Colorado Springs, 1919

He remembered that day as if it were yesterday. He had been injured in a battle, his aircraft shot down by enemy fire. Somehow, he had managed to control the plane long enough to get away from the battlefield and land in a deserted field of wheat. He had been badly injured from the force of the crash and had thought he was going to die.

Then a friendly face had appeared and pulled him from the plane. His vision had been blurry at that time but he had seen the greying hair and warm brown eyes, and had instantly known he was safe.

The man who had rescued him was an archaeologist who had been trapped in France when the war had started. Well, that wasn't entirely true - the man had married a local woman, who had died because of consumption, and he had stayed on to work the farm, thus trapping himself.

Daniel flicked an imaginary piece of dirt off his denim Levis, his mind still in the past. During the long months of his recovery, he had fallen in love with his rescuer. Jack - the name still sent shivers down his spine. Once Daniel had recovered enough, they had spent many nights - and days - learning about love and pleasure together. They hadn't talked much about personal things because they were too busy being in love. Daniel regretted that now; he would have liked to have known much more about Jack.

Six months after his arrival at the farm, Jack had helped him to escape back to the U.S. Parting had been a horrible experience, and Daniel hadn't wanted to leave Jack behind. In his heart, he knew that they were meant to be together but Jack had wanted him safe and so Daniel had finally acquiesced. He had gone home, months after everyone had presumed him dead, and received a medical discharge because of the limp he now sported as a result of injuries from the crash.

But he had only been living half a life since his return. He had work on a farm just out of town, hence why he was wearing the Levis as they were part of the uniform, but other than that, he just existed. Nothing excited or interested him, and he barely ate enough to survive on. He missed Jack terribly and would give anything to see him again, even if it was only once more. Otherwise, his heart would drown from all the silent tears it was shedding.

"Danny?"

The uncertain voice had him looking at the doorway to his bedroom in disbelief. "Jack?" No, it couldn't be him.

"I missed you." Jack rushed into the room and swept Daniel up into his arms, kissing him long and hard.

It took Daniel several seconds to start responding, so stunned was he by the sudden appearance of his lover. He flung his arms around Jack, holding him tight and never wanting to let go. The tears inside him stopped flowing and he felt his heart fill with happiness again. Jack was here!

Long minutes passed as the two men fell onto the bed and set about reaffirming their love for each other. Finally, when they were sated from their love-making, Daniel turned onto his side and looked down at Jack, love shining from his blue eyes. "How. when.?" He was so happy that he couldn't form whole questions.

"By boat a few weeks ago. They don't need me any more over there and. I couldn't live without you any more," Jack confessed, his fingers roaming over Daniel's naked skin. "When you left. it felt like I wasn't whole anymore."

Those words were possibly the most romantic that Daniel had ever heard. "I felt the same way too," he admitted, letting his fingers drift over Jack's stubble-covered cheek. "But how did you find me?"

"Pure luck. I remembered that you had mentioned Colorado Springs and that you loved being here in winter, so I took a chance that you were here. And then I saw you coming home, coming in here, and I just had to follow you. If I hadn`t seen you, then I would have asked around every house in town until I found you."

Daniel's heart swelled with love; Jack really wanted to be with him.

"Will you come with me to Egypt, Danny? I've heard there's many treasures to be discovered over there," Jack asked his lover, eager for him to say `yes'.

"I would love to," Daniel agreed, not wanting to be parted from Jack ever again. He didn't give any thought as to what he would be doing while Jack was searching for treasures but that didn't worry him; he would just be happy to be living again. And God willing, those tears that had nearly drowned him would never return.