I, uh, better go to the apartment. There's mail there, and I didn't spend any time there before the mission so ...”
All of a sudden, Daniel stood up and bolted from the kitchen, leaving Jack to just roll his eyes and groan. After a moment, he got up and jogged to the front door, catching Daniel just as he was about to open it.
“Bad day,” Jack reinforced, his hands on Daniel's shoulders. “I love you. Stay.”
“An order?” Daniel asked.
“A desire and a request,” Jack answered. “But ... would you mind if we just cuddled. I'd really like to cuddle.”
Daniel softened, hearing his soulmate's tone of voice. Both of them loved cuddling. Maybe it was because of the game they had to play at the SGC, sometimes acting like they hated each other, or maybe it was just because their love was so great that simply being together and caressing brought them joy.
“Okay,” Daniel agreed, leaning forward to kiss his Love.
The two kissed, their tongues going deep inside the other's mouth. Their passion was soaring, in spite of Jack's bad day and Daniel's doubts about what Jack had told him. Time apart was causing their bodies to react, despite what their minds were telling them.
The younger man leaned into Jack, moaning from their kisses, until suddenly, Jack let out a grunt and backed away, cursing. He raised his right hand to his cheek and walked quickly into the living room, swearing all the way.
“Jack?” Daniel asked as he followed the older man. “What's wrong?” He approached the sofa, standing within a foot of the sitting man. “Jack, talk to me.”
“It's my friggin' tooth,” Jack admitted.
“Tooth?” a surprised Daniel asked.
Jack sighed, then confided, “A few years ago, I was overseas. My back molar acted up, but I wasn't in the right place to have it tended to properly.” He leaned back against the sofa, looking up at Daniel as he continued, “I needed a root canal, but since I couldn't do that, the so-called dentist finagled the job, filling the tooth as best he could. I was supposed to have the root canal when I got back.”
“But you didn't?” Daniel surmised.
“Too many distractions, and I hate the dentist,” the older man stated.
“Jack, if it's acting up, you need to go,” Daniel replied.
“I *hate* going to the dentist,” the man-in-pain spoke.
“Do you love me?” Daniel dared to ask.
“What kind of question is that?” Jack snapped angrily.
“Do you want to kiss me?”
Suddenly, Jack realized what Daniel was getting at. He let out a sigh as he leaned his head back so that he was staring up at the ceiling. He used both of his hands to cover his face, wanting to bury the truthfulness of his lover's words.
“Go to the dentist, Jack,” Daniel said, turning and going upstairs.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Jack sighed, dropping his hands to his side. “That's easy for him to say.”
====
Two days later, at the SGC, Jack flipped the cover of the report he was looking at shut and snapped, “Just another planet with trees.”
SG-1 was in Sam's lab, discussing their next mission. The official briefing was scheduled for later that afternoon, and this was just an informal 'what's ahead' for the week team meeting.
“O'Neill, is there something about this mission that displeases you?” Teal'c asked, having noticed Jack had made nothing but negative remarks the entire morning.
“Why would you ask that?” Jack responded.
“You have been most disagreeable for two days. I suspect you have fur under your butt,” the Jaffa observed.
Everyone paused, staring in utter confusion at Teal'c. Daniel's eyes darted around the room, Sam looked down, and Jack just stared.
“Burr,” the colonel finally replied. “It's a burr, Teal'c, and it's under my saddle, not my butt.”
“Maybe,” Daniel snarked, ignoring Jack's intense stare for the next few seconds.
“I'm fine,” Jack finally intoned, standing up and walking to the other side of the room.
“Actually, uh, he has a toothache, and he's afraid of going to the dentist,” Daniel stated.
The archaeologist didn't want to tattle on his lover, but celibacy wasn't his thing, and with Jack's aching tooth and stubbornness, he was being forced into it. He hoped that by spilling the beans, their teammates might be able to convince the colonel to finally go to the dentist and get the much-needed root canal.
“Rat fink!” Jack retorted accusingly.
Daniel just shrugged, while Sam looked a little nervous. Teal'c, however, was as stoic and calm as ever.
“O'Neill, your reluctance to visit a dentist is not becoming to a warrior of your stature,” the Jaffa spoke, giving his CO a challenging look.
“Warrior of my stature?” Jack echoed, taking in the words and puffing out his chest just slightly. “Well, maybe I'll go.”
Sam tried to hide her chuckle, looking over towards the office door so that Jack wouldn't see her.
“It would be a disappointment if the young recruits were to discover that the second-in-command of the SGC were afraid to tend to the needs of his body. It would not be a good example,” Teal'c stated.
