Wayward Son Facing your Dragon

by JoaG

A Teen Daniel fic where, once more, the odds are never in Daniel Jackson O'Neill's favour

1. Chapter 1

Wayward Son – Facing your Dragon

by devra and JoaG

Authors' Notes: This is a Teen Daniel story. If this isn't your cup of tea, you may leave now and not say that you weren't warned.

________________________________________

"Bless you." Cassie dug into her purse and waved a tissue in front of him. "This is the last one, Daniel. After this, you're on your own."

"Thanks." He pulled his gloves off and trapped them awkwardly against his chest with his arm as he blew his nose. He added the flimsy tissue to the pile of soiled ones filling his jacket pocket. It was so cold that by the time he and Cassie had crossed the parking lot to Cheyenne Mountain's main gate, the used tissues had frozen solid.

He stopped, fumbled putting his gloves on then stumbled after Cassie, feeling his nose prickle at another impending sneeze. His entrance to Cheyenne Mountain was announced with four successive sneezes, the sounds of which echoed in the small room. He shoved his fogged up glasses on top of his head but even without them, Daniel didn't miss the security guard's glare before he turned his attention to Cassie.

Sniffling loudly didn't do much for his clogged sinuses except make his head ache more. He cleared his throat, wishing he had something, anything, to ease the growing scratchiness.

"We were announced when we drove through the gate," Cassie told the guard. With an impassive face, he handed her a pen so she could sign in. She bent over the ledger while Daniel searched for the last tissue he'd used. He pulled it out, grabbed the bunch of frozen ones and dropped them into the garbage can next to the guard's desk. When they hit the bottom with a heavy clunk, he felt the heat of embarrassment creep up his neck and flush his cheeks.

"God, is it ever cold out there," Cassie exclaimed to the guard as she handed Daniel the pen.

He quickly grabbed the pen from Cassie and with fingers clumsy from the cold, he signed in, his chicken scratches barely legible underneath Cassie's girly, flowing handwriting.

"Someone will be here in a moment to accompany you," the guard said as Daniel handed the pen back. It wasn't lost on him that the guard pushed it aside with the edge of his finger. Germs. Another sneeze rocked him back on his heels just as the elevator doors opened.

"Bless," his dad said from inside the elevator.

"Better get used to saying that, Uncle Jack," Cassie said with a smirk. "He's been sneezing non-stop since we left school."

"This is all your fault," Daniel grumbled as he let himself fall back against the elevator wall. "You gave me your germs."

"My fault?" Cassie huffed, leaning a shoulder on the wall and crossing her arms. "Who was kissing Dria after school on Monday? She was sick, too."

"Alexandria was already over her cold—"

"Kids? Mind giving me a moment to say something here?"

"Sorry, Uncle Jack." Cassie smiled as she pulled her earmuffs off and stuck them into her jacket pocket.

"Carter said she'd look at your scanner," his dad said as Daniel unbuttoned his jacket. "But we're both heading to a meeting that's starting..." He checked his watch and made an exaggerated grimace, "Five minutes ago. So if you don't mind waiting... I'm guessing you two haven't eaten yet?"

"No, we came here straight from last period—"

"Go grab a snack and Daniel, do me a favor and go see Fraiser after you've eaten."

"Why? It's just a cold."

"Yes, maybe, but I'd feel better if you get yourself checked out."

"It's a cold, Dad. I get at least one of these every fall and winter." Bad enough his head felt stuffed with cotton and that said cotton was trying to come out through his nose, but his throat was definitely hurting and he could feel the irritation starting in his chest. Cassie and Alexandria had had simple head colds but with his luck, it looked like he was getting the deluxe version. "All Janet can do is hand me a box of tissues."

The elevator doors opened and Daniel didn't wait. He stepped out into the hallway and walked to the next set of elevators. His dad nodded to the guard on duty and activated the elevator doors with his keycard. He punched the twenty-first and twenty-seventh floors.

"It's been only a few weeks since you got over the effects of the drugs—"

"I'm fine—"

"And Fraiser said your immune system could be a little vulnerable for a while—"

"Dad, come on. Half the school has the sniffles."

"Daniel, your dad's right. It won't hurt for my mom to take a look at you. Plus," she said, leaning closer, "she's got a stash of those really expensive chocolates in her office."

Daniel stared at his feet, knowing his dad had bought Janet those chocolates as a thank you for having helped him through the drug addiction.

"So, what do you say? A quick checkup and some chocolates for dessert?"

Daniel shrugged. At this moment, as much as he loved chocolate, he wouldn't be able to taste them anyway, but Cassie had been good enough to drive him here so...

The elevator doors opened and he and Cassie stepped out. His dad held the door open and leaned out. "So, I'll go look for you in the infirmary when I'm done. If you're out of the doc's clutches before then, head on down to Carter's lab. She'll meet you there."

Daniel nodded reluctantly. He turned away, heading for the commissary when his dad called out. "Carter wanted to know how long the scanner's been on the fritz."

"Just since this morning," Daniel acknowledged slowly. "It was working fine yesterday."

His dad's eyebrows rose nearly to his hairline. "And should I ask how come you were using it both yesterday and this morning?"

"Um, I always check it," Daniel admitted, wishing he could have kept this little tidbit of information from his dad. "You know, just in case you guys go..." Daniel rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. It wasn't quite an obsession, but ever since Carolyn Lam had given him the scanner as an awkward apology, he'd felt the need to check it several times a day for his own peace of mind. Up until now, the only ones who occasionally blipped off the scanner were Sam and Teal'c. His dad had promised to let him know whenever he'd be going offworld and true to his word, so far, he'd never left the planet. And when Sam and Teal'c were away, he never relaxed until their signals popped up again on the scanner.

His father's face softened as he nodded. "Okay. I'll tell her it was working fine up until this morning."

Daniel stood there watching as his father stepped back and the elevator doors closed.

"I feel like some fries. What are you eating?" Cassie grabbed Daniel's arm and tugged him towards the commissary.

________________________________________

There were days when Jack was hard-pressed to keep his attention on the meetings at hand, and this was definitely one of them. Some subjects were just so uninspiring and Lee and Carter's explanations were over his head, despite his having brought their research summaries home yesterday and reading late into the night. He glanced over at Hammond, whose eyes seemed glazed over and Teal'c, who appeared to be in a state of kelno'reem while Carter and Lee talked over one another in their enthusiasm.

Didn't really matter; Carter would give them the whole sixty-minutes' presentation in a nutshell just before Hammond was expected to comment. He never understood why she couldn't do this in the first place and save them from all this tedium. He shifted on the chair, easing the growing stiffness in his ass and lower back. Damn, he was getting old. Drum roll, please - ah, here they go; the whole crux of the technobabble—

"Sam?"

"Rodney?"

Rodney McKay hurried up the stairs, carrying an opened laptop before him. He glanced at the people sitting around the table, seemed surprised to see them there, and muttered, "Sorry, General, but I was running a diagnostic on the computer systems and I just discovered an anomaly."

"Can't this wait?" Carter gave Hammond an apologetic grimace.

"Actually, no, Sam, it can't." He set the laptop on the table between Jack and Carter, and pointed to a bunch of data streaming in a corner. Carter glanced down and when she suddenly leaned closer to the laptop, Jack knew whatever she was looking at didn't bode well.

Lee got up and peered over Carter's shoulder. "Oh, that's not good."

"General Hammond, I think we have a problem." She started tapping on the laptop, not even looking up at McKay. "When did this start?"

"I'm not sure. From what I've gathered from the data stream, I'd say about eight or nine hours ago."

"When did what start?" Jack asked, voice curt, already frustrated he'd wasted an hour in total confusion.

"Someone's hacked into our computer system. It's pretty ingenious and almost impossible to discover. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't have even found this out if I hadn't noticed the .0012 percent power fluctuations when I—"

"Are they searching for anything in particular?" Teal'c asked.

"Yes, it looks like they've managed to get into the security protocols," Lee answered.

"Can you stop them?"

Carter was typing fast and furiously, her attention more on the laptop than the conversation around her.

"It's not that simple, General." McKay was looking over Carter's shoulder, trying to push Lee out of the way. "Even if we can cut him out, we don't know if the hacker has left any little nasty surprises behind."

"Viruses," Lee muttered as if nobody knew what surprises McKay was referring to. "Major Carter's attempting to trace the feedback to the—"

"Uh oh." McKay leaned forward, as if not believing his eyes.

"What?" Jack asked testily when all the scientists leaned closer to the screen without elaborating.

"They're scanning us," Carter exclaimed.

________________________________________

Daniel tried not to grimace as he blew his nose with a paper napkin, the roughness adding insult to injury to his poor abused nose. The wad of napkins that Cassie had dumped next to his plate had diminished considerably. He shoved the soiled napkin into his jacket pocket hanging from the back of his chair to be disposed of later, with the rest of them. Sniffling, he reached for another fry on his plate – when the world shifted. He heard Cassie screaming from far away and suddenly his chair collapsed beneath him, sending him crashing to the floor.

The shock rebounded through his spine and into his head, and for a moment he saw stars. He blinked, expecting to be sitting amidst the debris of his chair and surrounded by tables and tacky blue tablecloths. Instead the room was empty, and the dull grey cement walls were replaced by a shiny, black metallic sheen.

For a moment Daniel thought he was hallucinating. Then he sneezed.

The resulting need for a tissue, plus the feeling that his brain had just bounced from one end of his skull to the other in a split second, brought home that this was real.

Crap. "Hello?"

