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The Amadeus Effect	By : NeenaVarscona Category: Stargate: SG-1 > General Views: 6242 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate: SG1, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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~~~~~

It was hunger that finally drove Jack and Daniel out of the VIP suite later that evening. Well�that and the need to come out from hiding and reassure the others that they were both still alive and kicking.

Jack called Janet in to give them the okay to break quarantine, which she did willingly enough. The only stipulation being that they were under no circumstances allowed to �gate off-world until they�d undergone a 72 hour trial separation. Jack had gained permission for one last meal together before he had to follow doctor�s orders and leave the mountain for the next three days.

As they sat across from each other in the deserted commissary, Jack could tell that Daniel was not looking forward to their forced separation.

�It�ll be okay,� Jack said between bites of curried chicken, startling Daniel out of his deep thoughts.

�What?� asked Daniel, looking sweetly baffled.

�It�s only three days,� Jack explained. �And I�ll be fifteen minutes away�tops�if you need me.�

Daniel smiled wanly back at him and continued picking at his food. Jack dropped a warm hand on top of Daniel�s to give him some additional reassurance, and Lou Ferretti chose that moment to enter the commissary.

Ferretti�s faltered step and the awkward redirection of his eyes told Jack that his old friend had seen and correctly interpreted the private moment he�d walked in on. �Lou!� Jack greeted the other man casually, trying to defuse the situation quickly.

�Jack�� Ferretti answered cautiously. �I see the quarantine�s been lifted.�

�Yep,� Jack said with a nod. He deliberately kept his hand on Daniel�s a moment longer, despite Daniel�s obvious discomfort. It was his not-so-subtle way of telling him that he wasn�t embarrassed or ashamed while simultaneously challenging Ferretti to make something of it. Not bad mileage out of a single gesture, Jack thought.

The other soldier quickly assessed the situation, weighed the various possible outcomes, and chose to pull up a chair at their table and sit down. The best move, strategically, was apparently to ignore what was none of his business. A smart move, in Jack�s opinion. Jack forked another piece of chicken into his mouth as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

�Look, Jack�� said Ferretti anxiously.

The use of his first name let Jack know that this conversation was intended to be off the record, which suited him just fine. �Yes, Lou?�

�I just think you should know�� Lou began, then ground to a halt, looking uneasy.

�Spit it out, Lou,� Jack prompted.

Ferretti�s eyes shifted between the two other men at the table and he cleared his throat. �It�s just that�some of the guys, well, they�ve been saying things.�

�Oh?� asked Jack innocently. �What sorts of things?�

Ferretti squirmed a bit before finding the courage to meet his C.O.�s eyes again. �Things about you and Dr. Jackson,� he finally admitted. �Naturally I told them that they were crazy�the 2IC of the United States� top military organization wouldn�t risk his career over something as trivial as needing to scratch an itch. No offense, Dr. J.,� he added in an off-handed way.

�Um�none taken?� said Daniel with a dubious pout on his face.

�And this is what, a friendly threat?� Jack asked menacingly.

�Not a threat, Jack, just a heads up. Frankly I don�t give a crap what you guys do in your spare time, but the sharks are circling and they�re out for blood, chum.� Lou stood, gave Jack a firm, manly pat on the shoulder, and left the commissary.

�Guess he wasn�t so hungry after all,� Jack commented, returning to his chicken

�Funny�I�m not so hungry now, either,� Daniel muttered, laying his fork down and pushing his plate away in one smooth movement.

�Hey�we�ve got nothing to worry about,� said Jack. �Although, Ferretti was right about one thing�if we�re gonna make this work, we�ll have to be a lot more�discrete.�

The playful sparkle in Jack�s eyes only seemed to confound Daniel, who couldn�t understand Jack�s cavalier attitude. But, then, Jack had the advantage of knowing the military mind and how to work the system.

�Jack, maybe this�maybe we�re�not such a good idea right now,� Daniel said, quietly.

�You worry too much,� Jack said through a mouthful of mashed potato. �As Ferretti pointed out, I�m second in command around here, and in case you haven�t noticed by now, I have the reputation of being somewhat of a hard-ass. There isn�t an SF or Marine on base that doesn�t sweat bullets when I dress them down.

�This will all blow over. And in the meantime, we just have to be extra careful.�

Daniel nodded, because that was what Jack expected him to do, but it was clear he wasn�t anywhere near convinced that this would all simply �blow over�.

They finished their meal together in silence, Jack respecting Daniel�s need to brood. But as Jack scraped his chair back to get up from the table, Daniel suddenly shot out his hand and grabbed him by the arm.

�Do you have to leave right now?� he asked, his blue eyes wide, blinking up at him in a shamelessly manipulative way.

Jack almost caved. �The sooner I leave, the sooner I can come back and this will all be behind us,� he reasoned. �Oh, don�t do that!�

�Do what?� Daniel asked, the very picture of innocence.

�That thing with your eyes, and the pout.�

�I don�t pout,� Daniel said with a pout.

�Oh please! You�re pouting right now!�

�Am not.�

�Are too.�

�Am not.�

�Are too.�

�Am not!�

�Are too, infinity!�

Daniel finally cracked at that, and the tiniest hint of a smile surfaced to grace his lips. �That�s cheating, you know.�

�There are rules?� asked Jack.

