Baby Come Back.

Disclaimer: I disclaim, including the song titles I pirated for Chapter Titles.

Synopsis: A revelation. An accident. SG-1 fighting amongst themselves. D/V on and off again. Friendships strained. The "Band" is breaking up or is it? Jack's trying to help. Humor/romance D/V.

Chapter One: Ah Sweet Mystery of Life

xxxxxx

Teal'c, Sam and Mitchell sat at the commissary table, their lunch untouched in front of them.

"Yeah, he's mopin' around but there's somethin' else behind those sulking eyes of his. Like a kid with a frog in his pocket, he's up to somethin', I can feel it. Landry's requested a private meeting with me and he's bein' cryptic. I'm tellin' you, there's somethin' up." Pushing the peas around his plate, Mitchell kept lifting his gaze from Sam to Teal'c.

"She's not on base. I checked. Funny thing is no one's talking or allowing me to use the chip transponder to locate her. I'm locked out…but I'm working on it." Sam glanced around to be sure no one overheard her.

"It is a most strange situation. Hopefully ColonelMitchell will return with more information."

"Yeah, Teal'c, I hope so. I better go. I'll meet up with you guys later."

xxxxxx

Dead silence permeated Sam's office as she, Teal'c and Daniel shifted their eyes around to each other. Mitchell entered with the strangest look on is face. "What the hell's goin' on Jackson?" To which Daniel shrugged his shoulders non-committally.

Mitchell slammed his hands on his hips, shaking his head as he moved closer to the other three. "Vala's left the team."

"What!" Sam jumped up from her seat in shock.

"Why would ValaMalDoran leave SG-1?!" Teal'c was unable to subdue his astonishment.

Taking a sideways glance towards Daniel, Mitchell cut his eyes back at the other two. "All I got from General Landry was an obscure explanation that Vala was 'hopefully - temporarily' on Reynolds team."

"Reynolds? I thought Reynolds had a … dislike for Vala." Sam settled back into her chair a worried expression on her face.

Daniel's head popped up, "What? That's crazy. Vala kept their kids when his wife had the last baby. They work well together."

They all looked at him amazed.

"I can't believe she switched teams without a word to any of us." Mitchell took another questioning look at Daniel. "The orders came through and poof… Vala's on SG-3."

Teal'c bowed up and went to stand behind Daniel. "DanielJackson, I think you know something you are not sharing with the rest of the team. Please release the information you are attempting to hide. Why did ValaMalDoran leave SG-1? What have you done?"

Daniel's head turned and slowly rose up the length of the foreboding figure towering menacingly over him. With a deep swallow he barely got an answer out. "I…well…" he hedged… "I can't really say."

Resting his hands on Daniel's shoulders Teal'c continued a silent threat.

With a grin of support to Teal'c, Mitchell moved leaning his hip against the desk, crossed his arms and studied their prey. "I thought you two had something goin'. You've been doggin' her like a love sick puppy for months now and all you've got for us is a shrug of your shoulders and an 'I can't really say'?"

Reaching a hand across the desk, Sam placed it atop Daniel's, "Did something happen between you that prompted her to switch teams?"

Both Mitchell and Teal'c turned a feral eye toward the traitor, but Sam's quick gleam in their direction gave them the signal - 'good cop, bad cop' and they both nodded in acquiesce.

Palpably aware of the intimidating twosome, Daniel looked across to Sam. "Yeah, something happened. I can't talk about it now."

Once again the other three exchanged worried glances. "Come on buddy," Mitchell pleaded, "give us somethin'. What the hell happened? You two have a knock down drag out fight? What could be so bad that she'd take off like that? Without a word? I could kick her ass from here to Hades!"

"It's because she's in love with you and you shut her out, right?" Sam squeezed his hand. "I know she is - she told me."

Firmly griping Daniel's shoulder, Teal'c spoke forebodingly. "Perhaps ValaMalDoran was not able to deal with DanielJackson's disregard of her."

Finally pushing away from the desk Mitchell groaned, disgusted. "She just up and walked out on you and us in the process! Good job, Jackson, you sure know how to spoil a party!"

"It's not that she's angry or disillusioned and I didn't disregard her." He said in exasperation with an evil glare at the Jaffa, who backed off. "She's gone … Landry ordered it."

"Oh well, that explains it." Mitchell threw up his hands in irritation and stalked across the room. He pointed at Jackson shaking his finger but couldn't think of a thing to say and wandered back with an annoyed, sullen look.

The glasses come off and Daniel dropped his head covering his face with his hands. As he started talking, they listened intently at the mumbled words. "I really can't say. It's complicated."