The three men seemed to come out of the walls. It was only when they got close that Daniel realized he hadn't seen them because they were wearing black, along with a full-faced hood, which blended in so well with the walls that they'd been perfectly hidden. Then one of them raised an odd-shaped object that his memories warned him, about two seconds too late, that it was a weapon. Before he could even cry out, a bolt of electricity slammed into him.

He came to with the three men holding him down, his body no longer jerking but partially paralyzed and still tingling from the shock of the zat blast. He knew the effects were temporary, both from the experience of having been zatted this summer, as well as from his memories. His muddled brain spent a few seconds comparing the hurt of now to then, when a sharp pain in his arm had him yelling out in shock.

The pain continued and he gritted his teeth, breaths coming in short gasps, until the pain eased. The men stood, leaving him there alone as they walked away, and he managed just enough control of his body to curl onto his side.

________________________________________

Alarms went off throughout the base. Hammond stood and walked calmly to Captain Griffin's desk, waiting patiently as his aide called security to discover what the emergency was. When the man hung the phone up, his gaze didn't go to Hammond, but to Jack.

"Sir, Daniel Jackson disappeared."

"What?"

"According to several eyewitnesses, he was beamed out of the commissary."

"Call NORAD," Hammond ordered, "and tell them to scan for any ships in orbit."

"They're probably cloaked," Carter and McKay said simultaneously.

"They took Daniel?" Jack stood there incredulously, unable to fathom how someone could break through the SGC's defenses and beam out someone who, technically, wasn't even part of the staff.

A bright beam of light lit the room directly above the briefing table. Fear and relief hit Jack at once; fear that someone else was in the process of being abducted and hopeful relief that Daniel was being returned. The light lasted only a few seconds, depositing an object on the table.

"What the hell?" Jack muttered, leaning in for a better look.

"Don't touch it!" Carter exclaimed as McKay reached for whatever it was.

A tiny, bloody device lay in the middle of the table. A device all of them wore under the skin of their biceps. A device that Jack himself had insisted Daniel have implanted so that they could keep track of him in case this very thing ever happened.

"It's a subcutaneous GPS." McKay reached to touch his arm and Jack figured he was making sure his own device was still there. "We need to get this to Doctor Fraiser." He looked around, grabbed a pad of paper and teased the device onto it. A streak of blood marred the shiny surface of the table, and stained the paper.

"They must have found the transmitter codes for Daniel's GPS." Carter looked up at Jack, eyes wide in alarm. "They could have found any one of ours – why take him?"

McKay retrieved a tray from the cart in the corner that held refreshments and slid the pad of paper onto it.

"Major." Hammond moved so he was standing behind Carter. "I want you to find out how these people managed to break into our defenses and make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Yes, sir."

"There's only one reason." Jack stood there, hands fisted together, barely able to breathe. It was an effort to get the words out. "They did this before, got their hands on him and his memories—"

"Yes, yes, yes," McKay said impatiently, "the NID used that little alien device to get to your son's memories this spring. So why would they want to do it all over again?" He twirled a finger in the air impatiently.

Jack turned, facing Hammond. "Is Kinsey still in custody?"

Hammond nodded. "Locked up, and not going anywhere."

"They want to study him, the same way Kinsey did." NID and rogue agents; pretty soon the Goa'uld and their allies would be after Daniel, if this kept up.

"If DanielJackson's abductors are in possession of a ship, then they have access to P3P-387 and the device which originally turned him into a child. They would be able to study its effects first-hand. DanielJackson's knowledge is documented in mission reports. The need to access his memories is unnecessary."

"That's true." Hammond stared at the bloody GPS. "Find out whether that device belongs to Daniel."

"I'll do it." Lee took the tray and gave Jack an apologetic wince.

"I have some phone calls to make. Maybe I can get some answers." Hammond walked to his office, and with his dismissal, the room was suddenly empty except for Jack, Teal'c, and the bloody smear on the table.

"Perhaps we should speak to CassandraFraiser. She most likely was a witness to DanielJackson's disappearance."

Jack found it hard to move. He started with a nod, which seemed to unfreeze the rest of his body. His muscles weren't moving right and he felt like a marionette as he asked Hammond's aide to have Cassie escorted here.

________________________________________

"Uncle Jack!"

Face blotchy with tears, Cassie threw herself at Jack. He caught her as she wrapped her arms around him.

"They t-took D-Daniel," she sobbed.

"I know." Suddenly he feared for the teenager's safety. What if their suppositions were wrong? What if Cassie was the next target? If Daniel could be beamed out of the base through his GPS, then so could Cassie. He was reluctant to let her go, picturing her disappearing the second he walked away. He kept a hold on her arm, ready to go with her at the first sign of abduction as he steered her towards a chair.

"Can't you find him? Mom said the GPS would help locate us if we got kidnapped." She stood next to the chair but didn't sit, instead leaning against him.

"We can't, honey. His is... deactivated." He didn't think she needed to hear the truth at the moment. Although they could take measures that would keep Cassie safe, at least. He turned to look at McKay, who was going over the data in the laptop. "Do you think we need to remove hers?"

"No. Sam's changed the frequency so whatever they used to break through our security network won't work until they manage to figure it out." McKay spoke while he alternated between reading and typing on the laptop.

"How sure are you that they haven't done that already?"

McKay stopped and stared at Jack, wide eyed. He suddenly looked contrite. "Well, there's no knowing yet what they're capable of but give us another hour or two and we'll know more. In the meantime," McKay indicated the SFs standing by the door, "you might want to make sure someone stays close to the kid. You know, just in case?" Warning delivered, McKay's attention was already back on his work.

"Just in case?" Cassie squeaked. "Just in case, what? That they come after me? Uncle Jack, are they going to come after me, too?"

"No, sweetheart." Jack pulled her close, feeling her shuddering. "If they'd wanted to take you, they probably would have taken you along with Daniel." He kissed the top of her head. "Do you think you can tell us what happened?"

"He was sitting there beside me and he was blowing his nose and suddenly there was this light and he was gone." She sighed loudly and shakily. "Did it hurt? Did they hurt him?"

"No. The transportation doesn't hurt. It might be a little disorienting when you find yourself suddenly somewhere else but it doesn't hurt."

"Okay. So Daniel could be fine, right?"

"I'm sure he's perfectly fine." He was surprised that the words came out sounding normal, because he sure as hell didn't believe them.

________________________________________

He was going to be fine. Huddled in a corner of the room, fingers clasping a torn piece of material from his sweatshirt's sleeve on the bleeding cut on his arm, Daniel prayed for rescue. His dad was most certainly looking for him, as were Sam and Teal'c. He just hoped Cassie hadn't been taken as well.

He'd found two power bars and two bottles of water in the corner when he'd crawled there, as far from the doors as possible. Logic declared they were going to hold him for at least a day; food and water probably meant they weren't going to hurt him. Yet. He'd stuffed the food into his jeans' pockets and kept the water close.

Loosening his hold on his arm, Daniel peered under the wad of material. It was sticky and stuck to his skin. When he pulled it away, the bleeding started again.

"Stupid." This time he tore a smaller piece of material from his sleeve, placing the new bit over the cut and under the larger wadded up piece. This way, he'd be able to pull the larger wad away and leave just the stuck-on material without making it bleed again.

He sneezed and winced at the noise. The last thing he wanted to do was call attention to himself. He tried to snuffle back the heaviness in his sinuses as quietly as he could.

His heart was still pounding in his ears and he was shivering with fear. Nervous sweat was pouring down his back and sides, dampening his underarms. Thankfully, his nose was so stuffed that he couldn't even smell the stink of his own terror.

The adult portion of his memories might be there but they did nothing to help calm him. He remembered being this scared as a grownup, just having better control over his reactions. Plus, most of the times he'd gotten into trouble this serious, his dad, or Sam or Teal'c, had been there with him. Except for that time in the Yucatan when...

"Okay, let's not go there," he whispered softly. To distract himself, he looked around the room again. Maybe he was going about this the wrong way; maybe he shouldn't be acting like a victim, and instead should be trying to find a way out of here. So they took away the means for his dad to track him; then he needed to find a way to get in touch with his dad and let him know where he was.

There had to be a phone somewhere in the building, right?

With one hand pressing on the still-bleeding cut, Daniel leaned on the wall and pushed himself upright. He walked slowly to the door, hating how his legs were jittery with reaction and adrenaline, and how his racing heartbeat worsened the pressure in his head. Then he felt a sneeze coming, and he hurried back to his corner, just in case someone was outside and listening.

Several sneezes later, he approached the door a second time. There was a faint outline in the odd metal of the room, indicating that there was an opening here but to be honest, now that he thought about it, if he hadn't seen the door open earlier, he'd not have known there was one. And worst of all, there was no doorknob and no obvious way of opening it.

A few ideas flitted across his brain, all of them partial memories of his previous life. He looked around half-heartedly, not even sure if secret passages or doors or other hidden exits might exist and if they did, would he even recognize them? He made two circuits of the room and ended up sliding down back down into the corner to huddle there, the force of a sneeze making him wish he'd had the foresight to jam a wad of napkins into a pocket. Or have kept his jacket on instead of draping it on the back of a commissary chair. At least then, he'd have had his cell phone with him.

The walls were vibrating slightly when he leaned against them, as if there was some large machinery close by. It was vaguely familiar, and he couldn't help but wonder what it was.

________________________________________

"We've found a faint signature trace—"

"We?" McKay gave Carter an exasperated look. "Do you know how long it took me to calibrate the sensors so I could—"

"—Which proves a spaceship was definitely in orbit no more than six hours ago." Carter raised her voice over McKay's, cutting him off.

