Jack stared at the pasty, wrinkled face and the pale eyes of the Prior staring back at him, his stomach churning with rage. With a voice filled with anger, Jack ordered, "Shut it down." The screen went blank and a heavy blanket of silence permeated the control room as everyone tried to digest what they had just witnessed.

"Looks like we've got the evidence that the Joints Chiefs are going to want," Reynolds stated grimly.

Jack turned and met the man's eyes. Unfortunately, he was right.

Chapter 10 – Round One

Reynolds was right. As soon as they had read the reports and viewed the video feed containing Matthews and the Prior, the President and the Joint Chiefs had approved the missions to retrieve the crystals. There were no stipulations for further study of the hologram: they were to leave as soon as General O'Neill saw fit. And although his fury had not diminished at the death he had witnessed at the hands of the Prior, Jack had been determined to hold off on the mission for at least 24 hours. He knew for a fact that both Daniel and his wife were running on coffee fumes, so had ordered both off the base last night at 2000 hours. Sam had not appreciated being "ordered" to go home and go to bed, especially by her husband, but had secretly relished the few hours spent with Leorah and the somewhat restful night's sleep she'd had spent in Jack's arms.

Now, a mere day after everything had hit the proverbial fan, Jack stood alone in the briefing room – the only time he'd been alone with his thoughts since this whole mess started. He took a deep breath. The time was almost upon them to set out for the first planet. To say he had misgivings would be a gross understatement. But Jack knew what had to be done and would put aside his personal feelings to do just that.

He stood leaning against the briefing room table, arms crossed against his chest, and gazed through the glass window into his office with an unreadable expression on his face. Sam sat at his desk, Leorah on her lap, and though he couldn't hear what was being said, he knew she was explaining the upcoming mission in the simplest of terms to the little girl. Jack knew the moment Sam told Leorah she would have to go off-world, for the little girl threw her arms around her mother's neck and buried her face there. Sam briefly met his gaze through the window; her expression a mixture of regret and determination as she held the child close and rubbed her back gently.

"Everything's going to be OK, Jack," came Daniel's voice from behind him.

Jack blinked, somewhat startled by the other man's silent entrance, but didn't spare him a glance. He kept his eyes on his wife and daughter. Leorah had released her tight hold on her mother, but Jack could still see the tears running down her pink cheeks. "Can I have that in writing?" Jack asked sardonically, referring to Daniel's statement.

Daniel sighed. "I know this is hard for you, Jack. But we're only going to one planet to retrieve the first crystal. It really shouldn't be too difficult." Jack just snorted. Since when had an "easy" mission gone as expected? "She hasn't changed, Jack," Daniel reminded him gently. "Sam may no longer be part of the military, but she's every bit the soldier when we get out there. You know that."

Slowly, Jack nodded his head. "Yeah. I know. But she's also a mother now, Daniel. And my wife." He paused for a moment before adding quietly, "It was hard enough before, sending her off to God knows what. But now…" he shook his head. "You have no idea what it feels like to put your wife in a dangerous situation, knowing you won't be there to protect her."

Daniel gave Jack a look of disbelief, before softly saying, "Actually, I think I do."

Jack winced before shooting him an apologetic glance. "Sorry, Daniel. I…sorry." He looked away, feeling like an idiot. How could he have forgotten Sha're?

"Daniel Jackson and I have both encountered feelings such as you are experiencing, O'Neill," Teal'c reminded him from his other side. This time, Jack as not surprised by the quiet approach. "But you are at an advantage. Samantha has been trained as a warrior as well as a scientist. She will prevail and return home unharmed." When Jack turned to look at the other man, Teal'c added, "You have my word."

The two men shared a long look before Jack nodded his head. "Thanks T. Daniel." He returned his gaze to Sam, who was now standing and heading toward them, Leorah's hand in hers. "God, sometimes I just wish I could lock her up in her lab," he muttered quietly. He glanced at his two friends, noting the surprised looks on their faces and felt a moment of chagrin. "For God's sake, don't tell Sam I just said that. She'd kick my ass from here to Netu if she knew I was even thinking along those lines."

