Author's Notes: nightmare image warning

Chapter Fourteen
Making Connections

The touch on his shoulder brought him awake. Jack's eyes snapped open. He relaxed at the sight of Teal'c, with Jonas hovering behind him.

"She gone?" Jack asked. He yawned and realized his butt was numb. He tried to shift without waking Daniel, who was using Jack's thigh as a pillow.

        "Indeed," Teal'c answered.  He looked insufferably pleased.
        Jonas gave a little bounce.  "Blind, bedraggled, and furious, but definitely gone."
        "Blind and bedraggled?"
        Teal'c explained the unlucky coincidence that had caused Doctor Rosenberg to 

walk into Carter's lab at an inopportune moment. Jonas followed it with a gleeful rendition of how the janitor had been sluicing down some walls and his assistant had accidentally turned the water higher. They lost control of the water hose just as Elaine reached the intersection where they were working. Elaine had been drenched. Jack snorted and wondered if he could persuade Hammond to release the security tapes of Elaine's "misadventures."

"Persistent woman though," Jonas finished. "She dripped all through Level 27 and didn't stop searching until Hammond arrived to personally escort her to the surface."

        "Allyssa Michaels was most convincing in her performance," Teal'c added.
        Jonas chuckled.  "She sure was.  She followed them to the elevator, apologizing 
and blaming herself for everything that had gone wrong."
        Jack imagined the scene and grinned, figuring he owed Allyssa at least a dozen 
roses.  "So what next?  Twenty-four hour guard?"
        "General Hammond does not believe that will be necessary," Teal'c said.  "The 

President has agreed that Daniel Jackson should remain in our care. He promised to make the NID aware of this decision and his extreme displeasure should Daniel Jackson be kidnapped or harmed in any way."

"Good enough." Jack rubbed at his face and was trying to decide his next move when his stomach growled and made the decision for him. Time for him and Daniel to head home. "I'll leave Daniel here with you two while I check in with Hammond and get some stuff together. Jonas, let me borrow your jacket."

Jonas shrugged out of his jacket, and Jack folded it into a pillow to slip under Daniel's head in lieu of his leg. He stood, his knees creaking, and accepted Jonas's steadying hand with a grimace until he got the blood flowing again.

        "Thanks.  Be back in twenty."
        It actually took him twenty-five minutes, and his hopes that Daniel had slept 

through his absence were shattered the moment he stepped out of the elevator. Daniel was screaming. Jack broke into a run.

Teal'c was holding Daniel, who was pummeling the Jaffa's chest with small fists. Daniel, his face red and tear-streaked, alternated between screaming for Jack and yelling for Teal'c to let him go. Jonas was gone, probably in search of Jack.

        "Hey, what's this?"
        "Jack!"  Daniel launched himself out of Teal'c's arms.  Teal'c allowed the leap, 

though he was careful not to totally lose his hold on Daniel until he was certain of Jack's. Daniel threw his arms around Jack's neck and started to sob.

Jack tried to get a glimpse of Daniel's face, but the kid had it buried against Jack's shoulder. "Hey, buddy. What's all this? What's wrong?"

"You leaved me," Daniel accused with a despairing wail. "You leaved me all alone!"

        "Teal'c was here."
        "Wanted you."  Daniel's arms tightened until Jack choked.  He tugged gently on 
one arm, loosening it enough for him to breathe.
        "I'm here, Daniel.  Not going anywhere, okay?  Just relax."
        He rocked back and forth, repeating the words every once in a while, gently 

kneading the muscles in Daniel's neck. Gradually Daniel's wails and sobs calmed to sniffles. He sagged in Jack's arms. Teal'c offered a tissue from the box Jack had opened earlier, and Jack started to draw back so he could apply it to Daniel's face. Daniel immediately grabbed for him, his breath hitching again.

"All right, don't panic, kiddo. I've got you. Not letting go, okay? You wanna tell me what's wrong?"

"I waked up, and you was gone, and I was scared the bad lady would take me away. I tried to be brave, Jack. I waited and waited, but you didn't come back. And I got scareder that the bad lady would find me while you was gone, so I yelled and yelled for you, but you still didn't come. You leaved me!" As the words poured out of him, they crescendoed into another wail.