Giving Carter a wounded look, McKay sighed theatrically.

"From the calculations Rodney entered into the computer, I was able to ascertain that the ratio of—"

Jack wasn't in the mood for science talk at the moment. "Carter, is there, or is there not, a ship in orbit?" He didn't want to be rude but he was fed up of waiting. Now he wanted answers.

"There was. It's no longer there."

"So, we have no idea where they've gone."

"Well, if we had a ship available, we could easily follow it now that we've identified its signature trace." Rodney waved a hand, dismissing his idea. "Of course the Daedalus is halfway between here and Atlantis and the Odyssey is still a few months out from being space-worthy."

"How's that supposed to help us, McKay?" Jack growled.

"Oh, it's not." McKay looked started. "I just meant, if we had a ship, we could go after it."

"What of the Ancient timeship?" Teal'c gave McKay a warning glare.

"No." Carter sat back in the chair. "Its hyper drive isn't adapted for long-range travel."

"Don't we have at least one ship in the area we can use?" Jack paced alongside the table, feeling everyone's eyes on him.

"None that will get here in the next hour, which is how long the signature trace will last before we lose it."

"Damn it. Isn't there anything we can—"

"Colonel O'Neill."

Jack stopped mid-rant as Hammond came out of his office. He looked livid.

"I've just been informed that a ransom demand has been made for Daniel."

"Ransom? They want money?"

"Unfortunately, that would be too easy. They want Robert Kinsey in exchange."

Jack's legs nearly gave out. He steadied himself by locking his knees. The kidnappers had, in effect, just written his son's death warrant. There was no way the President would release Kinsey from jail and hand him over in exchange for Daniel's life.

His face must have shown his fears, because Hammond merely said, "I'm sorry, Jack."

________________________________________

The room he was in gave a lurch, pulling Daniel from an uncomfortable doze. For a moment he thought it was an earthquake and he glanced up at the ceiling in fear. Then the background thrum changed pitch and the memory hit him. His heart felt like it was going to pound right out of his chest when he stared around the room with new dread.

He was in a spaceship. He wasn't even on Earth anymore.

Throat and mouth dry, Daniel reached for the bottle of water and forced himself to take a few sips. It suddenly felt cold in the room, as if the chill of outer space, possibly even just on the other side of one of these walls, was leeching the heat from around him. Slowly, he inched forward so he wasn't touching the walls and curled on his side, bringing his knees to his chest to conserve heat. He shivered, once again wishing he had his jacket with him, this time to help keep him warm.

________________________________________

The door to his office was closed. Jack had shut it deliberately when he'd run out of people to call, trying to pull in favors for information. Now for the past hour he'd simply been sitting at his desk, staring at the phone, knowing he needed to make that one last call. And knowing the person at the other end would be so hurt by the news of Daniel's kidnapping that the thought of it made him nauseous.

He finally made himself reach for the phone and dialed the number that he knew so well.

"Hi, Ma?"

________________________________________

Daniel raised his head, wondering sleepily what had woken him up. The movement made his head ache and he squinted into the glare of the opening door, adjusting his glasses with a finger. And froze when his brain woke up and he realized where he was.

A silhouette raised an arm and he saw the zat just before the world exploded in pain.

________________________________________

"DNA tests concluded positively that the blood on the GPS is Daniel's."

Fraiser was holding onto the chart containing the information with a white-knuckled grip. They all had wanted to believe otherwise, that the bloody chip that had been returned to them had been some well-made replica and not Daniel's.

"So far nobody has any concrete information on the kidnappers. There are rumors of an organization called The Trust but none of my contacts could confirm whether they are responsible for this." Hammond folded his hands together and looked around the table. "We have less than two days to find the kidnappers. Is there any progress?"

Carter shook her head, her expression one of defeat.

"The Tok'ra have offered us the use of one of their ships," Teal'c said. "Unfortunately it will not arrive in time to be of assistance."

"When?" Jack leaned forward, grasping at straws.

"In two days."

"Shit. We needed that ship yesterday."

"What of RobertKinsey? Have precautions been taken for his security?"

"Ah, I'm glad you asked." McKay raised a finger, almost crowing at the attention. "Sam and I," he said, stressing the words, "have come up with a jamming system that's virtually foolproof. While they might be able to physically break into Mr. Kinsey's jail cell and take him that way, but they won't be able to beam him out using the Asgard technology." He gave a satisfied smile and the start of an amused laugh. "That's because over the past few months we've managed to decode some of the Asgard computer code and so were able to extrapolate in order to build the jamming device. It's pretty amazing, when you think of it. It's got this—"

"Rodney," Carter hissed.

"—Repeating decimal code that's virtually impossible to decipher because it—"

"Rodney." When McKay looked at her, showing surprise, she simply said, "Shut up."

"Oh." Again McKay looked surprised at the expressions around the table. "Sorry," he said in a rush of breath. "I tend to get carried away. We've been working pretty hard on developing that system and as soon as the computer finishes the diagnostics and I upload it into the..." Again, he glanced around the table at the inpatient expressions. "Shutting up now."

"You mean if you'd had that system up and running yesterday, they'd never have gotten their hands on Daniel?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Well, yes, that's, um, right."

"Except the system wasn't ready, sir," Carter said tiredly, "and it was Rodney's hard work over the past eighteen hours that got it up and running today. Although..." She reached for Daniel's scanner, which she'd brought with her. "I think the timing isn't coincidental. They must have had an idea we were close to completion and..." She turned the scanner on and showed Jack the readout. Six blips appeared, four of them close together, the fifth and sixth slightly apart. Himself, Teal'c, Carter and Fraiser, all four of them here in the room, and Cassie, in one of the VIP rooms, and Daniel's GPS, in the infirmary. The six individual codes which the scanner had been programmed with.

"Daniel said the scanner was working fine until yesterday morning. That's when these people started hacking into our computers. They were analyzing the codes, testing our defenses and if we'd had something as simple as Daniel's scanner, we might have had a warning." She tossed it onto the table in frustration.

"It won't work anymore," she said when Jack reached for it. "We've adapted the frequencies in accordance with Rodney's calculations, and once we upload it and it goes online, nobody will be able to find us without the proper equipment. This will never happen again, even offworld."

Jack fiddled with the scanner, watching the blips, wondering how often Daniel had done exactly the same thing.

"How soon before it's ready?"

"It's ready now," Rodney answered the general. "I just need your permission—"

"Do it."

They sat in silence for a short time. When it was apparent nobody had further news, Hammond dismissed them. Everyone went to stand, but stopped when Teal'c, who hadn't made a move, spoke up.

"There is something which does not make sense." He glanced at the scanner which Jack was holding. "Why wait and remove DanielJackson from Cheyenne Mountain, when they could have easily taken him at any time from his home or his school? Does not the fact that they deliberately surmounted our computerized defenses when it was not essential, a matter for analysis?"

"You're right." Hammond, who'd gotten to his feet, looked like he was going to sit again, but instead pushed his chair against the table and rested his hand on its back. "This was nothing but posturing, to show us that they could take him when and where they wanted to."

"It's also disconcerting to know there must be a spy or a mole somewhere. Someone had to know Rodney was working on the security details."

Jack pursed his lips at Carter's words, wondering how much damage might have occurred when Lam had been working as a double agent. While those in power were satisfied with the results of her mission, Jack himself doubted everything she'd said or done. Sure, he knew it had been orders but it had also been his son she'd gone after.

Carter seemed to read his mind. "I'm running a full diagnostic on the computer system. And if the people responsible are the same ones Carolyn was working for, it's possible they slipped something in a while back without her knowledge."

"Or with her knowledge," Jack couldn't help adding.

"Doctor Lam made no mention of this in her debriefings." Hammond spoke with finality and Jack didn't have the energy to argue.

He waited until Hammond walked away and then trudged towards his office. There were still a couple of people who hadn't contacted him yet. He was hoping one of them, especially, would pan out.

________________________________________

His muscles didn't want to move, but Daniel was awake. And in pain. Lying on his side, his eyes were half-opened and he could see a pair of feet walking past him. The boots were black, with a dozen little dangly cords hanging from just above the ankle. There were small beads attached to each cord, all of them tinkling together with each step, catching the light. The noise was soothing, hypnotic, totally at odds with the dire situation he was in. The boots moved past him again and whoever they belonged to dropped a bag next to Daniel. It thudded wetly on the ground, hiding his view of the boots with the dangling cords. Then the boots moved away from him and he got just enough control to twist his head sideways and watch the tinkling dangles walking away.

He blinked at the blinding white light, seeing the afterimage of the bag and the boots behind his eyelids for several seconds. When his vision cleared, the boots were gone, as well as the person wearing them.

The tinkling was still there, and he tried to look around for the boots. Instead, the motion triggered the building pressure in his chest and he coughed, long and hard, bringing his legs up towards his chest and becoming aware of several things at the same time.

The ground was wet; he was cold and without a jacket; he was no longer in the ship and he was alone. And the tinkling sounds continued. He sat up slowly, pushing up with weak and shaky arms. He saw water dripping down a small rocky ledge, and each drop landed on top of vibrantly colored pebbles. The drops of water moved the rocks each time, causing them to tinkle when they touched one another.

He'd have been fascinated once upon a time. Right now, all he wanted was to get warm and dry.

He felt a breeze on his upper body, colder where the dampness had soaked through his sweatshirt. He needed shelter, somewhere out of the wind and, from the look of the dark sky, out of the impending rain. He got to his knees, grabbed the bag and peered inside. Water and MREs. At least they hadn't left him here to starve to death. With the bag securely hanging from his shoulder, Daniel got to his feet and looked around.

The landscape was nothing but hills and large boulders which looked liked they'd been shot out of a cannon and left wherever they landed, or a giant who'd been playing marbles and decided to leave mid-game.

It wasn't raining but there was a mist in the air. Brushing a hand over his sweatshirt, he felt the sheen of fine drops pooling there.

"Hello!" he yelled. The sound seemed flat, muffled by the mist. He listened for an answer, but he heard nothing but the chiming stones.

He trudged up a hill. Occasionally he would step on some of the musical pebbles and they'd chime. The sounds should have been cheerful but instead they were eerily haunting. He looked around when he reached the top of the hill but was unable to find any signs of civilization. The place was barren and desolate; there was nothing growing, only boulders and hills as far as the eye could see. He started walking down the hill, heading for the next one, hoping there would be someone there who could help him. He had memories of himself talking to people, communicating with them and he remembered the satisfaction he'd felt when they'd made a breakthrough.

Several hills and boulders later, Daniel realized the sky was getting even darker. Shivering, he knew he needed to find shelter. He'd hoped to be able to find some firewood but there was nothing.

A drop of water dripped onto his cheek. For a moment he thought it had started raining, until he passed a hand over his hair and felt the sheen of moisture saturating his head. The water had come from his hair.

Three boulders and two hills later, he got lucky. A small niche inside one of the boulders afforded him a bit of shelter. He was out of the wind, but not necessarily out of the dampness. He huddled against the chilly stone, pulled his legs against his chest, and lowered his head on top of his knees. His dad was coming; he had to believe that.

________________________________________

None of his contacts had panned out so far. Still, Jack wasn't discouraged. He had one more ace in the hole; it just hadn't materialized yet.

Like he'd done every hour on the hour, he typed in several websites, checking for updates to the carefully written message he'd left in them. Hating the cloak and dagger business Maybourne excelled in, Jack finally hit the jackpot when a series of codes and letters appeared when he checked the last site.

He wrote them down and took several minutes deciphering them. Good, he had two hours before he was to meet Harry. Maybe now he would get some answers.

________________________________________

The need for something hot finally had Daniel digging through the bag his captors had left him. He'd eaten MREs before, he was pretty confident he could open the package and heat up the main meal without light. Bingo, except, to his delight, he discovered a flashlight among the packages of food and water, now if only they'd thought of a bottle of Tylenol or even a package of tissues. He rooted around a little more, checking the side pockets. Nothing. Oh well, he shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

With a disappointed sigh, he turned the flashlight on and was distracted for a moment when the beam caught something in the ground, creating tiny rainbows whenever he moved the light around. Fighting back his curiosity, he aimed the beam inside the bag. The top MRE was macaroni and cheese, which was fine by him. While it was heating, he took the time to chug down half a bottle of water, then took a moment to take another inventory of the contents of the bag. A quick count showed he had three breakfasts, and six main meals, but still no tissues or aspirin except for the meager bit of toilet paper that came with the MRE. Logically, it was apparent there was enough for three days' worth, maybe a few days more, if he was careful. He had six bottles of water, again indicating he probably had enough for three days.

And after three days, what then?

One thing for sure, he would probably get fed up of macaroni and cheese by the time he ran out of food. While he liked the stuff, he preferred the more substantial food, like the chili or the curried chicken. Mac 'n' cheese was a comfort food although he thought he might need the comfort as he sneezed loudly into the crook of his elbow.

He wiped his nose on his sweatshirt, the sodden material coarse and uncomfortable. He tried not to think what might be staining his shirt as he looked at the cut on his arm. He'd lost the clotted scrap of material he'd placed there but the cut itself looked clean and at least it wasn't bleeding anymore.

He began to shove the uneaten packets of food back into the bag, when he noticed an overlooked pocket on the outside. Stuffed inside the pocket was a sealed baggie containing a piece of folded paper. Curious, Daniel took the paper out and unfolded it.

It was a map. At one end was an X – x marks the spot? At the other end was a picture of a circle with squiggles surrounding it. Unmistakably, this represented a Stargate. On each side of the paper were letters: E, N, W, and S. - East, North, West and South. In between the X and the Stargate, was a rough sketch of a cat. The Stargate was to the Northeast, the X to the Southwest. He'd just have to wait and see where the sun rose and get his bearings in the morning.

Easy as pie.

"I can go home," Daniel said out loud. He cleared his throat. God, he sounded terrible, even to his own ears. "This must mean I can make it there in three days."

He folded the map so that it was visible through the baggie and reached for his supper. The first mouthful was hot and tasteless, but the texture was familiar and it gave him a feeling of comfort. By the time he ate half his macaroni, his nose was running and he'd have given anything for something to blow his nose with. He finished his meal, ate his dessert and contemplated heating the rest of the water in the bottle for coffee or hot chocolate, but decided to wait until morning. He'd probably be in greater need for it then.

Why oh why couldn't his kidnappers have added a space blanket as well as a couple packs of tissues?

________________________________________

"Harry."

"Jack."

Maybourne was sitting in the little cafe, sipping a cup of coffee with probably a name too long to memorize and a price so exorbitant it was a wonder that the owners of the cafe hadn't yet retired on their nest egg.

Jack sat opposite Harry and asked for a plain coffee when a waiter popped up. He ignored the upturned lip and look of disgust the waiter flashed his way and tapped his index finger on the table.

"You should try the double mocha latte—"

"Plain coffee's fine."

"They've got an espresso that's out of this world—"

"Espresso keeps me up at night."

Harry smiled as he sipped his coffee. "Fatherhood hasn't been easy on you, has it?"

"It was doing damn good until your goons showed up."

"Not mine." He slurped noisily at his coffee as the waiter placed Jack's order in front of him and wiped his fingers on his apron when a few drops spilled over onto them.

"You sure you don't want a cafe mocha—"

"This is fine."

"Pastry? Sandwich?"

Jack motioned the waiter away, dismissing Harry's nagging, and began opening sugar packets and tipping them into his steaming coffee. "So, what have you heard?" He brought the coffee to his lips, savoring the smell of it. God, he needed this.

"Actually, nothing, so far. I'm waiting for someone who owes me a favor to get back to me."

Jack froze, then lowered the coffee. "Then why the hell did you set up this meeting?"

Maybourne leaned forward across the table. "Because I want to make sure Kinsey doesn't get released."

"Why? I thought you'd be happy to have him back in charge of things."

"Oh, believe me, that's the last thing I want." Maybourne smiled brightly at Jack. "Let's just say he and I didn't see eye to eye on a few things and after he was arrested..."

"You helped yourself to some of his... assets."

"Helped myself? Jack, you're making it sound like I'm a thief."

"You said it, I didn't." Jack smiled and finally took a sip of coffee. It was heaven. Maybe he should have tried the espresso, after all.

Maybourne merely smirked at him.

"You do know that the President isn't going to release him."

"I know. But your son's going to be the losing party in this deal if that happens."

Jack felt his face harden. Maybourne must have seen it, too, because he waved a hand between them.

"I just meant," Maybourne said quickly, "that I can help you and Daniel."

Jack tried not to let his relief show. He simply raised his eyebrows, waiting for Maybourne to go on.

"I can get you the planetary designation where they left him."

Jack's heart started to pound but he tried to look calm. "And as we both know Kinsey's not going anywhere, you're telling me you're really doing this out of the goodness of your heart and your fond memories of Doctor Jackson?"

"Come on, Jack, you know Doctor Jackson and I were like this." He crossed his index and third fingers together and held them up.

"So, let me guess." Jack thought quickly. If Maybourne had pissed off Kinsey, there were probably many more that were also out for Harry's blood. He most likely needed a place to hide out. "You want access to the Stargate."

"Hey." Maybourne straightened up fast, grinning broadly. "If you're offering."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Meet me here tomorrow, same time." Maybourne drained the coffee, put the cup down and stood. "And I really recommend the latte." He zipped his jacket up and strode out of the cafe, pulling on his gloves as he went.

Jack turned to ask for the bill and the waiter was suddenly there, slapping the paper down before walking away. Jack grabbed the bill and shook his head. Highway robbery for two coffees; Jack wasn't surprised that Maybourne had left him to pick up the tab.

________________________________________

Daniel was coughing so hard, he was seeing stars. For a few minutes, the mac 'n' cheese threatened to make a reappearance, and he dry heaved twice before his stomach settled. The drizzle had moved on to a light shower. He was chilled and pissed that he'd decided to keep moving, because whenever he stopped walking he would begin to shiver and cough.

Finally, the coughing eased. Exhausted, he leaned against the closest boulder and waited until his breathing was closer to normal. Or as normal as it was going to get, given the circumstances. He looked around, trying to gauge where the sun was in the sky and the land around him, which hadn't changed. With no compass, Daniel could only pray that he was headed in the right direction. Relying on instinct or memories, Daniel wasn't sure which, he'd taken one of the rock formations as a marker when he'd figured out which way was north, and was keeping that well to his right as he moved on.

Walking was getting harder; his legs were leaden and now he was constantly out of breath. His glasses had become more of a hindrance than help, constantly fogging up or covered in mist or slipping down his nose, so he stopped, folded them up and stuck them in a pocket for safekeeping. Squinting into the drizzly distance, Daniel realized he saw just as good with or without them.

He climbed up over the current hill and he'd started down when it dawned on him that the vista had changed. Instead of hill after hill after hill, before him was a chasm that stretched from left to right, running as far as he could see in either direction.

