Chapter One: The Evil Men Do

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It was late and all Daniel wanted to do was to go home and crash.  He was beyond tired; he was bone weary.  Pulling into the parking lot of his local grocery store, he had one thing to get and then he could go home and pass out for a few hours.

 

Daniel had only been back among the living for three weeks.  After being kicked out of the Ancient Club, left naked on a planet not his own, with no memory of who he was, his journey just kept getting stranger by the day.  Found by benevolent nomads that took him in, he lived a life of a stranger, even to himself.  Then found by SG-3 and reunited with his team, Daniel had no time to adjust before being thrown into the fight against Anubis again.

 

Now back on his home planet, living in a ‘Rooms-by-the-Month’ hotel and struggling to recover his memories, he was beginning to question the sanity of his life.  His work the only thing that was making sense to him right now.  As he had always done in his 30+ years of life, immersing himself in the pursuit of knowledge was his saving grace.

 

He headed into the market and found it was deserted, getting what he came in for and getting out should be no trouble.  One thing turned into several, as it so often happens.  A bottle of white wine, a frozen Chinese dinner, and a bar of Ghirardelli chocolate.  The perfect dinner for him.  He browsed the paperbacks quickly to see if anything struck his fancy.  Daniel always had a cheap novel or two when he went off planet.  One of his guilty pleasures.  Picking out the latest John Grisham book, he headed to the front to pay.  He gave a nice smile and said hello to a group of young men as he passed by them, never realizing they already had eyes on him.

 

“Hey,” one of the men said quietly to his friends, “check this guy out.”

​

Daniel was standing by the cash register.  He was in his normal civilian clothes, white chinos, light blue cotton button-down shirt, and a nice sports jacket.  To anyone else, he was just a handsome man.  To the four guys that were looking for trouble, he was a target. 

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“Look at that, white wine and fancy chocolate in his basket.  Total queer.  And do we like queers?”

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“Nope.  The only good queer is a dead one,” another one of the gang answered.

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“Let’s meet him in the parking lot.  Ya’know… let’em know how we feel about his kind being in our city.  Play a little ‘smear the queer!’”

​

Quietly the four young men slid out of the store, unnoticed.  They spotted the lone Jeep parked by a rambling bush, and went to lay in wait for their prey.

​

Daniel paid for his purchases, chatted with the cashier amiably for a minute or two and headed out the door to his car in the dark parking lot.  Several of the overhead lamps were out, but he didn't notice.  Just as he got to the door of his Jeep, he pulled out his keys and promptly dropped them. 

​

“Crap,” he muttered to himself.

​

Putting his grocery bag on the hood of his car, he bent down to retrieve his fallen keys when a blow to the back of his head sent him sprawling.  Daniel hit his forehead against the car door with a sickening thwack.  His glasses went flying off, skittering under the car.  He started too turned over to see who did this when a well-aimed kick to his ribs knocked the air out of his lungs.

​

“Wha…” he tried to speak, but it was hard to pull in enough air.  Pushing himself up, he struggled to see who was attacking him.

 

“You goin’ down, fag!” a malicious voice said.

 

Daniel shook his head to try and clear the cobwebs, but it only proved to make things worse.  The next thing he knew, he was pulled to his feet and hit again.

 

“This is our town!  Faggots ain’t welcome here!” the hulking man laughed as the others held Daniel’s arms behind him.

​

Daniel noted four assailants: two holding him, one talking, and one keeping a lookout.  They were late teens, early twenties, and looked like young military want-a-be’s, not gang-bangers.  High and tight haircuts, football varsity jackets. They could have been any of a dozen Airmen he knew from the SGC.

​

“Don’t you look at me like that, homo!!”  He was hit again when the ‘leader’ caught Daniel sizing him up.

