The Long and Winding Road

 

• RATING:          PG-13.
• CONTENT WARNINGS: Post-Meridian, Language, Danny whumping (mild)
• SPOILERS:       FiaD, Legacy, Meridian, Fallen
• AUTHOR'S NOTE: Finally – chapter 2! I cannot believe that it has been over a year since I posted chapter 1, which means I’ve actually been writing this for well over that. Unfortunately,  this isn’t over yet – part 3 is still to come. Thanks as always to Ali for her wonderful beta job and guidance when this fell off the right track into the wilderness. Thanks for putting it back onto the right path. I also really want to say a heartfelt thanks to the SG-1 Heartsisters. Without your invaluable encouragement and suggestions, this may never ever have been completed – so thank you, thank you, thank you – you guys rock!  

 

 

Back to Chapter 1

 

Chapter 2 - The SGC

 

Two days after Daniel’s return to the SGC, Janet met with General Hammond and Jack to discuss Daniel’s progress and the next steps in his rehabilitation and integration into normal life.

 

“Well sirs, the long and short of it is, Daniel is getting restless.”

 

Jack interrupted Janet’s report with a derisory snort. “Restless? I’d say Daniel is going stir crazy stuck in the infirmary all day.”

 

Janet just glared at him before continuing with her report. “On the whole I’d say he’s making good progress, despite the boredom factor. He is remembering more each day and so far we’ve not had any unpleasant flashbacks since that one in the hospital.”

 

“This all sounds very positive Doctor,” interjected Hammond.

 

“On the whole it is, sir,” replied Janet. “Daniel seems to have inadvertently come across a whole new therapy for his amnesia, which is enabling him to recover more memories than we would have expected in the short timescale.”

 

“New therapy? Which is?” asked Hammond.

 

“Water, sir.” Both men frowned at this, so Janet elaborated. “Daniel’s flashback in the hospital occurred after he had just taken his first shower after regaining consciousness. What we’ve found is that he seems to be recovering more memories if he’s immersed in water. Dr Mackenzie has theorised that this may be a physical way of achieving regression therapy.”

 

“Regression therapy?” Jack frowned.

 

“There’s a whole school of thought that believes that by regressing the patient back to the time of their birth, and possibly beyond, you can unlock things that have been suppressed by the conscious mind.” Janet didn’t look like someone who was completely convinced by this.

 

“Oh, I’ve heard of that – aren’t they the flakes who think you can find out if you’ve been reincarnated by going back past your own birth or something?” Jack scowled. “What’s that got to do with Daniel?”

 

“Well, Dr Mackenzie believes that Daniel’s immersion in water is something like going back to the womb and that this is a kind of rebirth…” Janet tailed off at the looks the two men were giving her. “Okay, I don’t agree with it either, but all I know is that it seems to be helping Daniel recover his memories without too much trauma or upset, so for the time being I’m happy to let him carry on taking as many baths and showers as he likes.”

 

Jack smiled, remembering how often he had visited the infirmary recently, only to be told that Daniel was in the bath. “Well that does explain why the desert rat has suddenly become a water-baby.”

 

“So where does this leave us Doctor?” asked Hammond.

 

“Well sir, I can see no reason to keep Daniel in the infirmary any longer. Provided that he is under supervision most of the time, and we keep a close eye out for any problems, I think we could move him into a VIP room.”

 

“What about letting him go home?” asked Jack.

 

“One step at a time, Colonel,” smiled Janet. “I just want him to familiarise himself with the SGC and what goes on around here before we start to reacclimatize him with the outside world.”

 

*

 

Later that day, Jack showed Daniel into the VIP room that was to be his temporary home. He had filled it with as many bits and pieces of Daniel’s stuff as he had managed to lay his hands on at short notice.

 

“This isn’t where I live,” murmured Daniel on entering the room. “I live somewhere else.” His brow furrowed as he viewed the room.

 

“It’s going to be home for a little while,” replied Jack. “Just until the Doc says you can leave.”

 

“This is my stuff,” murmured Daniel, touching a pottery bowl. His frown deepened. “This isn’t my home but it is my stuff.”

 

“That’s right. We brought your stuff here so you could feel more at home.” Jack scrutinised the younger man as he wandered around the room, occasionally touching an object, or moving it somewhere else. Daniel’s air of confusion was slightly disconcerting.

 

Daniel had stopped in front of the closet. He opened the door and stared at the clothes folded up on the shelves in there. “Are these mine?” he asked.

 

“Yes Daniel, those clothes are for you,” replied Jack. He strode over to the closet and closed the doors. “Tell you what, why don’t we go and see who’s around?” He gently steered Daniel through the door.

 

The two of them took the long way round to Sam’s lab. Jack did this deliberately, to allow Daniel a chance to get a feel for the atmosphere of the SGC, and to see as many people as he could in as casual a manner as possible.

 

By the time the two of them had arrived at their destination they had managed to take in a lot of the SGC and met up with quite a few people, all of whom were delighted to see Daniel. Jack watched the younger man carefully; trying to work out what Daniel was feeling each time.