"Oh, shit."

________________________________________

"Do we really want Harry Maybourne out there?" Carter looked from Jack to Hammond.

"Yeah, those poor Goa'uld will never know what hit them," Jack said dryly.

"He does realize this is a one-way trip?" Hammond said after seeming to consider Maybourne's offer.

"I think that's what he's counting on, sir." Jack contemplated the fingerprints marring the briefing room table's shine. He added a few, popping his finger here and there in an abstract pattern. He probably looked bored; he hoped he was hiding the fear he was feeling.

"Perhaps he has obtained a planetary designation where he wishes to retire from the strife of his previous life."

"Yeah? And I got a bridge for sale." When Teal'c looked confused, Jack merely waved away his words. "I mean, I don't see Maybourne spending all his days roughing it."

"Has he not had access to the mission reports of previous years? He may have chosen a world that would be a step above a planet which would require him to 'rough it'."

"Knowing Harry Maybourne," Hammond said, fingers steepled on the table, "he's got more than one planet up his sleeve."

"Can we trust the intel he's going to give us?" Carter had her hands wrapped around her cup.

"I don't see we have much of a choice, Major." Hammond nodded at Jack. "You have a go."

Jack stood as quickly as he could without seeming rude, holding back the urge to go and do something, even if it was only to go to his office and check his emails.

________________________________________

He'd nearly missed it in the mist and gloom. Just as he was about to turn back and look for a way down, he saw the monument. At first he'd thought it was a dark cloud, but the mist cleared for a moment and it stood out, tall and majestic, over the land. Even better, he saw something in the maw of the chasm, and the only thing he could think of was a bridge.

He stood there a moment, arms wrapped around his ribs, trying to stay warm, shivering as the wind threw sheets of droplets at him. He began walking, staying far from the chasm's edge, not trusting his equilibrium.

The sneezes had lessened but the cough had worsened, making his head pound. Absentmindedly, he rubbed the heel of his palm against his breastbone. He squinted, wishing for the thousandth time that the rain would stop so he could wear his glasses. And get dry. And stay dry. Glasses or not, as he got closer, the monument slowly took shape.

A head appeared, the rain masking the pointed ears until he got near enough to make them out clearly. It was a cat, towering over him, nearly three stories high. Sitting regally, it looked over the land on the other side of the chasm.

Crossing the chasm, starting from the base of the statue, was a bridge made of stone. The only problem was, there was no way to get to the bridge except either over or through the statue.

He circled the huge statue slowly. The base was higher than his head, the stone slick with no handholds to climb or visible cracks to indicate an opening. From its position, it was evidently a doorway to the bridge; he just couldn't find the entrance.

There were inscriptions on one side, most of which were worn off to the point of being nearly illegible. Then he stood there and stared up at it, trying to figure out what it meant.

He knew this statue; had seen a tiny one sitting on a bookcase in the archaeological department at the SGC. Had seen it in textbooks. Had seen it depicted in alien writings in his memories. And the name was dancing right on the tip of his tongue, like a few bars of a song heard often as a child. He'd known everything about this icon... no, goddess.

Daniel found that the side of the base with the inscriptions protected him from the wind. Gratefully he sank to his knees and kneeled against the cold stone. He was tired, cold, miserable, pretty sure he was sick and just wanted to go home. He huddled for a short time, scared, alone and wanting his father more than anything. His dad wouldn't stop searching for him; he was positive his dad's love for him would leave no stone or twig or planet unturned. Still, that knowledge didn't make him feel powerful nor was it enough to chase away the constant fear and anxiety that filled him.

He wanted nothing more than to stay here and wait until his dad found him. But this wasn't a mall filled with security guards and people willing to help. Daniel was far from home and he knew that overturning planets and stones and twigs could take days, even for his dad. He had a map to the Stargate; he could use the Stargate to go home, except that it was on the other side of that bridge.

There had to be a way. He cleared his throat, straightened and began to think. Assess the situation. Start with what you know. Daniel could hear his father's voice. Okay, he knew this statue was familiar. He'd seen it many times. It represented a cat... A cat goddess, that was obvious. He knew the name... Bathent... Bakhes... Bast... Bast! Bastet! That was it.

Smiling for the first time since he'd been taken against his will, Daniel turned to the inscriptions. He ran a finger over the faint carvings arranged in a wide circle on the stone. Dirt fell out of the cracks, making the symbols clearer. He knew he knew this. Or had known this. This was just a buried memory. Star, moon, sun, several dozen forms he couldn't quite identify. In the middle of these was the picture of an eye. He'd seen this also. Painted on walls deep beneath the ground. On a pendant. On a large stone emblem hanging in an ancient city.

The Eye of Ra. That bit of information seemed to come from far, far away. He nodded to himself. Okay. So far so good. He touched the eye and the center seemed to wobble. Pressing more firmly, it moved inwards slightly. Encouraged, he pushed harder, but it seemed that the stone wasn't going to move inwards any further.

On a hunch, he pressed one of the carvings and it moved also. Excited, Daniel pressed a third, only to have the two he'd pressed move back to their original positions.

"Okay, it's a puzzle." He barely had time to frown at the hoarseness of his voice when he started coughing again.

Almost frantically, he began pressing figures at random. Despite the odds of finding the right combination, right now, all he wanted was off this planet.

________________________________________

Stirring his coffee, Jack watched Maybourne enter the cafe. Face red from the bitter wind, he pulled his gloves off and unzipped his jacket as he looked around the small establishment. He spotted Jack and gave him a wisp of a smile as he detoured to the counter to order.

"Damned cold spell we're having. I'm looking forward to relocating to somewhere hot and sunny." He gave Jack a hopeful look as he sat down, tossing his gloves onto the table.

"What do you have for me?" Jack took a sip of coffee, trying not to look as anxious as he felt.

"Depends. Is there warm weather in my future?"

"Just name the address," Jack said, holding back his impatience.

"Addresses."

"What?"

"Two addresses. One where you can find your son, as promised, and one where you'll grant me passage to."

"You got it?" Suddenly Jack couldn't breathe.

"I got it. And in the process, I managed to get the attention of several people I'd rather not have. Now, since I asked for my latte to go, do you think we could... You know? Go?"

Coffee forgotten, Jack stood. He was ready to race back to the mountain and go through the Stargate now to get Daniel, except despite his words, Maybourne didn't seem to be in quite that much of a hurry. He sauntered over to the counter, chatted with the barista, tore open several packets of sugar to dump into his coffee, stirred the hell out of it and then took a sip.

"Harry." The word came out sounding sharp and short. Maybourne only glanced at Jack before turning back to pay for the coffee, then slowly zipped his jacket up and put his gloves on.

"I thought you were in a hurry," Jack grumbled as they stepped outside into the biting cold.

"Hey, you can't rush a great coffee."

________________________________________

It wasn't working. Exhausted and discouraged, his tantrum had brought on a coughing fit that had left him feeling weak and achy. It was getting dark and there was no shelter except for this side of the monument. He curled up on the ground, emptied the bag of MREs and water and placed it on his exposed side. Its meager protection helped as he forced himself to eat some more macaroni and cheese.

He had no appetite to speak of; but he knew he needed to eat and drink to keep up his strength. The warmth of the food helped, but the overly sweet hot chocolate he'd made afterwards only ended up making him nauseated.

What he needed were his memories, but he only could remember basic things. Too many years and new memories had overwritten when he needed now.

"It's hopeless," he said out loud, curling up into a ball, leaning as close as possible against the base. He had a cat statue, he had a wadjet, he had a—

"Wadjet? What the hell is that?"

It took him a moment to associate the word with the Eye on the base. "Yeah, great. All that information in my head and I come up with a dinky little stupid word that doesn't even help me figure out what it all means."

________________________________________

Maybourne's patience looked like it was beginning to run out. As was Jack's.

While Maybourne had given them a 'gate address, Hammond wouldn't dial the 'gate until he'd sent a M.A.L.P. through, and the robotic probe was being a little... stubborn. Its motor had conked out halfway up the ramp, forcing them to shut down the 'gate and either get it repaired or replaced.

That had been over thirty minutes ago.

"General," Jack said impatiently as he looked down into the Gateroom where Siler had the probe's innards exposed and had half his wrench stuck inside while Carter tried to get at something with a screwdriver. "Can't we get another M.A.L.P.?"

"Maybe one that works?" Maybourne was tapping his fingers impatiently on the briefing room table.

"SG-14 is scheduled to return in twenty minutes. That gives us plenty of time to repair the MALP before they dial in." Hammond sounded calm, but Jack could see the fine lines of stress around his eyes.

Twenty minutes. Even if there had been a second MALP waiting on the sidelines, Hammond wouldn't allow the mission this close to SG-14's return. They'd lost their window of opportunity and would have to wait.

But, he could still order a second MALP from storage just in case this one was cooked. He picked up the phone and called in the order. He wished the circumstances weren't so dire, so he could enjoy watching Harry Maybourne sweat.

________________________________________

Daniel jerked awake, feeling like he was choking. The constant coughing and shivering only let him doze for short periods. His bronchial tubes were burning, and his ribs were sore and tight, and his head felt like it was going to pop open like an overripe piece of fruit with each progressive cough.

And if that wasn't bad enough, the last meal he'd eaten wasn't sitting well and he felt nauseated. He also had cramps; most likely gas but uncomfortable nevertheless. He rubbed his belly, hoping the gas would pass.