​

Daniel was punched a few more times, then thrown to the ground.  Slowly he lifted his hand to wipe the blood away from his mouth.  He was almost positive they had broken his nose with the last hit.  Holding up his hands, palms out, he tried to placate them for a moment to get his bearings.  How the hell did he end up in a modern version of The Clockwork Orange?  He just wanted to go home, eat, and sleep.  Fighting for his life wasn’t on the menu.

​

He knew how to defend himself… when he had too… in the field.  Both Jack and Teal’c taught him hand-to-hand combat and Jack was always yelling at him to be ready for anything.  But tonight, he had been taken by surprise and he was on his home planet.  Not that, it didn’t make it any less dangerous at times.  Plus, these guys were big.  The two holding him were easily the size of Teal’c.  Only the speaker was smaller than himself.

​

“Hold on, guys,” Daniel told them as he tried to survey his options.  He got to his knees, spat a glob of blood and continued, “I, I, I don’t know why you think I’m gay, but… I, I I’m not.  Not that you should be beating up homosexuals either,” he let out a small laugh.

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“You’re a liar! You got queer written all over you,” the leader said planting another blow to Daniel’s solar plexus that had him curled on the ground.  “Hey, Dozer, don’t they all say they ain’t queer?”

​

“That’s right, Tank!”

​

Daniel tried again to get up, still holding his hands out in a gesture of peace, before he was hit yet again.  This time it was with a small, lightweight souvenir baseball bat that resounded with a loud crack as it struck his skull. 

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Rolling Daniel over with his foot, Tank spat in his face.  The man gripped Daniel’s jaw and forced it open, sticking the fat end of the bat into it.  Daniel gagged.

​

“This is what you love, right fag?  A little something, something in your mouth to suck on?”  The goons laughed.  “Or do you want something a bit… warmer?  With cum in it?”

​

Daniel tried to push the bat away when someone stomped on his groin.  The three men went into a frenzy of kicks, punches, and smacks with the bat.  Daniel curled up into a ball trying to protect his head as best as he could.  He started to feel consciousness and reality waver. 

​

Wasn’t anyone looking out the window of the store?  Couldn’t they see him being beaten?  His Jeep was parked with the driver side away from the storefront, however.  Maybe they couldn’t see what was happening in their dark parking lot.  The bat hit his head again and he was completely dazed.

​

Daniel tried to reach for his zat, his mind playing with him.  He was sure these were Jaffa attacking his team now.  When he couldn’t find his gun, he tried to crawl under the vehicle next to him.  Daniel kicked out as one of the guys grabbed his leg to pull him out from under the protection.

​

“Mother fucker!” Dozer hollered as Daniel’s foot contacted his knee and he fell to the ground.

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“STOP!!” Daniel screamed out, “Please… stop!!  Jaaaack?”

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“Oh listen, Dozer,” Tank sneered, “he’s callin’ for his boyfriend!!”

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That made this all the more fun for Tank as he kicked his victim right under the chin.  Daniel bit almost clear through his tongue.  The warm metallic taste of blood poured down his throat and he started gagging.

​

“Tank, someone’s driving this way!” the lookout cautioned the others.  For a moment, the gang stopped their attack and hunkered down beside the Jeep. 

​

Daniel prayed they were done and would leave him alone now.  But as per his shitty karma, the beat down was far from over.  When the area was clear of traffic, the two bigger guys grabbed Daniel under his arms, dragged him behind a dumpster.  As soon as they were hidden from anyone that might happen by, Tank shoved Daniel’s head down into the cement with a foot, while Dozer cut all his clothes off.  Lying there naked, panic set in and Daniel tried kicking and hitting anything in reach.  A vicious kick to his already aching and unprotected balls, had him reeling in a vortex of agony.

​

Dozer was going through Daniel’s pockets and came across his military ID card.  “Hey, Tank.  The fag works up at the Mountain.  He’s part of the Air Force!”

​

The leader bent down, grabbed a hand full of Daniel’s hair and snarled, “There’s no room in this world for faggots!  And absolutely no room in my military!  You think I want to serve with the likes of you?  It’s bad enough faggots aren’t drummed out anymore.  DA/DT makes me sick!  You make me sick.” Again, Tank spat into his victim’s face.

