oOo Chapter 10: Have A Nice Trip, See You In The Fall

He'd had the dream again, of course, but had seen that his team was well afterwards. He'd left them in the dining hall, talking about the hair gel. Laura hadn't been in the psychiatrists' waiting room this time, and he wondered what she had done to earn a reprieve from the daily routine. He sat across from McKenzie now, wishing he had had his own stay of emotional execution.

"So, can I see the field reports?" He tried to be casual about it, as if it had just occurred to him to ask.

"Why?"

He shrugged. "I just like to know all the details. I read all their mission reports you know, to get their perspective on things."

"Mmmm-hmmmm."

Jack hated when he did that. He bet McKenzie knew it, too. Nothing said a psychiatrist couldn't enjoy bugging people. It might even be a job requirement.

"I would prefer that you remember whatever you think you are missing on your own. Afterwards, you can see the reports to fill in the details. Is there anything in particular you would like to discuss to perhaps jog your memory?"

"No."

"Colonel, I realize you are reluctant to talk about your experiences, and your feelings. Whether you believe it or not, you do need to do it. I can't clear you for full duty until you do."

That's the only reason I'm here, Doc, he thought to himself.

"I have, however, cleared you for a light mission." He watched his patient's surprise, saw the eager hope fade to suspicion. "Just one mission, Colonel. A very light one. I think you need some time in the field with your team. General Hammond needs some samples from an uninhabited planet."

"Thanks, Doc." Jack didn't care why, he was just glad to get away from psychiatrists, therapy, and budgets!

oOo#

Daniel paced another loop around his living room, noticed the sentry on the late late movie making another patrol of his own, and resisted the urge to call out "Two o'clock and all's not well!"

Not with him, anyway, much as he was trying to be a team player.

He had learned a lot in the past few weeks. And he didn't like what he had discovered.

Jack spoke Arabic. It wasn't so much the surprise itself; it was the timing. He had known Jack for how long? And the man had never once mentioned that he knew any other languages, even though he knew languages were Daniel's passion. He couldn't say why, exactly, but he felt as if his friend had betrayed him in some small way by not sharing something like that. Maybe he would have forgotten about it if it hadn't been for the other unpleasant surprises that had followed.

Jack had wanted to use the stolen airplane as a bribe to get them to the next town. Sure, it seemed practical on the surface; and saving their cash would have made the rest of their trip easier. But didn't it occur to him that it was just wrong? It wasn't theirs to sell. It's owner had done nothing to them; why should he have to fight to get his plane back? To be fair, Jack had let him leave the plane and use up nearly all their cash instead. But to Daniel's mind, there should never have been a question about it, let alone the argument they had had at the little airstrip.

It wasn't their only philosophical argument on the trip, either.

Daniel had stopped in front of an inn, where the innkeeper woman was enticing customers with her cooking. It had smelled just like his mother's, and he had told her so. He reminisced about his childhood, unable to resist the opportunity to talk to someone who would understand. She had let him cook a couple of flatbreads on the little outdoor stove, and tears stung his eyes at the memory of doing that with his mother. The sights, the smells, the kind and slightly amused woman had all made him terribly homesick. Homesick for his innocent and happy childhood in the desert. It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. He didn't even have to worry about his friends; Teal'c was involved in some kind of contest, and Carter was playing street games with Jack as her interpreter.

The kindly woman had insisted he take a room for free. It would be like having her nephew to visit. And when she had seen that her adopted nephew had his ailing grandmother with him, she had fed the whole 'family' at her own table.

A wonderful, sweet, poignant, memory-making day.

Until Jack complimented him on sweet-talking the innkeeper woman.

Jack really thought it was just a con. Daniel's way of contributing to their combined room and board on the trail home. How could he? How could Jack not realize what this had meant to him? Sure, when Jack saw how much his 'compliment' had hurt Daniel, he tried to backpedal, but it wasn't the same. He knew Jack didn't see it the same way as he did.

Did anyone around the SGC see things the way he did? He had thought he was making some headway, making a difference, but he wasn't. Not with Jack, for sure, and probably not with anyone.

