This is sometime after season 6. It can go just about anywhere in season 7 and will probably be at least two chapters.

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All the misgivings Jack had harbored about having a woman on his team, much less as his 21C, had vanished after the first few missions together. Carter could hold her own; and if she attracted way too much attention at times, well, frankly, so did Daniel. Both seemed equally unaware of it; or in Sam's case, just aware enough to keep out of trouble.

But some of those misgivings had come back to the forefront on their current mission. Daniel had identified the culture as pre=Canaanite, which might explain why the population had taken one look at Carter and fallen to their knees in supplication. They had proclaimed her to be Sapash, their sun goddess, long believed to be searching for her long lost and resurrected lover, Baal.

It had taken Daniel a long time to convince them otherwise. That hadn't stopped the men from following her with their eyes, if not their actual physical presence. As a man, Jack understood this completely. As her CO, it made him grind his teeth.

He had taken Teal'c aside at one point just before the feast being thrown in their honor and said,

"Stick close to Carter, would ya? Without looking like you're sticking close?"

"Indeed," Teal'c let the word reverberate in the still evening air. O'Neill could almost taste his displeasure. There was currently a crowd of dark-haired, tall, good-looking men clustered around Carter like flies around a drop of honey. Teal'c had surged forward like the tide, parting them and drawing Carter away on the pretense of showing her something in the Temple.

Unfortunately, Carter's crowd of admirers all went with them. Jack didn't fail to notice that the hand Teal'c had clenched around his staff weapon seemed unusually tense.

Jack would have ordered them all back through the Star Gate long before this if it hadn't been for the intriguing piece of technology in the Temple. Just the fact that this had anything to do with Baal was enough to make him want to pack it up. Carter's announcement that this appeared to be some kind of anti-gravity technology had caused an icy rip of memory to claw down his spine. The generators were unfinished, as if they had been abandoned and Jack had a very strong desire to join the ranks of those that had abandoned them.

Duty. Honor. Mission objective.

Damn. He'd agreed to stay for the feast at the end of the week, wondering how he was ever going to force himself to eat. Every protective instinct he had was in overdrive; and the extra attention being paid to Carter wasn't helping. Of course, it was Carter's effect on the population that had made all these negotiations go so much more smoothly. They had overall been treated like honored guests, given very nice individual rooms and had their every need seen to. But several days of this had worn O'Neill's patience thin.

Daniel was happily immersed in translations of the technical manuals, Sam in crawling all over the machinery and Teal'c in watching Carter while being careful not to look like a body guard watching a superstar.

This left Jack to brood and use up valuable energy keeping unpleasant memories at bay.

He stood outside the Temple with his hands resting on his P90, watching the preparations for the feast and thought it was going to be a long night.

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Jack woke with the absolute certainty that something was wrong. He was sleeping alone, of course and by his own choice. At first he heard nothing but the night – wind in the trees and the night walking insects native to this planet.

Then he heard the scream.

Full of rage, full of horror, splitting the night and bringing Jack to his feet with his soul on fire. Sam's voice…..

He grabbed his P90 and ran out into the hall. The room they had given Carter was around the corner from his and by the time he got to it there was already a crowd. Teal'c was already shouldering his way through a crowd of people who looked sick and horrified. Daniel was on his heels and Jack skidded into the room behind him.

"God damn," the curse left Jack before he could stop it.

There was a man lying on the floor in a pool of blood with an Air Force issue knife stuck in his shoulder. In spite of the blood, Jack recognized him as Keret, the son of the local chieftain, Dargon. There was a cluster of people around him and Jack was whole heartedly relieved to see that he was alive, even if he had been in much better shape earlier in the evening.

The room itself seemed to be in order, only the bed was disheveled, pillows scattered on the floor; and of course the blood all over the floor.

But there was no sign at all of Carter. None.

Dargon staggered into the room and gave a choked cry at the sight of his son. Four people carrying a stretcher hurried in behind him.

Fury erupted in Jack. With a roar, he dropped his P90, slammed Dargon against the nearest wall and shouted,

"What did you do to her?"

"T-t-t-to her?" Dargon stammered, eyes wild, "Look what she did to my son! She's crazy…."

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?"

"Jack!"

Daniel grabbed Jack around his shoulders with one arm. One hand wrapped around Jack's wrist and tried to pry his fingers from around Dargon's throat.

"Jack," Daniel was far from calm himself but his voice had the desired effect. "He can't tell you if you strangle him."

Jack relaxed his grip but didn't let go.

"S-ssshe lured him up here, I h-hhheard them at the feast," Dargon began.

"That is a lie." Teal'c's voice and far, far too soft.

Dargon looked past O'Neill into the Jaffa warrior's eyes and whimpered.

"I sat beside Major Carter at the feast. She rebuked Keret's advances throughout the night."

Teal'c had walked forward and now stood shoulder to shoulder with O'Neill, towering over the terrified Dargon. He reached for the knife attached to his belt and held it inches from Dargon's face.

"Where is she?" Teal'c asked.

"I don't know," Dargon squeaked.

Jack's hand tightened on Dargon's throat and Daniel's grip on Jack tightened.

"Jack," he said, pleadingly.

