Title: Wake Up Call
Author: Ankh
Rating: PG
Info: PG. Gen though a teeny bit suggestive. Season 1.
Summary: Sometimes you need to be needed.
Note: Appeared in the zine No One Gets Left Behind at http://www.ancientsgate.com/zines/yuma.html

Sara was drooling in her sleep again. Jack could feel the wetness of her saliva on his throat. The second she woke up and he pointed it out she would deny it. 'Women do not drool' she'd insist, while sneakily taking care to hide her face in her pillow and surreptitiously wipe away the moisture. Then of course he'd have to pretend to believe her – or laugh and face the terror of the 'Let's Find Jack's Ticklish Spot' vengeance game. Jack felt the familiar flood of warmth thinking of her brought to him, mixing deliciously with the fuzziness brought about by a good night’s sleep. Thank whatever god was out there, up there, wherever, that she hadn't ended up marrying Brad Newman, and instead had left him at the prom and accepted Jack's offer to ditch that dull affair and head for the local drive in.

Sleepily, he shifted so that the top of her head would rest beneath his chin and he could smell the coconut conditioner she used on her hair…and felt the scrape of stubble on his collarbone.

What the–?

Jack's eyes snapped open. He reared back in alarm and stared down – straight into the face and soft brown hair of Daniel Jackson. Ah. Of course. Sara was gone, over a year ago. He'd brought Daniel home after the poor guy had lost his wife. After the second nightmare it had just seemed easier to haul the guy into Jack’s own bed; his relaxed body and feeling of being refreshed told him that had been a good idea. As surprise began to recede, taking familiar regret for lost love with it, he took a proper look at the sleeping man.  His face looked more peaceful than last night, so smooth he looked like a kid, but it was shiny with moisture and – oh. Daniel had been crying. God, look at him. How old was the guy anyway? Thirty-three, Daniel had said. No way in hell.

Daniel shifted, an elbow drifting into dangerous territory bringing Jack's attention from the then and gone to the here and now, and Jack became aware of how heavy Daniel was. OK, not a kid, and he definitely needed to shave; heck at this rate he was going to give Jack stubble burn. What the hell did they use on Abydos? Nail scissors? Looked like they used the same thing to cut his hair, though it was surprisingly soft where it was brushing against Jack's chest and the hollow of his throat, strands of it tickling sensitive skin.

During the night they had shifted around so that Daniel was sprawled half on top of him, which was probably why Jack was having a little problem with breathing and why it felt like his heart and lungs had grown too big for his chest. No room to expand. One of Daniel's hands was tucked beneath Jack's waist, the other with fingers buried in Jack's hair, or as buried as it was possible to get with hair as short as Jack's, unlike Daniel's hair which was so shaggy that Jack's finger's weren't even visible and –

Jack snatched his hand away, peering down at Daniel in a self-conscious fashion, but the other man was still fast asleep. Daniel was going to be embarrassed as hell when he woke up and realized to whom he was cuddling up. To Jack's relief he noted neither of them had a morning...

Oh, fer cryin' out loud – he was actually lying here thinking about that?

OK. Something not to share with the guys on the base.

Though he wasn't actually thinking about Daniel like that, just that it wasn't a problem – not that it would be a problem if he was thinking about it like – well, of course it would be a problem because he was military and anyway Daniel and he weren't like that – though there wasn't a problem with being like that but –

He was glad neither of them had morning breath. So. He was going to go shower now.

Easing himself out of Daniel's clutches – Daniel was so going to be embarrassed when he realized...which was why Jack wasn't hanging around waiting for him to wake up, poor guy – he took care not to disturb his sleeping friend. Jack suspected Daniel wouldn’t be getting a whole lot of sleep once he woke up and the search for Sha’re began. Let the guy have a few more minutes of dreaming of happier times.

Jack hadn’t had to consider the needs of someone else in far too long. It felt kind of nice.

Finding he was smiling to himself and probably looking like an idiot, Jack shook his head at himself and headed for the shower. Daniel would need to shower so he'd better not use too much hot water – he hadn’t had to worry about that for far too long, he really needed to get out more – and what the heck did the guy eat for breakfast and, oh, coffee. He remembered the coffee; white and strong and he was almost sure he had sugar somewhere. Daniel would need clothes. Money. The spare room was his as long as he wanted it, but it could probably use some extra storage space. Daniel had left a lot of stuff behind when he stayed on Abydos and it was sitting in Jack’s garage, carefully packed away. Maybe a bigger bed. He’d have to ask Daniel what he liked to eat.

Distracted by the needs of another, Jack began to mangle Donizetti's 'Una Furtiva Lagrima'. Occasionally he sang a word that was actually Italian. He had a linguist in the house; he had to make an effort. 

-end-