Chapter One

After David left, Daniel spent two more days in the fancy suite in the Time Hotel. On the morning of the third day Mr. Grayson knocked on his door and told him that his credit card had been declined.  Daniel would either have to leave or come up with some other way to pay his bill.  Daniel had a whole wallet full of credit cards and one by one they were declined as was his bank card.

David.  Rotten bastard shut him off.  Daniel thought as he stood there in the lobby of the hotel unwashed, unshaved and totally disheveled in a wrinkled shirt which was sticking out of the waist band of his even more wrinkled khakis. It had to have been David, he probably called each company pretending to be Daniel and canceled the accounts so that Daniel couldn’t exhaust the family funds.  Calla would never do that to him. Never.  Even if she did get the idea to do it she would leave him one functioning credit card so that he wasn’t totally destitute on the streets of New York City.  She’d probably even make sure it was the one with the highest credit limit.  But not David. David figured the best way to wake up his brother to reality and get him to straighten up his act was to completely cut him off financially. Of course he didn’t need any ‘traveling money’, whenever he was ready Daniel would just travel the astral to where he hoped he still lived.

“I’ll pack my bags.” Daniel muttered.

“There is the matter of the current bill, Dr. Jackson. You’ve run quite a bar tab along with the normal room charges.” Mr. Grayson said in his elegant tone but there was no mistaking what he was actually saying; you owe us.

Daniel had gone a bit overboard with the bar in the room and the hotel lounge.  He hadn’t left the hotel at all for two days and, as such, had all of his meals delivered to him.  For the past days Daniel Jackson owed a grand total of $3,500.00 for the privileged of staying in the Time Hotel.  “Send the bill to my Wife.” He grumbled and ran a hand across his stubbly face. “She’ll pay it,” yeah, of course she would. If she left five dollars per copy for the newspaper articles she’d taken from various libraries to make him that family album (which he looked at often over the last two days) then she would surely pay this bill for him.  “You have my home address.”  He left the desk and took the glass elevator back up to the suite.  He’d avoided the elevator since Calla left, if he came down to the bar he took the stairs same for going back up to his room.  Riding up along in the elevator he reached out to touch the glass and remembered making love with her here.  How incredible it had been and might never be again if he didn’t find out what the hell was wrong with him and then find a way to fix it.

In between drinking and sulking and brooding Daniel had availed himself the Becky the pretty blonde maid a time or two.  It was empty and altogether unsatisfying.  Last night when she’d come by he just sat in the chair where he’d fucked her the first time staring at the door and not moving.  Letting her in wasn’t any good.  It wouldn’t solve his problem. All the pleasurable company in the world would not solve his problem.  He was still horny as hell but it subsided to a near tolerable degree since David took Calla away and warned him not to come home until he got whatever it was out of his system.  After all, David’s concern was obvious and not only was it for Calla but there was a whole house full of beautiful women back at the Jackson home in Scotland.  They could all be at risk from what it was Daniel was suffering from.

It was getting better.  Little by little.  Since that was the case he thought that perhaps there was something wrong with Calla and not with him, that somehow the Darkness was leaking out of her and causing him to do things he would not ordinarily do.  If that was the case, then what was going on at home? He wondered what she thought when she woke up alone (or so he hoped) in their bed at home.  What she was thinking now?  How angry was she with him?  Did she miss him? Did she even want him to come home?  If so he couldn’t tell it.  She’d made no effort to contact him either by telephone or telepathy.  He’d tried to get in touch with her once or twice with his mind and all he got was…snow.  Almost like a television on the fritz but it was cold too like real snow and he swore he felt a harsh wind blow around him as he sat in the empty bed trying to reach his Wife.  So he’d called home a few times but the other females in the house always answered and he hung up.  Daniel called to hear Calla’s voice not theirs.  It seemed she wasn’t coming to the phone these days.  Not for him anyway.  Maybe he could understand her being pissed off at him for some things but she better not be pissed off over Julie. She was all Calla’s idea.

Daniel spent a great deal of time wondering why that was.  Why had Calla set that up for him?  Just to fulfill a fantasy?  Perhaps. That would be like her.  After all he’d suffered through having David in their bed so maybe she felt that she should return the favor. Then again, maybe she set that whole thing up because she’d already had enough of him and figured if she fed him some other woman he’d leave her alone for a night.  Time and again he came back to the fact that she orchestrated it all, from having Julie come up to the room to the things they did and who did what to and with whom.  Mostly that meant he was given everything he could want by both of them.  Lucky him.  So then why did he feel so guilty?  He knew when they were lost in the heat that it felt too good and too right not to be a sin and that he was going to burn for in some manner either in hell or here on Earth.  Seemed pretty hot to him right now.

