I know you are all going to kill me. But this hit me last night while watching Clueless. And House mentioned he was in Eygpt. I couldn't resist. Was up most of the night writting this. I hope you like it. Takes place after No Reason in the realm of House and any time after Jack O'Neill retires from the Air Force. Please let me know what you think.
Oh and I don't own anything. I promise to update both Measuring Up and Unfinished by tomorrow night.
Old and New Friends
"Jack I have to go."
"Who is this?"
"An old friend of mine. I very old friend." Daniel grinned at the memory.
"The only reason you have off is because of the beating you took the last time you went through the gate." Jack was adamant about not letting his lover out of his sight anytime soon. It was one of the things that bothered him not working for SGC anymore. The fact that he couldn't protect Daniel every time he went through the gate. But it allowed both of them to be open and out in regards to their relationship. "Why haven't I heard of him before and why all of a sudden do you want to go across the country to see him?"
"Jack, he was shot. He can't travel."
"So were you."
"I'm fine. Besides he's in a hospital there will be doctors around."
"And why haven't I heard of him before?"
Daniel sighed. There were times, like these, that he hated the possessive side of Jack. "It just never came up. We talk through e mails mostly." Daniel looked around at the bedroom again focusing on the bag on the bed. "Pack a bag. I'll call the airline. See if I can get another ticket." Daniel realized that there was no way that Jack would let him go on his own.
Not that he blamed the man. Yeah he got a pretty bad whooping this past time. The torture and all was bad. He'd been on the base for four days before he was fit enough to be let out of the infirmary. There was still a burn on his forehead from the ribbon devise.
He rubbed it unconsciously with his good hand while waiting for the airline to pick up. His left arm was in a cast as was his left leg. Maybe it would be a good idea to have Jack with him. He would need help with changing the bandages on his shoulder, side and back, from the staff blasts.
Heading back into the room, Daniel saw both bags were packed and closed. "Don't worry; I also got the medical crap packed for you. Let's go. Don't want to miss the flight."
"How do you know that I was able to get you a flight?" Daniel asked as Jack shouldered both carry ons.
"The phone call was too short. You would have harassed the poor person on the other end until there was a way we could both be on the same flight. The phone call took a total of five minutes, so there was no problem." Jack smiled back at him.
Daniel hated how well his lover could read him. "Come on." I don't want to miss our flight." Daniel led the way out of the house.
"Excuse me; I'm looking for Dr. House."
Chase spun as he heard who the person was looking for. Taking in the two men who stood at the nurses' desk, he decided to step in. "Dr. House isn't seeing patients at the moment. Is there something I can help you with? I'm Dr. Chase."
"You didn't tell me your friend was a doctor." The older of the two men said. The younger one had a crutch, an arm sling, and two casts. There was also a white bandage peeking out of the younger one's collar.
"Jack." The younger one turned back to him. "I'm a friend of his."
"That I find hard to believe." Chase commented thinking that he couldn't wait to talk to this man some more. "I can take you up to him. Would you like a wheelchair?"
"No." "Yes." Both men said at the same time.
"Danny. You're supposed to be resting. Going across the country, walking around is not resting. And did you take your pills? And while we're here maybe someone can change the bandages now."
"Fine Jack." Danny cut the older man off. "I'll take the damn wheelchair, and I'll even let you drive."
Chase hid his smile as he retrieved a wheelchair for Danny. Once back and the wheelchair occupied, Chase decided to do a little investigating. He needed to know more about this friend of his lovers. "I'm sorry, I didn't properly introduce myself before. I'm Dr. Robert Chase. I work for Dr. House."
"You must be 'his wombat.' I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson. This is Colonel Jack O'Neill, retired."
"He refers to me as a wombat in his e mails?" Chase shook his head in disgust. "What are you a doctor of? You went to school with Greg?"
"No I've known Greg a lot longer than that. We knew each other when we were kids. Back in Egypt. I have a PhD in Archeology and Linguistics."
"How did you meet him?" Both men asked.
"His father was stationed in Egypt for three years. This was before we came to the states. My mother did a little teaching at the base. Greg was curious about mummies and tombs. He spent some time on digs with us." Daniel explained as they got off the elevator.
"We have a new patient? I thought while House was out we were on clinic duty." Cameron was walking by the elevator.
"This is a friend of House's." Chase said pointing to the man in the wheel chair. "Dr. Jackson, Colonel O'Neill, this is."
"The eye candy." Daniel said. "It's Daniel, Dr. Cameron."
"How did you."
Once again Daniel cut her off. "There are only a few people who House mentions in his e mails. His wombat, The Eye Candy, The Theif, Boy Wonder and Dr. Funbags. I just took a guess."