Exhausted, he closed his eyes, feeling the threat of a tickle deep in his throat, ready to trigger another spell. He tried to relax; in the few short hours of darkness, he'd learned to try and get as much relief as he could, while he could.

The wadjet popped up in his mind's eye. He rubbed his temple, trying to force the image away. He wanted to sleep; he was done with puzzles. He'd already decided to stay here and wait until his dad found him. He didn't care if the word was a symbol of royal power. Or if it was associated with Bastet or Hathor or was a sun deity or...

Wait, the Greeks used to think of Bastet as a moon goddess, and the mirror image of the Eye sometimes represented the moon and the god Thoth...

Daniel sat up, excited, ignoring the cough the motion induced. Not quite sure how all these ideas came to be, he fumbled for the flashlight and scrambled to the inscriptions. He pressed the eye, the moon, and the Ibis, which represented Thoth.

The noise started slowly, rock grating on rock. Soon the flashlight showed the edge of the base starting to separate, slowly swiveling outwards. He shone his flashlight into the interior and could see the bridge on the other side.

He dashed back to where he'd sheltered and began tossing the packs of food and bottles of water into the bag. When he returned, the opening was wide enough for him to squeeze through. Hurriedly he entered the space underneath the statue, ignoring the press of rock on either side of the narrow passage, and crossed onto the edge of the bridge.

When the door stopped moving, the silence seemed unnatural. It echoed for a few seconds and he strained his ears, trying to catch the last, fleeting sound. Now all he could hear was the wheeze in his lungs, the chime of the odd rocks scattered here and there whenever he disturbed one, and the rain pattering on the land.

With his foot, he tested the bridge. The stone looked like marble, and it was slick. About two feet wide, it was more than adequate but once he took a step out onto it, his legs began to shake. He made sure the bag was secure across his back and clipped the flashlight to his belt because he was terrified of dropping it into the chasm. Ignoring the weakness caused by his fear, he forced himself to take another step, and another. It was the coughing that did it, making him dizzy enough that he wasn't sure he wouldn't keel over to one side or the other. As fast as he could, he returned to the safety of the statue's base, waiting out the coughing spell.

It took him another ten minutes to work up the nerve to step onto the bridge again. He glanced down into the chasm and whatever was below; he was too high up for the meager beam of his flashlight to illuminate the bottom. Maybe it was best he didn't know, he decided.

This time he was almost halfway across when the coughing started again. Terrified, he got onto his knees, holding desperately onto the edges of the bridge, feeling like he was going to either choke or puke his innards out.

He was shaking, a double-whammy from the cold damp and what the coughing took out of him. Sitting back on his haunches, he waited until his legs felt strong enough to support him. He started to stand when the rubber sole of his boot slipped and he lost his balance. The bag he'd slung over his shoulder fell forward, the weight of it pulling him to the side. Desperately he grabbed for the ledge, and then kneeled there again, this time trembling in reaction to the close call.

When he was able to pry his fingers from the ledge, he decided to do it the easy way. He adjusted the bag until it was hanging from his neck, allowing it to drag under his body. On all fours, he made his slow but sure way, towards the other side.

There wasn't a monument here; only a large, square base, blocking his way to solid land. The beam of the flashlight revealed, at eye level, a carving of a woman with a large circle on top of her head, and with horns on either side of the circle. He tried pressing the carving, but this seemed to be solid stone. There was a small protrusion near the base, with a depression in it. He pulled and pushed, but it also wouldn't move.

There was no way through.

________________________________________

"Finally," Jack grumbled to Carter as the M.A.L.P. trudged up the ramp and disappeared through the wormhole.

She gave him a quick smile before turning her attention to the monitors.

"I'm going to have to talk to Major Collins when we get back," he grumbled, relieved they were finally doing something. "Two hours behind schedule and all because they thought they saw a dodo bird?"

"Well, considering they are extinct here..." Carter's gaze was fixed on the computer monitor, interpreting the M.A.L.P.'s telemetry which was just coming in. "The planet's habitable, sir. Breathable air. A little damp; temperature's about fifty-five degrees and it's drizzling. A nice improvement over our arctic freeze—"

"If Daniel's out there, he doesn't have a jacket or rain gear."

Carter cleared her throat. "It's night." She flicked a switch and the M.A.L.P.'s lights came on. As she swiveled the probe in a slow circle, all they could see was a wide, open plain. While Jack and Teal'c watched the video, Carter kept her attention on the numbers still streaming on her computer. "There's no signs of advanced technology."

"There is very little illumination," Teal'c said.

"We've seen worse. We can use the night goggles until the sun comes up." He turned to Hammond, who was standing behind Carter. "Sir?"

"You have a go."

Jack nodded, really not expecting to have the mission delayed just because it was dark. He turned to start down into the Gateroom, when Carter spoke.

"Colonel, we may have a problem."

Jack turned back to the screen, and the M.A.L.P., which Carter had remotely driven to the DHD, was illuminating something that caused his stomach to clench.

The control crystal for the DHD was smashed in, its interior destroyed.

________________________________________

Daniel wanted to cry. He wanted to scream, and would have, but didn't because breathing that deeply would certainly bring on another coughing spell. He was sitting on the bridge, leaning back against the stone wall blocking his way out, trying not to look at anything because the rising sun had brought the whole enormity of the chasm he was perched over into a fear-inducing clarity that the night had hidden.

Despite the cold and his precarious perch, he'd dozed – because the night had seemed so much shorter this time around – and only now he realized how stupid a move that had been. He was contemplating whether to wait here or cross back to the other side. Right now he was leaning towards staying here because the thought of crossing the bridge again made him want to puke.

He huddled there, shivering in the cold. Just the thought of the chasm below him made his body start to tilt either to the left or right, the pull of gravity seeming heavier with the knowledge that there was only a span of two feet of solid ground underneath him.

Five minutes later he began coughing again. The spasms finally made him sick and he vomited bile and water into the abyss. The coughing shot hot pain down his ribs, into his abdomen, finding a spot just to the right of his belly button that didn't ease for a few minutes after the coughing finally eased off.

He was hot underneath the chill. He rubbed his hands over his arms, feeling the heat of his skin despite the shivers that wracked him. He wanted desperately to be warm and dry, to lie down, to hear his dad's voice, to feel his grandmother's hand on his cheek. That was when he started crying. He was done assessing. And pulling on memories. And taking care of himself. And playing Boy Scout. Daniel knew his dad would come for him but something deep inside told him that it could take a long time.

Sobbing and coughing, he thought he'd never felt so alone, until a sudden memory of almost unendurable pain struck him, combined with horrible fear for the lives of his team and Earth. The determination he felt when he'd dragged himself to a sarcophagus, the thin hope he had of saving himself once his team was safe drove him to pull himself over the edge of the alien device.

So many hopeless situations: his dad growing old and ready to die within hours; Sam taken by a Goa'uld; Teal'c giving up and resigned to die for his honor; his dad and Sam missing after the 'gate malfunctioned; stuck underwater with an alien who wanted impossible information from him while everyone else thought he was dead – he'd experienced situations just as bad as he was in now, or worse, and his team had always come through for one another.

He rubbed his swollen eyes and sighed shakily. He was tired, so tired. He sat there, staring into the dark, until he realized the rising sun was illuminating the etchings in the rock clearly. Very clearly.

His mind drifted as he stared at the familiar symbol. After a moment, a name popped into his head.

Hathor.

The image of a red-headed goddess interspersed with his dad's voice asking, sex, drugs and rock and roll?

Rock and roll, he thought dully. Music. Hathor was the goddess of music and dancing, just like Bastet. Idly, he picked up one of the chiming stones littering the path and dropped it into the small depression in the stone. It hit the stone with a tinkle, followed by the momentary sound of stone grating on stone.

For a moment Daniel thought he'd imagined it. He dropped another stone, and the base shifted slightly.

Music.

Almost manically, Daniel began brushing his hands along the wet stone, gathering as many of the musical stones he could reach into a pile. He swept them up, dropping them into the hollow, and hooted out loud when the base began moving. It crept open about three inches, and stopped.

He peered through the crack, seeing a long tunnel, with daylight at the other end.

"More, I need more." On hands and knees, Daniel backed up on the ledge, gathering as many of the stones as he could carry, then hurrying back to add them to the pile. His earlier fear was replaced by his need to get off the ledge, and deep down he knew he was moving around carelessly, but didn't care anymore.

After the fourth return trip, the opening in the base was wide enough that he could squeeze through. Still on hands and knees, he hurried into a small space behind the outer wall, and from there, got to his feet, moving sideways as fast as he could through the stone tunnel, expecting it to begin moving and squashing him to death before he could reach the far end. Once clear, threw himself down onto his back, allowing the rain to drip into his face as he enjoyed the feeling of being of a flat surface again.

It was a long time before he reached for his bag, and the map inside.

________________________________________

"I'm sorry, Jack."

Jack couldn't believe it. So close, so damned close. He stood in the briefing room, too wired to sit.

"General, Daniel may be out there on that planet—"

"Yes, and if he is, you have no way of bringing him home."

"I don't care. He's alone. Just give me some supplies to tide us over for a few days, until I can fix the DHD—"

"You don't have the knowledge to do that—"

"But I do, sir." Carter came to stand next to Jack, backing him up.

"Major, there's no guarantee you can fix it."

"No, sir." She stood there, resolute. "But even if I can't, a ship will be here in a few hours. It'll take roughly twelve hours to fly to the planet. We just need a few supplies to last us until we can rescue Daniel."

Jack blinked. He'd forgotten about the Tok'ra coming with a ship to give them a hand. How could he have forgotten?

"You have no guarantee that Daniel is on that planet. If this is a wild goose chase, Colonel, and if the Tok'ra renege on their word, you'll be stuck there until the Daedalus can reach you."

"This is the only lead we have, GeneralHammond." Teal'c moved to stand on Jack's other side. "If DanielJackson is indeed on this planet, he will be in the hands of his abductors. Both ColonelO'Neill and MajorCarter will require assistance in—"

"Um, no, that's not right." Maybourne raised a finger from where he was lounging in one of the chairs. "From what I heard, they were planning on dropping your son there with some food and water and heading back here to wait for Kinsey's release."

"Generous of them," Jack said sarcastically.

"General, while you all decide whether or not you're going to send your team on a one-way mission, could we start thinking about my part of the bargain? As you can see, I'm packed and ready to go." Maybourne looked pointedly at the large duffle bag sitting next to the stairs. "I've given you the information about Daniel Jackson. I'd kinda like to leave before some other emergency crops up—"

"You sure you haven't forgotten some other little tidbit to share with us?" Jack stepped around the table, leaning over Maybourne. "Like the fact that the DHD's shot to hell or my son's alone out there on a planet with who knows how many supplies to tide him over?"

"He'll be fine, Jack. Otherwise they wouldn't have left him there—"

"He's fourteen years old! We're talking about a child—"

"With the memories of an adult. He can take care of himself."

"He may have his memories but he doesn't have the experience to use them!" Jack found himself shouting and forced himself to step away.

"Colonel. Once Colonel Maybourne has gone to his planetary designation of choice, you can go after Daniel."

"Thank you, General."

"Major Carter, send a U.A.V. through to see if you can find any sign of Daniel. You can bring it and the M.A.L.P. back with you on the ship."

"Yes, sir," Carter said with a grin.

"You're a go in fifteen minutes."

"We'll be there." Jack hurried out, already planning on getting supplies to last for several days.

"What? You're not planning on seeing me off?" Maybourne's voice echoed down the hallway after him.

________________________________________

Daniel stood facing Northeast, waiting for the landscape to slowly brighten as the sun appeared from behind a line of very dark clouds in the morning sky. Whatever storm front this had been, there was an end to it and hopefully it would take the rain away with it.

This side of the ravine, the land slowly went downhill. He could see for miles, and as the sun became a fiery splotch on the horizon, a reflection answered the sun's call.

The Stargate.

It was far. Just a small dot on the horizon. As the sun rose higher, Daniel could make out the occasional tree, and the land closer to the Stargate seemed a different color. It took him a few more seconds to realize that it was grass. Seeing life before him was a little less depressing than the barren area he'd traveled on the other side. Then the sun disappeared behind the clouds, and the Stargate winked out.

Still, he had a good idea where to go now. He took two rock formations as markers, and began walking.

Seeing his destination had infused him with energy. All he had to do was walk there. Piece of cake. He was on the home stretch.

Two minutes later, he was forced to slow his pace, his breath wheezing in his lungs, the recurring deep cramp in his gut and a cold sweat dripping down his back led him to believe it might take a bit longer than he hoped to reach his destination.

________________________________________

Jack knew waiting was always part of the game in the military, and he was often hard pressed to hold in his impatience. It took Carter and Siler nearly an hour to set up the U.A.V. and by then he was ready to scream. He found himself pacing back and forth, ignoring the irritated looks of the technicians, until Siler pronounced the device ready.

He stood anxiously by the monitor, watching the little plane fly around in ever widening circles. It took about ten minutes before Teal'c spoke out.

"There."

With a finger, he pointed to a small object on the ground. Carter circled the UAV around and zoomed in on the object. Immediately he saw Daniel looking up at them.

"He looks okay," Jack breathed in relief. He felt Teal'c's hand on his shoulder and he merely nodded his head in thanks.

Carter waggled the wings of the U.A.V. and directed it back towards the Stargate. "He's going in the right direction," she said. "He's about ten miles out; we can go meet him halfway."

Jack wanted to go now; the sooner they left, the sooner he'd be hugging the crap out of his son. But he stood there, a model of patience on the outside except for his fingers thumping impatiently on his thigh, and waited until she landed the probe.

"Godspeed," Hammond said as they hurried out of the room. Jack jogged up the ramp, and once on the other side, kept on going at the same pace.

Just a few hours more, and Daniel would be safe.

________________________________________

Jack trusted Carter to point them in the right direction, but he trusted Teal'c to zero in on Daniel. He didn't expect to catch up to his son for another hour but he couldn't help taking out his field glasses every fifteen minutes and giving the land a good, intense scrutiny.

He had planned on pushing them, but Carter and Teal'c took off straight through the Stargate like the Energizer bunnies without any prompting from him. He had to jog to catch up to them every time he stopped to use the field glasses.

The land wasn't the lush, fertile terrain he was accustomed to visiting. There was greenery but the trees were few and far between. A few bushes had sprung up here and there on the hills, a couple of them even had some dried, red berries hanging from them. The grass was thin and delicate, growing in tufts rather than looking like a carpet.

Something flew out of a tuft of grass nearby and Jack watched the bird fly away, making a high-pitched cackling sound reminiscent of a hyena. It circled for a long moment, waiting until they passed what must have been its nest, before diving back down to settle. He looked around, wondering what other wildlife there was around here. This was the first sign of animal life he'd seen in the past ninety minutes. He was about to ask Carter if she'd seen anything when Teal'c reached out his arm and batted him on the chest.

"O'Neill." Teal'c moved his arm when Jack stopped, and pointed.

It took Jack a moment to make out the figure barely visible at the top of a hill.

"Daniel!" The next thing Jack knew, he was running. Caught by surprise, his team remained behind. Then he heard them running, Teal'c outdistancing him within seconds, Carter remaining a few steps behind him.

Daniel kept walking, trudging slowly forward, head down. Jack called his son's name again and suddenly Daniel's head popped up. Jack expected Daniel to wave and start jogging towards them, what he didn't expect was for him to fall to his knees and remain kneeling, staring at them.

Something wasn't right. Jack put on a burst of speed, wanting to pass Teal'c, wanting to be the first one there. But Teal'c was running faster, reaching Daniel and skidding to a stop long before Jack even started getting winded.

By the time Jack reached them, he could hear Daniel's sobs. Teal'c's arms were around Daniel, supporting him, and Daniel was clutching Teal'c's forearms, but his eyes were on Jack. When Jack slid down next to his son, Daniel let go of Teal'c and threw himself into Jack's arms.

"Da-Daddy," Daniel sobbed into Jack's neck.

"I'm here. I've gotcha." Jack hugged Daniel, glad he wasn't standing because the relief at finding his son had made his legs rubbery.

Daniel's clothes were soaked. Nevertheless, he pulled Daniel even tighter against him as he cried, then pulled back as the sobs turned into harsh, wet, painful-sounding coughs. He rubbed Daniel's back, waiting for the coughing to stop.

"You sound awful," he said when Daniel leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Jack's shoulder. The sobs had abated, but his breaths were shaky and Jack didn't like the wheezing that stopped only when Daniel cleared his throat.

"I feel awful." Daniel's voice was hoarse and phlegmy.

"How about you get out of those wet clothes?" He eyed the torn sweatshirt, noting the bloody cut on Daniel's bicep.

"You brought my clothes?" Daniel knuckled one eye and Jack cupped the back of his nape. That was when he felt the abnormal heat coming from Daniel's skin. Looking closely at his son, he could see how pale he was except for the spots of color high on his cheeks and around his nose. He looked tired, and sick.

Trying not to frown, Jack shook his head. "Nope, but we did bring you a change of clothes."

Immediately Daniel grabbed the hem of his sweatshirt and pulled, trying to get the sodden material over his head. It looked like the material had a life of it own, sticking to Daniel's face. Smiling, Jack grabbed the sweatshirt, guided it up and over his head and then pulled it from Daniel's arms.

Teal'c already had the extra set of BDUs put aside and Carter had the first aid kit out. While Jack and Teal'c helped pull his boots and pants off, Carter managed to disinfect the cut and bandage his arm and have him swallow a couple of Advil.

Soon Daniel was sitting on a space blanket, wearing dry pants and a long-sleeved tee-shirt. Jack took his jacket off and wrapped it around his son's shoulders.

"You hungry?" Jack reached for Teal'c's pack, which contained the MREs. He froze when Daniel shook his head. "Boy, you really are sick if you don't want to eat anything."

Daniel rubbed his lower abdomen. "I've been having cramps."

"Okay. Let me know when you want something to eat. We got some of the good stuff." Jack waved a package of chili, Daniel's favorite whenever they went camping.

Jack wasn't sure, but Daniel's expression seemed one of repugnance.

"Are we going home now?"

Jack looked away from Daniel. His first priority had been to find his son. He just wished there was a way to get him home, now, and not a day from now. He needed to stick Daniel in a tub of hot water for a while, then tuck him into bed for a day or two. He needed his mother to make some chicken soup and feed it to his son.

Carter was the first to speak up. "We're not going back through the Stargate. The Tok'ra are coming to pick us up in a ship, but they won't be here until tomorrow. Think you can rough it out with us until then?"

The disappointment on Daniel's face nearly broke Jack's heart. But Daniel gamely smiled at Sam, then at Teal'c and Jack. "Hey," Daniel said, "I didn't get a hug."

Carter took Daniel into her arms and he laid his head against her shoulder. She rocked him gently from side to side for a moment before letting him go.

"Sir, we didn't get a chance to look at the DHD. There's always a possibility that I could fix it."

From the pictures they'd seen from the M.A.L.P., Jack was pretty sure the thing was only good for the scrap heap, but he nodded nevertheless. Carter had occasionally created miracles out of paper clips.

Jack stared at Daniel, who was coughing again. "We'll camp here tonight, make it back to the Stargate in the morning."

"I'll know within a few minutes whether I can fix it or not. I'll let you know." She stood and gathered her gear. "If you need me..."

"You're just a nice, long jog away."

"Why are you sending Sam away?" Daniel asked, looking at them in confusion. He looked like he was ready to cry again.

"Oh, honey, your dad's not sending me away." Carter kneeled beside Daniel and cupped his cheek with her hand. "I'm just going back to the Stargate to see if I can fix it. We didn't take the time to look at it when we came through looking for you."

"You're coming back?"

"Of course she is," Jack said. "If she can get the DHD working, we can get you home in a couple of hours."

"And if she can't make it work?"

"Then we'll go home tomorrow."

"I don't want Sam to go." Daniel clutched at Sam's hand, grabbing it and holding it tightly. "I don't want her to go. What if something happens?"

"Nothing will happen, Daniel." Carter patted Daniel's hand while giving Jack a worried look.

"How about I send Teal'c with Carter?"

"Teal'c?"

"Well, it's a long walk back to the Stargate. He can keep her company while you take a nap."

"Would that be okay with you, Daniel?"

"You don't mind going with Sam?" Daniel asked Teal'c.

"I do not."

"Okay." He released Carter's hand and rubbed his palms up and down his arms.

"Still cold?" Jack refrained from checking his temperature. The Advil hadn't had time to take effect yet.

"Yeah."

Jack pulled another space blanket from their packs and wrapped it around his son's shoulders while Carter and Teal'c stood.

"We'll be in touch with your dad." Carter pointed to the earpiece in her ear and Daniel nodded as he leaned against Jack. Together, the two of them watched Carter and Teal'c walk off.

"What was that all about?" Jack asked when the two were out of earshot.

"What?" Daniel gave two short coughs and cleared his throat.

"The not wanting Carter to go off by herself production?"

"I..." Daniel pulled away and rubbed his fingers over his face. "I overreacted, didn't I?"

"Maybe just a tad."

"I'm sorry. I should... Sam's a soldier. She's more than capable of dealing with stuff."

"Stuff?"

Daniel shrugged.

"Such as... The people who kidnapped you?"

Daniel shrugged again.

"Speaking of which, are you up to telling me what happened to you?"

Daniel tensed, took a short, wheezy breath and nodded reluctantly. "You know the transporter on Star Trek?"

Jack nodded. "They beamed you up."

"Into a ship. I didn't see their faces, they were wearing hoods. They cut the GPS out of my arm—Cassie! I didn't see Cassie. Did they take her?"

"No, no, Cassie's fine. A little hysterical when you disappeared but she's okay."

"You're sure? You're not just saying this to make me feel better?"

"Daniel."

He gave Jack a wobbly smile. "Okay. I was worried. Hey, how did you find me if you couldn't track me?"

"The General and I know a few people who have their ears to the ground—"

"Spies?"

"Not exactly."

"C'mon, Dad. You know spies?" Daniel's face suddenly grew serious. "Of course you do. What was I thinking?"

"Well," Jack said, pushing a strand of hair from Daniel's face, "these spies had a pretty good idea what was going on and they gave us the 'gate address here."

"They knew about me?"

"Yup."

"Why?"

"Why'd they take you?"

"Uh huh."

"Leverage. They wanted to trade you for a prisoner."

"Oh."

"So, what happened after they took your GPS?"

"They left me alone for a while in a room. Then they... Zatted me? That was the same weapon Caro – Doctor Lam used on me, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. A zat'nik'tel." Jack shoved the pack next to the space blanket and patted it.

Daniel curled up on his side next to Jack, using the pack as a pillow. "Then I found myself here. By myself. With a bag of food and water and a map."

"Map? Of what?"

"A way to get to the Stargate. There was a bridge and a puzzle and... I did it, Dad. I solved the puzzles and made my way here. I'd have made it to the Stargate by myself if you hadn't come right away."

There was pride in Daniel's voice and Jack ran a knuckle over his cheek. "Yeah, you sure would have." And if the DHD hadn't been out of commission, there was a good chance Daniel might have made it home before the deadline. He wondered if Daniel's kidnappers had underestimated him. "Tell me about the puzzle."

He kept his hand on Daniel's head, either threading his fingers through his hair or rubbing the skin around his temple, not wanting to lose contact with his son. Daniel's voice was excited at first as he spoke about some statue and moons and eyes, but by the time he was talking about chiming stones, his voice was slow and sleepy.

Keeping to himself the opinion that Daniel must have been given some sort of hallucinogen, Jack made noises where needed as Daniel spoke. He could feel the fever had abated a little, and kept up the slow, easy strokes, until Daniel's voice faded and Jack was sure he was sleeping. "I'm so proud of you," Jack whispered.

________________________________________

"Colonel O'Neill, come in."

He didn't take his eyes off the paper in his hand as he reached for his radio to answer Carter's call. "Go ahead."

"I guess I was over-confident. I can't fix the Stargate without a new control crystal. Teal'c and I are on our way back."

"Understood." He held back his disappointment, even though he really hadn't expected Carter to be able to do much with it.

"How's Daniel?"

Jack cast a glance at his son, who had tossed restlessly for the past two hours. "Sleeping."

"Good. He looked exhausted."

"Have you seen any sign we're being watched?" Jack asked after looking away from the map in his hands and staring in the direction Daniel had come from.

There was a pause. "No, sir. Teal'c says he hasn't seen anything either. Do you think Daniel's abductors are still here?"

"I'm not sure." Jack put the map down and picked up one of the macaroni and cheese MREs. "They gave him enough food for three or four days. Daniel would have made it to the Stargate in half that time."

"But the Stargate isn't functional."

"I know. Which means they're planning on coming back, right? Because otherwise, why bother even giving him food if they just intended on dumping him here and forgetting about him. It's not like there's a Golden Arches at the top of the next hill."

"Well, if they're watching us, they know they've lost their only ace in the hole."

"Additionally," Teal'c said, his voice coming through the radio, "they must by now be aware that our presence on this world means a ship is on its way to retrieve us. They will soon find themselves outnumbered. It would be of no consequence to remain in the immediate area."

Daniel coughed in his sleep, and Jack tossed the package of food aside.

"Not unless they've got a contingency plan."

"You don't think they'll go after Daniel again?"

Jack had been thinking about it and the odds were Daniel was safe. "No, I don't think they will. But I still can't help worrying."

"I know. Me, too. We'll be there in about an hour."

Daniel went from sleeping to coughing in a split second, pushing up off the ground onto his knees, wide-eyed, trying to catch his breath.

"Easy." Jack caught Daniel as he leaned against him, feeling his body strain as he hacked and choked. By the time Daniel was able to breathe without coughing, he was red-faced, damp with sweat and obviously exhausted. And in pain, from the way he stayed hunched over.

"Did you pull something?" When Daniel didn't answer, Jack put a hand on Daniel's back. "Icky?"

"Just a cramp." Daniel rubbed a hand over his abdomen as he shifted to the side and straightened his legs.

"Better?"

"Uh huh."

"You hungry? I can heat you up an MRE."

With his hand still on his abdomen, Daniel shook his head. "Maybe later?"

"How about some soup and crackers?"

Daniel gave a sharp headshake. "Water?"

Without a word, Jack handed Daniel a canteen.

"Did Sam fix the DHD?" Daniel took a sip of water and screwed the top back on.

Jack refrained from telling him to drink more and slowly shook his head. "She and Teal'c are on their way back."

"So we're sleeping out here tonight?" Daniel looked up at the sky. "It looks like rain again."

"Yeah." They'd camped out in lousy weather before and never thought twice about it. But Daniel was sick, and there was no shelter. "Hammond's due to contact us in a couple more hours." He picked up Daniel's glasses from on top of Daniel's bag where he'd put them for safekeeping when he'd found them inside it earlier.

"You said the DHD wasn't working." Daniel's voice was phlegmy and he cleared his throat, making a deep, wet sound as he held his glasses up to the sky, checking the lenses before putting them on.

"It can dial in, not dial out, remember?"

There was a look of concentration on Daniel's face as he stared into the distance. Jack could literally see the gears turning, and saw the moment when Daniel understood.

"I can ask Hammond for a couple of tents; that way it won't matter if it rains."

"A tent would be nice," Daniel said wistfully.

"In that case, feel up to taking a walk?"

"To the Stargate?"

"Yeah."

Daniel looked like trekking for a couple of hours was the last thing he wanted to do, but he gamely nodded.

Jack clicked his radio. "Carter, hold your position. Daniel and I are going to start walking towards the 'gate. I figure we can ask Hammond for a couple of tents and a few other things to make life a little more comfortable until our lift gets here."

"Understood, Colonel. How's Daniel feeling?"

"Pretty lousy. Which is why I'd like to get him into shelter as soon as I can."

"Dad—"

Jack put a finger up, stopping Daniel's half-hearted objection. "Maybe Hammond could get Fraiser to throw in some cough medicine."

"I'll make a list while we wait."

"We're leaving now. We should catch up with you in about two hours or so." Jack stood, grabbed Daniel's still-damp clothes and stuffed them into the bag Daniel had been given by his abductors. The space blankets were quickly folded and added to it. Jack shouldered both the pack and the bag and motioned Daniel to follow.

________________________________________

tbc