Cameron's low whistle echoed through the vast cavern on P7X-377. "Guess y'all weren't kiddin' 'bout how big this place was," he commented as he led Teal'c and Nick across the walkway toward the Crystal Skull."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow pointedly, and Cam turned toward him, shrugging. "What? Oh. Right. You never kid."
"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. Cam only sighed as they reached the pedestal and gestured to Nick, who took a deep breath and stepped toward it, bending over the Skull. He peered into the eyes intently for several moments, and a lightshow of yellow neutrino sparks began to emanate from it, swirling around them.
"Whoa!" Cam exclaimed as it completely enveloped them. A few moments later, the phenomenon faded, almost anticlimactically, and he looked around in confusion. "All right…what happens next?"
"Now we must wait for…" Nick started.
"Kind of have a feeling you're about to say, 'the giant aliens…'" Cam interrupted.
The cavern began to rumble and shake, filling with mist, out of which came an ethereal white figure who intoned in Mayan, "Oo ya wolin wolin we tayil."
"Actually, I was about to say Quetzalcoatl," Nick smiled before he craned his neck to look at the giant and return the ritual greeting. "We are enemies of the Goa'uld!"
"Then you are welcome here," Quetzalcoatl finished, then lowered his head toward the humans. "I greet you, Nicholas Ballard. We of the Heand had not expected you to return again."
Nick nodded, stepping closer, and pursed his lips, considering his words carefully. "Greetings, Quetzalcoatl," he replied. "You're right; my last message to you said I had decided to stay on earth with the grandson I told you about. But now, I've brought these friends of his to ask for help on Daniel's behalf."
The giant's expression became clearly startled. "Of what help can we be to the son of your daughter?" he asked.
"Daniel's wife, Vala, is being held prisoner," Nick explained. "The place she's being kept is virtually impregnable, and the people of the Tau'ri have no means of rescuing her."
Quetzalcoatl nodded understanding, but gave a troubled sigh. "You know that the Heand are a peaceful race," he said. "We protect ourselves from the Goa'uld with the use of our phase shift devices like the Skull--"
"Don't think that's gonna be a problem for ya anymore," Cam interrupted, stepping up beside Nick and raising his hand in greeting. "'Scuse me, hi. Cam Mitchell, howya doin'?"
The giant's eyebrows rose in even greater surprise, but he nodded toward Cam and offered what Nick had explained as a common greeting among the people of their world. "It…is my pleasure to meet you."
"Yeah, same here," Cam nodded absently. "Look, Nick couldn't have known this while he was hanging out with you folks, but the Goa'uld have been defeated. I know how impossible that probably sounds, but Daniel Jackson was instrumental in how it all went down. Since you guys have this whole enemy of my enemy concept down, I figure you'd wanna lend the guy a hand with his old lady in trouble."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow again. "I do not believe ValaJackson to be old, ColonelMitchell."
"No, it's…" Cam started to say, then rolled his eyes. "I'll explain it to ya later."
"The Goa'uld defeated?" Quetzalcoatl asked, looking back at Nick.
"So Daniel told me himself," the old man nodded.
"Listen, I'm sure he'd be happy to give you a play by play of the whole thing later, too," Cam broke in again. "Right now, he's a little preoccupied, and we're short on time."
"All we ask of the Heand is to borrow your phase shift technology so that a team can use it to slip inside our enemy's fortress unseen and rescue Vala," Nick explained with a note of entreaty in his voice. "It may well be the only way to save her."
Quetzalcoatl nodded slowly and fell silent, seeming to ponder the situation for a long time. "The Heand do have devices similar to the Skull and its pedestal. Arm or neckbands with stones which can be inserted to trigger the phase shift. Our technology is, however, designed for beings of our size. It may take several days to adapt the devices for use by such diminutive creatures as the Tau'ri. You three may remain until then."
------
"I'm sorry, Jack," Daniel said as the group plodded out of the hearing room. His tone was strained and weary with the sustained effort of enduring several hours of testimony, followed by another hour of private negotiations.
"It's all right, Daniel," Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and didn't look up. "You did your best."
"No, I mean I'm sorry. For the way I talked to you; of course I'm sorry about the hearing, too--whoa…" he raised a hand to his forehead as the room began to spin.
"You ok, Daniel?" Sam asked as she and Jack moved to support him.
"Need to sit down?" Jack prompted, guiding them toward a nearby bench.