Hammond had surprised him, too. The General had come to him, to Daniel's office, shortly after their discovery that Jack might be alive. The rarity of a personal visit should have warned him. Hammond had told him that the Internet 'sale' was real, and updated him on the plans to retrieve Jack. Military rescue was too risky; Jack's 'owners' would dispose of him before being caught with him. They would have to buy the Colonel back. Daniel remembered the moment with clarity. Hammond had been looking around the room as he talked, idly fingering relics, reminding him for all the world of Jack toying with irreplaceable artifacts. Hammond had stopped fiddling and looked him straight in the eye. And asked him which non-technical, not-yet-catalogued treasures they could sell.

"They're priceless!" he had objected, shocked that anyone, much less the General, would suggest such a thing.

"Price one, anyway," the General had responded.

Price one anyway. Price one anyway. He could still hardly believe it. These weren't things at a garage sale! They were, they were┘ he couldn't even put it into words. It was like asking a parent to price one of his children. How could the General, a man he looked up to almost like a father...

It hit him then. Hammond was being asked to price his children. One -- Jack -- already had a price tag. A big one. And to pay it, Hammond had to make some hard decisions. He couldn't sacrifice anything related to the security of the planet, not even for Jack. And there weren't many other things that would bring a high enough price. Except possibly the relics. If he'd have thought about it, he would have realized the risks that the General was taking. Hammond had to have known that it could cost him Daniel's respect and possibly the General's own freedom, if his creative funding were discovered and prosecuted as theft.

At the time, though, Daniel had been too shocked to think clearly. He had defended his irreplaceable artifacts, even standing between the General and the shelves full of history and learning and wonder. The government had plenty of money -- they printed the stuff, for crying out loud! -- they didn't need to come to him. Hammond had backed down, never said another word. Daniel wondered now, what the General had done to get the money. Did he just pose the same question to someone else, trusting that Daniel would never find out? Or did he support Daniel's principles? Did Hammond consider principles a guideline, like Jack did, or an immutable law, like Daniel did?

He sat down to think about the value of values. A headache was forming behind his eyes, and he rubbed his temples. These issues were so much easier when they were hypothetical; and he wasn't sure he liked the results of facing them in reality. Maybe he'd even talk to Dr McKenzie about it in the morning before the doctor's mandatory pre-mission meeting with him, Sam and Teal'c.

God, what was he thinking? Talk to McKenzie? On purpose? Get a grip, Daniel. He could almost hear Jack's voice saying it. Jack, who had supported him countless times. Who fought for him regularly, in the field and the briefing room. Who deserved his support, no matter what happened on the trip home.

oOo#

"Nice campsite, Jack."

"All right, Jackson. What are you up to?" Jack demanded.

He opened his mouth to swear innocence, but closed it again when Jack glared at him. "McKenzie said you could use a pat on the back," he said sheepishly.

Jack dropped his head in disgust. The portly psycho-trying-ist was making his presence known a zillion miles from home.

"Guess I didn't do a very good job," Daniel said.

Jack sighed. "You did fine, Daniel. I was glad you liked the direction we walked. And the pace. And the rest break. You just overdid it." He paused. Started to laugh. "Besides, he didn't mean it that way."

"What did he mean?"

"He meant it literally. Like this." He patted Daniel's back. "He has some weird idea of what we do in the field. Thinks we spend a lot of time touching each other."

"Why?" he asked the question slowly, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Jack laughed again. "Don't worry, Daniel. I wouldn't go for you even if you were the last man on Earth √ er, whatever they call this place."

"Glad to hear it," Daniel muttered, staring at his coffee mug as he took a sip.

"Seriously, I appreciate the effort." He grinned. "Good job, Dr Jackson!" He patted his friend on the back.

"Why thank you, Colonel!" Daniel patted Jack on the back.

"And let's not forget Teal'c bravely watching us go nuts. Good job, T!" He patted the Jaffa.

Teal'c clapped a hand on O'Neil's shoulder in return, knocking him forward half a step. "I am pleased that you noticed my ignorance!"

"It's 'indifference', Teal'c," Daniel corrected.

"What is the difference?"

"I don't know and I don't care!" the linguist quipped.

"Good one, Daniel!" Jack clapped him on the back.

"Couldn't have done it without Teal'c!" Daniel patted the big man's back.

"Looks like you're all having fun." Carter walked into camp, back from her latrine trip.

"We are, aren't we?" Daniel laughed, enjoying the moment, and patted Jack on the back again.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. "Dr McKenzie ordered that we touch one another. Please join us."