​

Daniel instinctively tried curled into a fetal position when one of the attackers pried his arms away from his chest.  With a knee in his victim’s gut, the man pulled a can of red spray-paint from his cargo pants pocket and painted the word ‘FAG’ on Daniel’s chest.  When Daniel tried to stop him, one of the others stomped on his hand, crushing it.

​

Daniel felt rough hands twisting him at the hips and exposing his ass.  He tried to kick out, but his body was shutting down. Then pain exploded, racing up his spine as Dozer pushed the baseball bat into his anus.  Daniel screamed out.  Quickly, Tank kicked him in the face and then covered his mouth, stifling the sound.  Dozer shoved the bat in and out two more times.  Daniel passed out.

All four of the men stood around their victim and pissed all over him.

​

“Come on, guys.  He’s done for.  Take his clothes!  Fags like to be naked,” Tank told the others.  “And grab whatever’s in his wallet… just cash, no cards.  Dozer, get your bat, we’ll burn it with the clothes later.”

​

***

​

When Daniel drifted into consciousness again, he ached everywhere.  What had happened?  Where was he?  How long had he been knocked out?  Where was Jack?

​

He lay quietly trembling while he listened for any noise or voices.   He couldn’t move without searing pain.  Why hadn’t his team been there?  Maybe he got separated from them.  Tears leaked out of the one eye he could open as the agony grew exponentially throughout his body.  He was shivering violently in the cold air.  Turning his head slightly he noticed something shiny not far away.

​

His radio… no, it was his phone.  Then he remembered that he was on Earth!  He was just beaten up by a group of kids, not Jaffa.  The whole scene replayed in all its gory detail in his head.  He was a victim of a hate crime.  Just punks, out thrashing homosexuals.

​

He had to get to his phone.  Closing his eye for a moment to try and summon the last of his strength, he reached out for it.  When he moved his right arm, pain shot through his entire body ripping a strangled whine out of him.  He had to get closer to it.

​

Daniel pushed with his feet as he tried to scoot towards his phone.  His body screamed in protest as his back scraped along the asphalt.  He had to do this.  He had to reach the phone and call someone.  Blood streamed into his eyes from his forehead.  He could feel the blackness close in on him.  If he was to survive the cold Colorado night, he was going to have to get help… and soon.  A quiet sob seeped from his swollen, mangled mouth; he summoned all of what was left of his strength, and managed to push himself over to the phone.  Using his left hand, he picked it up and held the speed dial 1 down and waited for it to ring.

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Jack’s harsh, sleep filled voice sounded like a choir of angles to the battered man.  “This better be life and death, Daniel, or you’re in for it!”

​

Daniel tried to say something, but just couldn’t.  How was he going to get Jack to understand he needed help, and had not just ‘butt dialed him’?  The only thing he could think of was SOS.

​

Jack heard the beeping of numbers being pushed.  SOS Three short beeps, three long tones, then three short beeps.

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“Daniel?” O’Neill asked as he began to hear whimpers and sobs.  “Daniel?  Are you hurt?”

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SOS

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It finally registered to O’Neill that it was an SOS being tapped out on the phone.  “Where are you, Daniel?” he asked as he got up and started to dress. 

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“Mmm… ack…” he croaked out through his blood-filled mouth.  The soft plea was all Jack needed to hear.  He was out the door with his jacket half on and his boots in his hands.

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The other end of the phone went quiet.  Too quiet.  Jack was worried that Daniel had passed out and he didn’t know where to find him.  Colorado Springs may not be a thriving metropolis, but it was still too big for him to go looking for one person in the middle of the night.

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“DANIEL!” Jack yelled into the phone, “Tell me where you are!  Can you?”

