For days everything was quiet. Even the local birds and wildlife seemed to realize there was something to be mourned. They didn't talk. They went about their daily tasks, which had lessened now that Jacob had brought them provisions and there was no point in going to the gate. There was a lot of quiet time. Daniel slunk off to the ruins frequently and Teal'c seemed to take forever collecting firewood. It was like the weight of all of Earth was resting on their backs.

But it wasn't really. They were the outcasts. They couldn't even join the straggle of survivors. They were nothing. Homeless. People from a lost culture. The kind of people that Daniel made a habit of studying.

Come to think of it, Daniel had been spending a lot of time writing in his journal. Jack wondered if he was trying to get it all down -- to sum up the people of Earth in 50 pages or less. Maybe he was trying to leave something of their world for some other archeologist somewhere to find. Jack didn't envy him the task.

Since that night eons ago when the villager had entered their camp, they hadn't had any unwelcome visitors. Since Jacob, they hadn't had any welcomed visitors either. Their world had shrunk to the four of them, a windswept hill, and a vegetation choked cave.

Jack was tired of it. Tired of all of it. And being irritated was at least better than being numb.

He picked up the stick he used to fish and took off down the slope. He didn't bother to tell Daniel where he was going -- the pole should make it self-evident -- but he felt Daniel look up as he walked by.

It was a short hike to the stream, and it felt good to be completely alone for a change. He just wanted to stare out at a stream, feel for the tickle on his line, and fight a fish into shore.

He tossed his line out - cast was too formal a word for a stick with no reel -- and watched it flow with the current, cutting a line through the water. He could see the dark shapes of the fish swirling underneath the surface, but they weren't biting. Not that Jack cared.

He pulled his line in, checked the bait and then threw it out again. He closed his eyes and let the sound the stream and the slight breeze in the wind calm him. He felt a sharp prick in the crook of his arm and swatted it, annoyed that something had bit him. He opened his eye a crack, but whatever it was had gotten away. At least this planet didn't have an over abundance of mosquitoes.

He didn't hear Teal'c, he felt him. It amazed him that someone so large and solid could move so quietly when he wanted to. Maybe it was all that meditation, a habit Teal'c had gone back to since their marooning on this planet.

"What's up, Teal'c?" he asked, not bothering to look over his shoulder.

"Do you mind if I join you, O'Neill?"

"I thought you didn't like fishing."

"I do not care for it, no." Teal'c sat on the rock next to him, large booted feet firmly planted on the ground, elbows resting on his knees. "Are you alright, O'Neill?"

"Oh, everything's just peachy. My home is destroyed, everyone I ever knew with the exception of some aliens and the three of you are gone, and we're living on a plague planet."

"I am an alien too."

Jack's first instinct was to turn and snap at him. But then he got Teal'c's point. The problem was, he wasn't up for making new friends right now even if it were an option, which it wasn't. "Teal'c we're stuck without a home to go back to and nothing here for us. Not to mention the fact that we could all start dropping like flies. Bleeding flies."

A large heavy hand fell to his shoulder. "Home is where you make it, O'Neill."

"Easy for you to say. Chulak wasn't destroyed. You could still go home."

"I cannot. The young may be vulnerable to this disease. And others visiting my planet would die. I cannot go home any more than you can."

"At least you have a home planet even if you can't go there."

"I am sorry, O'Neill. And I am sorry for the people of Earth. I came to deeply respect the Tau'ri and those of the SGC."

Jack lowered his head. Hammond, Dr. Fraiser, Cassie, and everyone he ever met, gone. It was impossible to comprehend. He just sat there staring at the water, unable to mourn them all. It was too much.

"Major Carter and Daniel Jackson need your leadership, O'Neill. They are waiting to see what you do."

"What's there to do?! I mean, what's the point?!" Jack was suddenly furious again and he didn't even know why. Of course they were looking to him but what did they really expect him to do? He couldn't change anything. They were stuck. Marooned. There was no way he could change that. He could not bring Earth back.

"Is not living a point unto itself?"

Jack closed his eyes, feeling the pull of the sharp line across his finger as something poked at his bait. "I don't know anymore, Teal'c. I just don't know."