Daniel chuckled at the truth of that statement, while Teal'c replied with a smile, "Indeed."

Jack gave his wife a wide smile when she reached his side. A rather fake smile that didn't escape her notice. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him, then glanced at Daniel and Teal'c, noticing the looks of amusement on their faces. She turned back to Jack. "What's going on?"

"Just discussing the mission, that's all," he assured her, his smile turning more natural. Sam continued to regard him with suspicion.

Leorah released Sam's hand and crossed over to her father. Taking his hand in hers, she looked up at him imploringly. "Daddy, is you going to go 'way with mommy?"

Jack's smile faltered for a moment as he met the pained look in his wife's eyes. Quickly, he pasted it back on for the little girl's sake. "No, sweetheart. I'm going to be staying here, just like you." He brushed an errant tear from her cheek. "But mommy will be back by the time we need to head home, OK?"

Solemnly, Leorah nodded her head. She understood that sometimes her mommy had to go to other planets for her work. But the tension that had been building over the past 24 hours had filtered down to the little girl and, unlike the adults in the room, she could not pretend that it didn't affect her. She looked back at her mother. "Me and daddy will wait for you mommy. We won't go home 'til you comes back."

Sam felt tears of her own well in eyes and with great effort, forced them back. She got down on her knees in front of Leorah and hugged her tightly. "Thank you, sweetheart," she whispered.

Colonel Reynolds chose that moment to pop his head in the door. "Both teams are set and ready to move out on your command, General."

Jack nodded to indicate that he had heard. Daniel and Teal'c made their way to the gate room, wanting to give Jack, Sam and Leorah a few moments alone. Sam rose to her feet, Leorah still in her arms. Jack put out a hand and gently brushed the back of his wife's cheek with his knuckles. "We'll be waiting. Take care," he stated quietly. Unable to form any words, Sam just nodded, brushed his cheek with a light kiss, and passed Leorah over to him before turning to join her team in the gate room.

Father and daughter watched from above as the gate spun and the event horizon sprang to life. Sam glanced back once more and offered up a smile in response to the exuberant waving from the child above. She waved back then turned and headed up the ramp, hoping that the retrieval of the first crystal would go as quickly as she and Jack had promised their daughter.

------

The first planet, designated P4Z-790, appeared like many they had visited over the past years. The Stargate sat atop a stone platform. Its stone steps descended to a path that was over-grown with weeds and plants. The platform and steps were fairly large – measuring about twenty feet in diameter. A variety of deciduous trees surrounded the gate, offering protection from the sun that blazed overhead.

"Doesn't look like this gate gets used much anymore," Daniel observed from the top step. He pointed to the path. "Looks pretty over-grown to me."

Sam glanced in the direction he was pointing and nodded in agreement. "Unfortunately, that doesn't always mean we won't be disturbed," she stated cautiously, looking into the surrounding trees.

"Too true," Daniel agreed. "We'd better get started. The sooner we find it, the sooner we can leave."

SG's 3 and 7 fanned out, weapons raised and senses alert against the possibility of an unforeseen attack. Colonel Reynolds ordered one of his men to stay by the DHD. He wanted to be able to dial out quickly should the need arise.

Teal'c stood alert as always. He went only as far as the bottom step of the platform. His attention flickered from the trees to the stones beneath his feet, dividing his attention between keeping his promise to O'Neill and searching for the Ancient symbol. Once the platform had cleared, Daniel, Sam and Marjie began their close inspection of the stones. They too were looking for the backward C with the line through the middle.

The stones were many and varied. At the front of the platform, all of the stones were flat and worn smooth from a combination of the elements and the thousands of footsteps that had crossed the area over the centuries the gate had stood on the spot. No symbols were discernable among the scuffs and scratches that edged the stones. As they made their way to the back of the Stargate however, the three explorers noticed a surprising difference. These stones were rougher in texture, and most if not all of them contained some type of carving.

Marjie sighed. "I knew it wouldn't be easy," she mumbled to no one in particular as she took in the sight before her. There must have been at least 200 stones; all of them with some form of writing on them.