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SOS

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“Aaaaagggghhh…” Daniel tried his hardest to say something, but with his tongue hanging by a thread and his mouth full of blood, the only sound was a gurgling of pain.

​

Jack already had his truck in gear and was trying to listen to Daniel, clean off his window and drive all at the same time.

“Hang in there, buddy, I’m on my way.  I’m gonna put you on hold for a second, just hang on!!”

​

Jack put his friend on hold and called Sam.  “Carter!  Are you at work??”

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“Yes, sir.  Why…”

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“Shut-up… I need you to hack into the GPS network and find out where Daniel’s phone is at right now!!”

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“Sir?”

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“JUST DO IT, CARTER!  NOW!!”

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“Yes, sir!”

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Jack could hear her fingers flying over the keyboard of the computer.

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“Safeway, West Colorado Avenue,” she reported. 

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That was irony for you!  “Carter, call down to Frasier and tell her something’s up with Daniel.  I’ll call as soon as I find him.  Grab Teal’c and head to the Safeway, I may need your help.  Got it?”

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“Yes, sir! On my way!”

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Jack grunted his thanks and hung up on Sam.  He hit the hold button to get Daniel back on the line.

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“Daniel, you’re at Safeway?  Right?” he wanted to verify his location, not that he didn’t believe Carter, but he was careful.  He could only hear the ambient noise and not his friend.  “DANIEL!”

​

He gunned his truck through the wet, empty streets in the hope that maybe Daniel had just slipped and banged his head or something dumb like that.  He wasn’t very optimistic, this was Daniel.

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Pulling into the Safeway parking lot, Jack spotted Daniel’s jeep right away and the bag of groceries on the ground, but he wasn’t anywhere around.  He stopped his truck beside the jeep and got out looking for his friend.

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“Daniel?!” He yelled into the darkness.

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There was no answer.  Jack was really scared now.  He knew that Daniel would answer him if he could, so that meant he was in bad shape.

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“DANIEL!!”

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A clatter on the ground drew Jack’s attention towards the dumpsters.  Running over to them, he spotted the phone… then he saw the legs of his friend.

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“Daniel!” he shouted as he rounded the corner and came to a sudden stop.  What he saw was something he would never want to see again: his best friend, naked and beaten to a bloody pulp.

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“Oh, my God!” he whispered.

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Kneeling beside him, Jack took out his phone and called the Mountain.  “This is Colonel O’Neill; CODE RED!  I need Dr. Fraiser and an ambulance at the Safeway on West Colorado Avenue, A-SAP!  We have a man down.”

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Jack barely registered the response the soldier on the other end of the phone gave, when he dropped his cell to the ground and began running his hands over Daniel’s body.  He could tell just by his quick feel of his torso that several ribs were broken.

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Daniel opened his eye as much as he could when he felt the warm hands on him.  He tried to bat them away, not realizing it was Jack.

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“Naaaaa…”

​

“Easy, Danny.  It’s me,” he told the injured archeologist as he covered him up with his own jacket.  Getting up he ran over to his truck and pulled it around so his headlights would help him see.  As he moved the truck over, he called Sam again.

​

“Get here A-SAP!  Daniel’s been beaten up.  Janet’s on her way also.”

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When he got up close, he almost gagged at the sight of his best friend.  “Jesus H.  Christ!” he yelled.  “Who the hell did this to you, Daniel?”

​

O’Neill’s phone rang, “WHAT?”

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“It’s Fraiser, what do we have?”

 

“God almighty, Doc!  He’s a mess!  His face is already turning three different shades of purple. It’s swelling to the size of a basketball and blood is pouring out of his mouth.  His left eye is sealed shut and his nose broken.  Hang on, I’m checking the rest of him.”

 

Jack pulled the jacket he just put on Daniel down to look at his ribs when he saw his chest painted red with the ugly message.

​

Jackson reached up, took a hold of the older man’s shirt, and tried to talk.  That’s when Jack noticed something was very wrong with Daniel’s mouth.