The hand tightened briefly around his shoulder and then just as quietly, Teal'c left.

---

At least he had something to bring them. It wasn't much but fresh fish was better than canned meat and powdered milk. He approached the cave to find Daniel in the middle of some story, Carter with just the barest hint of a smile on her face. She turned and saw him and that promise of a smile faded. "Sir?"

And then he understood what Teal'c was trying to say. Then he realized that they were really still looking to him. He had no rank, no service behind him, but they were still looking to him to set the mood. They were ready to stop smiling if that's what he thought they should be doing. He didn't know what they were going to do, but if they were going to live out their days alone in this place, they were going to actually have to live. They couldn't bring Earth back and they wouldn't ever stop mourning it. But they had to keep living.

The alternative was to lie down and die and Jack couldn't find much of a point in that.

"What's a good campfire without a barbeque?" he called, plastering a smile on his face that he didn't feel. Maybe if he pretended, he would start to feel it. "Daniel, are you telling campfire stories?"

Daniel looked at him suspiciously. "Ah, kind of."

"Anything interesting?"

"I was just, um, reciting a few highlights from The Odyssey."

"Riiiiight." Jack said slowly. "Okay. From now on, I tell the campfire stories."

They all looked at him suspiciously.

"Carter, could you please put these beautiful and sure to be tasty fish on the fire?"

She grabbed a long straight branch they had stripped as a skewer and poked it through each one.

Jack grabbed a seat in front of the fire as the wood crackled and popped. "There once was a man named Homer. And no, not your ancient Greek guy, Daniel. This Homer was funny."

Daniel and Carter groaned. Teal'c smiled and Jack knew that he had enough material to keep them entertained for several years. Okay, possibly not the rest of his team, but he knew he'd be able to keep himself entertained at least.

---

It was subtle at first -- a newly developed tick, a wildness to his eyes when startled, a far off stare. But Jack noticed it.

He sat down at the lip of the cave on the lookout for sunset. Teal'c was still collecting firewood, Carter was attempting to make them wild boar soup. Daniel was tending the fire, poking at the ground with his stick. Teal'c returned with a large armful of wood and let it clatter onto the pile. Daniel jumped inches off his seat, glanced around and then settled back with an uneasy tightness in his face.

"You alright?" Jack asked casually.

"Yeah."

"I did not mean to startle you, Daniel Jackson."

"It's okay, Teal'c."

But Jack caught the hint of concern in Teal'c's features. When Teal'c looked up again, Jack caught his eye. He's been this way all day, Jack said with his expression. He was pretty sure that Teal'c's said, I am aware and I share your concern.

Daniel hopped to his feet. "I think I'm going to, uh, try to do some more translating at the ruins."

Jack glanced up at the sky, the sun was low on the horizon, giving the normally slightly green sky a sickly orange hue. "It's late, Daniel, stick around camp."

"For what?"

"For the best boar soup this side of ... wherever they eat wild boar."

Carter had stopped chopping up pieces of meat and watched them closely. "Are you okay, Daniel?" she asked.

"Fine but I'm going nuts from boredom here. I won't be gone long."

"Wait until morning," Jack said, not really wanting to order him to.

Teal'c had moved to a more tactical position and Jack could feel the tension ramping up. The drip, drip in the cave behind them was suddenly loud in the silence.

"Fine," Daniel grumbled staring down at his hands. Jack and Teal'c shared another look but then Teal'c moved away, and Carter went back to chopping up the meat and tossing the little bits into the small aluminum pot.

Wild boar stew wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Nonetheless, he was disturbed by the fact that Daniel picked at his food, eyes darting back and forth occasionally, almost hoarding what he wasn't eating. Carter caught Jack's eye at one point after Daniel stared off into space for a prolonged period of time, her concern obvious.

Night crept in around them slowly, the sky getting progressively darker, and Jack was at least slightly relieved to have the awful green tint out of the sky. But the stars were unfamiliar and reminded him that they weren't home -- reminded him that they weren't ever going home. These might be the last stars he ever fell asleep under. Not that he expected to get any sleep tonight.