Chase couldn't help the laugh. "He's known House since childhood."
"I'll get Wilson, Foreman and Cuddy. Bring him to the conference room. I think its time we get our payback." With that Cameron left them.
"Right this way." Chase said steering the wheelchair down the hall.
"She seemed, nice."
"Very nice. A little too nice." Chase commented.
"She had a crush on her boss. It didn't work out." Daniel stole a glance at Chase. "She's overly nice. And cares too much about ethics and the such. At least that's what Greg says."
"You and he talk a lot?" Chase asked, wondering why House never informed him of this friend.
"At least once a week, as long as I'm able to get to a computer to answer his e mails."
"House, you got company." Chase called wheeling Daniel into the room.
House opened his eyes to look at who Chase had brought him. "What did you do this time Dusty?" Daniel asked as was positioned by the bed.
"Shouldn't I be asking you Slider? What did you touch this time?"
"I didn't touch anything. I just said something that I shouldn't have said. That's all I can tell you." Daniel leveled him self out of the wheelchair and gently hugged the man in the bed.
Both Chase and Jack felt a twinge of jealousy at the contact.
"Dusty?" Chase asked.
"Slider? And you were touching things you shouldn't have all the way back then? Knew it was an ingrained problem." Jack added.
"Slider and Dusty. Solving Egypt's mysteries." Daniel smiled bringing back childhood memories.
"One disaster at a time." Greg finished the tag line. "How did you find out and what happened to you?"
"Dr. Cameron, sent a message to all your contacts about what happened. I would have been here sooner, but didn't get the message till yesterday. I was held captive in a place similar to this." At that comment Daniel looked at Jack.
"Hey. It wasn't my fault you mouthed off again. And you spent two of those days in a coma. I'm not in command anymore. You have to talk to Landry about keeping you there."
"So. You must be the colonel." House turned his attention to the older man in the room. "I've heard a lot about you." House extended his hand.
"I wish I could say the same thing about you. Just heard about you this morning." Jack took the hand and shook it. "Jack O'Neill. Retired."
"How's retirement? I've been looking into it." House questioned.
"You're too young to retire and Cuddy won't let you go till you're done with your clinic hours." Chase added to the conversation. "Hey you alright?" He asked, as he saw Daniel grimace and wobble.
Jack moved immediately as Daniel started to fall. "Damn it Danny. Is that bed taken?" Jack asked.
"No House has his own room." Chase answered.
"He just got himself a room mate. Help me. Grab his legs." Jack and Chase carefully picked Daniel up and laid him down on the empty bed.
"Jack I'm fine."
"Bull Shit. You're in pain. Did you remember to take your pill? You're head correct? Let's see how much damage you did to yourself." Jack started to unbutton Daniel's top.
Chase moved to help, while House sat up a bit straighter in bed. "So what did you do this time?" House asked.
"Broken arm and leg. Concussion. Some burns. Dislocated shoulder." Daniel mumbled.
Chase took out a pen light to check Daniel's eyes. "Where did that come from?" He asked pointing to a burn mark in the center of Daniel's forehead.
"That's classified." Jack said somberly as he pulled the shirt off of Daniel. "Sorry." He commented as Daniel winced. "You're seeping."
"I'll get new dressings on him." Chase moved to a cabinet to retrieve some materials.
"You old enough to be a doctor?" Jack commented, not sure he could trust this guy he just met.
"Barely." House commented. "But he knows his stuff. Specialization is an intesivist. As in works in an ICU."
Chase couldn't help the blush that crept up his face. He could sense the admiration in House's voice. It always warmed him up when his lover talked about his abilities as a doctor.
"Stop complaining Daniel. We all get what we want this way. You get to visit with Dusty and I get you in a hospital."
"You know you need to work on those hospital fantasies of yours Jack. They aren't healthy." Daniel tried to joke.
"We both know they shouldn't have let you out of the infirmary. But you were supposed to stay at home and relax. Teal'c will kick my ass if he finds out you were hurt worse. You don't want me to tell him do you?"
Daniel gulped. "Fine. I'll be good."
"Ha. You haven't been good since I've known you. Why start?" House teased from his bed.
"Watch it. Or I'll call you mom and tell her what really happened that night." Daniel threatened.
"Which one was that?"
"Hmmm, there's the one with the camel. Or the one where you lost your pants? How about when we got 'stuck' in the desert? How about the mummy?"
"You swore you'd never tell a sole about the mummy."
"And I haven't. Yet. Be nice to me or I'll take out the pictures."