​

“Open your mouth, Danny,” he told him softly.

​

The younger man tried to open his mouth as much as he could.  Jack watched in horror as the thin tendril that was holding the tongue together snapped and the ¼ inch chunk fell to the pavement.

 

“Oh, shit… oh, shit!  God, Danny, who the fuck did this to you?” he roared as he picked the piece of the man’s tongue from the ground. Then he reported to the doctor, “He’s bitten a chuck of his tongue off!”

 

“Mmmac,” a gurgling whimper was all Daniel could manage.  With his left hand, he held up four fingers.

​

“Four of ‘em?  Good god!”  Jack swore as his friend sobbed, clinging onto the hand that wasn’t hurt. “I know you’re hurting, Daniel.  Help is on its way.  Stay on your side so you don’t choke on your blood.”

​

Jack saw the spit and smelled piss all over his friend and rage grew into the monster he tried so hard to keep at bay.  Then he noticed the blood coming from his friend’s ass.  “Step on it, Doc!  I think he’s been raped.”

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“Be there in five, Colonel,” she replied.

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Jack sat on the ground next to Daniel, speaking softly, “It’s okay, okay, Danny.  I’m here.  Your safe now.  Just hang on, the cavalry is coming.”

​

The Colonel gently tucked his jacket around his friend’s torso to try and keep the wounded man warm.  When Jack accidently pushed on the smashed right hand, Daniel yelped in pain.  Looking down, Jack saw that misshapen hand looked crushed.  He noticed the standard issue military tread pattern clearly.  O’Neill couldn’t remember a time that his friend looked worse. 

 

Why?  Why did this kind of shit always happen to Daniel?  Didn’t he deserve a break with all the times he had saved this stupid planet?  And it was their own fucking world for crying out loud! 

 

Jack heard the sirens coming closer and breathed a sigh of relief.  The truck pulled up and Dr. Fraiser jumped out.

​

“Outta the way, Colonel.  Let us do our job!” she said as kneeled beside her patient and friend.  Pulling her cell phone out of her pocket, “This is Dr. Fraiser of the SGC, I’m going to need a medi-chopper at the Safeway on West Colorado Avenue A-SAP.  I have a man down with his tongue bitten off.  Have a surgical team ready when we arrive at the Academy Hospital.”

​

She put her phone back into her pocket while the crew started their well-trained routine.  Jack stood back to let them work.  The doctor called to one of the medics to put the piece of Daniel’s tongue on ice.

​

In the flurry of activity, Carter and Teal’c came streaking in.  O’Neill met them at the same time a cop showed up.  Jack went over to him, flashed his credentials, and introduce himself.  He told the officer what he knew and that the Air Force would be heavily involved with any investigation.

​

Jack looked up when he heard the chopper approach.  He excused himself from the cops and joined Dr. Fraiser and Daniel in the chopper.

 

“Carter…” he hollered over the sound of the whirring blades, “Take my truck home.  Have Teal’c take Daniel’s there too, then meet us at the Academy Hospital.”

​

With a quick salute, she caught the keys and headed to his truck.

​

***

​

Jack paced the quiet hallway waiting for word on Daniel’s condition.  It had been over five hours since they had arrived at the Academy hospital.  He hated waiting.  Especially when he was waiting to find out about his best friend. 

​

The doors to the surgical theaters opened and Dr. Fraiser stepped out weary and drained.

​

“Doc?” Jack just about jumped on her.

​

“He’s sleeping, Colonel.  We had a lot to patch up.”

​

O’Neill bit his lip and spread his hands indicating that he wanted more information.

​

“The surgeons managed to reattach his tongue, but I’m not sure how well it will take.  It’s only been done successfully a few times.  His jaw was broken, but because they had to sew his tongue back on, we can’t wire it closed for it to heal properly yet.  He has a severe concussion that I’m going to keep an eye on since it’s his third one in as many weeks.  He has three broken ribs and couple of fractured ones, as well as a broken right arm and several fractured bones in his right hand.  His back was scratched up and I had to pull some asphalt and glass out of it.  Also, add to the list; bruised spleen, kidneys, diaphragm, and mild hypothermia.  He has a broken eye socket, nose and…” she paused.

​

“And?”

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“His genitals were severely, severely bruised.  And you were right, Colonel… he was raped with a foreign object.  His prostrate was bruised too.”

​

Jack’s hands were curled into fists that made his knuckles white as he listened to her report.  He had so much pent up anger that he was having a hell of a time trying to keep it under control.

 

Putting a hand on his arm to calm him, Dr. Frasier smiled grimly, “At least he is alive, Jack.  Just think of that.  He’s going to need your strength to lean on.”

​

Jack gave her a nod and then asked, “Can I sit with him?”

​

Janet nodded, knowing that he would pull rank if she refused.  “He’s going to the ICU, but I’ve already told them that you would be staying with him.”  When he opened his mouth to add something, she held up a finger, “And they know Sam and Teal’c will be here too.”

​

Scrubbing a hand through his hair Jack said, “General Hammond has already been here.  He loves Daniel like a son and when I told him what had happened… I’ve never seen the General as pissed as he was.  The SF Chief has been here for the DNA evidence and I believe he’s also talked to the two detectives from the scene.”

​

As Dr. Frasier turned to leave, O’Neill did something he rarely did, he hugged her tightly.  “Thank you, Janet.  For all the times, you’ve had to put that boy back together,” he leaned back and smiled at her, “and me too.”

​

Eyes bright, she smiled back, then turned to go. 

​

***

​

Jack went inside Daniel’s ICU room.  A nurse there was updating his medical chart on a clipboard and, before leaving, she checked all of Daniel’s lines.  She gave the colonel a tired salute and left him alone with his friend.

​

Jack walked over to him and stared down into the barely recognizable face.  Daniel’s whole head wrapped up like Marley’s ghost.  Jack assumed that it was to help keep his jaw shut since Janet couldn’t wire it.  A tube was trailing from his mouth with blood draining through it.  One eye was patched and he could see that even though the bandages were fresh, blood was already seeping through.  Daniel’s hand and arm were splinted; he figured that Janet couldn’t cast it yet due to swelling.  All this damage unnerved him and reminded him of how he looked after Kelowna and Jack didn’t like to remember that.

​

All this damage done with no reason behind it other than four fucking punks out to spread hate.  He wanted to find the bastards that did this and take them to a Goa’uld inhabited planet and ask the snakeheads to do their worst to them.  Then again, they were already as bad as any system lord, he’d only be giving these assholes more ways to be evil.  He wished that Netu was still open for business.  He would be very content with dropping them off and leaving’em to Sokar.

​

So many visions were going through his head of what he wanted to do to the scum that caused all of this.  Each scene was more gruesome than the one before.  A couple involved handing the delinquents over to Ba’al, but he knew that Daniel would protest and say that isn’t the way to handle misguided young men. 

​

Jack let out a humorless laugh.  What a joke… misguided my ass! he thought. 

​

With a sigh, he looked at his friend’s mangled face with fondness.  Yep, Daniel would defend them, even after this.  He’d say it’s just because of what they hear and learn from their parents and society in general.

​

Jack grabbed a chair and sat down beside his friend’s head and got comfortable.  It was going to be a long night.  Just as he started to nod off to sleep, the door opened and Teal’c with Sam close behind, came in.

​

“Kids,” Jack greeted them.

​

Sam’s eyes went wide and she raised her hand to her mouth, “Oh my God!”  The tears already forming.  She hadn’t see her friend at the scene.  “Who…”

​

O’Neill shook his head, “Don’t know, but my bet goes to some punks out beating up homosexuals. They wrote ‘fag’ on his body.”

Carter’s turned to him at once, “But Daniel’s not gay… is he?”