Daniel looked at her and smiled. "No, but at least we didn't have to trek through a bug infested swamp to get here!" Marjie grimaced at his rejoinder and resumed her search.

Thirty minutes later, Sam called out, "I think I've found it, Daniel!" She was squatting on the lowest step at the back of the Stargate, her hand running lightly over the edges of a medium sized stone that was nestled in between two larger ones. Daniel left the other side of the platform and hurried over to her.

Resting on his haunches beside her, he too ran his hand lightly over the stone, then looked up at Sam and smiled. "This is it, Sam. You've found it!" he declared, his voice fairly bursting with excitement. She grinned at him, then stood and pulled a protective pouch from her pack. The pouch would allow them to carry the obelisk back to the SGC safely while also protecting them from any possible energy emissions the object might give off.

Marjie sank to her knees beside Daniel, basking in the pleasure of finding the stone so quickly. Teal'c, upon hearing Sam's call, had made his way over to the three scientists as well. Peering over Marjie's shoulder, he looked thoughtful for a moment before stating, "It appears to be the correct stone, Daniel Jackson. How will you remove the obelisk from its depths?"

Daniel blinked, then looked up at Sam, his eyes wide. In all their preparations, they hadn't discussed how exactly they would go about removing the obelisk. The Ancient hadn't said anything about removing the obelisk; just how to find it. Daniel looked back at the stone, deep in thought. "Uhm, well, I guess I thought that we would just have to run our hand over the symbol, like so," he waved his hand back and forth over the symbol. Nothing happened. Daniel frowned and leaned closer, examining the edges of the stone to see if there was a release anywhere.

"Daniel," Marjie stated quietly, pulling him from his search. When she had his attention, Marjie looked up at Sam, then back at Daniel. "We know that Leorah is intricately tied to the revelations by the Ancients. I think…well, perhaps we need her here to trace the symbol and release the obelisk?" she offered reluctantly.

Daniel stared at her for a moment, then looked up at Sam. There was a tightness about her mouth that hadn't been there a few moments before. "Sam?" he asked.

Sam looked at the stone, then at Daniel. She shook her head. "Let's try a few other things first, OK? I don't want to bring her here unless it's absolutely necessary."

Comprehending the grim set to her jaw, Daniel readily agreed. There was a great sense of relief all around when, a mere two minutes later, Sam placed her fingers into the grooves of the symbol and lightly traced them. The stone silently but swiftly rose of its own accord. Daniel and Sam shared looks of elation. Then, as the top of the stone moved to reveal a golden obelisk, the elation turned to satisfaction. They had found the first obelisk.

Sam set the obelisk on the ground in front of them. A small catch on the side indicated a spot where a compartment might be. Sam shot a glance at Daniel, then gently pressed the catch. A small door released, immediately revealing a blue crystal glowing within the small enclosure. The lines of tension relaxing, Sam glanced up at Teal'c. "It's here," she informed him quietly. Teal'c nodded, then motioned to Colonel Reynolds that they had found what they had come for.

Carefully, Sam closed the compartment and wrapped the obelisk before she placed it inside of the protective pouch. There would be plenty of time to examine it once they returned to the SGC. Everyone stepped to the side as Reynolds ordered Captain Warner to dial home. It was with a feeling of cautious relief that all three teams stepped up to the gate, ready to depart. The entire operation had taken little over an hour; a hopeful sign to all of them that the other two missions to retrieve the secret crystals would go as smoothly.

When the alarms sounded announcing their arrival a mere hour later, Jack's heart pounded with dread. In his experience, early returns usually meant trouble. And so it was with a mixture of wariness and hope that he made his way to the control room and ordered the iris to be opened. He was glad that Leorah was once again with Janet, for he did not want to subject her to any trauma should something have gone wrong.

His eyes scanned the incoming group – 12 people in all – and came to rest on the one person he needed to see above all others. As is she could feel his gaze, Sam looked up and met his concerned look with a smile. The smile was soon accompanied by a waggle of her eyebrows as she raised the pouch containing the obelisk. Round one had gone to them.