"I'm fine," Daniel started to say, but his knees buckled, and he found himself suddenly clinging to Jack, who would have lost his balance if not for Sam bracing them both from behind. "Oookay….sitting down then."
"All right," Jack said as he and Sam helped their friend down on the bench. "Let's get you back to the infirmary."
"I believe I may be of assistance," spoke up Thor.
"That's what I had in--" began Jack when Daniel, Thor, and General Hammond all abruptly vanished again. "--mind. Gotta love when he does that," he shook his head, turning to look at Sam as he took Daniel's place on the bench.
She bit her lip and nodded, but didn't answer right away, knowing that the casual cynicism masked a tumult of conflicting emotion. Despite her testimony and Daniel's most passionate and skillful arguments on Jack's behalf, the best they'd been able to manage was to convince the Air Force to offer him voluntary retirement in lieu of court martial. "So, what happens next?" she asked finally.
"I could fight it," he said softly.
"Do you want to?" Sam asked hesitantly, unsure what she wanted the answer to be.
He hung his head, weighing his response for a long time before he looked up at her again. "I don't know," he confessed.
Sam frowned sympathetically and slid down on the bench beside him. "I think," she began, drawing a breath as she became aware of his thigh next to hers, not touching but so close that she could feel the tantalizing warmth of it. Her pulse quickened, and she steeled herself against a cascade of responses that she had never quite been able to train her body to ignore. "I think you're really angry right now."
"Angry?" Jack nodded. "Yeah. But this pencil pushing deal isn't working…"
"Sir, what we do is too important," she protested.
"What you do is important," he corrected, glancing back at the closed door they'd just exited. "What I do obviously isn't. I haven't felt like I was doing anything important in five years. Not until this."
"Sir--" she started, breaking off when he raised his hand to her cheek.
"I shoulda been banging down the president's door the way Vala was mine," he said in a near-whisper. "The Pentagon was willing to let all of you stay there--die there. Took Vala to remind me that's not what I signed up for."
Sam felt her throat constrict and forced back sudden tears. "Retiring won't change that. It won't help anyone--"
"Except me," Jack replied, leaning toward her mouth
Sam wanted to pull back, conscious of Martouf and Jade watching nearby, but she found herself leaning into him, felt the hot pressure of his mouth on hers and finally forgot anything but her own response.
Martouf, looking on with Jade, felt his stomach clench and quickly looked away. He sighed a little in resignation and turned to walk further up the hall. He knew he couldn't go far, though, and stopped as he rounded the next corner, leaning against the wall to wait.
//What are you doing?// Simone demanded when Jade didn't follow.
What? her host asked.
//Follow him!// the symbiote told her.
It looks like he wants to be alone, Jade protested.
//I don't care what it looks like. He wants you to follow him,// insisted Simone.
Are you in his head now, too? Jade asked pointedly.
//I don't have to be…just go after him, Jade. Trust me,// Simone replied.
Right, Jade sighed, but decided that following Martouf would be a better option than watching General O'Neill and Colonel Carter. As quietly as she could, she slipped off after him and found him leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, arms folded across his chest.
She took a nervous breath and opened her mouth, then abruptly closed it again, realizing that she had no idea what to say. He smiled, though, and opened his eyes to look at her.
"You still have feelings for Colonel Carter," she said, only half a question.
"Not really, no," he replied. "In the end, her feelings for General O'Neill made me realize that we weren't going to make each other happy. It took some time, but I accepted that. I care for her, yes, but not in the way you mean. It is…difficult, though, to see them together. In a sense, it reminds me of two lost relationships."
"Jolinar," Jade nodded slowly, resting a hand on his arm.
Martouf smiled again and covered the hand with his own. "Was there…" he hesitated as their eyes met. "…is there…someone?"
"There was," Jade said with a slight smile in return. "Not now. His name was Connor, but things ended poorly when I became host to Simone."
"I'm sorry," Martouf said sincerely
Jade's smile widened, but before she could say more, Simone commented dryly that it was for the best in any case. She didn't quite manage not to laugh, and Martouf's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Simone says she thinks it was a good thing," she explained.
"So does Lantash," Martouf grinned.
------
Carolyn knocked lightly on the side of his office door, and her father looked up, setting down his pen. "Just letting you know that Daniel's back," she said from the doorway.
"I just got a message from George Hammond," Landry nodded. "Daniel all right?"
"As well as can be expected," Carolyn replied. "From what he said before he fell asleep, the hearing didn't go well."
