Doctor Fraiser drew back the curtain to reveal General Hammond, Jack, and Teal'c standing by Daniel's bedside. Sam was resting in the bed adjacent to him, her left ankle wrapped and laptop perched on her thighs.

"Well, from what I can tell, he's a little dehydrated but nothing else is out of the ordinary," Fraiser announced to her crowd. "I recommend that Daniel stay overnight for observation to be on the safe side."

"So, no bugs?" Jack asked. When Daniel scowled at him, he shrugged apologetically.

"No, sir," Doctor Fraiser said with a chuckle. "No bugs."

Jack knew full well Daniel didn't have any problems or he would have never been released out of quarantine. Daniel guessed he was just looking for a little reassurance.

Daniel couldn't really blame him.

"What happened?" General Hammond asked them.

"We're not exactly sure," Sam replied.

"Based on initial statements from Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c, and Major Carter, and coupled with reports from Doctor Jackson, it seems to me these 'bugs" were a form of parasite," Doctor Fraiser said. "They aren't all that dissimilar to the bugs you encountered on BP6-3Q1. They need a host to incubate their young. Only when they reach maturity do they leave the host instead of rewriting any genetic material. In fact," she said, pointing to Daniel's arm, "they seem to incubate just under the skin. There is no apparent tissue damage and the areas where they broke through the skin seem to have sealed and are healing nicely."

Sam nodded. "The creatures must secrete a healing compound, like the one we found on Daniel, when the host gives birth to them."

Jack cocked his head at the statement, his eyebrows arching as he turned to gaze at Daniel with a smug smile on his face. If Jack dared call him bug boy, Daniel swore he'd give him another shiner to match the one he already had.

Which, by the way, was worse than Daniel remembered. He cleared his throat and looked at General Hammond.

"The fireflies were attracted to light," Daniel explained. "Everything I was feeling and everything I saw was influenced by them. It could be why I was drawn to lighter colors and not darker ones. It might have been why they initially bit me, too." He paused to scratch his chin. "I didn't think of it then, but now I believe that the fluctuations I saw in the auras of the other aliens were an adaptive trait to try to survive."

"So, these fireflies – as you call them – were natural predators to the other aliens you encountered?" Hammond asked.

Jack glanced over to the general. "Walked right into the food chain, sir."

General Hammond nodded. "What about the other aliens?"

"They proved to be hostile to our presence," Teal'c said.

Daniel glared at him. "We don't know that. They could have been trying to help us."

"You said so yourself, Daniel. The aliens that we encountered were cannibalistic in nature," Sam said. "We saw their shacks, their campsite, even their remains. They willingly slaughtered their own kind, and they imprisoned us."

Daniel sighed and folded his arms. He doubted he could convince him of what he felt. Why would they believe him? Why should he believe himself? He was obviously compromised. "I believe that the villages we saw on the planet were containment areas for their people. Once they became symptomatic, they were locked up and remained there until—"

"Until they burned them," Sam finished.

General Hammond's interest piqued at that comment. "Come again?"

Jack sighed and rubbed his eyes. "From what Daniel could see, it looks like they ritually burned their victims before they ate them, sir."

"Yes," Daniel said. He wasn't denying that point. "But one of the aliens that was with us was trying to help. Why else would it have risked its life and stayed with us in a mud pit that could have been contaminated?"

"They're the ones that nabbed us and put us in there in the first place, Daniel," Jack said angrily. "I doubt they were doing us any favors."

"Could it not be the aliens themselves who orchestrated the scene to infect you?" Teal'c raised his chin as he spoke.

Daniel continued to glare at him. "Well, I'll never get to ask it now, will I?"

Teal'c's jaw quivered, and he looked away.

General Hammond cleared his throat. "Doctor Jackson—"

"Look," Daniel said, trying one last time. "It was the aliens that repressed my memory. They didn't want the other creatures to know any vital information I might have been carrying. One of them even tried to cure me." Upon seeing the puzzled expressions on his friends' faces, he sighed and continued. "When the alien drugged me or did whatever he did, I could feel the fireflies dying inside me. I couldn't understand it then, but I understand it now."

He searched their faces, looking for any hope that they could understand. All he saw was concern, sympathy, and pity.

General Hammond turned to Jack. "Colonel?"

Jack stared directly at Daniel as he spoke. "We're not one hundred percent sure about that, General."

Daniel shook his head and hit his fist to his thigh. Of course not.

"In fact, I say we lock PJ5-790 from our dialing computer," Jack added.

General Hammond gave a slight nod. "That's already been done, Colonel." He lowered his voice and eyed SG-1 carefully. "Now, you've all been through a rough ordeal. I suggest you get a good night's rest. As per the doctor's orders, you're all to remain on base tonight. But try to get some sleep. We'll debrief in full along with SG-3 tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," Jack and Sam said while Teal'c bowed and Daniel nodded.

"Well, you heard the general," Doctor Fraiser said. "You need to rest."