“Yes, well, there's that,” Jack agreed.
**And, there's sex!** Daniel pointed out via their special communication.
Daniel rarely said the word 'sex', being unusually shy on the topic except when actually in the middle of the act. Sometimes, though, he'd surprise his Love, and this was one of those times. It was a strategic move on the younger man's part. He wanted his lover, and the only way that was going to happen was if Jack gave in and visited the dentist.
Jack did a double-take looking over at his partner, then sighed, saying, “Okay, I'll go.”
“When?” Daniel asked, pushing the older man to take action now.
“Well, I can't go now, Daniel. We have a mission this afternoon,” Jack said sharply.
“You can make the appointment,” Daniel commented.
“Would you like to use my phone, Sir?” Sam asked, picking up the phone and putting it on the other side of the work table so it was nearer to her CO.
“You don't trust me,” Jack responded to his team.
Teal'c cocked his head, Sam moved the phone a bit closer to the table's edge, and Daniel simply stared at the colonel.
“FINE!” Jack grumbled, walking to the phone and picking up the receiver, but then not doing anything. “I don't have a dentist,” he said a moment later, shrugging his shoulders as if to say, 'that's that'.
“Use mine,” Sam offered, pulling a number out of her pocket.
At the same time, Teal'c responded, “I have seen commercials for this man; he has a big smile.”
Also speaking within seconds of the other two, Daniel stated, “Here are four names. I've checked them all out. Pick one,” while pulling out a list of names with phone numbers and shoving the phone closer to his Love.
“You all *planned* this,” Jack accused.
“Dial the phone, Jack!” Daniel ordered.
**Dictator,** Jack replied.
**Just do it, Jack, or you're going home alone tonight,** Daniel threatened, though he had no intention of carrying out that threat. Sex or no sex, the cuddling was good, and he would never leave Jack over a toothache -- at least, not yet. ~Come on, Jack.~
Jack groaned, but, taking the names, he reviewed them and finally began his quest to find a dentist he could deal with.
====
Mid-morning the following day, Jack was in the office of Doctor Henry Kinh. They'd already taken X-rays and done the basic examination of his teeth, most of which were in very good condition. The problem was just that one, nasty tooth in the back of his mouth on the right side. Jack explained why a root canal hadn't been done when the problem had originally occurred, though he left out the part about hating going to the dentist.
“Okay, Jack, it looks like we have no choice but to extract the tooth. It's split, and there's no way to repair it. I'm really surprised it hasn't caused you problems before this,” Henry stated, sitting down on the stool next to his patient.
Jack was in the brown leather chair, the device tilted all the way back, and responded, “The dentist told me at the time that he didn't know how long this would last. He said it could be weeks or months; turned out, it was years.”
The dentist pulled out a syringe, causing Jack to divert his attention to the ceiling, which had a poster of a 'Peanuts' cartoon on it.
~Good choice,~ Jack thought. “Remember, I *hate* pain. I don't want to feel a thing,” the tough-as-nails-when-he's-not-the patient colonel stated.
“I hear you, Jack,” the dentist replied calmly as he began to dull the area around the tooth to be extracted.
====
“I'm really sorry about this,” the dentist said, patting Jack on the shoulder. “Let's take another X-ray, and let Jack relax for a couple of minutes,” the man said to Yolanda, his assistant.
The chair was brought up to an upright position without Jack saying a word. He stared straight away, plotting the murders of anyone nearby. It had been over four hours since he'd walked into the dentist's office, and still, the extraction was not completed. He'd felt the prick of the numbing chemical against his teeth several times.
~And it friggin' well hurts,~ Jack had thought, though he had listened without complaint as Henry pounded away on the tooth.
One part of the deceased tooth had come out quickly, but after that, the remaining part of the tooth wasn't budging.
“It's been there a long time; it's being stubborn,” Jack jested as he responded to the dentist's comments about the tooth not coming out all the way.
A moment later, Yolanda had the thick chest protector against Jack once again, and then she proceeded to take another X-ray. As he cooperated, Jack continued to think of covert ways he could get his revenge against anyone and everyone responsible for his current torment.
~A zat would be good,~ Jack decided as he plotted and planned his retaliatory action.
====
Ten minutes later, Henry returned with Doctor Mary Moser, the co-owner of the Covington Dental Group. She proceeded to work on Jack herself, freeing more of the stubborn root that was so hard to extract.
Henry explained, “We've gotten over half of it out, Jack, but the root has grown into the bone. It's a defense mechanism that happens routinely, but it's not usually this difficult to take out.” He looked at Mary and asked, “Is it moving at all?”