"George told me," Landry sighed. "But it could've been worse. Jack knew there would be repercussions…"
"You can't actually agree with what they're doing!" her eyes narrowed angrily.
"I didn't say that, did I?" he asked pointedly.
Carolyn ran a hand tiredly through her hair. "No. No, I guess you didn't," she admitted.
Landry frowned worriedly at her. "You look exhausted. When's the last time you slept?"
"Listen, don't tell me to go home and get some rest," she protested automatically. "I've got severely wounded patients in the infirmary…"
"I was just gonna ask if you wanted to sack out in here on the couch for a few hours," he sighed.
Carolyn froze mid-sentence, her mouth hanging open. "Oh," she said finally, her gaze shifting almost involuntarily toward the invitingly soft brown leather couch. She hesitated for a moment then pushed herself off the doorframe and walked inside. "Well, thanks, Dad," she said as she made her way over to it and sank onto the cushions.
Landry nodded, then gestured at the stack of paperwork on his desk. "I've got some catching up to do. Just--ignore me."
"Ignore you," she repeated, propping up her feet and settling back with her hands behind her head. "Right."
She closed her eyes determinedly and he worked in silence for several minutes, but finally she opened her eyes again and turned to the desk with a sigh. "I can hear your pen scratching," she said.
"Sorry," he looked up at her and set the pen down, reaching inside his desk drawer for a Bic.
"Any word from Cameron and Teal'c?" she asked.
"Not yet," he replied.
"So, what happens next?" she wanted to know.
"Hard to say until we hear from them, at least," answered Landry.
Carolyn let out a loud breath in frustration. "It's horrible to feel so helpless," she declared. "I don't blame General O'Neill. Or Daniel for that matter, even though as a doctor I could kill him…" she trailed off, yawning behind her hand.
"I know," he smiled a little as he went back to work.
Carolyn's eyelids began to droop closed and she mumbled, "Y'know, when I was a kid, I kinda thought you could do anything."
Landry raised his head, startled, but she was deep asleep already. He let the pen drop and settled his chin in his hand, staring at her for several moments. Then, he slowly pushed back his chair and walked over to the couch. Finally, he slipped off his uniform jacket and covered her with it, leaving a kiss on her forehead before he straightened again.
As he did, a familiar claxon sounded, and Walter Harriman's voice came over the PA with, "Unscheduled offworld activation!"
Landry hissed and ran out to the Control Room, shouting, "Walter, shut that alarm off!"
"Yessir," the tech said quickly. "Sorry, sir."
"What is it now?" Landry asked.
"Looks like we're receiving a message from Colonel Mitchell, sir," Water replied, gesturing at the video relay screen while Cam's grainy image came into view.
"Colonel, how things going with the Heand?" he asked.
"Not too good, sir," Mitchell reported. "Quetzalcoatl did agree to lend us their technology, but the Heand scientists are having a bit more trouble than he thought with adapting it for critters our size. We could use Colonel Carter on this one."
"Understood," Landry nodded. "I'll have her report to you on P7X-377 as soon as she's back from Washington."
"Thank you, sir. Any word on that, General?"
"In fact there has been," Landry replied. "Not anything you'll want to hear, I'm afraid."
Mitchell caught his upper lip in his teeth to restrain the reply he really wanted to make and glanced down at the cavern floor. "Roger that, sir. Mitchell out."
------
"I don't like it," Alek told Brannen flatly as Vala and the two mercenaries tramped through the preserve toward Alek's ship. "Employing Alliance ships in a blockade to protect your personal conquest. How long do you think you can keep it up anyway?"
"Until I don't need to anymore," Brannen replied diffidently.
Alek rolled his eyes, having expected an answer like that, but said nothing. He didn't fear Brannen the way most of their contemporaries seemed to these days, however, he had a distaste for the kind of verbal jousting Brannen enjoyed, especially with a man who could slip so suddenly and completely from amiability to murderous rage.
"If it bothers you so much, you could lodge a protest," Brannen shrugged.
I might if it would do any good, Alek thought. Despite its being technically still a confederation, both men knew that the Lucian Alliance was becoming more and more the dictatorship that Brannen wanted. There were others, even in the blockade above the planet, who felt as Alek did, but no one would challenge Brannen openly. He had gained much of his power through blackmail, though how he had gained his information in the first place was only half understood. Alek, however, had his own method in mind for dealing with Brannen. How it played out, of course, would depend on what happened next with Vala and the Tau'ri, but one way or another, Daegar's time was coming.
