Chapter Twenty-five
"Does anyone have a safety-pin?" Daniel asked plaintively.
"You know, Danny, it's all the rage to wear baggy pants these days." Jack mocked.
"Yeah, well, maybe if I was fifteen years younger."
Carter smiled and riffled through her first aid kit until she came across a pin. She handed it to him.
"Thank you." Daniel said gratefully.
While Daniel worked on resizing his uniform Sam looked around the stunted forest that surrounded the Gate. Daniel had insisted that they return to the planet that they'd found him on after taking on human form again.
Dr. Brightman's vehement protesting had done nothing to dissuade him, and as far as Sam could remember Jack had never actually agreed to this trip. Yet, somehow Daniel had managed to talk them into it.
"Daniel," Jack said casually "remind me why we're here?"
"I already told you," Daniel muttered as he secured the pin "this is the point of Origin."
"Ah, yeah, right, you said that. What does it mean?"
Daniel looked up sharply at Jack with a 'you've-got-to-be-kidding-me' expression on his face.
"Sir, each Address is connected to a point of Origin." Sam explained.
"I know that." Jack replied irritated. "What I don't understand is why we couldn't just substitute in Earth's symbol for the last Chevron and jump there directly from Earth."
"No, the Address you gave Rebecca can only be dialed out on this planet." Daniel replied.
"Apparently, but 'why'?"
"Because this DHD has a Symbol on it that you won't find on any others."
Daniel reached out and tapped lightly on one of the Symbols on the DHD. Jack looked at it. It looked pretty much like any of the others, but he had to admit that he didn't immediately recognize it.
"How did you know that it would be here?" Sam asked.
"I didn't until we got here." Daniel admitted.
"Then what made you want to come here?" Jack asked.
"I don't know."
"How did you even translate that Symbol if you'd never seen it anywhere else?" Jack asked instead.
"I'm not sure."
Jack was about to ask another pointless question when he noticed that Teal'c suddenly tensed and raise his staff weapon slightly. Turning around Jack saw that Shamda, the native that had original discovered Daniel, was approaching them. Daniel turned and noticed as well.
"Shamda." Daniel greeted.
"Arrom!" Shamda said enthusiastically, using the name he'd given him. "I was beginning to think you had forgotten about your 'birth place'."
"Never."
Shamda threw his arm around Daniel's shoulders and started to lead him off towards the village they had built into the planet's ruins. Daniel asked Shamda something in the man's native tongue and he began to reply at length. Watching them walk off Jack made a noise of frustration.
"We wanted the old Daniel back," Sam chuckled "we got him."
"Next time I'll have to be more careful about what I wish for."