"Well this is just great! What the hell is all the mystery about? You have to tell us somethin'. Complicated my ass! What are you hidin'?"

"ColonelMitchell says that you have a frog in your pocket, DanielJackson. Is this true?"

An intricate series of expressions waved across Daniel's face. "What?"

"It means to hide something that is either surprising or repulsive or both." Teal'c explained as if speaking to a child.

"Possibly."

"Daniel, possibly what?" Sam tried to keep her annoyance in check.

"Possibly surprising. Not repulsive." Taking a thoughtful look at Mitchell he added, "Well not to me anyway."

Now Sam was standing, irritation plainly written on her face. "We're a team, Daniel. You and I have known each other for over ten years. We share everything. What are you keeping from us? For gods sake we're a team… A TEAM! You've got to tell us something!"

Looking around as if expecting to find someone else in the room, Daniel leaned in towards the other three. Each of them moved forward, each looking around for possible intruders. "We… you can't react to this. You can't act like you know anything."

"Okay."

"Right."

"Indeed. Spill your guts DanielJackson."

"We…we got married."

Complete and utter silence followed for a full minute.

Mitchell leaned further in doing an impressive gold fish routine with stuttered uh...uh…uhs. Sam moved back blinking in slow, slow, slow motion, her mouth opening further with each blink and little huh…huh…huhs escaping. Teal'c burst out in deep, loud and uncontrolled laugher.

"Holy shit!" Mitchell finally blurted out.

"Holy frelling Hannah!" With deer in headlight eyes Sam gaped.

Teal'c was doubled over in laughter.

Replacing his glasses, Daniel got up and walked out without another word.

Like baby ducks following their momma the other three straightened up and - one, two, three - in a row they followed him out.

"Whoa there Nellie! Get back here!" Mitchell rushed to catch up. "What do you mean married. What kind of married. Married to...I mean..."

Turning on his heels, Daniel stopped dead center of the corridor a scowl on his face. "Will you please keep it down?" He hissed.

"Married?" Mitchell whispered harshly.

"You and ValaMalDoran are married." Teal'c was still laughing if just a bit more subdued.

"You married Vala. And neither of you said a word." Sam whispered angrily. "I thought we were friends."

"Look guys. Let's discuss this off world - later. Please. I promised Landry I'd keep it under my hat until he decided what to do. He said he'd let Mitchell know. I guess he changed his mind." Daniel left them standing muddleheaded in the deserted hallway.

"He is not wearing a hat." Teal'c just kept laughing.

"Oh, real funny big guy." Mitchell stormed off in one direction.

"This is no laughing matter!" Sam stormed off in the other direction.

xxxxxx

When the four remaining SG-1 members exited the 'Gate Mitchell was in the middle of the conversation he started as they walked through from SGC. "…and I gotta tell you I'm shocked. You coulda poked me in the eye with a hot iron and I wouldn'ta been more stunned. SG-3. S. G. 3. I can't believe she's on SG-3. Now there's five of them and Reynolds will be kicking our butts." Sam and Teal'c stood at the foot of the stone steps listening to Mitchell's tirade as Daniel's frown got more and more surly. "That's just crazy Jackson. I thought …I mean…I knew you had a thing…" Stopping suddenly and pivoting around Mitchell went bug eyed. "She's pregnant! Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Jackson, you're such a nerd. You didn't have to marry her!"

Daniel's fist landed somewhere between the tip of Mitchell's nose and his forehead. Wobbling a minute, the colonel shook his head then wiped a trickle of blood with the back of his hand. "Sorry. Outta line. I guess I deserved that." Then Mitchell hauled off and decked the archeologist! "And that's for not tellin' me!"

Daniel was up in half a second and shoved the colonel as his fist reared back for another jab. Teal'c stepped in between the two. He didn't say a word, he didn't have to. The two antagonists glared across the Jaffa's chest at each other. "Perhaps we should get back to the mission and leave this discussion for later." Teal'c's proposal was met with a slight nod from the other two men.

"Fine!" Mitchell took point and headed out with Teal'c behind him.

Sam gestured Daniel ahead and took the six. "You could have said something." She mumbled at his back.

"Taking his side?"

"I don't know. You should have said something. We're a team. We were a team. What happened? When did things change?"

Daniel didn't answer as they trudged along toward their destination. Things had changed about eight days ago. Or maybe eight months ago. Or two years ago. He really wasn't sure.

xxx Chapter Two coming soon: Rescue Me

A/N: Ah Sweet Mystery of Life - Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy.