Stargate & SG-1 belong to lots of other people and entities. Jess was my idea. Thank goodness for late night visits from the Muse.

At about the same time

Daniel is roughly pulled out of the trunk of the car he was kept in. Sucking in deep breaths of fresh air, he squints, having lost his glasses at some point, trying to look around and can see he is inside a large warehouse, filled with crates labeled IMPORT - LDB. His hands are tied to his back as he is led towards the rear of the warehouse with a gun pointed at his back. He asks, "Where are you taking me?" and winces as he feels a fist on the back of his head as one of the two men there hits him.

"Shut up." Says the man who did the punching.

"Shutting up." He murmurs, having a good idea of how the rest of his day is going to turn out. Getting a good look at both men that are holding him, he sees that they are non-descript in their appearance. Nothing of note…except for the bad breath that one guy has. Hard to forget, that, he thinks. It's at this point Daniel decides to name them, 'Bad breath guy' and 'Cro-Magnon man.'

Bad breath guy says, "We got him for you."

A third man's voice comes from somewhere behind Daniel, "It's about time. What took you so long?"

Bad breath guy answers, "We wanted to make sure we weren't being followed."

Daniel tries to look around, hoping to catch a good look at the face behind the voice, but doubles over as he is punched in the stomach. Gasping as the breath is knocked out of him, he's pushed to sit in a chair. Catching his breath, Daniel squints, looking at his captors, "Listen…I think there's been a mistake."

Bad breath guy assures him. "There's been no mistake Dr. Jackson. You're not exactly what we wanted, but you'll do."

"What is it that you want?" He asks, licking his lips nervously.

"The girl."

"What girl?" he asks, feigning ignorance.

"Jess O'Neill." Bad breath guy says.

"I have no idea who that is." And his head rocks back as he is backhanded by Cro-Magnon man. Licking his lips again, he tastes blood and sets his jaw, knowing he's in for a long day, as nobody at the SGC would be missing him for hours yet.

"Let's try that again, Dr. Jackson." Bad breath guy asks. "The girl. Is she still being held at the SGC?"

He winces as Cro-Magnon man roughly tightens the bonds that hold his hands behind his back. "I told you. I don't know who you're talking about."

Cro-Magnon man pulls out a knife, holding it right up to Daniel's face, drawing a line though not cutting the flesh as he follows the curve of his jaw with the blade, "Please don't make the mistake of thinking we're stupid. Now, answer the question."

Bad breath guy asks, "There's no point in lying. We know you were there with O'Neill and Teal'c when you took the girl. Is she still at the SGC? Has she been moved?"

Swallowing hard, he answers, "I'd never make the mistake of thinking your stupid. Ugly, yes, but never stupid. And obviously very confused. I don't know what you're talking about." Suddenly, the lights go dim in the room around him as pain explodes in his head.

The voice behind him says, "Enough. Don't damage him too badly. We might be able to setup a trade for the girl, so we'll need him alive. In the meantime, see what you can get out of him."

Head ringing from the punch to his face, he still manages to say, "I'm just an archeologist. I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know anyone by that name. You've made a mistake." He won't screw this up too. The least he can do is protect Jess from these lunatics.

Looking quickly between the two goons, he says again, "You've made a big mistake." Even as he tries to bend over to protect his stomach as bad breath guy holds him back and Cro-Magnon man uses him as a punching bag.

Next morning

Having been released from the infirmary by Dr. Fraiser, Jess is being escorted by Sam to her newly assigned room. On her way there, she pauses at the long hallway leading to the elevators in level 19, frowning as she stares up at the long empty wall.

Sam pauses, watching her for a moment and asks, "Is everything ok?"

Digging her fingers into her cast, she nods, "Yeah…just looking around, is all." And she follows alongside of Sam, trailed by two airmen.

Sam finally leads her into ISO-RM 4, saying, "I hope you like it." Sam gestures around the room. "Teal'c set up the PlayStation for you and brought you some books to read."

Jess looks up at the observation deck and sees another airman watching them. Half smiling she says under her breath, "Like I haven't had enough of that sort of thing to last a lifetime?" and shakes her head taking in the rest of the furnishings, which consists of some shelves lined with various games and toys.

Sam smiles sympathetically, saying, "At least it's not the infirmary."

Jess flashes her a small smile, and takes in the rest of the room. A single bed sits in one corner with a table with two chairs in the center. She goes to check out the contents of the shelves. She reaches for one of the books Sam mentioned Teal'c had brought for her. The first one is titled, "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy." She laughs, saying, "How appropriate. I remember watching the movie. It was funny."

Sitting in one of the chairs, Sam asks, "So where'd you learn to curse in Goaul'd?

Bouncing on the bed slightly, Jess answers, "I spent a lot of my time with the Tokra on Free Chulak…I pick stuff up like that pretty quickly. Curse words, that is. It's a hobby." She grins at Sam, explaining, "It's easy when you grow up around all these military guys. After awhile, they'd forget I was around."

Sam laughs, understanding completely. They spend the next while talking, trading military brat stories.

At the same time

Darkness surrounds him and it takes him a while before he realizes he's actually awake. The dead giveaway is the dull ache in his belly and he doesn't want to think about what might be broken inside. Groaning softly, he tries to shift from his stomach to his side, finding it difficult as his arms are still tied behind his back. They must know I'm missing by now…it's been long enough, hasn't it? He tries to work out how long he's been here, but he can't get the fuzziness out of his head. It could be a few hours, or a few days…no, not days. Can't be…somebody would've found him by now. That's how it works. Any minute now, somebody's going to come rescue him. Trying to push himself into sitting position, he doubles over as he retches, thinking to himself, "Yeah…a rescue right about now would be great."

A short while later

Jess sits on one of the chairs, with her head propped up by her good arm, chin resting in the palm of her hand, staring at three little cups containing a fascinating array of colored pills, all lined up before her. "I'm not taking that."

Sitting across from her, with his head propped up by one arm, chin resting in the palm of his hand is Jack. "You have to take that."

Looking across the table, she meets his gaze for a brief moment, and then stands so suddenly her chair falls with a clatter behind her. "No. I don't!"

Fiddling with one of the cups, Jack shakes his head, saying, "There, see? You're getting angry again. That's why he wants you to take this stuff."

Turning her back to him, she digs her fingers into her cast, saying rather loudly, ""Sorry I have a short fuse. Blame the Irish in me."

Straightening, he runs a hand through his hair, deciding to try a different approach, "Doc says you stopped talking to him."

Jess shrugs as she starts to pace, "He started asking about stuff that wasn't any of his business"

Jack stands, moving over to straighten the fallen chair, saying, "He wants to help you. We all do. We don't want you trying to…"

Stopping, she turns around to look at him, and says adamantly, "I wasn't trying to kill myself."

Tilting his head, Jack gives her an 'I don't believe you' look, and says, "Oh really?"

Turning away, she frowns, shamefaced and finally admits, "Dammit! It's not like I had a lot of options!"

Grabbing a hold of her arm, he turns her around to face him and says firmly, "You didn't have to do it. That sort of thing is never an option"

Staring down at the floor, she says, "Like I was supposed to know you were going to come get me? For crying out loud!" She tries to pull away from his grasp, "You were the one who left me there!".

Not letting her go, he reaches out and takes hold of her chin, lifting her face to meet his and says gently, "You know I didn't have a choice."

She rolls her eyes, lower lip slightly pouting, "Yeah, I know." Lowering her head she admits softly, "Tate was one of them."

"What?"

Crossing her arms over her chest, she says, "In my reality, Tate… was there when they killed my Uncle Daniel."

"Geez!" he says, incredulous.

Shuffling her feet slightly, she says, "Yeah…so…not so great for me, right?"

Pulling her into a hug, he says, "Yeah…geez…I'm sorry"

Closing her eyes, she leans into the hug, but doesn't uncross her arms. Her voice slightly muffled from his jacket, she takes a deep breath and says, "Yeah, I get that a lot. Not your fault."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

Pulling away from Jack, she says, sounding defensive, "There's nothing like being confronted with your demons to bring up some nicely repressed memories." Moving to sit on the edge of the bed, she runs her good hand through her hair, and says, "Jack…if I take those pills…you don't understand what they'll do to me. He's going to make me remember stuff I don't want to remember. I don't think I can come back from it." She shakes her head, saying again, "No. I can deal with this on my own. I have for eight years now."

He sits next to her, "Not doing too good a job with it lately, kiddo."

Giving him a sidelong glance, she asks angrily, "Can you blame me?

Sighing, he says, "No, I suppose not." Before he can say more, he is interrupted by Sam, calling down from the observation deck, "Sir? I need to speak to you."

Jack sighs, standing he looks down at Jess and says, "Duty calls." Calling up to Carter, he says, "I'll be right there." Turning back to Jess he asks, "You going to be all right?'

She nods, "Sure." As Jack walks out of the room, she gets up, takes the pills and dumps them in the trash then goes to lie down on her bed.

Jack makes his way up to the observation Deck where Sam is waiting for him, "What's up Carter?"

Speaking softly, she says, "Sir, it's Daniel. We think he's missing, sir."

Not so softly, Jack asks, "What?!"

"Nobody's seen him since yesterday."

Frowning, he asks, "You sure? You try his house?"

She nods an affirmative, "Yes sir. There's no answer. And he's not picking up on his cell phone either. General Hammond wants you to go check it out."