They were all watching Daniel, obviously analyzing every one of his moves and ticks, trying to read the tea leaves. Daniel seemed either oblivious to the focus his teammates were giving him or he was just ignoring it. In fact, in the light of the fire, he seemed to be ignoring a lot of things. He still hadn't eaten his soup, but he was keeping the bowl right next to his leg, brushing the cotton of his BDUs. He stared into the fire like wild animals sometimes did, like he feared it but was unable to break its spell.

"So what episode were we up to?" Carter asked, looking Jack's direction.

"106. The one where Lisa meets Bleedin' Gums Murphy. But I don't think I can muster much of the story tonight though. Someone else tell a story." The truth was he was in no mood to try to be funny. He couldn't even muster that at the moment. Carter and Teal'c looked at each other but Daniel didn't even seem to hear him. Daniel was usually the one who told campfire stories, knowing the various ghost stories and myths of a hundred different societies. But not tonight. Tonight he was still entranced by the fire.

"On Chulak, parents tell their children the story of the Peht'tah on the eve of their first night alone in the ritual of Pri'vene."

There was an awkward pause where Daniel would normally translate for the non-Goa'uld speaking members of the party.

"Pri'vene?" Carter finally asked.

Teal'c nodded slowly. "During the summer season when a Jaffa child reaches eight years of age, they are sent with other children in their cohort on their first training exercise without their parents present."

It took a few minutes for the words to sink into Jack's head and rearrange themselves into something he could understand. The click was almost audible when they finally fell into place. "Oh! Summer camp." He smiled a little. "I had no idea the Jaffa had summer camp, Teal'c. When I was a kid I'd go to Lake Okeebagoachee Camp in Minnesota-"

"This is formal training, O'Neill," Teal'c said, the disdain clear on his face. "It is not a recreational activity. They learn to handle a staff weapon and zat'ni'katels. They learn survival skills in the forests of Chulak."

Jack looked to Carter who was trying to stifle her own grin.

"Right, summer camp," he insisted.

"I do not believe it to be the same, as your 'summer camp,' O'Neill."

Jack couldn't help himself. He sat up straight and tried to hide his smile. "Right. Totally different. I can see that."

This time Carter actually put her head down and he could see her shoulders shake a little bit.

"As I was saying," Teal'c soldiered on, "on Chulak there was a legend about a Jaffa known for his fighting prowess, named Peht'tah. This legend was told to children on the eve of their Pri'vene."

"So, a bedtime story for the kids then?"

Carter laughed, but Teal'c just turned his head, his mouth set in an irritated line.

"If you do not wish to hear the story, O'Neill, perhaps you should tell one of your tales of Homer Simpson."

Jack had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing as well. He was about to apologize, to smooth things over when Daniel jumped up off the log. "You can't just let them die, Jack! Blowing up their ship isn't going to solve the problem!"

Carter was on her feet right after him, gaping at Daniel, who was staring at something only he seemed to see.

"You just don't get it, do you Jack?! They aren't a threat to us. Let me talk to them at least!"

Jack's chest tightened and he was at a loss for what to do. They all stared at Daniel, and Jack felt rooted to the spot.

"You never get it!" Daniel yelled and then stalked off in the direction of the cave. Jack looked at Teal'c whose face and concern were heavily shadowed by the flickering fire. Only Carter seemed to know what to do. She crossed to their packs, flipped on a flashlight and rooted around until she found the med kit. Then she pulled a thermometer out, looking back at Jack hopelessly.

It was something anyway. He nodded and both he and Teal'c followed her into the cave where Daniel was pacing in a state of agitation, kicking roots and vines out of his way. Carter approached him cautiously, carefully reaching a hand out to touch his arm.

"Daniel, can I take your temperature?"

"It's not going to make any difference, Sam. He just doesn't listen to reason. You know he always just overrules you because he outranks you."

"I know Daniel, but maybe we could just sit and talk about it."

Jack felt a lump in his chest tightening even further. He knew that in all likelihood Daniel had no idea what he was saying and he had no idea what was going on in Daniel's world at the moment, but it upset him that Daniel's delusions apparently involved their disagreements. It took some willpower not to argue back with him.