“No,” Mary responded, removing her current tool and grabbing the drill. She was attempting to separate the root from the bone, but it just wasn't working. Again, she began trying to pry it out. “It's moving a little, but it's just not coming up.”
Another hour passed, and to Jack, it was almost like being back in the prison in Iraq. He'd endured five long hours of poking, prodding, and pulling, and still, one piece of the tooth remained. They'd given him so much numbing anesthetic that it was beginning to be of concern to Mary.
After a brief five minute break, Mary sat down and tried again, after telling Jack they couldn't risk giving him more of the numbing agent. Just then, she attempted to pull on the root, and Jack rebelled, raising his hand and letting out a groan.
When Mary removed the device, Jack said, “That's it -- no more!”
Mary nodded and looked at Henry, then said, “We'll be right back.”
~But, you aren't touching me anymore, you quacks,~ Jack thought. ~I'd really like to see a Goa'uld about now. I could use something to kill, if it didn't hurt so dang much.~
====
Yolanda placed gauze in the back of Jack's mouth, instructing him to leave it in for at least twenty minutes, and preferably thirty. She also gave him several extras pieces in case it continued to bleed once he got home.
Henry returned, explaining that one piece of the root remained. He didn't expect it would cause problems, but they'd need to check on it in about three weeks.
“You have a large gap back there, Jack, and it's going to take some time for it to heal. Eat only soft food for at least two weeks, and if you have any problems, feel free to call me,” Henry intoned.
~Yeah, right,~ Jack wondered. ~Hmmm, maybe this is what it feels like to be zapped with the Goa'uld ribbon device for hours.~
====
Jack spent the next thirty minutes in the pharmacy, waiting for two prescriptions, one an antibiotic, and the other a painkiller.
~Wish I were a woman,~ the colonel thought as he sat. ~I'd cry my eyes out waiting for this stuff. Crap, that hurts.~
When he got home, he removed the bloody gauze, replacing it with another one since it was still bleeding. He took the first of the pills and, as directed, lay down on the bed to relax. He was thankful when sleep took him.
====
“Hey,” Daniel said as he sat at the side of the large bed. He'd been there for quite a while, waiting patiently for his lover to awaken. Seconds ago, the older man had groaned and now, his eyelids were beginning to flutter open. “I love you,” the archaeologist intoned, sensing that Jack would like to hear those words from him at the moment.
“Love you ... ouch ... too,” Jack responded. **Danny, I can't talk. Hurts, dang it!**
“Okay, I'll talk; you, uh, communicate,” Daniel chuckled.
Jack relayed all that had happened at the dentist and that it had been virtually okay until that last attempt to remove the tooth. That one moment was like the proverbial last straw, and all of Jack's strength had deteriorated. He even admitted to wishing he was female in the pharmacy because it hurt so much he had wanted to cry.
**I tell ya, Danny, there is nothing worse in the world than tooth pain, and I should know. Iraq was ...**
Daniel reached out, his hand rubbing gently against his lover's forehead as he soothed, “Shhhh. Don't think about that, Jack. I know what you mean. The dentist can be painful, but it's over now. You'll be better soon.”
**Sleep. Danny, I need to ...**
Jack yawned, but then he grimaced. The movement had caused him enormous pain.
“Jack, are you okay?” Daniel asked.
“Leave me alone,” Jack begged as he rolled over, desperate to return to the bliss of sleep.
Daniel nodded, gave Jack a kiss on his forehead, and then backed slowly out of the room.
====
“Daniel, how's the colonel?” Sam asked quietly the next day, making sure no one was around.
The two were headed in different directions on the twentieth floor of the SGC when they had met up.
Daniel closed his eyes and sighed, “He's in a lot of pain, Sam, but I still had to sit on him to stay home today.”
“Maybe coming to the Mountain would help him,” the major commented.
“Sam, he's in pain, and the painkillers are putting him to sleep. He wouldn't make it through a briefing. Plus, he can't even talk. Moving his mouth at all hurts. He, uh, coughed this morning and took a double helping of the pills because of it,” Daniel explained.
“I've never heard of anything so bad, except for wisdom teeth,” Sam replied.
“The dentist says that in this instance, it's actually worse than having wisdom teeth removed,” the archaeologist explained.
“Really?” Sam asked, surprised.
“It's because there's a big gap that's open. Jack had already lost a tooth back there years ago, and that helped create this big space. I gotta tell ya, Sam; he's being a real bear ... when he's awake,” Daniel confided.
“Well, hang in there,” Sam said, smiling and patting her friend on his arm. “I'm sure the colonel will be his old self soon.”
“Being a grizzly bear *is* being his old self,” Daniel teased, earning laughter from Sam as the two went their separate ways.
====
“Jack, you have to eat something,” Daniel insisted that night.
**I'm sick and tired of soup, Daniel. Make me something else,** Jack demanded, a frown on his face as he pushed away the soup.
“Fine,” Daniel replied, taking the soup and returning to the kitchen, leaving Jack alone in the living room. ~You're such a grizzly, and it's been four days. How much longer?~
Sometime later, Daniel returned to the living room, setting down a plate of spaghetti on the TV tray.
“That's better,” Jack growled, not a hint of gratitude in his voice. “Water!”
The older man suddenly looked like he was about to have a stroke, and Daniel knew that speaking had aggravated the injury.
“Painkiller?”
Jack nodded, closing his eyes as he tried to focus on letting the pain pass. He couldn't wait for Daniel to return with the small, white pill. It was actually his second prescription. The first one had been for Vicodin, but it just wasn't cutting the mustard, so Jack had complained to the dentist, who promptly issued him another prescription for Norco, which was a little stronger. It may have been a smaller pill, but for Jack, it proved to be a more powerful relief from his pain. Both drugs did have one thing in common, though. Soon after taking one, Jack required sleep. It's the main reason why he'd actually taken a vacation from the SGC.
**Thanks,** Jack communicated when Daniel returned with the pills.
Jack sighed as relief began to flow through him within a couple of minutes, and then he tried to eat. The bad part was that he had to eat everything on the left side of his mouth. Eating wasn't so tough, but drinking anything proved to be a challenge as the liquid would almost always find its way over to the healing hole in the right side. He cursed when it happened again.
~Find me a Goa'uld. He wouldn't have a prayer,~ Jack thought as he struggled to deal with the pain. As always, it lasted a minute or two before ebbing, thanks largely to the painkiller. ~Good -- not much sauce on the pasta. Anything liquid or juicy is my enemy right now,~ he observed before taking a bite.
“How is it?” Daniel asked.
Jack nodded as he chewed, and Daniel took that for meaning it passed the O'Neill inspection.
====
“Daniel, my team finished their analysis on 359. Would you like to see it?” Sam asked from the doorway of the archaeologist's office.
“Sure, Sam,” Daniel responded, taking off his glasses for a moment and rubbing his eyes.
It was later in the week, and Daniel was beginning to wish he had been the one to have the extracted tooth. Life was far from fun at the moment.
“You look tired,” Sam observed as she walked to his worktable, slid over the report, and smiled sympathetically.
“I am. Seven days, Sam. It's been seven days,” Daniel sighed.
“That bad?” the blonde asked, her blue eyes full of concern for her friends.
“I can't blame him,” Daniel stated. “Everything he eats or drinks causes him to be in pain. A yawn, cough, or sneeze hurts, too. I tried putting on a tape of 'The Simpsons' last night -- bad idea.”
“I have a hard time imagining the colonel reacting badly to Homer Simpson,” Sam disputed.
“He can't laugh without aggravating the hole in his mouth. He'd laugh, and then he'd ... uh, never mind,” Daniel said, not wanting to admit to Sam that his lover was in so much pain that laughing that hard at his favorite comic characters had made tears escape from his eyes.
“I've never heard of anything being this painful, Daniel. Are you sure he's not faking it?” Sam asked, cocking her head slightly.
“He's not, and, uh, you can *trust* me on that one,” the archaeologist commented. The lovers had tried kissing again, but it was a no go. “He's hurting,” Daniel said, nodding.
~I don't want to know how he's so sure. Look at him -- he's blushing,~ Sam thought. “Well, anyway, here's the analysis. We have to give General Hammond our opinion by 0900 tomorrow. Do you think the colonel will be back for this mission?”
“I don't know. He has time stacked up. I'm thinking he should use it, Sam,” Daniel replied.
“Okay. See ya,” the major said, tapping on the worktable twice before turning and leaving the office.
Daniel sighed as he pondered whether or not his soulmate would return in time for this mission. It was just a standard recon, but would involve being gone overnight. Not having a clue what Jack would do, he turned his attention to the analysis Sam had just given him.
====
“It's an overnight mission, Daniel. I don't want you going,” Jack stated forcefully as the lovers sat on the sofa in the living room.
“It's just one night, and I don't know how I'd get out of it. I can't exactly tell the general that I have to take care of you because you have a toothache,” Daniel said.
Jack stared at his lover, shocking him when he stood and walked outside.
