[AN: Alrighty so, is going to eat my line of stars as well. GRRRness. Amanda got the spidey man usher question correct. The actor is Bruce Campbell. He starred in Army of Darkness, Evil Dead, and was in the movie Serving Sarah. I met him. Cool guy. That said, I have NO idea where this is going so don't ask me.]

[MN: I have no idea where this is going either. Sometimes I'm writing, sometimes AJ's writing, and sometimes neither of us knows where it's coming from.]

Disclaimer: If I owned them, ALL of SG1 woulda been in them nice tank top/sleeveless numbers in the season premiere (I mean, how could they leave out Jack and Danny's lovely arms?)

Beta: STILL NEED HELP. Email us at .

Special Thanks: To Doug who managed to keep me up and kick Sebastian back into gear, even if he didn't realize he did it.

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Ch. 14: Another Night Stroll

Jack dropped onto a seat by the fire exhausted. After having gotten no sleep the night before then spending the day walking around fields he was fighting to keep his eyes open. There was no way he could go another night with no sleep. He'd have to figure out what he was doing and do it in time to get back to his hut for a few hours shut eye. He barely registered the fact that Rothe was trying to hand him a bowl of something. He started to take it then remember the strange onset of illnesses from dinner the night before. He shook his head and stood up.

"I'm not really hungry. I think I'm just going to go back to my hut and get some extra sleep." He grabbed a bowl of water and wandered haphazardly back to his hut and pulled out a MRE from one of the packs. After the food was warm, he laid back on his cot, his mind streaming.

When it was again dark in the village, Jack slipped out of his hut. He headed around to Daniels and untied the back panel he'd cut away the night before. He moved inside and found Daniel waiting for him.

"So? Did you find them last night?"

Jack sat on the cot next to Daniel with a sigh.

"No sign of Teal'c. But…I found Sam."

"And?"

"And there's something going on here that's just not right Daniel. She's in a hut, halfway between ours, gagged and tied to a cot. She looks like she's had the crap beat out of her. And the villagers getting sick, something about it just doesn't feel right to me. Something's going on here. There's something off about Arianna."

Daniel nodded in agreement. He'd gotten the same impression.

"So what are we gonna do?"

Jack shook his head.

"No we Daniel. You are gonna stay here and get some sleep. I am going to go check on Sam. I have a better chance of not getting caught alone. Just get some rest. I'll be back tomorrow night." Jack again slipped back out of the hut, tying the back panel in its place. He worked his way around to the hut he'd seen Sam in the night before. He snuck around the side and took a look around. The guards weren't in sight, probably still making their rounds. Crouching low, he opened the door just enough to slip in. Luckily the light was already on.

He moved around to the side of the cot and squatted next to Sam's sleeping form. He gingerly brushed the hair from her bruised face. The simple contact woke her immediately and her eyes flew open, first full of fear, then relieved. Jack gently untied the gag and pulled the fabric from her mouth.

"You alright?"

Sam swallowed hard then nodded, her mouth to dry to talk. After Jack had freed her hands she rubbed her wrists gently, wincing slightly. When her feet too were unbound, he moved back beside her. As if reading her thoughts he picked up the bowl of water from the table by the bed and, helping her sit up, held it to her lips. When she'd taken several long drinks he put the bowl back down and lowered her back down.

"So would you like to tell me what the hell is going on here?"

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[Sorry this is short. It shoulda been longer. But I got tarred. So yeah.]