They were reaching the ship now, and the group paused while Alek reached into his vest pocket for the remote that turned off the security systems and opened the hatch, then clambered up the ramp. Once inside, Vala leaned against the wall by the hatch and shifted uncomfortably, aware that the dress she was wearing was already becoming snug around her midriff. She doubted that Brannen would have noticed; in fact, he probably wouldn't suspect anything for at least another month, but the very idea of being trapped here when she started to become visibly pregnant chilled her.
"It's this way," Alek said, gesturing Brannen through the inner doorway and into the short corridor that led into his cargo hold.
"Don't go anywhere," he turned to Vala with a wink.
"I wouldn't dream of it," she replied, folding her arms across her chest. As they walked off, though, she couldn't help but let her eyes drift speculatively over the ship. It looked to be about 33 meters, more easily handled with a two person crew, but nothing she couldn't manage alone, and it was fairly heavily shielded. From the outside, she had seen that the cockpit was forward facing, similar to an Al'kesh. A loading ramp unfolded from either side of the ship when the hatches opened. Now she could make out that crew and passenger accommodations branched from the sides through short, elliptical corridors. Propulsion drives be would located at the rear of the ship, and she'd have to have a good look at those before making a move, but overall it looked promising. There seemed to be a ring-shaped hatch that could be opened in the central portion of the ship's flooring, though what it was for she couldn't yet guess.
Although she couldn't quite believe that she trusted them so implicitly, Vala had never doubted SG-1's promise to return. Still, there could be no harm in helping things along, and she had never been one to sit idly by and wait for rescue. Brannen had no idea yet that she could remove the bracelets binding them, and she wanted to keep it that way until her plan included a means of slipping past the blockade. She'd heard rumors that Alek had included a package of surprises in the ship's design that were rather similar to those that her old friend Kias had made on a certain cargo ship she'd once borrowed, and that would help, but she'd have to be sure. Which meant she needed a way back here alone…
------Three days after General O'Neill's hearing, Martouf paused in the doorway of the dimly lit commissary, studying the lone figure occupying a table inside. He smiled a little and stepped inside, swallowing a few times to ease the sudden dryness in his mouth as he walked up to her.
"Shouldn't you be asleep?" he asked quietly. "I thought you would be."
Jade felt her face flush at the sound of his voice and was suddenly glad the lights were low. "I tried earlier," she said. "I could not keep my eyes closed."
"It helps not to drink coffee late at night," he said, gesturing at the Styrofoam cup she was rolling between her palms.
"Simone insisted," she chuckled. "Since we were going to be awake anyway, she said we might as well. Dr. Lam gave me coins for it," she added, glancing over at the vending machine by way of explanation.
Martouf made a sour face. "I was able to get used to real coffee eventually, but never the sludge that comes from those machines."
"Is it possible for a Tok'ra to be addicted to caffeine?" she asked in a playful tone that he recognized as her way of teasing Simone."
"Lantash doesn't think so," Martouf shook his head, sliding into the chair opposite her. "Penny for your thoughts?" he asked.
Jade raised an uncomprehending eyebrow. "Pardon me?"
"Oh. My apologies. It's…a Tau'ri expression. A way of asking what's troubling you," he explained.
"I see," she said slowly. "Well…SG-1 returned from P7X-377 a few hours ago. Colonel Carter needs only to make a few modifications to the wrist devices she brought back. After that, they'll be leaving to rescue Dr. Jackson's wife, and the Council has ordered Simone and I to go with them."
"To retrieve the poison," Martouf nodded. "This bothers you?"
"In a way," Jade admitted. "Both Simone and I would like to go back, if only to redeem our past failure. But Vala's life is at risk. Shouldn't she be the mission priority?"
Martouf frowned thoughtfully. "Thousands of Tok'ra lives will be at risk if Brannen is allowed to keep the symbiote poison. Is one human more important than they?"
"No," Jade replied without hesitation. "No, of course not. It only seems that the two situations aren't equal. On the one hand, Vala is in immediate danger. On the other, the Tok'ra face a potential risk, which hasn't increased since we first learned that Brannen had the poison in the first place. Yet if a choice must be made between saving her and completing our mission, Simone and I will be required to choose recovering the poison."
"As SG-1 would be required to choose saving Vala's life," Martouf said, reaching for her hand across the table. He wrapped her fingers in the warmth of his own and drew them to his lips. "Don't fear for Vala, Jade. SG-1 will not leave without her. Let them carry out their mission while you and Simone look to yours."