One look at Carter's face and Jack burst out laughing. He clapped Teal'c on the back. The Jaffa looked pleased and slapped the Colonel's shoulder.

"Uh, sir?" She was still standing a solid ten feet away.

"It's ok, Carter." He explained McKenzie's theory, still smiling. It felt good to laugh again.

She smiled tentatively, and crossed over to them. "Happy to help, Colonel." She patted him on the back. "But┘ do you mind if I check your canteens?"

He laughed again, slapping her on the shoulder, and she smiled genuinely this time.

"Feeling better, Jack?" Daniel asked, patting him on the back again.

"Yep. But you know, you forgot to compliment me on the weather!"

"Sam handled the weather, Jack."

"I stand corrected. Good job on the weather, Carter!" He patted her on the back.

oOo

When Jack relieved Teal'c from watch that night, he couldn't resist asking. "He knew all along, didn't he?"

"Yes."

"So why all the phony compliments?"

"He believed he would be severely injured if he started touching you for no reason."

It was hard to tell when the big guy was making a joke. Jack decided that it was, and chuckled. "Wise man."

It was Teal'c's turn to wonder. Did that mean that O'Neill believed Daniel Jackson to have shown good judgement? Or was it his way of saying 'smart ass'?

oOo

"So, Carter, what looks good, sample-wise?"

"I was thinking the ridge there," she waved with her coffee cup, "and also by the stream. I already have some from the campsite."

"Ok, Daniel, Teal'c, you take the stream. Carter and I will take the ridge. Don't forget to pick some flowers."

"Flowers?"

"Gotta have some flowers from the Pansy Planet."

"Pansy Planet?"

"Is there an echo here?" He grinned. "Pansy flowers." He gestured to the acres of dappled blooms stretching as far as the eye could see in all directions. "Pansy mission." He rolled his eyes. "Pansy Planet. You got a better name? And don't say P3X-992."

"Fine. Pansy Planet it is." Daniel shook his head in disgust.

They finished up breakfast and headed off on their tasks. It really would be an easy mission. Jack suspected they had triple checked the place before sending him out on this trial run. He didn't expect to find so much as a mosquito to cause trouble.

Jack looked around from the top of the ridge, enjoying the view, and keeping an eye on his other two teammates just in case. He slid his weapon around to his back to access his front vest pocket, wondering if even his binoculars could pick up the end of the flower patch.

Carter crouched to take some samples, moving around a bit and ending near Jack's boots. She finished and picked a flower to give her smart-aleck commander. She rose, stepping back a bit from him to give him his personal space. The edge gave way suddenly beneath her feet.

She lunged forward, trying to avoid the fall, and her torso thudded heavily to the ground, her legs swinging in mid air. The air whooshed from her lungs and she scrabbled for a hold, feeling herself sliding. Then a strong hand gripped her wrist and pulled.

Jack had jumped back when the ridge gave. Now, keeping his feet on hopefully-solid ground, he leaned over as far as he could to grab his second's wrist. His P-90 swung around off his shoulder and thumped her in the back. She grunted at the impact. "Sorry, Carter."

She slid up onto the ground beside him, and he towed her another few feet away from the edge just in case. He crouched next to her, helping her roll onto one side, reminding her that it would be easier to regain her breath that way. He kept a protective hand on her, and turned his head to re-check on his other teammates. They seemed fine.

Carter wheezed and groaned beneath his hand, and he listened intently to the sound. No sharp hissing from seriously broken ribs, and none of that gross wet sucking sound that meant damaged lungs. He waited until her breathing eased, before rolling her gently onto her back. Time for triage. "Carter? You ok?"

"I think so, sir." She lay back, resting.

He felt her ribs and pressed her belly, watching her for signs of pain. She grimaced a bit, but nothing like the response broken ribs or internal injuries would garner. "Anywhere else hurt?"

"No. Think I just got the wind knocked out of me."

"Good."

She made a face at him.

"You know what I mean. Better than broken ribs and stuff. Take a break. We'll head back to camp when you're ready."

They took their time walking back to camp. Jack installed her in her tent and told her to rest. He brought her a canteen and a handful of flowers. "Get well soon!"

She rewarded him with a smile and took her break reading something on her pocked-sized computer.