"Pictures?" Chase questioned, getting more curious by the moment.
"You win Slider." House grumbled.
Daniel turned to Chase who was lifting up the tape from one of the staff blasts. "What pictures?"
"That's got to hurt." Chase turned back to the task at hand. Oh yes. Having Dr. Daniel Jackson here was going to be a lot of fun.
Chase was in the conference room with his co-workers and when Wilson walked in. "House okay?" He asked.
"Yeah. He actually has company. You ever hear of a Dr. Daniel Jackson?" Chase jumped right in.
"No. He's mentioned a Danny before. A picture of House and him as kids in Egypt on a camel."
"That's him. Calls House 'Dusty.' They knew each other when they were in Egypt. Three years as friends." Chase continued to fill everyone in on the story.
"That was the guy in the wheel chair?"
"Yeah. He works for the Air Force. Was hurt on a mission. He and House are now sharing a room."
"House must be thrilled." Foreman commented.
"Actually House looked to happy about this."
"Poor Dr. Jackson." Cameron lamented.
"Oh, Daniel could hold his own against him. Already threatened him with blackmail."
"When can we get him in here to share?" Foreman asked.
"Why don't we just go and visit them?" Wilson was more than eager to get dirt on his friend.
"Where's Jack?" Chase asked as he walked into the hospital room the two men were sharing.
"Went to call home. Wanted to get my records sent here in case something happens." Daniel answered.
"How you feeling?"
"I'm fine. I see the rest of the posse is here."
"Don't you know there are sick people here?" House added realizing that this had no good ending for him.
"It's a good thing that we're doctors now." Wilson started to move to the bed holding the stranger
"Go away." House ordered.
"Dr. James Wilson I presume."
"That is correct. Dr. Jackson.
"It's Daniel. Don't want people to think I'm a medical doctor here. Archeology, Anthropology and linguistics. I already met the lovely Dr. Cameron, so you must be Dr. Eric Foreman."
"You're a friend of House's. That must be interesting." Eric sat down in a chair.
"Dusty and I've had our share of adventures."
"Dusty?" Wilson leaned against the wall.
"I can make all your lives a living hell, when I'm out of here."
"How did he get a name like that?" Wilson continued ignoring his friend.
"Slider." House tried to sound menacing.
"They calling each other names again?" Jack walked into the room. "A party? And I wasn't invited?" He made his way to Daniel's bed and sat on the edge. "Jack O'Neill. What did I miss?"
"Daniel was about to tell us how Slider and Dusty came about." Chase grinned.
"Oh yes. A nickname that I didn't give you."
"Hey it was just how Greg got to be Dusty. And I didn't give him the name."
"She was the one who called you Slider." House jumped back in. Seeing that Jack didn't know the story either. If he had to be embarrassed so did Daniel.
"She?" Three men and a woman asked.
Daniel sighed. "We were exploring a tomb at the archeological site my parents were working on. We found an unexplored tunnel. We lost track of time. It took them a while to find us. We were covered in dust. Well Greg more so than me."
"If you didn't open the cabinet there would have been no dust." House butted in.
"We were dragged out of there by our ears by my parents. One of the college students who was working with my parents called him Dusty after that. The rest of the help started to do it also. One of the people on the site actually wrote a story about us. 'The adventures of Slider and Dusty.' My parents came up with the 'Solving Egypt's mysteries one disaster at a time.'" Daniel finished.
"That doesn't explain Slider." Jack commented.
"Or the one disaster at a time bit." Chase added.
"Cause every time we went someplace we weren't supposed to, we ended up in a wee bit of trouble."
"A wee bit?" House questioned.
"Fine a hell of a lot of trouble that ended up with the two of us not being able to sit well the next day." Daniel grumbled.
The four other doctors broke out in laughter with the image that Daniel painted for them. Jack managed a grin and a comment. "Seems some things never change. Still want to take a paddle to your ass at times."
"Slider gives you a hard time?" House asked trying to ignore his co-workers.
"Danny's a trouble magnet. He seems to have a knack."
"I'm not a trouble magnet." Daniel rushed to defend himself.
"No one has come that close to death that many times, or spent that much time in the infirmary, with out being named a trouble magnet."
"Oh? Close to death? How many times? What were the causes?" House's mouth started to water at the thought that his friend might be a medical puzzle for him to solve.
"Classified." Jack quickly answered, realizing that Greg House wasn't privileged to the type of work that Daniel did.
"How harmful could archeology, anthropology and linguistics be?" Foreman questioned.
"You don't know Daniel." Both Jack and House answered at once. The men looked at each other with a grin.
"So about Slider?" Jack asked the question again, still waiting for the answer.