​

Jack snapped at her, “NO!  Would it matter?”

 

Sam shook her head with a slight burn coloring her cheeks. 

 

With a calmer voice, he continued, “Anyway, apparently they thought he was.  Damn near killed him too.”  He sighed, saying in a low voice, “It’s bad, Sam… really bad.”

​

The use of her name told her more than any amount words could.  Jack was scared for him, and now she was too.

​

Teal’c cocked his head to one side and asked, “O’Neill, why is it so important to others how one loves another?”

​

Jack looked down at the broken and bruised face of his friend.  “I don’t know, T.  Some people just get it into their heads that there’s only one way to love.  For me, I wouldn’t care if Daniel was gay.  It would just be part of him; like you having had junior inside was a part of you being a Jaffa.”

​

Teal’c still looked confounded, “On Chulak, it is no one else’s business with whom one falls in love.”

​

“Should be that way here too, Teal’c.  This country… hell, this world just can’t seem to get that into their heads.  And the military is even worse about it,” Sam said quietly.  “I never even consider if a person is gay or not.  It’s none of my business.  If they are genuine in their love, that’s all that counts.”

​

An uneasy quiet settled over the three teammates and they all started their vigil around their fallen comrade.  Jack offered Sam his chair, then got another for himself.  Teal’c, always the warrior, took up his station at the foot of Daniel’s bed.  He stood with an easy grace that always amused Jack.  How anyone could stand like that for hours, was beyond him.

​

***

​

It was well into the next day before Daniel showed any signs of waking.  Jack was reading a magazine, slouched in his chair.  Sam was working on her laptop on his other side and Teal’c was where Teal’c always was, at the foot of the bed.

​

Daniel groaned a little and tried to move his head but stopped almost immediately.  Jack jumped to his feet and leaned over him.

​

“I’ll get Janet,” Sam said right away, dashing out the door.

​

“Don’t try and move, Danny.  You’re pretty banged up.”

​

The wounded man looked up into Jack’s blurry face and saw fear and worry written on it.  He tried to talk but couldn’t open his mouth.

​

“Daniel,” Jack said quietly, “don’t try to talk, okay?  Just rest, buddy.”

​

He nodded slightly, then lifted his hand as if to ask for something to write with and groaned again.

​

“You got beat up a bit, but you’re recuperating. You’ll be okay, Daniel.  I know you want to know all the details, but we’ll let Dr. Fraiser handle them, okay?”

​

Daniel then noticed Sam coming back in with tears running down her face.  This made him understand that he was in bad shape.

​

“We’re right here for you, Daniel,” Sam told him softly.

​

Just then, Dr. Frasier came bustling up to him and started her routine check on the patient.  The others backed off and watched.  She knew there would be no way of getting them away from Daniel, so she didn’t even try.

​

Reading his chart and checking on all the monitors, Janet, the consummate professional, didn’t let anything show on her face.  She ordered her nurse to change the bandages on his eye.

​

After checking his level of alertness, Janet explained his condition to him.

​

“For now, I’ll give you the abridged version, Daniel.  We had to repair several broken bones: ribs, nose, jaw, eye socket, arm, and hand.  They’re healing fine and we expect no complications.  You have some internal bruising and a concussion.  You also bit off a small piece of your tongue, but we reattached it and the chances that you’ll regain full articulacy are excellent.

​

“I can’t wire your jaw shut just yet, due to your tongue.  But as soon as the swelling goes down, we’ll get that done too.  You have to be very patient and work with me,” she gave him a knowing smile, “I know how stubborn you can be. 

​

“Daniel, there’s a button in your left hand, it’s morphine and you can push it anytime you are in pain.  You can’t O.D. so I’m really encouraging you to use it.”

​

The injured man shook his head slightly with a look of long-suffering.  Everyone knew how much he hated medication.  Dr. Fraiser closed her eyes for a moment and sighed.