Sam succeeded in coaxing Daniel to the floor of the cave, his back against the slimy green wall. "I'm just going to take your temperature, okay?"

He didn't respond but Jack didn't like the completely vacant look in his eyes. He glanced at Teal'c and they moved closer.

Carter held the thermometer towards Daniel. "No! Don't kill her! Stop!" he yelled, slapping and flailing with his right arm, catching Carter's hand and sending the thermometer flying. He managed to swipe Carter in the face, hitting her hard enough to send her head reeling to the side. Before they could react, Daniel was to his feet screaming. "You can't kill them!" Carter managed to back pedal away and Teal'c lunged forward, catching Daniel's raised hand and pinning him back against the cave wall. "Do not, Daniel Jackson," he said with deadly vehemence.

Jack squatted down to take a look at Carter's face. She had a small cut and what was sure to be a bruise, but nothing more. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yes. But Daniel's not."

They stared in horror at him, pinned to the wall, his eyes wild and angry, flailing against Teal'c's weight.

---

Jack hated to use the large zip ties in their pack. They'd long ago been added because Carter said almost anything could be fixed with zip ties and duct tape. Of course that was before they started needing to repair crystals. Jack knew that various police departments used something similar to zip ties as plastic cuffs so he figured they were a good dual use addition to their packs. They'd had occasion to use them in the past, but never on a member of their own team. Unfortunately, Daniel was the first -- his hands bound behind his back.

Jack hated to do it, but Daniel had quickly become a danger to all of them as well as himself. He was completely delusional. Occasionally he seemed to take in something from the real world, but mostly he seemed to be living completely in some narrative of his mind's making. Jack sat on the floor of the cave watching Daniel's eyes flit back and forth, his body trying to pace even though he was stuck on the floor. Jack sat with his back to the cave wall, feeling the creepy crawliness of the moss and lichen growing there. His gun was resting against the wall next to him. And he just didn't know what to do. There was nowhere to go for help, there was nothing he could offer them. Daniel probably only had a little bit of time and there was no way they could help him. Earth was gone, the Alpha Site was gone, and he had no way of contacting Thor or Jacob. He was out of options. If he had something, anything to try, he'd be doing everything in his power to get them help, but there was no help to be had. So he watched and listened powerlessly.

"How can you follow him, Teal'c!? He shoots first and asks questions later! I know he saved your life but look at everything else he's done!"

Jack let out a frustrated sigh. Yeah, he shot first, but only when he had to. Someone had to save their asses and he was the one who took that responsibility. Daniel had no idea what that meant sometimes.

Jack glanced up when he heard soft footsteps against the wet floor. Carter came through the entrance, stepping into the ring of light from a lantern they'd long ago gotten from the Alpha Site.

"He doesn't mean it, you know," she said softly. She rested her P-90 against the wall with his and then sank down next to him.

"We've had this fight. With that robot that created the Replicators. Reese. He does mean it."

"Sir, he's completely delusional. You have no idea what he's seeing or hearing."

She touched his arm and Jack lowered his eyes and picked at the leather strap he wore on his wrist.

"He respects you. Even though you have different perspectives. And as much as that frustrates him sometimes..."

Jack snorted.

"As much as it frustrates him sometimes, he's learned to see things from a different point of view over the years. And with all due respect, sir, so have you. I know he respects you and admires you too. Don't listen to his ranting. That's not how he feels."

Jack sighed, thinking that at least part of Daniel had to be thinking or feeling it for his mind to create a scenario around it. But for all he knew this Daniel was stuck in some part of their past somewhere.

"Sam, stop him!"

They both tried to ignore him but Carter swallowed uncomfortably. She looked away, toward the entrance to the cave. "It's my turn on watch, sir."

"It's okay, I've got it."

"Colonel, you should sleep." She crossed her arms over the tops of her knees. "We should all make sure we get enough sleep."

Jack nodded slowly, knowing that what she was really saying what that they had to do everything in their power to keep up their immunity. He looked at the huddled, handcuffed husk that was Daniel. He was rocking slowly forward and back, shaking at the same time. Jack sighed and tried to put Daniel out of his mind, tried to leave him here in this cave, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep.

-----------------
To Be Continued