It took another five minutes to calm Daniel out of his fright, and even then he refused to let go of Jack. Teal'c finally offered to drive them home. Daniel clung to Jack the entire way. When they arrived, Daniel insisted Teal'c check every room in the house and then spend the night. As the evening progressed, Daniel grew more and more subdued. He tensed every time a vehicle drove by, his fingers spasming in their deathgrip on Jack's shirt.

Even sleeping later that night, Daniel didn't relax. Jack soothed him through the sixth nightmare in five hours and silently cursed Elaine Rosenberg. All the progress they'd made in establishing Daniel's sense of security had been wiped out in a single afternoon.

#

Three days didn't improve the situation. Daniel's confidence level had taken a drastic plunge downward. He barely left Jack's sight. He wouldn't talk to anyone he didn't already know, and even when he did talk, it was often in uncharacteristic monosyllables and abbreviated sentences. His face was permanently scrunched with worry. He shied at noises, and his eyes were never still, watching for dangers as if he were a hunted animal.

Since Daniel seemed a little less twitchy at home, Jack had been leaving work early and taking advantage of the extra hours to actually make supper. His cooking wasn't anything to brag about, but he got by. He figured he couldn't raise Daniel on takeout meals and pizza. Tonight he'd planned spaghetti. They had plenty of time for a bath after the messy meal, and he could do laundry tomorrow since it was his day off.

Jack turned away from the stove, bowl of pasta in hand, and had to dance several steps to the side to regain his balance. The pasta lurched. He barely managed to save it from sliding to the floor.

        "Dammit, Daniel!"
        He regretted the ingrained response as soon as the words left his mouth.  Daniel, 

who had somehow crept into the kitchen and plastered himself to Jack's leg without Jack noticing, retreated. He squeezed into the corner between wall and refrigerator. His shoulders hunched, and he drew his arms up into a self-hug.

Jack set the bowl on the counter, squatted to Daniel's eye level, and extended an arm. "I didn't mean to yell, Danny. C'mere."

Daniel surged forward and into Jack's arms. He nestled his head under Jack's chin. Jack gathered the kid and stood. Daniel immediately locked his legs around Jack's waist. He was trembling.

"Hey, buddy, what's wrong?" Jack rubbed circles on Daniel's back. "I thought you were reading in the living room."

"Was." Daniel sniffed. He slung his arms around Jack's neck and held on. Jack could tell by the tight grip that Daniel had no intention of being pried off anytime soon. "Heared a noise. Scared me."

        "Ah."
        Daniel was still convinced the NID would snatch him the moment he let down his 

guard. Hammond had tried to explain how the President's interest in Daniel's case helped protect him from anything the NID might try, but Daniel didn't believe it. Even Jack's constant reassurances hadn't made a dent.

Jack settled on a chair and waited for Daniel to calm. The spaghetti would have to wait; he could reheat it in the microwave, after all. The last time he'd tried to feed Daniel in this state, Daniel had thrown up.

When he felt Daniel's arms relax their hold, he asked quietly, ""Do you remember when Nem decided to borrow you for a few days?"

        "No," Daniel said, his voice muffled in Jack's shirt.
        "How about the time you disappeared in the quantum mirror?"
        Daniel shook his head.
        "Or when Chaka nabbed you?"
        Another head-shake.  Jack huffed.  Okay, change of tactics here.  He racked his 
brain for examples that weren't Daniel-in-trouble scenarios.
        "Okay, try this.  How about when the gate spat me and Carter out in Antarctica?"
        This time, Daniel pulled back so he could peek upward.  "Yeah.  We looked and 
looked for you."
        "Uh-huh.  And when I got stuck on Edora?  Didn't Carter spend the whole three 
months building that particle generator and Teal'c dug his way to the surface?"
        Daniel nodded, looking interested.
        "Okay.  Let's see.  Carter got kidnapped by Adrian Connor, remember that?  We 

found her, didn't we? And when Teal'c got brainwashed by Apophis, we stuck by him. Do you see what I'm getting at, Daniel?"

        Daniel nibbled on his bottom lip for a second.  "That we get in trouble a lot?"
        "No!  Well, yeah, we do, but that's not the point I'm trying to make here.  The 

thing is, we're a team. SG-1. And you're still part of that team, understand? We look out for each other. If someone goes missing, we find them. No one gets left behind. That's our number one rule."

Jack watched Daniel's face change into that oh-so-familiar "connecting the dots" look. "So...if the NID got me...you'd find me?"

"You betcha. But you know what? In order for the NID to get you, they'd have to get past me. And everyone else at the SGC. Teal'c's just itching for a fight. I don't think they want you that badly, Daniel. Not if they have to face Teal'c first."

Daniel thought that one through and finally looked up at Jack with an intent gaze. "You promise? You promise you'll find me?"

        "I promise, Daniel."
        Daniel rested his cheek against Jack's chest.
        "Hey, you hungry?  Spaghetti's getting cold."
        "Don't want pa-sketti," Daniel mumbled, tightening his hold around Jack again.
        Jack combed his fingers through Daniel's hair.  "Something on your mind still?"
        He waited, and sure enough, Daniel's head lifted.  "Can you keep me safe from 
the Others?  If they get me, can you find me?"
        Jack's breath caught.  Daniel gazed at him with a forlorn expression, knowing he 
had asked for the impossible.
        Jack wanted nothing more than to hug the crap out of the kid and give him the 

promise he so desperately needed. But he couldn't lie to Daniel. Wishing for words he didn't have, he pulled Daniel close and just held him.

Daniel allowed the embrace, but he patted Jack's arm in his mini-adult way and sounded very old when he said, "It's okay, Jack. I know you would if you could."

#

This dream was different. For the first time, Daniel drifted outside it, an observer rather than a participant. He didn't feel scared.

He watched his adult-self. The Others would come soon, and the adult Daniel was frantically constructing a shield to protect his mind from their assault. It was a strong shield, millions of fine strands woven into an impenetrable barrier. But the strands wouldn't stick. They slid apart, and the shield unraveled.

Adult Daniel growled his frustration. "Come on, come on! Why won't you work?"

He rebuilt the shield again and again, until the child who watched knew the steps by heart and could have made it on his own. But the shield still refused to hold. It had no cohesion, no anchor.

Adult Daniel was sobbing now, sensing the nearness of the Others and his impending failure. He fumbled blindly with the uncooperative strands, his movements jerky and panicked.

"God, God, God." His terror increased with each muttered word. He didn't seem aware of what he was saying. "Jack, what do I do? Help me, Jack."

But Jack wasn't there. Neither were Sam or Teal'c. Daniel was alone. Fighting without the support of his team. Helped only by the Abydonians, Shifu, and Oma, whose energy was too much like his own, lacking the substance of the physical plane. There was no one to hold the pieces of Daniel together.

        The Others descended on Daniel's unprotected mind.
        Daniel, both child and adult, screamed.
        The scream caught in his throat.  Daniel jerked awake.  Beside him on the bed, 

Jack made gentle shushing sounds. Jack didn't open his eyes, but he reached out and settled his hand on Daniel's chest. Daniel felt his heart pounding, but he knew it couldn't escape his body because Jack's hand was holding it down.

Daniel placed his small hand on top of Jack's hand. The weight and the heat generated by the skin-to-skin contact was comfortable. Solid. Safe.

He felt sorry for the adult Daniel, who had been so alone. In the weeks since he'd descended, Daniel had never been alone. Someone was always taking care of him, holding him, loving him. Jack, especially, was a constant presence. Even when Jack wasn't with him, Daniel felt Jack anchoring him to safety.

Maybe because he'd been removed from the terror of his dream, Daniel saw now what his adult self was missing. He'd needed a connection. A living, solid connection of trust and love to hold him, just as Jack was holding Daniel now. The adult Daniel had needed Jack.

        Understanding blossomed through Daniel's mind.
        I was wrong, Daniel realized.  We both were.
        They had thought Jack couldn't protect Daniel if the Others came for him.  It 
wasn't true.  Jack was the only one who could keep Daniel safe.
        Daniel stared at their hands.  All he needed was a way to transform this 

connection into part of the shield. In his mind, knowledge awakened and sprouted, like a seed seeking its first taste of sunlight. He saw the shape of the shield, the way the strands interlaced and became whole, the way Jack's love for him and his love for Jack created a cord that bound the two of them together. Daniel gave the cord a physical existence. As long as Jack was holding him, the cord would anchor him to Jack.

"As long as Jack's here, I'm safe," Daniel whispered, sure in his newly-discovered knowledge.

He smiled, patted Jack's hand, and slipped off to sleep. He slept the rest of the night without waking.