 

For the most part, Daniel came across as pleased to see the bearer of the good wishes, but at the same time he seemed somewhat withdrawn and even slightly brittle in his manner. Jack realised after a couple of these encounters that only he appeared to be aware that Daniel wasn’t quite his normal self.

 

They strolled into Sam’s lab to find the Major staring intently down a microscope.

 

“Hey Carter, whatcha doin’?” asked Jack.

 

“Sir. Daniel! Janet finally let you escape from the infirmary then?” Sam smiled at Daniel, who was staring around him, a frown etched deeply onto his features.

 

“Yes…” he murmured, looking intently at the various bits of electronic gadgetry spread over the workbench in front of him. “What’s this?”

 

“Oh, that. I’m trying to produce some micro circuits that could be used to control naquada generators, if we can manage to reproduce generators small enough to be portable. You remember the one that Merrin brought with her; well - we think we can condense that further still…”

 

“Carter! Enough! Please!” Jack held up his hands in an exasperated manner in an attempt to silence his 2IC.

 

“Sorry sir.” Sam looked a little embarrassed. Daniel continued to ignore the two of them and study the equipment on the bench.

 

“Actually, Daniel and I thought we’d stop by and invite you and Teal’c to join us for a rather late lunch, something by way of a small celebration for Daniel’s release.” Jack glanced at Daniel’s back without really registering what he was doing or what was actually on the bench. “I know it’s only the commissary, but it’ll have to do as Doc won’t let Danny here…”

 

An agonised yell cut through Jack’s words. He and Sam both rushed to see what Daniel had done. He was holding two of the fingers on his left hand.

 

“Daniel, what did you do?” Sam asked.

 

“It was hot,” Daniel said, his voice sounding like a petulant child. He glared at the offending article.

 

Sam checked Daniel’s fingers. They were very definitely burnt. He had touched the soldering iron that she had been using. She scowled at the burns. “You’re fortunate that it’s only a very small soldering iron, the one I use for electronics. It’s still plugged in. A larger one would have inflicted serious damage. I’ll phone Janet.”

 

Jack dragged Daniel over to the sink in the corner of the room, and forcibly held the burnt fingers under cold running water. “What did you want to touch that for, for crying out loud? Didn’t you know it was hot?”

 

“No,” muttered Daniel. “I wanted to know what the shiny silver stuff on the end of the stick was. It didn’t look hot.”

 

Having completed her phone call, Sam now joined her team mates by the sink. “Sorry, it was probably my fault. I shouldn’t have left it so close to the front. I should have unplugged it or at least warned him that it was still hot. Sorry.”

 

Jack realised that Sam was apologising to him rather than Daniel. “Well Daniel should have had more sense than to touch something that might be hot,” he said pointedly.

 

“Didn’t know it would be hot,” grumbled Daniel. He tried, for the umpteenth time, to pull his fingers out from under the stream of water, but Jack held them firmly in place.

 

Janet swept into the room, armed with a bag and accompanied by an orderly. She surveyed the scene before her and instantly homed in on Daniel and his fingers. “What happened?” she demanded angrily. “I only released him to your care two hours ago and already he’s hurt. Keep going at this rate and he’ll be permanently in the infirmary.” She glared at Sam and Jack.

 

“It’s my fault Janet. I touched the…” Daniel struggled to find the right word, and failed. “I touched the hot stick,” he volunteered.

 

“Hot stick?” Janet glared at Sam.

 

“He touched the soldering iron,” replied Sam. At Janet’s horrified expression she added hastily “It was only a small one, you know, the ones we use for electronics...”

 

Janet looked at the burns, and her frown deepened into a scowl. She dressed the wound with a wet wrap. “Right Daniel, infirmary now.”

 

“But we were going for lunch,” protested Daniel.

 

“Well, we see about getting that sorted out later, but right now, those burns need sorting out. You’ve got some nasty blisters there.” Janet placed one hand firmly in the small of Daniel’s back and forcibly steered him towards the door. Despite the height difference, Daniel definitely gave Jack the impression that he was no match for the infuriated doctor. The two of them swept out of the room with Jack and Sam in hot pursuit.

 

“Doc!” Jack rushed to keep up. For someone with such short legs, Janet sure could shift when she had a mind to.

 

“Later Colonel,” Janet growled. They arrived in the infirmary and Daniel was bundled into a cubicle. As Jack stepped up to follow him, the curtains were drawn in his face.

 

“Okay, I can take a hint,” Jack turned and looked at Sam.

 

“Why would he have touched it sir? Daniel’s got more sense, hasn’t he?” she frowned as she tried to understand what had happened.

 

“I don’t know Carter,” Jack stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at the curtains surrounding the cubicle in front of them. “I only hope Doc lets him out again. He’ll go nuts if he has to stay in here a second longer than he has to.”

 

The two of them sat in silence, waiting for Janet to finished tending to Daniel’s burns.

 

Eventually she came out from behind the curtains around the bed and came over to the two of them. “Can I have a word in my office?” she asked in a tone of voice that implied that it wasn’t optional.

 

Once the three of them were in Janet’s office, the doctor indicated that they should sit as she perched on the edge of her desk.

 

“What is it Doc?” asked Jack.