"Danny had that name before I met him." House took over the story telling. "Seems he invented a new sport in Egypt. Pyramid sliding."
"You slid down the sides of pyramids?" Cameron asked, shocked at what that would entail.
"All the time. Better than roller coaster or sledding. It's nice and steep. And a great rush." House countered.
"What are you all still doing here?" Cuddy walked in to the room. "And who are you?" She looked towards the two men she didn't know.
"The illustrious Dr. Cuddy." Daniel flashed a smile. "I'm Daniel Jackson, and this is my friend Jack O'Neill. I'm an old friend of Greg's. When I heard he was shot I decided to come and visit."
"And you are in a hospital bed because?" When it came to House she didn't believe anything.
"I had a work related accident. Was just released from the hospital yesterday. Was a little more than I could handle coming out here. Greg was nice enough to allow me to bunk with him."
"I see. As long as you two keep out of trouble. And the rest of you go home. You still have work tomorrow." And Cuddy turned and walked out.
"She doesn't believe you." Wilson explained Cuddy's reaction.
"I should have told her I was a hooker." Daniel muttered under his breath.
But not low enough, and the rest of the room exploded once again in laughter.
A few moments later the laughter died down and Wilson looked at his watch. "Cuddy's right. We should let House and company rest. I'll check in with you tomorrow. It was a pleasure to meet you Daniel, Jack."
Cameron and Foreman followed after Wilson. Saying their good byes and looking forward to talking more with Daniel for insight on their boss. That once again left three doctors and one air force colonel in the room.
"You should get some rest Greg. I'll stop by tomorrow." Daniel said pushing himself off the bed to let his legs dangle off the bed he's been lying on.
"Where do you think you're going?" Jack, Greg, and Chase asked.
"Uhm, out to find a hotel to rest at. I need to take another pain pill."
"But I was hoping for a sleep over." House pouted.
"You need your rest not me keeping you awake."
"House snores too. Don't worry." Chase added.
"Danny, you should stay. I have your pills here, and they should have your book, I mean medical files over by now. If something happens they can take care of you here."
"I dragged you out here, I don't want you in the hotel by yourself."
"Good, you can cancel the hotel. You'll keep Rob out of trouble."
"Greg."
"You know I don't like you going home by yourself. Especially after that last attack." Greg said in all seriousness.
Rob sighed. "They won't be any happier if I walk through your door with Mr. O'Neill."
"Too bad. The won't attack if you're with someone. Besides I think that Mr. O'Neill can protect you."
"Fine." Rob turned to Jack. "I'll make up the guest room for you. I can bring you back here tomorrow morning when I come to work."
"If it's no problem. Than thank you." Jack turned back to Daniel and grabbed his feet. "You need help getting changed?"
"Just hand me my bag."
"Excuse us." Jack pulled the curtain around Daniel's bed to give them some privacy.
When the curtain was pulled back ten minutes later Daniel was in a pair of flannel pants and a tee shirt. All four men had smiles on their faces.
"Now, no staying up all night. No ice cream. And no girls." Chase said leaning down to kiss Greg.
"Fine dad."
"And you play nicely. Remember you're a guest. No touching things you aren't invited to touch." Jack gave a speech and kiss to Daniel too.
"Go. Torture someone else for a while." Daniel said with a smile.
"Jack, let's leave these two to torment someone else for a while." Robert smiled and both able body men left.
"He seems nice." Daniel said after a moment. "Glad to see you finally got over Sandy."
"Stacy. Yeah. Rob's a good kid."
"Emphasis on the kid there. Enjoy robbing the cradle?"
"You aren't one to talk. Jack seems a bit old for you."
"He understands. He helped me with my wife."
"Rob doesn't judge. He's damaged too. Problems with his parents and all. But he still loves me for some reason."
"Hey, you're a good guy. And he's cute. Love the accent."
"Still surprises me that he loves me."
"I can sympathize. Jack's good. For all the gray hair I've given him, he's helped me have fun again. He understands about my parents and Sha're. He lost his son a while back."
"I'm glad that he understands. I've been worried about you. If it was up to me and my mom you would have stayed with us." Greg turned serious for a moment.
"Your dad moved all over the world. The last thing they needed was to have another 8 year old boy to deal with. From what I remember you were a handful as it was." Daniel yawned.
"You should see me now." Greg grinned. "Sleep. I know I need to. We'll cause trouble tomorrow. I'll give you a tour of this place."
"Night Dusty." Daniel said shutting off the lights by his bed.
"Just like old times Slider." Greg grinned, as his mind started to replay memories from his childhood.