�Just�go,� Daniel answered with a half-snorted laugh. �I�ll see you in a few days.�

Jack gave him a quick, not-so-manly pat on the shoulder and then he was gone.

~~~~~~

Jack had been so sure that time had slowed down that he�d actually called Carter to find out if such a thing was possible. Big mistake�if he�d thought time was creeping by before, spending fifteen minutes listening to Carter theorize about quantum physics over the phone was almost enough to make time come to a stop altogether.

But finally it was over. Three excruciatingly long days had passed without incident, and SG-1 had at last been cleared by Dr. Fraiser to resume active duty. Jack had violated practically every traffic law in his haste to return to the mountain. He found that he couldn�t get back to Daniel fast enough. He had it bad. Big time.

Sure, he�d talked to Daniel on the phone a few times over the last few days, but very little of what he really wanted to say could be said over phone lines that were undoubtedly being tapped by numerous agencies. Daniel had sounded off, somehow, like he was being overly chipper, and he could only assume that Daniel was no more comfortable talking over the phone than he was.

Jack burst into the commissary, his eyes alighting immediately on the floppy-haired archaeologist he�d come to love. �Danny me boy!� he called out in a gratingly bad Irish accent.

Daniel�s head snapped up from his breakfast, and his wasn�t the only one�every eye in the busy commissary had turned towards Jack. There was a palpable silence that lasted a few heartbeats, but as Jack headed over to Daniel�s table the usual chatter started up again, and Jack quickly forgot about it.

�So�what�d I miss?� Jack asked Daniel, trying to sound nonchalant as his eyes hungrily roamed over the other man.

�Nothing much,� Daniel answered, rubbing the back of his neck. It didn�t take a genius to see how tense the younger man was.

�What�s with you?� Jack groused, annoyed that the mood had been dampened, the party pooped upon.

�Apart from the not-so-subtle death threats on a daily basis? Nothing�why do you ask?�

�No need to get snippy,� said Jack. He took a moment to scan the room and noted how many people quickly averted their gaze when he looked their way. �So�I take it the rumours have spread?�

Daniel sniffed at the gross understatement. �I�m a pariah, Jack! I mean, it�s not like I was ever all that popular with the military types here, but now even the scientists are going out of their way to avoid me. Apparently it�s not in their best interest to be seen in my company.�

�And the death threats?� asked Jack, adding the air quotes with his fingers.

�Oh, they�re real,� Daniel answered. �I�ve been getting e-mails, and this morning I found a naked Ken doll hanging from a noose in my locker. Very mature.�

Jack�s eyes narrowed to slits and he once more scanned the room, as if the guilty party might jump up and confess under his scrutiny. �Any idea who it is?� he asked.

�You mean, they,� Daniel stated with emphasis on �they�. He hid his eyes behind a curtain of bangs to avoid looking directly at Jack. �I�ll be honest with you, Jack�I feel a bit like a pi�ata in a room full of caffeinated kids with bats.�

�I�m sure it�s not that bad. Give it a week�or less, if we have some weird alien encounter on base�and I guarantee this will all be water under the bridge, yesterday�s news, gone with the wind.�

�Yeah, well, I hope you�re right,� Daniel mumbled. Jack was about to offer the usual platitudes when he spotted Carter entering the commissary.

�Sir! Glad to see you�re back,� said Carter as she made her way through the maze of tables. When she reached them, she didn�t sit down. Instead, she hovered self-consciously beside their table, staring at her clasped hands.

�Okay, I�ll bite,� said Jack. �What�s up, Carter?�

Carter looked a bit sheepish before she finally came out with it. �Sir, I�d like to return to PIK 260.�

Jack could actually feel his blood pressure rising at the suggestion. �Are you nuts?� he barked, once again drawing the attention of everyone in the commissary. �After everything we just went through, you wanna go back there?�

�Hear me out, Sir,� she said smoothly, seemingly having anticipated his reaction. �Daniel�s antechamber has been thoroughly swept�there�s nothing in there now that could possible pose a threat. And the potential weapons and technology just sitting there waiting�� she trailed off enticingly.

�She�s right, Jack,� Daniel piped in, his eyes lighting up with that all-too-familiar glow. �We have no idea the kinds of things we might find to help us in our fight against the Goa�uld.�

�Et tu, Brut�?� Jack said with a quirk of his eyebrow.

�Jack�� Daniel had turned his name into a plead that bordered on whining. To make things worse, he had two sets of baby blue eyes batting at him.

Jack groaned under their combined assault. �Fine. I�ll talk to Hammond,� he agreed petulantly. �But I don�t want to hear any complaining if he says no.�

Daniel and Sam looked at each other with matching smiles. Hammond was an even easier sell than Jack, and they knew it.

~~~~~

The next morning Casey and Griff met early in the men�s locker room. They�d received word last night that they were to accompany SG-1 to PIK 260 again. This was a private meeting�just the two of them�before the official briefing at 0800 hours. This was a meeting that no one, not even their C.O. Ferretti, knew about. It was a meeting to decide what should be done about the cancer that was eating away at the very foundation of the SGC. It was a meeting to decide what should be done about Daniel Jackson.
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The Amadeus Effect