 

“Is Daniel…?” Sam started.

 

“The burns aren’t that serious, thank goodness,” Janet replied. “But talking to Daniel about what happened has indicated that there may be other, more serious problems.”

 

“Like what?” Jack leaned forward in the chair.

 

Janet sighed. “It looks like there may be a behavioural issue.”

 

“Behavioural?” Jack was confused.

 

“Yes. Daniel’s reasons for touching the soldering iron and his reaction afterwards are very much in line with those you might normally expect from a three year old child.”

 

Sam and Jack sat open mouthed for a while as they digested the information. Eventually Jack broke the silence as he tried to make sense of what Janet was saying.

 

“So you think Daniel’s got the mentality of a three year old?”

 

“No Colonel, that’s not what I said. I said that it’s his behaviour that’s like a child.” Janet frowned for a moment before explaining. “Actually, I’d say it’s his ability to reason that’s like a toddler’s. It’s like Daniel’s amnesia has affected the parts of his brain that control rational thought and common sense. Like with a toddler – they tend to think along the lines of ‘I want to do it. Why can’t I do it?’ but then they don’t take the ‘why not’ thought any further. They find things out the hard way – by experiencing them rather than thinking them through first.” She looked at Jack, whose face was screwed up in a frown. “Does that make sense Colonel?”

 

“Kinda…”

 

Sam butted in. “Are you saying that Daniel’s a thirty-eight year old toddler?”

 

“A thirty-eight year old, six foot tall toddler, yes.”

 

Sam looked aghast.

 

Jack continued to sit in silence as he mulled over his past dealings with toddlers. He chewed his lower lip and frowned. “Well, this won’t help his stubborn streak any.” He shook his head at the thought of clashing head-on yet again with Daniel over the slightest little thing.

 

“What does all this mean, Janet?” asked Sam.

 

“Well, we’ll have to keep a much closer eye on him for a start. Treat him as you would a child, so that means removing potential dangers, not letting him wander off alone, that kind of thing.” Janet met Jack’s eyes. “We’ll probably have to prepare to answer thousands of difficult questions as well.”

 

“But he’s still way smarter than most people,” protested Jack. “God knows what kind of questions he’ll ask.”

 

“I think they’re actually more likely to be about the basic type stuff, rather than the stuff that only Daniel could possibly know anything about,” Janet gave a wry smile. “Prepare for the ‘where do babies come from?’ type of question.”

 

Jack grimaced. “It was hard enough trying to explain that stuff to a seven year old kid. I’m not sure I’ll be able to talk to Daniel with a straight face. Especially not as he’s actually… done it.” He shook his head as if trying to clear his mind of the thought, and then looked at Janet. “Tell you what Doc, if he asks that particular question I’ll let you answer it.”

 

Janet scowled back at Jack. “Whatever. Anyway Colonel, I’ll let you take Daniel for his lunch and I don’t want to see him before tomorrow morning when I want to check those burns. You. Are. In. Charge.” She raised her eyebrows significantly and Jack got the message loud and clear. “In the meantime, I’ll contact Dr Mackenzie and try to arrange a time for him to come and reassess Daniel.”

 

Jack and Sam retrieved Daniel from the cubicle where Janet had left him. He was talking to one of the nurses.

 

“Hi Jack. I’ve been told that it’s chocolate chip cheesecake for dessert today.” He indicated that the nurse was the source of this information with his head.

 

“Well in that case we’d better get you there before it all runs out,” Jack patted Daniel’s arm, forgetting to give any kind of warning sign before he did so. Daniel flinched slightly. “Sorry,” murmured Jack. At least it was an improvement on the screaming that had been Daniel’s reaction the first time Jack had touched him after his descent.

 

“S’okay.”

 

“How are the fingers now?” asked Jack, changing the subject.

 

“Still sore,” Daniel held up two heavily bandaged fingers.

 

“Ouch,” mouthed Jack in sympathy. “Well, now you know not to touch Carter’s things.”

 

“Sorry Daniel,” muttered Sam guiltily.

 

“Not your fault Sam. I should have known better than to touch without checking first,” Daniel replied.

 

“Why change the habit of a lifetime?” murmured Jack under his breath.

 

The three of them ambled towards the commissary, picking up Teal’c en-route.

 

As the four of them stood in front of the serving counters, surveying the rather dubious offerings that masqueraded as food, Jack realised that Daniel was staring at the food displays with an expression of rapturous delight on his face. In fact, the last time he had seen Daniel look like that it had been associated with some significant archaeological find about three years previously. With a pang of regret, Jack realised just how long ago it had been.

 

The server behind the counter smiled at the archaeologist. “Nice to have you back, Dr Jackson. What can I get for you?”

 

“What’s that?” asked Daniel, pointing at one dish.

 

“Lasagne.”

 

“What’s lasagne?”

 

“Just about edible if you’re really lucky,” Jack muttered to Sam, who tried to hide her smirk.

 

The server described the dish to Daniel, but he still looked confused.

 

“Here,” said the man, scooping out a small amount on a teaspoon. “Taste it.”