​

“Daniel, don’t try to get through this like a superhero.  You’re not… Hawkman or anyone like that.  Use the morphine.  Please, you’ll heal faster if you aren’t in pain.  You’ll rest better and that’s what you need right now.”

​

“Danny,” Jack came up behind her and put his hand over his friend’s left hand, “you need to listen to the Doc.  Don’t be stupid and try to muscle through.”  He leaned down and whispered, “We’ll be right here for you.  All of us.  You’ll be safe.  Okay?”

​

Daniel closed his eye and let out a long breath, wincing as it hurt his ribs.  Slowly he nodded yes and pushed the button.  It was instant relief and he was glad that he took their advice.

​

Janet smiled at him.  “It’s going to be a long road, but your body will recover.  I know how strong you are and how much help you’ll have with these three here for you.”

​

Daniel nodded and closed his eye.  He was asleep in no time.  Janet turned to Jack and motioned for him to follow her to her out of the room.  Dr. Fraiser pinched the bridge of her nose and sat in one of the hard waiting room chairs.  That was a sure sign to the colonel that this was going to be a trial for his friend.

​

“He’s not going to get through this easily, Jack.  His mouth alone could take up to three months to heal properly.  But, the physical trauma is only a small part of it.  I’m concerned for his psychological wellbeing.  He’s only been back with us for such a short time.” 

​

Jack let out a long, heavy sigh.  There was more to her statement then even she knew.  “I don’t know how much he has told you about his childhood, but I fear that this could cause him to have severe PTSD flashbacks.”

​

Janet looked questioningly at him.

​

“He was bullied pretty bad in high school and college.  The only reason I know this is because he talked to me about the worst of it when I brought him home from his stint with the sarcophagus.  I can’t tell you much, but one time he spent a few weeks in the hospital after some boys in high school beat him up.  He hides his PTSD very well, Doc.  I’m kinda worried this might be more than he can handle alone, which is how he’s always handled his problems.”

​

“Stubborn man,” Dr. Fraiser mumbled.  “Always has to be self-reliant.  I know you’ll help him through, sir.  He’s always trusted you.  But please, get him to see a therapist.”

​

Jack nodded at her.  “Janet…” he said as she turned to go, “Hawkman?”

​

The doctor gave him an embarrassed grin, “He’s always been my favorite superhero.  Very hot with those huge wings.”

​

They both had a short laugh, thankful for the comic relief.  Jack then returned to his favorite superhero’s room.

​

***

​

The next several days saw SG-1 taking turns sitting with their fallen teammate.  Daniel spent most of that time in a drug-induced haze.  For once, he did as the doctor told him and he used the morphine drip as he needed it.  General Hammond rearranged the off-world schedule to let SG-1 have two-weeks down time so that they could be with their friend.

​

When Daniel was awake, he was very distant, not wanting to interact with others.  The one eye that he could see out of was dull and lifeless.  He didn’t want anyone to touch him and every now and then, his team saw him quietly crying. 

​

After a week, they moved Daniel to the SGC ICU ward so Dr. Frasier didn’t have to run back and forth between two places.  Shortly after he was back in the familiar infirmary, the bandage came off his left eye and he could put his glasses on.  He still couldn’t see out of it, but at least he could see clearly with his right one. 

​

Daniel’s tongue was healing much faster than Janet thought it would and wired his jaw to fix the break ahead of schedule.  Sam brought in a laptop that she rigged to speak for Daniel, so he wouldn’t feel so isolated.  He didn’t want to use it and just looked away from anyone trying to interact with him.

​

Jack continued to sit with his friend.  He read to Daniel out of the latest issue of Archeology Digest and kept him abreast of the latest gossip around the base.  Still, the injured man wouldn’t cooperate with anyone trying to cheer him up.

​

In the silence of the room, Jack grew more concerned for his teammate and friend.  He had seen the very same look in Daniel’s eyes before.  Twice.  And neither time did it end with rainbows and puppies.