“Okay, what did I say?” Daniel sighed. He got up and followed the older man to the backyard, finding him seated on the patio steps. Quietly, Daniel sat down next to his partner, making sure their shoulders touched, something that had always been a sign of their unity, not only as a couple, but as friends. ~Take a breath; wait it out,~ he silently urged.
“Deja vu,” Jack quietly spoke.
“What?” Daniel asked.
“The last ten days haven't been a picnic for you, have they, Danny?” Jack asked. “I've been ordering you around, making you wait on me hand and foot, and just plain growling at you for almost anything.”
Daniel tilted his head slightly, not really wanting to answer. They'd been through this once before when Jack had come down with a bad case of the flu. Jack had treated his lover very badly during that time, and, in fact, Daniel had been on the verge of leaving Jack because of how bad it had gotten.
“That's okay, Love; you don't have to answer because I know,” Jack said, reaching over and taking Daniel's left hand in his. “I told you last year that I'm a rotten patient. I've tried to be better, but this thing ... crap, Daniel, it's a tooth, and it's caused me more grief than any torture I've experienced. It doesn't make sense, but that's how it's felt.”
“I know,” Daniel replied softly. “The truth is, Babe, you haven't been as bad as you were before, but ...”
“Still a challenge,” Jack said, risking a smile and soon regretting it.
“Don't smile,” Daniel teased, leaning into his lover a bit and putting his right hand on top of Jack's. “I know some people wouldn't understand, but you haven't been able to talk, eat, drink, laugh, or even touch your face like you normally would. Geez, Jack, you haven't even shaved, and that's so rare for you.”
“Crap, it ...” Jack began, feeling like he was a child for letting something like a tooth get to him.
“It hurts. I've seen you forget and rub your hand against your cheek. I've seen the grimace that's followed, and you're not that much fonder of pills than I am, Jack, and you've gone through the entire bottle of painkillers,” Daniel commented.
“It's being refilled,” Jack admitted. ~Hate that I still need it, but at least it's less than on the first day.~
“What did the dentist say?” Daniel asked, referring to the check-up his lover had gone to earlier in the day.
“It's healing, but he said to expect it to be another week at least, maybe two. He doesn't expect the piece of the root that they couldn't get out to be any problem, especially since I didn't have any infection. It's not that big. I need to watch how much I talk, and I still have to be careful what I eat. Geez, I want a steak,” Jack bemoaned.
“When you're better, we'll have steak every night for at least a week,” Daniel promised.
“A month,” Jack requested.
“Two weeks,” Daniel offered.
Smiling lightly and again regretting it, Jack shook his head.
“I miss you, you know,” Jack stated, referring to the fact that they still couldn't kiss passionately or make love like they normally would.
“I miss you, too, but, uh, I am here, Jack, and we're together,” Daniel spoke tenderly.
“That's all that matters, Danny,” Jack replied. “Okay, one night,” he agreed, going back to the mission. “You need a break from my whining.”
“Jack, I didn't mean to say anything to upset you. I'm just a little tired, but taking care of you is something I love to do,” the younger man intoned.
“I'd rather take care of you,” Jack teased.
“Oh, thanks a lot. You mean, you wish I was going through all of ... of this,” Daniel responded.
“No, of course not, Danny. I just meant that I like taking care of you,” Jack answered as the two locked eyes.
“Babe, I like taking care of you, too. It's just the grizzly's been out a lot lately, and eighteen hours off-world might ...”
“I understand,” Jack said, giving his lover a soft kiss on the lips. “I've been a bear.”
“Bearumpy,” Daniel teased.
“Excuse me?” Jack asked.
“Normally, Babe, you're a teddy bear; you're ... bearilicious, and I want to eat you up, but lately, you've been a grumpy old grizzly,” Daniel explained.
Jack nodded, unable not to laugh, as he said, “Bearumpy. That's a good one, Danny.”
“Thank you,” Daniel replied.
“I wouldn't know what to do without you,” Jack sighed as he leaned his forehead into his lover's. ~I don't ever want to find out, either. You are my life, my heart ... My Danny.~
“And, I wouldn't know what to do without you, either,” Daniel said, loving this special time together while silently counting the days until the return of Bearilicious. ~Another few days, and we're going to celebrate big time.~
“I love you, Danny.”
“I love you, too, Jack.”
With the sun setting in the distance, Jack and Daniel soaked up their love, each relishing their togetherness. It would still be two-and-a-half weeks before life returned to normal, and Daniel was truly able to devour his lover in the delicious fashion he had longed for; but when it did happen, both were left in euphoric states of bliss unlike any they'd yet experienced together. Bearumpy had gone into hibernation, leaving Bearilicious out to play.
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