 

Daniel took the offered spoon, and tasted the lasagne. His facial expression touched on delight and went right through it to ecstasy.

 

“You want some of that?” asked the server.

 

“Oh yes. And what’s that?” asked Daniel, pointing to another dish.

 

“Chicken chasseur.”

 

“Can I try that please?”  For five minutes the rest of SG-1 watched as Daniel tasted everything on offer and wound up with a small portion of each item on his plate. Despite the small quantities, his plate was heaped with food. He added several desserts and a couple of packets of sandwiches.

 

“You really gonna eat all of that?” Jack asked in amazement.

 

“Oh yes,” replied Daniel, his voice full of delight at the promise of this feast, as he dunked the corner of a ham and swiss sandwich into the chasseur sauce. He took a huge bite and grinned. “This tastes wonderful,” he said round the mouthful.

 

“Whatever you say,” replied Jack. He and Sam exchanged a fond smile.

 

“Is that not an unusual combination of flavours Daniel Jackson?” asked Teal’c, his face solemn.

 

“I don’t know. Is it?” asked Daniel round a mouthful of lasagne and quiche. He was shovelling food into his mouth as if he was starving.

 

“Slow down a bit!” advised Sam. “You don’t want to make yourself ill.”

 

“The combination alone will do that,” muttered Jack, sotto voce.

 

“I’m okay Sam,” grinned Daniel, dunking a dill pickle into raspberry yoghurt and taking a huge bite. “Really,” he added indistinctly in response to his three friends’ slightly disgusted expressions.

 

“Just remember that if you get injured or ill again Janet will have you permanently chained up in the infirmary before you can say ‘Kree’,” warned Jack.

 

The four of them ate their lunch, while Daniel asked an incessant stream of questions with regard to the people around them in the commissary. The others patiently answered the questions that were decipherable around the great mouthfuls of food, and waited for the next one.

 

“Not so fast Danny. You’ll give yourself indigestion.” Jack shook his head fondly as the archaeologist stuffed his face.

 

“Is the food here always this wonderful?” asked Daniel.

 

“Wonderful?” Sam laughed. “I’ve heard you describe the food here in many ways, but I don’t believe I’ve ever heard you call it ‘wonderful’ before.”

 

She and Jack exchanged a knowing look before chorusing “Tastes like chicken.”

 

“Daniel Jackson, I believe I once heard you say that the food here tastes so bad it has to be good for you,” added Teal’c.

 

“I did?” Daniel stared at Teal’c in disbelief. “Why would I say that?”

 

“I think we should get Daniel’s taste buds assessed,” muttered Jack. “There appears to be some lasting damage there.” He grimaced as Daniel took a mouthful of chocolate cheesecake dressed with sweet and sour prawns. “Better get some indigestion remedies in,” he added.

 

After they had finished their lunch - which took quite a while as Daniel had taken more food than he normally ate in a week and was determined to eat the lot – they cleared their trays and left the commissary. Sam took her leave of the group first, apparently itching to get back to the project that had been so rudely interrupted by the finger-burning incident. After she left, Jack turned to Daniel and Teal’c.

 

“I’ve got a briefing to attend. Will you be okay?” he asked Daniel while casting a significant look in Teal’c’s direction.

 

“We will be fine O’Neill,” replied Teal’c. “I shall ensure Daniel Jackson does not sustain any further injury.”

 

“’kay. Catch you later.” Jack wandered off, hands in pockets.

 

Teal’c turned to Daniel, who was walking very slowly. “Is there anything you wish to do, Daniel Jackson?”

 

“Yes. I’d quite like to go back to my room,” replied Daniel, his face screwed up.

 

“Are you in pain?” asked the Jaffa.

 

“Not exactly, but my stomach doesn’t feel right.”

 

“This is not unexpected Daniel Jackson,” replied Teal’c. “The amount of food that you have consumed would make most people feel ill, and you have not eaten as substantial a meal for some considerable time. Allow me…” and the big man grabbed Daniel’s elbow and escorted him to the VIP level.

 

On arriving in Daniel’s room, Daniel immediately disappeared into the small adjoining bathroom. Teal’c sat down in one of the armchairs to wait for the younger man to reappear.

 

After a great deal of noise that let Teal’c know exactly what Daniel was doing, the younger man eventually staggered out of the bathroom and flopped down onto the bed. He groaned and drew his knees up towards his chest, then stretched them out straight again. It was clear that he couldn’t find a position that was comfortable for his abused stomach.

 

“Do you require Dr Fraiser’s assistance Daniel Jackson?” asked Teal’c. “I would be happy to telephone her for you.”

 

“Not Janet,” gasped Daniel. “I shouldn’t have eaten so much lunch.”

 

“Indeed.”

 

“But it all tasted so good,” Daniel groaned again and clutched at his midriff before rolling off the bed and disappearing into the bathroom again.

 

Teal’c spent a boring afternoon watching Daniel lying on the bed moaning and groaning interspersed with trips to the bathroom. After the first half-hour he resorted to the company of the television.

 

About five thirty, Jack reappeared. Daniel was in the bathroom at the time, and Teal’c was watching one of the many Oprah or Jerry Springer type discussion shows on offer.