"We're rested." Jack glanced over to Teal'c. "We're rested, aren't we?"

The smallest of smiles touched Teal'c's lips. "We are indeed rested, Doctor Fraiser."

She chuckled and shook her head before giving Jack a very pointed look. "Ten minutes tops. Then, I want you to head over to your VIP room on base and Teal'c can head back to his quarters. I expect for you to report to me first thing in the morning."

Jack rolled his eyes but nodded. Teal'c inclined his head ever so slightly.

"Good." Doctor Fraiser turned her attention to Sam and Daniel. "Now, I want you both to rest. No work," she said to Sam and then to Daniel. "If you need anything, just ring for me or one of the nurses on staff."

"Thanks, Janet," Sam said with a smile.

Daniel offered a smile of his own. "Thank you."

Doctor Fraiser grinned and patted his arm before she slipped out of the room to leave them alone. Sam and Daniel waited expectantly for Jack to say something.

He cleared his throat. "So, uh, the Doc says you're fine."

"Oh really?" Daniel motioned between Sam and himself. "Because it's not like we were in the room when she told us."

"Haha," Jack muttered. "Funny."

Sam chuckled. "It's okay, sir. Janet says I strained my ankle. It will be sore for a while, but there's no damage."

"And I've been poked and prodded enough to know I'm fine," Daniel added.

"No more voices?" Jack asked.

"No."

"No more colors?"

"No."

Jack nodded. "Good." He nodded again, this time more confidently, and a smile – a real smile – spread across his face.

Finally seeing Jack able to relax did wonders for Daniel. He knew the past two days had been especially tough for Jack as he worried for the welfare of his team and had to deal with a compromised Daniel. Truth be told, Daniel wasn't sure he would have made it if Jack hadn't helped him keep it together.

He watched Jack and cringed inwardly at the puffiness that surrounded Jack's discolored eye. Breathing out, he brought his finger up to point to Jack's face. "Uh, sorry about…the uh…"

"Yeah. No, forget it," Jack said quietly. "What happens on the planet stays on the planet."

Daniel nodded while trying to keep the mischievous twinkle from his eyes. Jack knew. Jack understood. "Gracias," Daniel said.

Jack shrugged. "De nada," he answered with a knowing smile.

Teal'c turned his attention away from Sam and frowned at Jack. "I am unfamiliar with this term."

Jack smiled and patted Teal'c on the shoulder. "I'll teach it to you sometime. But now, I say we leave them to do…" He motioned with the flip of his hand. "Whatever they're going to do." When Sam went to protest, Jack shook his head. "Because I know neither one of you is going to listen to Fraiser."

Sam and Daniel exchanged a knowing look. Of course not.

"Goodnight, sir," Sam said cheerfully. "Goodnight, Teal'c."

"Carter. Daniel." Jack waved for Teal'c to follow. "Let's go."

Teal'c began to follow Jack to the exit before he paused and turned to face Daniel. "I am sorry about what happened on the planet," Teal'c said, his voice low and soft. "But it was only my intention to protect you. It is my hope that it shall never happen again."

Daniel nodded. "Mine too." He tried to smile, to bring some kind of reassurance to Teal'c, even if Daniel didn't fully feel it at the time. "I-I understand."

Teal'c considered his words before inclining his head in a small bow. Quietly, he followed Jack out of the infirmary and down the hall.

Daniel sighed and leaned back on the pillow. He found himself staring at the ceiling, watching the glow of the overhead lights. They were normal, sterile, boring white, but a true comfort that Daniel couldn't explain in words. He cherished the peace and normalcy that the infirmary offered him.

Imagine that.

But still, he couldn't help but wonder about the aliens, the glowing bugs, and their world. Beyond mythology, they were real, caught up in a struggle of survival just as fierce if not more so than their battles with the Goa'uld.

He wished he could have learned more. He wished he could have saved that one that tried to help him.

If he had, Daniel reminded himself. Daniel knew he was the only one that believed in the alien, but he was sure that he was right. It was a shame that the truth had died with him.

Daniel…

Daniel froze, his breath catching in his throat as he heard the sound of his name. Clutching the sheets, he looked around the empty room, eyeing the tables, the walls, the equipment before his terrified gaze found Sam.

She stared at him, the curiosity in her face changing to concern. "Daniel?"

"Uh…"

"I said did you want a candy? Teal'c smuggled me some treats from the vending machine in the commissary."

Daniel chuckled nervously and exhaled in relief. "Sure."

Sam chucked a piece of candy at him, laughing when it bounced off his head. Daniel groaned, reaching down to pick it out of his tangled sheets. After thanking her, Daniel popped it in his mouth and leaned back, closing his eyes as he chewed.

While he remained there, quiet and reflective, he pondered all the possibilities, all that was lost, and all that was real and unreal. And for a brief moment he paused, swearing he had heard the word hungry whisper in his ear before it was gone and he was left to wonder yet again.

THE END

A/N: I want to thank you for reading this story. I appreciate your time and comments. Thanks again!