Another flick of the wrist, another stone. Score four for the great Colonel Jack O'Neill! The stone sank and he skipped another, missing the strike and watching it 'plop' into the water with a depressing finality.

He should teach Daniel to skip stones. Jackson had disturbing lack of dexterity at times, especially for an archaeologist, used to handling fragile artifacts.

T's dexterity was a little different, fast and swift, he handled weapons well, but a man with hands like T, hands that could probably crush rocks, would probably need a large brick to skip. Give him a stone, it'd get lost in his hands

Not so Carter, small hands, delicate, long fingered, warm... He shoved the memory away and cursed himself, silently, the Edorans were nice people, but swearing wasn't really in their vocabulary, and he didn't want to startle any nearby natives.

'Jack?'

Her voice stopped him, and the last stone he'd thrown skipped one more time before sinking below the surface of the river. Unlike Carter, hell, unlike Daniel, Jack admitted when he needed time off, and a week of digging in the fields before digging at the Stargate's old location whilst the others headed off for their evening meal was starting to wear him down.

Okay, wear his knees down, but without Frasier on standby with a stockpile of anti-inflammatories and painkillers, he had to be careful. Pace himself.

'What can I help you with, Laira?'

'Actually, I was hoping more to help you. You work hard Jack, everyone is very grateful for your help, but we worry, I worry. You speak to no-one, you do not join us at meals. The few times you are not working, you are by yourself. This is not good for anyone.'

'I'm doin' just fine, Laira. Thanks for the concern.' He didn't turn around, he wanted to be left alone. His whole world, his team was on the other side of the galaxy, or may as well be, for all the luck he would have had reaching them. He worked more than his share, he thought that entitled him to spend his downtime how the hell he damn well pleased.

He wasn't mad at Laira, she was good person, strong, intelligent... blonde - Oh, he was so not going there! He yanked back his thoughts, and considered Laira's son instead. He wasn't even mad at Garan, although sometimes he thought the boy feared he was. Laira confirmed it with her next words.

'I'm worried about Garan. I thought, perhaps...' her voice trailed off for a moment, 'would you speak with him? He bears the guilt that you are stranded here, and yet you have told me you do not blame him. Is this still true?'

'Yeah,' he finally turned to face her, 'yeah, it's true. Did you tell him?'

'He will not believe me, Jack. But I think he will believe you. Would you speak with him?'

'Yeah, sure, why not,' he tossed the final stone he held, watching the ripples spread out like the -

'You can actually see the fluctuations in the event horizon!'

Jack shook his head, turning his back on the ripples and heading with Laira back to the village. As it came into view, he started to see, for the first time in nearly eight days since the meteor strikes, that the village itself was in bad disrepair. They needed carpenters, stone masons, just as much as they needed the crops that were now being neatly planted in the freshly plowed fields, they needed shelter.

Including him.

He would talk to Garan, keeping digging for the 'Gate, and talk to Paynan. The big guy didn't like him much, but that was besides the point, he would have the lay aside his own animosity for the sake of his people. Besides, Jack had a strong feeling that Paynan's dislike of him had it's roots in the woman who walked beside him now.

Relax, Paynan, he thought silently, I don't generally have a thing for blondes, especially those who are too damn smart for their own good. He could've convinced himself if only the image of one particular blonde, two nights before the Edoran fire-rain had released all hell on the planet, didn't keep intruding on his thoughts every time he turned his thoughts turned back to Earth, and the SGC.

They reached the outskirts of the village, and Jack raised a hand, calling to a familiar figure, hurrying in the direction of the fields. 'Hey, Garan! Wait up!' With a glance at Laira, he headed off, looking back once to find her smiling at him. A careless grin, a flash and then gone. but she took it for a beginning.

For Jack, it was the beginning of the end. Of hope.