 

“Where is he?” asked Jack.

 

“Oh God not again,” was the answering groan from the bathroom. Teal’c looked at Jack and raised one eyebrow.

 

“Ah, I see. Eating six dinners has finally caught up with him.”

 

“It caught up with him on arrival in the room, O’Neill,” replied Teal’c.

 

“Really? He’s been like this the whole afternoon?” Jack’s expression was a mixture of disbelief and sympathy.

 

“He has.”  Teal remained expressionless.

 

“Ouch.” Jack gave Teal’c a sympathetic look.

 

There was a pause. “Daniel Jackson has refused any assistance from Dr Fraiser, O’Neill.” Teal’c’s expression remained undecipherable.

 

“Tell you what T, I’ll take over the babysitting duties. You go and enjoy a…” Another groan from Daniel interrupted Jack. “…well-earned break somewhere.”

 

“Thank you O’Neill.” Jack noticed that Teal’c didn’t even attempt a half-hearted offer to stay. Things must have been bad. He waved Teal’c off and settled himself in the chair. Grabbing the TV remote he selected a TV channel more to his own taste, and prepared to wait.

 

After about five minutes and a lot more moaning and groaning, Daniel eventually emerged to flop himself down on the bed.

 

“How’s it going?” asked Jack.

 

“Just leave me to die alone,” Daniel whimpered melodramatically.

 

“That good huh?” Jack muted the re-run of last night’s game and leant forward, forearms resting on his knees. “Your skills as a hostess need some work Daniel. Teal’c couldn’t wait to leave.”

 

Daniel propped himself up on his elbows. “Jack?” He stared around the room in confusion. “When did you get here?”

 

“Not long, but long enough,” replied Jack significantly.

 

“Oh.” Daniel grimaced and clutched his stomach again.

 

“I do believe that it was pointed out to you at least once that eating all that food in one sitting was not a good idea.” Jack sounded pious.

 

“Alright,” grumbled Daniel. He reached for the glass of water that Teal’c had placed by the bed and took a few small sips.

 

“Do you need any indigestion remedies?” asked Jack.

 

“I’m not going to see Janet,” Daniel’s tone of voice bordered on threatening.

 

“That’s not what I said.” Jack held out a packet of Alka-seltzer tablets.

 

Daniel took the proffered pack and stared at it for a while. He read the back of the packet and then dropped two tablets into the glass of water by the bed. He waited until the characteristic fizzing had stopped, downed the mixture with a grimace, and then lay back down on the bed, his arms protectively crossed over his stomach. “I am never eating again as long as I live,” he groaned.

 

“Which won’t be very long if you don’t eat,” laughed Jack. “Although you probably ate enough for the whole week at lunch today.”

 

Daniel didn’t reply; he just turned onto his side with his knees drawn up and his eyes closed. Jack turned the sound back up on the TV and watched the rest of the game. When it finished he turned the TV off and checked on Daniel. He was fast asleep.

 

Jack checked that the monitoring system was on and then headed up to the control room to ask the airmen on duty to keep a close eye on that room in particular and to call him immediately if there were any problems. He also had an airman posted outside the door just in case.

 

Just in case of what? Jack really didn’t know, but Daniel’s unerring ability to find trouble in even the most innocuous situation was constantly at the back of his mind. Take the burnt fingers as an example, he mused. The old Daniel would probably also have burnt his fingers, but it would have been as a result of accidentally touching the soldering iron while reaching for something else.

 

Troubled, he wandered off to see Carter and see what she thought about it all. She was still holed up in her lab, deeply engrossed in the project she’d been working on when they’d dragged her off for lunch. It was all she’d done since leaving the others.

 

She looked up as Jack walked in. “Sir. Where’s Daniel?”

 

“He’s sleeping it off.”

 

“Sleeping what off?” She looked confused.

 

“According to Teal’c, he’s spent all afternoon barfing up the excessive lunch that he ate. Fortunately I missed most of it.”

 

“Oh. That’s not good. The barfing, not you, missing it, I mean…” She tailed off, a worried expression on her face. “Who’s with him now, Teal’c?”

 

“No-one’s actually with him, but I’ve got a man posted outside his room and the control room are keeping a careful eye on the footage from the camera in his room. Any change and they’ll let me know.” He frowned. “Carter, do you think he’s gonna be… normal again?”

 

“I don’t know sir. I hope so.”

 

“So do I Carter. Dealing with a two year old’s tantrums was bad enough, but if that two year old is actually thirty-eight and nearly as big as me it’ll be impossible.” Jack shook his head. “And if he doesn’t improve he’ll never be allowed off-world…”

 

“That’s not a good thought sir. Although his translation skills and archaeological knowledge do appear to be intact - he was reading stuff in latin while he was in the infirmary. He could stay with the program…” Sam suggested.

 

“Getting confined to base would kill him. We both know that.” They looked at each other in silence.

 

“I’m sure it’s temporary sir. The amnesia seems to be gradually disappearing. I’m sure this will as well.” Despite the apparent optimism in Sam’s words Jack didn’t feel comforted by them.

 

*

 

Two mornings later, Jack went to find Daniel and drag him to breakfast. He had a plan for the morning that he hoped would fire up the younger man’s enthusiasm.

 

Since his overeating escapade, Daniel had been a little flat and depressed and, despite the best efforts of his friends to coax him out, had stayed in his room reading most of the time.

 

Jack knocked on the door. To his relief Daniel’s “Come in” sounded quite bright and cheerful. With Daniel in a relatively good mood, his plan stood a chance of working. On entering the room, he found Daniel lying on the bed reading, dressed in boxers and a t-shirt.

 

“Come on, get dressed. We’ve got things to do, places to go today.”

 

“Okay.” Daniel put a slip of paper in the book to mark the page and got up off the bed. He carefully put on his socks, boots and shirt, and smiled at Jack. “Let’s go.”

 

“Daniel – pants?”

 

“Pants?” Daniel looked confused.

 

“Daniel you need to put some pants on. You can’t go out like that.” As he spoke, Jack tugged on the fabric of his own pants as if to demonstrate what he meant.

 

Daniel stared down blankly at his bare legs for a moment before realisation dawned. He blushed and looked up at Jack with a sheepish grin on his face. “Oops! I forgot,” he smiled. He looked around the room and spotted a pair crumpled up on the chair. He shook them out and attempted to put them on without taking his boots off. “Ow!” He fell down hard on his butt.

 

Jack helped Daniel up off the floor. “Try taking the boots off first Daniel. It makes things a lot easier.”

 

Fifteen minutes later, fully and correctly attired, the two of them headed off to the commissary for breakfast. The server handed Daniel a plate of pancakes.

 

“Here you go Dr Jackson. Your favourite. I made them especially for you.”

 

“Thank you.” Daniel took the plate and placed it on his tray with a slightly bemused air about him. He added some juice and a mug of coffee, and then he and Jack went to join Teal’c, who was munching his way what looked like the entire fruit section of the local supermarket.

 

“Good morning O’Neill, Daniel Jackson.” The big man paused long enough to greet his team-mates.

 

“Morning Teal’c.” Jack eyed up the Jaffa’s breakfast. Jonas Quinn’s penchant for eating large quantities of fruit seemed to be catching, he decided, and not just with Teal’c. Half the SGC had recently increased their fruit consumption dramatically. Maybe it was Ferretti’s half-serious theory that Jonas’ apparent super-fit state came from all the fruit he ate. Still, the net result was that the fruit options at the commissary had greatly improved of late.

 

“So Jack, what are these things we have to do and places we have to go today?” Daniel asked round a mouthful of pancake and syrup. Jack made a mental note to have a word with the archaeologist about his table manners in the not-too-distant future.

 

“Ah that’s a surprise. Wait and see.” Jack sipped his coffee and tried his best to look enigmatic.

 

“May I join you and Daniel Jackson?” enquired Teal’c. “I have nothing in my schedule today until this afternoon.”

 

“No problem Teal’c. Seen Carter this morning?”

 

“Yes O’Neill. She had a very light breakfast and went to resume work on her current endeavour. She said it is rapidly approaching completion.” As he spoke, Teal’c kept casting sideways glances at Daniel who was eating his pancakes with relish.

 

“Well we won’t disturb her then.” The others nodded in agreement with Jack’s words. The three of them continued to eat their breakfasts in companionable silence until Daniel suddenly froze, his fork half-way to his mouth.

 

“What’s up Daniel?” Jack asked, full of concern for his friend.

 

“I remember.” Daniel almost whispered back.

 

“Remember what?” Jack was wary – this might be the start of another flashback.

 

“Remember sitting here with you and Sam and Teal’c. But you couldn’t see me.” A frown furrowed Daniel’s brow. “You didn’t know I was there.”

 

“When was this Daniel?”

 

“Just after…” The frown deepened, “…after Sarah… I made her better. Took Osiris out.” Daniel’s eyes were closed. He seemed lost in his memories.

 

“While you were ascended?” asked Jack. He was aware that this memory could be significant. Daniel seemed to have recovered very few from that time.

 

Daniel thought for a moment and then nodded. “I came here to see how you were doing and the three of you were here, and, and I sat with you for a while.”

 

“I remember this occasion Daniel Jackson,” said Teal’c.

 

“You do?” asked Daniel.

 

“You do?” iterated Jack.

 

“Indeed.” Teal’c inclined his head. “I believe we were all aware of your presence but none of us spoke of it until you had left us.”

 

“Really?” Daniel looked amazed. “You knew I was here?”

 

“I did,” replied Teal’c.

 

“See,” grinned Jack, “We were pretty close, no matter how it felt sometimes.”

 

Daniel flushed and stared at the remnants of his meal. Jack’s statement had completely overwhelmed him, as at the time that he’d ascended he hadn’t been sure that he was really wanted here any more. “I-I…” he stuttered, and then stopped, unable to put into words what was going through his mind.

 

“S’okay Danny,” smiled Jack, “Back at yer.”

 

Daniel shot him a look of relief and then took a gulp of his coffee in an attempt to compose himself in the face of his overwhelming feelings. When he resurfaced from the pretence of caffeine consumption, he changed the subject completely. “So is there a set time for these places we have to go and things we have to do?”