He nods quickly, "Right...I'll get Teal'c." Frowning slightly he asks, "You stay with Jess?"

Offering him a worried smile, she nods answering, "Yes sir."

"Thanks." And he walks out quickly. "Don't worry. We'll figure out where he is. Probably at the library or something. You know how he can be."

Outside

As they drive, O'Neill tries to call Daniel's cell phone and it keeps going to voice mail. He mutters, "You better just be pissed off at me, Daniel."

Teal'c raises an eyebrow at that, and Jack explains, "He didn't look so good yesterday, so I sent him home to get some sleep. I figured he was just laying low because of what had happened with Jess. I may have..been…slightly mad at him at the time though."

"Indeed."

Jack's cell phone rings and it is Hammond, "We're almost at his house, sir. What? Damn. Ok…we'll still go by, just to make sure. Thanks."

"What has transpired, O'Neill?"

"Local police reported they found an abandoned vehicle yesterday afternoon that matches Daniels. We'll go by his house first, then head over to the police station and see what they've got."

"Could it be retaliation for our rescue of Jess O'Neill?"

"I hope not, Teal'c. Nobody but a few higher ups are supposed to know what went down yesterday." O'Neill says.

Back at the SGC

Sam types away at her laptop, working on some reports she has due and trying not to worry about Daniel. She looks up as she notices Dr. Mackenzie make his way into the observation deck. "Dr. Mackenzie."

"Major Carter. How is the girl doing?"

"She's been quiet. Taking a nap now, I think."

He smiles, nodding, "Good. That's probably the medication she took."

Sam smiles a bit, "Actually, uh…she hasn't taken anything."

He raises a brow, looking at Sam, "Oh?"

Sam shakes her head, "She was discussing it with the Colonel but they apparently didn't come to a decision about it. One of the airmen in the observation booth told me he saw her throw them out earlier."

Frowning slightly, he says, "I'll be back shortly."

Sam looks up from her writing once more, to see the door to the ISO room open, and Dr. Mackenzie enter with two airmen behind him. She hears him say, "Ms. O'Neill?' and watches as Jess turns her head, opening her eyes to look at him. Doing a dead-pan impression of the Colonel's tone when annoyed, Jess says, drawling out the name, "Dr. Mackenzie."

Jess sits up on her bed, watching the two burly airmen with suspicion, "Got company today?" she asks.

Dr. Mackenzie nods, saying, "We're here to make sure you take your medication."

Carter calls down into the room, "Dr. Mackenzie, what's going on?"

Jess stands, walking to one side of the room, farthest away from Dr. Mackenzie and his goons. She calls out, sounding worried, "Sam!?"

Dr. Mackenzie looks up at Sam, answering, "I'm treating my patient with the medication she needs that will help her get better. Dr. Fraiser has transferred her into my care and I really don't think we need to discuss the issue at the moment."

Cursing, Jess raises both hands, as if warding away the two soldiers approaching her, "No…don't do this." Fighting panic, she pleads, "Please!"

Dr. Mackenzie says reassuringly, "It'll be all right Jess. Just relax. It'll go easier if you don't struggle."

Her back against the wall now, Jess can't tear her gaze away from the needle approaching her. The Doctor cleanses the area quickly and she whimpers softly. She does not resist, instead closes her eyes, wincing slightly as she feels the sharp point press into her arm.

At the same time

Daniel feels himself pulled roughly to a standing position as somebody uses his hair as a convenient handle. He groans as he is pushed along, blinking back tears as the sudden brightness stabs painfully into his eyes.

Bad breath guy says, "They're looking for you, Doc. I guess somebody does care after all."

"Now, our friend says we can't hurt you permanent like, because he's going to try and setup a trade. But he does want a lesson to be learned. So, since we're still a few hours away from any of that…we're going to try something new today."

Disoriented, Daniel lets himself be seated in that same chair. It's now when he realizes he can't open one of his eyes completely, as it's been swollen shut. He says, mouth feeling like it's filled with cotton balls, "Don't you guys get it? I don't know anything."

Bad breath guy asks, "What information has the girl told the SGC about her situation?"

Daniel takes a deep breath and releases it slowly through clenched teeth, as the dull ache in his stomach starts to take on a sharper edge, "I don't know what you are talking about."

Bad breath guy says, "Dr. Jackson…we're through playing games." And he nods to Cro-Magnon man. "Do it."

It's then that Daniel sees out of the corner of his good eye as Cro-Magnon man approaches him with something in his hand. Bad breath guy takes a step back. He can hear the tell-tale zap of something electrical coming from Cro-Magnon man's hand.

Bad breath guy says, "You're going to tell us what you know. One way or another."

Blinding pain rips through his chest as Cro-Magnon man touches the Taser at him.

To be continued - Feedback will be appreciated!!