Stepping off the glass elevator but stopping to take a look back at it and the city beyond Daniel let out a heartfelt sigh and stumbled back to the room he’d been asked to vacate.  There was too much shit in here. What was he supposed to do with all of it? Wander around New York City with it strapped to his back?  When they came they only had two small overnight bags but Calla had been collecting souvenirs for those waiting at home not to mention all the lovely goodies they picked up at the ‘World’s Largest Adult Store’. Daniel decided he’d take his shit with him and zap the rest of the stuff back home where Calla could unpack her own clothes…once he got them off the floor since he’d never picked them up and whenever Becky came she wasn’t cleaning the room. He’d stuff them back into her overnight bag….and she could deal with the toys.  Thankfully he’d been intelligent and in control enough not to use them on any other women while his Wife was away.

Daniel still couldn’t believe he’d actually done what he’d done on many levels and over the course of the five days he’d been here at the Time Hotel.  Had he really screwed Becky right here in this living room in their suite  while Calla was asleep in the bedroom? Had David really stood there telling him he was a pig and that he needed help? Not to come home until he got his problem fixed.  It seemed like a horrible dream but yes, it had all happened.  Becky wasn’t even that attractive except in a rather sluty and skanky way that men seemed to appreciate from time to time. It wasn’t that he didn’t have his share of options the women in the hotel bar were all over him whenever he went down for a drink thinking he might like some company to pass the time.  They were like Becky and not one of them were like Calla.  After playing Cat ‘N Mouse with them for a while he lost interest before they did. That wasn’t hard after all he could practically hear what they were thinking as they chatted with him and chatted him up.  Could hear the things they wanted to do and what they wanted him to do to them.  Under other circumstances he might find their attention flattering but he had other things on his mind and as was already pointed out none of them was like her.  Not in looks or mannerisms, not in the way they smiled at him or held onto his hand.  All he could think about was her and how things had gotten so out of whack once more as he stuffed her clothes into the bag.

The black thigh highs were still on the bed. Daniel slept with them…when he slept. He held onto them and her panties breathing in the scent of her that remained on them and indulging in the soft silky feel of the material against his skin. Instead of putting them in the bag he stuffed them into his pants pocket.  He picked up the new family album and thumbed through it with all of its bright ribbons and photographs and newspaper articles.  Daniel didn’t want to put it into the bag he wanted to keep it with him like the stockings and panties. But, well, if he was going to be homeless for a time then perhaps it was best that this went back to the woman who’d so lovingly put it together for him.  At least that way it wouldn’t get lost or tattered. Daniel stuffed it into the bag flipping through the pages for one last look as he did.

Looking around the room and then the suite he tried to find anything else hat belonged to her or should go back to where she was waiting for him.  Hopefully she was waiting for him and that she’d be happy to see him when he finally arrived.  Over in the corner was her bag of I Love New York T-shirts for their assorted family members and the other knick-knacks she’d picked up here and there. One more thing to go into the overnight bag, which was starting to bulge at the seams, Daniel laid his tuxedo over the top of the bag figuring he wouldn’t need that for anything so why bother lugging it around.  Taking a last look around and deciding that was everything.  With a very practiced mind and every-increasing skill he zapped it to his home in Scotland and the bedroom he hoped to share with his Wife in the near future.

Shortly after dispensing of the bag there was a knock on the hotel door and Mr. Grayson called for Daniel to come out.  “I’m leaving.” He shouted at the closed door. “Just give me five minutes to get the rest of my stuff together.”  The place was a mess. Wait until Grayson got a lot of the suite!  No maid service in three days. Dirty dishes and containers of food were strewn everywhere along with half-empty and completely empty liquor bottles and a few used condoms.  He’d gotten smart on the second day, even if it possibly was a bit too late, and decided it was best to protect himself from future paternity suits, he wasn’t particularly worried about contracting any disease since his Immortality made that unlikely.  Calla’d have a real fucking shit-fit if one of them got pregnant. Daniel really didn’t think he’d get forgiven for a second time on that particular score.

“Doctor Jackson I have a pass card, I will use it if you don’t come out of there immediately.” Mr. Grayson warned from the other side of the door.

Yeah, no shit. Fuck you buddy, I don’t need this.  “Bill me.” He shouted as he hoisted the strap of the duffel bag onto his shoulder and disappeared from the room just before the door opened only to reappear in an alleyway down an the street. “Asshole.”  The alley stunk. It was littered with age-old trash and excrement Daniel high-tailed it toward the street and the fresh air. “P-U.” He complained waving his hand in front of his nose and wondering where he was going and what he was going to do when he got there.  One thing was for sure; he was hungry.  Daniel fished his wallet out of his hip pocket before emerging onto the street and saw that he had a little over a hundred dollars in cold hard American currency on him.  That was all he was going to have since his credit and his bank card had been cut off.  Still, a man had to eat.

Walking a few blocks he stumbled on a diner.  The food smelled good and while it was a bit worn inside it didn’t look dirty so he wandered in and sat at the counter.  The look of someone he didn’t recognize caught his eye in the napkin dispenser. Daniel picked it up and then looked up to see a mirror across the way over the glasses, straws, dishes and other diner needs.

Is that me?  That can’t be me.  He rubbed his chin. The man in the mirror rubbed his chin. Holy shit.  He’d better find some type of public shower and a place to clean up before too long.  He looked old but more than that he looked like the bums he’d passed in the alleyways and on the sidewalks only he was better dressed.

“Like a menu, hon?” The waitress asked as she neared him with a skeptical eye. “Specials are on the board.” She pointed behind her shoulder with her pencil at the chalkboard there.

“Coffee to start…please.” He said and put a twenty dollar bill on the counter in front of him so the waitress would know that he did intend to pay for his fare.  “Big cup.”

“You got it.”  She said with a smile, scratched the word coffee on his chit and filled up a large steaming cup of the fresh brew for him.  Her name tag read; Robin.  Robin put small containers of half-half in front of him.  Next to the napkin dispenser was a sugar dispenser. 

Daniel poured a lot of sugar into the coffee more than usual and left the cream out for a change.  Maybe if I duck into the Men’s Room after I order I can wash up and shave quickly.  He thought as he stirred the coffee and then brought it to his lips.  At least he’d look more respectable even if he didn’t feel that way.  “Robin?” He asked catching her attention.

“Yeah.”

“Any chance you sell small packets of aspirin or something like that.”

“Um-hum, sure do, hon.” She said with a sympathetic smile and again pointed with her pencil at a display near the other end of the counter.  “We got aspirin, ibuprofens, some of that naproxen stuff.  What would you like? Tough night?”

“Just whatever you grab is fine.” Daniel replied ignoring her second question.  Robin grabbed a pack of Advil and handed it to him.

“Water, hon?”

She had some type of mid-western accent but he couldn’t place it. Maybe it was Kansas or maybe northern Texas he didn’t know.  Like Becky she had a fluff of blonde hair that he was fairly certain she kept colored regularly. Robin was an older and wiser woman than Becky, he could tell that by the sensible flat shoes Robin work for her job where as Becky The Maid liked to do her job in a short skirt and high heels.  “Please.” He said opening the pack and dumping the two pills into his mouth.  Robin put a small glass of water in front of him next to the fresh coffee and he knocked the pain killers down.  “I think I’m ready to order.” Daniel said as she started to turn away.  He was hungry. The last time he ate was probably lunch yesterday. After that things were blurry but he certainly didn’t remember eating anything.  He did, however, remember consuming a large quantity of Southern Comfort.  “Let me get two scrambled eggs, bacon and an English muffin.”  That should be easy on his stomach.

“You got it. Hey, ya know, hon, if you get  home fries with this” Robin advised as she pointed to the menu with the ever-present pencil, “then that’s the Wake-Up Special,” she tapped the menu where it read; Wake-Up Special.  “It’ll actually save you a buck than the way you’re ordering.”

Home fries, he likes home fries and he bet they had good ones in a place likes this.  “Sure, why not?” Daniel said.

Robin grinned as she again scratched down his order but this time she handed it through the large open window-area and stuck it on the order table.  The cook grabbed it and began preparing Daniel’s breakfast.

It wouldn’t take too long but maybe there was enough time to use the Men’s Room and make himself a bit more presentable to the world.  “I’ll be back.” Daniel said in a soft voice leaving his twenty on the counter for her to see but taking the bag with him to the rear of the diner where the ‘Rest Rooms’ sign was hanging. 

The bathroom was one stall and it wasn’t the best but like the rest of the diner it was clean. Daniel slid the lock shut and rummaged through his bag until he came up with his shaving kit.  Taking off the shirt he bent over the sink and let hot water run over his grungy head scrubbing with his fingers he made sure he got all of it.  The good thing about staying in a hotel is they expect you to steal the towels even if you do it inadvertently as Daniel had done.  One simply got stuffed into the bag with everything else. It smelled clean so he used it to dry his head then draped it around his bare shoulders while he wet his beard and then lathered up.  A quick shave would do wonders.  If nothing else he wouldn’t look like a hobo any longer.

With the razor in his hand he looked up into the mirror for the first time since he came into the bathroom.  In the silver glass he saw Ares standing behind him. “You! What are you….”Daniel wheeled around with the razor but no one was there. Only the lonely toilet stood behind him. “I must be hallucinating,” he shook his head and then turned back to the mirror and saw only his own haggard face staring back at him.  With a shaky hand, Daniel ran the razor over two days worth of stubble as quickly as he could and getting got’cha in several places in the process.  No more beard but his skin looked a bit like Swiss cheese by the time he was done.  Daniel slid back into the shirt and found his tooth brush. He quickly brushed his teeth and then used the towel to clean his face before stuffing it back into the bag and straightening out his clothing. It was good thing he hair was short, he hadn’t seen a comb or brush in the bag.  He either put them in with Calla’s things or left them behind.  By the time he got back to his seat at the counter his breakfast was waiting for him.