 

“Patience, Daniel. Patience,” replied Jack elusively. “After breakfast is plenty early enough.”

 

Daniel scowled back at his friend’s smug grin and pushed his plate away. “I’ve finished,” he declared. “Let’s go.”

 

‘Just like a toddler’, thought Jack as the archaeologist sat drumming his fingers impatiently on the table. ‘Never tell a toddler you’re going to do something unless you’re going to do it imminently.’ He and Teal’c finished their meals at their own pace, much to Daniel’s frustration, and then the three of them cleared their trays away.

 

“So,” demanded Daniel impatiently, “Are we going now?”

 

“Yes Daniel, we’re going now.”  Jack placed one hand on each of the younger man’s shoulders and steered him out of the commissary.

 

Before too much longer they found themselves outside Daniel’s old office. Daniel stood outside the door, a crease furrowing his brow, and then he looked at Jack. “Is this the place Jack?”

 

“Yes Daniel, this is the place.”

 

Daniel walked up to the door and opened it slowly. He stepped inside, followed at a short distance by Jack and Teal’c. Once inside the room, he stopped and slowly turned from side to side, taking it all in. Every so often the slight frown he wore deepened as he surveyed the room.

 

“This used to be my office,” Daniel’s voice was quiet, but it carried with it an air of certainty.

 

“Yes it was,” replied Jack.

 

“Whose is it now?” asked Daniel.

 

“Yours I guess. But Jonas has been using it while you were – erm – weren’t around.” Jack watched Daniel’s face as he digested the information.

 

Daniel’s gaze fell on a pile of books on the desk. His frown changed from one of confusion to one of anger. “Those are my journals, my translation notes.” He walked over and opened the first book. “What are these doing out here? Why aren’t they put away in the proper place?” He picked up the first few books and sorted them into a different order before moving over to the shelves in order to put them away. He stared at the books in the bookshelves for a while and the frown became a scowl. Yanking another book out and adding it to the pile in his hands he was clearly getting angrier by the second. “These are my books! This is my room! How could he spoil it?” he muttered.

 

“Easy big guy.” Jack tried to diffuse what he could sense was building up into a major crisis.

 

“What’s wrong with the Dewey Decimal System anyway?” growled Daniel, mainly to himself.

 

“Daniel, it’s not that serious.”  Jack started.

 

Daniel turned on him, eyes ablaze with anger. “What do you mean ‘it’s not that serious’? What do you know about it anyway, Jack?”

 

“I…” Jack didn’t get a chance to defend his statement before Daniel launched into a tirade.

 

“These are my books and this is my office and he’s taken everything and moved it about so that it makes no sense whatsoever. No-one with any intelligence would be able to find anything in this mess. He’s just totally ruined five years of hard work and organisation. It’s just ruined! Ruined!” Daniel’s voice got louder and louder until he was shouting by the end.

 

“Daniel, it can be sorted out,” said Jack quietly, trying to placate the younger man, although to be perfectly honest, he couldn’t see that the office was any messier now than in the past. In his opinion Jonas was the tidier of the two, but right now his priority was to try to keep Daniel calm.

 

Daniel didn’t reply. He stood clutching his pile of books so tightly his knuckles were white, shaking with anger. He surveyed the bookshelves and shook his head. “Ruined,” he muttered.

 

“Daniel, just say the word and I’ll get the people to sort it out for you. Who do you want to help you?” Jack spoke quietly and calmly.

 

“It’s too much work,” Daniel said bleakly. He seemed to visibly sag from the shoulders.

 

“Daniel Jackson. Allow me to assist you,” intoned Teal’c. “You can instruct me and I will do as you tell me.”

 

Daniel stared at Teal’c, an almost tragic look on his face. “But I don’t even know where to start!” he wailed. He flopped down onto the chair nearest him.

 

Jack quickly realised that Daniel was in need of some guidance, but that he really didn’t have a clue where to start either. He would have to get through to Daniel’s more rational mind – if it was still there to be reached. “Right Daniel – can you see any sections that are more or less right? Pretty much as you left them? We could start with those,” he suggested.

 

Daniel shook his head in response. “It’s pointless.”

 

“Humour me,” replied Jack.

 

With an exasperated sigh Daniel got up from the chair and studied the shelves more closely. Eventually he indicated a tall bookshelf in the corner. “This one’s just about right.”

 

“Okay. Let’s start there. What’s wrong with it?” Jack and Teal’c watched as Daniel pulled a number of books from the shelves. He left them on the table and replaced them with books from nearby shelves.

 

Before long, the three of them had created great piles of books all over the office and were now starting to reinstate them on the shelves in the correct order. Daniel’s mood had greatly improved during the process, and he was now explaining to his helpers the wonders of the Dewey Decimal system, completely oblivious to the fact that neither one of them could have cared less.

