Hi there! Well, as promised here is the follow on from my last story as mentioned below. It was written about a month or so after that one so it needs a lot of tweaking and editing too. Not too much though or it won't be the same story!

Thank you all so much for your super reviews for the last story. I really do appreciate your efforts in sending them. I only hope you will like this one as much as the last. Thanks – Hugz to all you guys!

"If At First You Don't Succeed..."

by Lingren.

Category: Drama, Hurt/Comfort.

Spoilers: Shades of Grey, Desperate Measures, 48 Hours.

Season: 5...after 48 Hours, but before Meridian.

Warnings: Little bit of descriptive gore.

Summary: Jack's in trouble again...in more ways than one.

Disclaimer: Don't own them, not getting paid for this. No harm meant, just having a bit of fun with the characters.

A/N: As the title suggests, it is meant to be a sequel to, and set several months after - 'Have A Nice Day Jack!' but can be read as a stand alone story.

"If At First You Don't Succeed..."

by Lingren.

Chapter 1 – Black Ops Anyone?

General Hammond and SG-1 were seated in the briefing room discussing the team's forthcoming mission to P8Z 494. Their task was to search for a missing Tok'ra operative who was working undercover and had failed to report back to the Tok'ra high council, at the allotted times. Nobody had any idea what had happened to him and there was no-one else available to go look for him. So, as was usual, they had requested the help of the SGC, specifically from SG-1, because the missing person was none other than Selmak. In other words, Jacob, Major Sam Carter's father, was the missing person in question.

"SG-1," General Hammond began to wind down his orders. "I needn't remind you that P8Z 494 is a Goa'uld run planet, so it's guaranteed you'll probably run into Jaffa patrols or hostile natives. That's why I'm putting SG-4 on standby to back you up on this one, should you need any assistance. Any further questions? Colonel?"

Jack glanced up and made eye contact with his CO. He knew full well he consequences if the Goa'uld had captured the retired General.

"Nothing Sir. Perfectly clear on this one."

Hammond gave him a tiny nod in understanding. Jack O'Neill, ex-black ops wouldn't hesitate in completing his assignment however unpleasant or difficult it would be. If there was no way to rescue the Tok'ra, then he had his orders to destroy any evidence that would lead to an invasion of Earth. It was his given duty.

Hammond could see that his junior officer knew his given duty, knowing it wasn't going to be easy and that Jack wasn't exactly happy about it but he would follow it through. Now he looked around the table and was satisfied that they knew their job when everyone shook their heads in response to his question.

This was an exceedingly important mission for them, as it involved Sam's father, so they had studied the relevant paperwork on it beforehand and knew exactly what was expected from each of them.

"I know this is going to be a tough one especially for you, Major, are you sure you are going to be okay with it?"

'Yes Sir...I'm fine.' She sounded confident, but Jack could see she was terribly worried about what had become of her father.

There were times when Jack really hated his job. This time particularly as it involved Jacob. He liked Jacob and even tolerated the snake, Selmak to a certain degree, though he would never trust the other Tok'ra; not in a million years.

"Okay people. Because of the time differences between the planet and ours, you will be ready to leave at 21.00 hours tonight. Stumbling around on an unknown planet in the dark is not an option here people, the terrain is unstable. I want everyone to be at their best, so please..." and here he looked directly at Jack in particular, "...stay here on the base. You have five hours in which to get some rest before you ship out. It's going to be a long night, or rather, day out there otherwise. This is Jacob, we're talking about, out there so I don't want to risk anybody being late back and missing this opportunity, or being too tired to accomplish this task. Is that understood?"

A chorus of "Yes Sirs," and "Yes General Hammond," echoed round the room.

"Good. I'll see you folks later. Dismissed."

OoOoOoOoO

Jack was instantly awake, the minute his cell phone rang. He grabbed it off the bedside table and flipped the cover back, noting as he turned towards the bedside table clock, that he had been dozing, on and off, for almost 2 hours. He really could have done with more sleep, but such were the vagaries of military life.

"O'Neill," he stated, reluctantly sitting up and placing his feet onto the floor to lean an elbow on them to scrub the sleep from his face with his free hand.

"Jack...?" the voice began but was interrupted by an irate - and not so sleepy now - Colonel.

"Maybourne? What the hell...?"

"Jack! Just listen okay... I don't have time for a long conversation!" he snapped, rushing his words out.

"Okay," Jack sighed, wondering what the disgraced Colonel wanted now of all times. "I'm listening!"

"Meet me in Donovan's Clearing, about a mile east of Fred's Easy-Play diner, on the left. In about a half hour."

"Look, Harry, I'd love to meet you in the woods, really I would, but I've all ready got a date for tonight."

"Very funny Jack! No kiddin', this is really important. Matter of life and death stuff. I just can't tell you over the phone. It has something to do with Simmons. Oh and by the way, I seem to have picked up a couple of strays, so come prepared."

"Harry, as much as I would love to hear about those morons that run the NID. I told you, I can't..."

"Jack, you've got to, this is a tough one. You'll be glad you came afterwards, I promise. So, please...just do me a favour for once. Take a step out of character and come help me on this one, huh?"

"Harry, like I already said, I..." The line had suddenly gone dead. "Harry? Harry! Goddammit!"

For a few moments in sheer disbelief, Jack studied the phone in his hand, before folding it back up and slipping it into his pants pocket. He continued to sit there on the edge of the bed while he contemplated Harry's words. The guy did sound like he was in trouble, and if it concerned Simmons then it would be. That man was definitely bad news. He scrubbed both his hands though his hair. "Damn you Harry! I suppose I'd better go rescue your ass, 'cos sure as hell no-one else is gonna do it," Jack cursed to the silent room. Looking at the clock again he realised he had just under 3 hours left to find the man and get him somewhere safe, and then discover what all this so-called mystery was about. And that was before he was due to leave on the mission.

He cursed Harry again and again with every garment he put on. He checked out his personal weapon, and managed to secure himself a Kevlar jacket for extra protection, just in case. There was no way he was going to take any risks out there, and hoped to God that the General didn't catch him sneaking out of the base this close to the mission.

"God! This had better be worth it Harry, or it'll be "Airman O'Neill" and probably an order for his permanent retirement, from this time forth," he muttered to himself as he stood impatiently by the elevator doors. There were a few anxious moments of waiting for the car to arrive, before he entered, hoping against hope that no-one else wanted to use it and thanking god that most of the civilian staff had gone home by now. Finally after what seemed like hours to Jack, it deposited him at the top of the mountain. Using his esteemed rank and his hard-ass reputation, to intimidate the very young, and very green, security guard on duty, he managed to sign out without revealing his weapon. Then he climbed into his truck, put his foot down and headed for the secret rendezvous.

Jack slowed his truck down as he approached the hidden turning to Donovan's Clearing, and as he turned the wheel to leave the relatively deserted road, he spotted Maybourne's weaselly figure in his headlights, leaning casually against the hood of a car; hired or stolen, Jack didn't want to know, but at least the guy was here. He pulled up, killed the engine and the lights, then stepped out, closing the door quietly, before turning to face the fugitive.

"Jack glad you could make it." Harry walked the few steps over to meet Jack. They stood a few yards from the truck, facing each other.

"Okay Harry, I'm here, so what's with the cloak and dagger stuff? I've got a mission in..." Jack checked his watch and sucked in a sigh of impatience. "...just over 2 hours time, and this had better be worth it, because if I'm late back for that mission Harry, Hammond is so gonna have my hide."

TBC