Sitting there with his coffee and being freshly shaved and washed Daniel started to feel a little more human again.  The meal would do him good.  Not to mention it looked very tasty.  As he ate the pain killer started to kick in and his headache began to fade as his belly growled and greedily sucked down what he was slowly giving it.  Daniel looked in the mirror again.  He looked more like himself and was starting to feel more like himself but still that wasn’t quite him looking back from the glass.  In the mirror he caught sight of two men at the other end of the counter they were looking and pointing at him.  Maybe he should have stuck with the scruffy-look, he was much more recognizable this way.  If he focused in on them, Daniel was sure he could hear what they were saying at least with his mind if not his ears.  He looked away from the mirror and drank a deep swallow of the cooling coffee.  Daniel ate every scrap of food on the plate and found that he was still hungry.  In the case across from him were several varieties of tasty looking muffins and Daniel ordered two to go as he paid the bill and tipped Robin for her services.

Where the hell am I going?

Daniel had no idea.  He wanted to go home more than anything especially now since he was feeling better.  The women who passed him by attracted his attention but there were very few of them he had thoughts about.  Even those weren’t much beyond the normal male thinking.  Maybe he’d give it another day and see how he felt tomorrow just to be sure.   Thinking that a good idea and not knowing what to do with his time Daniel decided to take the subway and visit a few museums before attempting to find an inexpensive place to crash this evening.

Wandering around the New York Museum of Natural History in some strange attempt to remind or even rediscover himself and who he was and what he did with his life Daniel took in many displays and tried to concentrate on them.  He tried to place them into categories in his head and look at them objectively.  Daniel did that for several hours and all it seemed to do was make him depressed.  While the feeling of being controlled by some outer force or simply not caring about what was right and what was wrong only wanting to do the things he wanted to do began to fade away.  It lingered and whispered in his mind sometimes it took a good deal of effort to push it away but he managed.  That drive was almost better than what he was left with; voices.  Everywhere around him he heard voices.  It took Daniel a while to realize he was tuning in to the thoughts of everyone around him and doing it without any conscious effort at all.  It was maddening. People thinking about their shopping, picking up the dry cleaning, Junior’s lousy grades, the hot-tempered boss, the hot boss, the lover, the wife, dinner plans and a million other jumbled thoughts combined and echoed in a resounding cacophony in his head.

He couldn’t shut if off but he could drown it down to a dull roar if he tried to concentrate on something else. Calla. If he thought about her and only her, just her face that was all, the rest of it went away enough to be tolerable.  Wanting to be away from the crowds and the people to find some place quiet to site, he left the museum shortly before sundown and having skipped lunch to save a few pennies decided he was once again hungry and should find something to eat and then a peaceful place to sleep.

Ares. Daniel’s  mind kept coming back to his Father in-law again and again.  Some how Ares was behind this, he was the one controlling him and making him do those things or at least planting the desire in his mind.  He had to be.

A wolf in heat, that’s how Daniel said he felt.

David said he thought Daniel looked more like a rabid dog.

Either way they were both metaphors for the God of War.

If Daniel found out that he was right and Ares was pulling some magickal strings then there would be hell to pay. Daniel wasn’t going to put up with any thing further from Ares.  Calla would just have to take a side.  It would be his side, Daniel was sure of it, if he made her choose she’d pick him. They had children and a life and a history and she was still ripped off at him.  Calla hadn’t so much as said more than a mildly civil word to her Father since she got her mind back several months ago.

Walking down the moderately busy street, he realized he had to use the bathroom but it was too far to go back to the museum and simply disappearing on a street like this probably wasn’t the wisest of ideas.  Do Daniel did what most men in his situation might do by availing himself to a local alleyway where he ducked out of sight of the passers-by and relieved himself near a dumpster.  It been a long time since he pissed in alley.  Too long.  He kept a good idea on the street end making sure no one was watching him and was totally distracted, in fact he didn’t even feel it, when someone came up from behind him and slammed Daniel Jackson over the head with a rather metal pipe.

In midstream, Daniel crashed to his knees and then full out in the puddle of his own piss which was still emanating from him as his bladder emptied now that there was no muscle control to stop it.  The grungy man who hit him stood over him for a minute and then grabbed the duffel bag and rummaged in Daniel’s pockets for his wallet, keys and cell phone.  With the sun rapidly descending and his arms full of booty the man left Daniel in the darkening alley bleeding from the head.

End of Chapter One of Hell In A Cell
Continue to Chapter Two