"Daniel," there was warning and fury in Jack's voice.

"I want her back too!" Daniel said, "But this isn't going to help."

Jack relaxed again and finally let go of Dargon's throat, only to grasp a handful of his robes. Daniel let go of Jack's shoulders but took hold of his forearm just in case. Jack's barely contained fury still had everyone else in the room frozen. Only the medical team that had come for Keret was moving, rushing out of the room with the injured man.

"Okay, Jack, think," Daniel said, his words hurried and desperate, "Sam screamed and nothing makes Sam scream. She was scared and…and…and angry; angry enough to hurt someone badly… and she may have just taken off…."

Daniel broke off with a sharp inhalation that made Teal'c's gaze shift to him for just a moment.

"What did you give her?" Daniel demanded.

Dargon swallowed but didn't answer. Jack shoved him harder against the wall and Teal'c laid the blade of his knife against the man's neck.

"What did you give her!" Daniel raised his voice for the first time.

"N-nnnothing," Dargon stammered and then amended it quickly when Jack growled, "A mild sedative… to calm her…. She wanted to stay with Keret! She signed a marriage contract. It's been filed with the priests at the Temple. She didn't want any of you to know! She's afraid of you, all of you." He paused and looked at Teal'c, blinking rapidly, "Especially you."

Daniel thought it was a really stupid thing to say to a man who was holding a knife sharp enough to cut bone. Teal'c's hand tightened on the hilt.

"Daniel," Jack demanded information with that single spoken word.

"They drugged her. It's the only explanation. They probably put something in her drink at the feast. Something strong enough to scramble her thoughts but still capable of signing a contract," Daniel said, "Then they came back here and when….. when…."

He stumbled to a halt and looked miserable.

"Daniel," O'Neill snarled.

He finished it in a rush, "When Keret tried to consummate the marriage her military training kicked in but without her normal rationale to control it."

The color briefly drained from Jack's face and then returned in a heated flash of rage.

"You son of a bitch," he snarled.

Daniel let go of Jack's wrist and O'Neill immediately went for Dargon's throat again.

"What did you give her; and don't make me ask you again," Daniel said and somehow Dargon thought that the simple sentence delivered in a voice that cut like a north wind was more frightening than the knife or the hand at his throat.

"Capstamane!" Dargon gasped out.

Daniel inhaled again, closed his eyes and looked away. Teal'c actually growled.

"What?" Jack demanded of them both.

"It is a very powerful mind altering drug," Teal'c said, "Used by the Goa'uld on reluctant pleasure slaves to make them more…..willing to be violated."

Every muscle in Jack's body corded again as he shoved Dargon against the wall for a third time. This time Daniel made no move to stop him.

"What will it do to her?"

Dargon had gone completely pale, certain now that he was staring into the eyes of his own death. He whimpered again.

It was Teal'c who answered, in a voice gone low and ominous, like thunder rolling across mountains.

"A few small drops will over stimulate the body while making it increasingly difficult to think."

"How much did you give her?" Jack snarled.

"I-IIII don't know," Dargon stammered and then, when all three men took a menacing step towards him he said, quickly, "A spoonful! Maybe more, I-III'm not sure. We have not used it for hundreds of years. But she is the closest thing to our goddess that we had in centuries. We had to find a way to make her stay."

Daniel muttered something that was probably in Mandarin. Jack wasn't sure. He only knew that Daniel only cursed in Chinese when he was very, very upset.

"She must be found right away," Teal'c said.

"Why?" Jack asked.

"Such an amount will drive her to the point of madness," the Jaffa answered. "If she does not submit to being …. Used for the relief it will bring… She will become more and more violent."

Jack poured out a long string of brutal curses that he had not used since his combat days.

"She'll never submit to ….that," Jack spat.

"That will leave violence," Teal'c said.

"Okay, look, we have to find her first," Daniel said. His ice blue eyes locked with Dargon again. "Where is she; and don't make me ask you that again either."

"I don't know! I swear!"

He broke down into a useless sobbing heap then. Disgusted and sick with fear, Jack let him go. Dargon sank down to the floor and covered his head, weeping.

The three members of SG1 turned to face each other.

"The window's open," Daniel said.

Jack looked at him and blinked. Even though it always seemed that Daniel was lost in his own thoughts, it was also true that most often Daniel caught small details the others missed.

Teal'c moved over to the window, where sheer curtains were blowing in the evening breeze.

"O'Neill," he rumbled.

They joined him and Teal'c gestured to a bloody footprint on the floor and drops of blood on the windowsill. Jack took a long deep breath.

"Okay, full gear, radios on and we split up. I want to know the minute she's found."

They left the room, skirting the puddle of blood. This time they didn't have to shove their way through the crowd still at the door. They pressed fearfully up against the walls to let them pass.

"What do we do when we find her?" Daniel asked, sounding breathless and a little scared.

"Find something for her to destroy," Teal'c answered.

Jack and Daniel exchanged a long, meaningful glance. Daniel hoped Teal'c would find her first. The Jaffa might have the best chance of dealing with Carter in her current state.

Somehow, though, Daniel had an awful sinking feeling that it was going to be Jack who found her.

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