 

“See this number here on the spine. That’s the Dewey Decimal number for that book – it’s used by libraries and archives all over the world. These numbers should be in order, starting with the smallest number of digits and increasing but while retaining basic numerical order, so 001.023 comes after 001 and 001.02, but before 001.03 and 001.1 and so on…”

 

Jack phased out the explanation and just enjoyed watching Daniel being, well, Daniel. This was Daniel as he used to be – in his element, where he knew more about something than anyone else and happy to impart every last scrap of the information he had stored in that incredible mind of his. As Daniel droned on and on about the complexities of the cataloguing system, Jack realised that Teal’c’s eyes had completely glazed over with boredom.

 

The Jaffa seemed to come back to full consciousness purely to send a plea for rescue with his eyes.

 

Jack shook his head fondly at Teal’c’s torturer and did as required. “Daniel, I never knew you were a librarian along with all your other talents,” he joked.

 

Daniel glared at him. “Jack, this isn’t just used in libraries. You’ll find it in use anywhere where there are large amounts of information to be catalogued, whether they’re in books or on CDs or microfiche or-or anything. When you’ve got as many books as this it’s always worth making sure they can be found easily by anyone, not just by the person who created the filing system.”

 

“Whatever. Do you want to break for coffee?” Reorganising Daniel’s entire library had not really been the reason why they had come by his office today, and Jack was bored rigid, despite enjoying the fact that since they’d started the task Daniel had been completely normal – no amnesia, no tantrums – just utterly absorbed in something that the rest of the world would find totally, mind-numbingly, dull.

 

“Why? Can’t you just go and get some and bring it back here?” Daniel continued to file books as he spoke, teetering precariously on a chair to reach the higher shelves. He stopped for a moment and looked over his shoulder at Jack. “Actually, why don’t you just get one of those thingies that makes the coffee and we can plug it in here and then we won’t need to stop at all, we can just keep going until it’s done.” He turned back to his books.

 

‘Yep’, thought Jack, ‘same old Daniel.’ He moved to the door. “Okay. I’ll see what I can rustle up. Don’t slack off now Teal’c.” And with that he made his escape before Teal’c had a chance to protest.

 

In the commissary, Jack grabbed three take-out coffees, an orange juice and a selection of the various cookies, doughnuts and muffins on offer. Laden with what he felt were suitable offerings for people re-cataloguing a library, he headed back to Daniel’s office via Sam’s lab.

 

“Hey Carter! How’s it going?” he asked his 2IC.

 

“Sir. Pretty well, actually. I think I’m just about done with this. Next step is to hand it over to the guys who are building the smaller generator and they can see if the two work together.” She looked at the tray Jack was carrying. “Who’s that lot for?”

 

“Well, one’s for you Carter - on one condition.”

 

“Which is?”

 

“You come back and help the rest of us re-organise Daniel’s office till he’s happy with it, and you tell me what happened to his old coffee maker-thingy.”

 

“That’s two, sir.”

 

“Two?” Jack stared at the Major, confused.

 

“Two conditions, not one.” Sam looked back at the object on the desk. She flipped a switch, and the item lit up. Switching it off again, she turned her attentions back to the Colonel. “Okay sir. I’m done here. Let’s go.”

 

Jack took the opportunity to bring Sam up to date as they walked. He explained about Daniel’s reaction to Jonas’ re-arrangement of his office, and how he and Teal’c had been helping Daniel to get things back as the archaeologist perceived they should be.

 

As they approached the door to the office, both were shocked to hear Daniel yelling at Teal’c.

 

“I told you where that should go! You stupid idiot!”

 

Teal’c’s velvet tones were calm, but it was pretty clear to both Jack and Sam that he was hurt by Daniel’s outburst. “Daniel Jackson. I apologise for not placing the book in precisely the location that you indicated. I can assure you that it was not done intentionally.”

 

“Better rescue him,” muttered Jack and he and Sam girded their loins and entered the room.

 

Daniel was stood on his stool, hands on hips, glaring at Teal’c. It was clear to both Jack and Sam that he was pretty close to tears.

 

“What’s going on?” asked Jack.

 

“It was my fault O’Neill,” Teal’c volunteered. “Daniel Jackson asked me to put this book in this shelf and I placed it in the wrong area of the shelves. As you can see from the numbering on the spine, it clearly belongs in the section with these books, and I placed it on the shelf three below it, thereby ruining the sequence.” He bowed towards Daniel. “I apologise Daniel Jackson for my error. It will not happen again.”

 

“It better hadn’t,” muttered Daniel rudely.

 

“Daniel!” Sam admonished.

 

“Daniel. You don’t speak to Teal’c like that again, ever. You understand?”  Jack scowled at Daniel.

 

Daniel scowled back at Jack, but didn’t say a word.

 

“Daniel, you will apologise to Teal’c for being so rude to him.” Jack felt like a parent separating squabbling children.

 

“Why? He did it wrong,” the archaeologist scowled at Teal’c.

 

“Daniel,” warned Jack.

 

“It is not a problem O’Neill,” said Teal’c.

 

“It may not be a problem for you Teal’c, but it is a problem for me. I do not like to hear people speaking to my friends in that way,” Jack looked back at Daniel. “I’m waiting.”

 

Daniel glared at Jack, and then jumped down off the stool, pushed roughly past Jack and Sam and left the room.

 

“Dani