"Will you and Lantash come with us, Martouf?" Jade asked.
"Of course."
------
Sha're is gone. Jack says we'll find her. If anyone can, he can.
The words jumped out at him and he felt his breath catch. They were scrawled across the journal page in his own handwriting, but he hadn't known that he'd written them. He'd been discussing board games, things he'd uncovered on Abydos. Right in the middle of that discussion came the simple statements that echoed his despair--his hope. Then, at the end of the third sentence, he'd gone back to what he'd been saying before, never even realizing where his thoughts had wandered.
Daniel sighed and closed the book, wondering again why he'd asked Nick to bring his old journals from the house. He'd wanted a distraction, he supposed--anything to keep his mind occupied and away from the new fear that had settled over him. Sha're was gone, but she had been for a long time. Now Vala was gone, too--trapped with Brannen Daegar so that the team could get Daniel back through the 'Gate before he bled to death.
Jack says we'll find her. If anyone can, he can.
He started to ask himself whether his opinion of Jack had changed, but he knew that it hadn't. Jack had been the one responsible for Vala's capture. Daniel was sure that she had left him no choice as far as the rescue mission was concerned, but Jack had given the order to leave her behind. That knowledge sat hollowly in his chest, making his throat tighten again. Jack must have felt that he'd had no other option. The trade had been Vala's idea, and the whole team had made it clear that they intended to come back for her. Daniel would have died if they'd been forced to stay much longer. Jack did what he always did--he made the call that no one else wanted to make. Still, Daniel's jaw tightened with the thought that Jack had also known that Vala was pregnant--and Jack knew better than anyone that Daniel would rather die than risk his wife and unborn child.
…gone…Jack says we'll find her…
Get out, Jack, his own angry order came back to him. He hadn't known when he said it that the rescue mission would cost Jack his career. He should have, though. Maybe he would have if he hadn't still been weak and confused. Jack didn't yell back; he just quietly dropped the note that Vala had entrusted to him, nodded, and walked out.
Now, the court martial ruling weighed heavily on Daniel as well. Forced retirement seemed like a slap in the face to a man like Jack O'Neill. Despite Daniel's best efforts, though, it had been the only option other than a dishonorable discharge. He hadn't expected Jack to take it as well as he had--but, he thought wryly, maybe Jack had been waiting for the right excuse to come along. The Goa'uld were no longer a major threat. The Ori, strangely, had never made another attempt to invade the galaxy after Vala stopped them at the Beachhead. If there was a right time for retirement, this was it--and as much as she loved him, Daniel knew that Sam wouldn't wait around for Jack forever. She'd already almost married Pete.
He sighed a little at that memory, and his thoughts turned to the fact that Jack probably still had no idea that the team had returned from P7X-377. His eyes flicked toward the phone on the bedside table, and after a moment's hesitation, he reached for the controls that would adjust the infirmary bed. Once he was sitting up, he stared at the phone for another few minutes, then finally picked it up and dialed.
"'Lo?" Jack answered on the second ring.
"Hi, Jack," he said.
"Daniel," came the casual reply.
"The, um, team's back," Daniel offered.
"Oh yeah?" Jack responded. "How's Carter? She get the stuff from the giants fixed yet?"
"Sam's fine," Daniel smiled, wondering how long it was really going to take the pair to stop using each other's last names in casual conversation. "She's working on adapting the Heand technology now. She could probably use a dinner break."
"Y'think?" Jack asked.
"You know how distracted she gets when she's working," Daniel nodded, ignoring the faint snort of amusement from his friend. Before Jack could make a "look who's talking" crack, he went on, "Jack, I wanted to apologize again."
"You don't have to, Daniel," came the quick reply.
"Yes, I do. If--if I had been in Vala's position, I would have done the same thing. And I would have expected you to give the same order. I can't fault you for it now," Daniel said.
"Yeah, well," Jack cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I dunno if that's an order I would have given."
"That's okay too," Daniel said softly. "I know."
"Right," Jack coughed, hurriedly shifting the subject. "We're gonna get her back, Daniel."
"I know," Daniel nodded. "If anyone can, you can."
------
The warm, spicy aroma of fresh pizza drifted over to her from the doorway, and Sam felt her stomach rumble. Her mouth watered as she realized she had forgotten to eat again, and she turned toward the smell as someone knocked on the wall just inside her lab.
"Delivery," Jack smiled.
"Hey!" her eyes widened in surprise and she jumped to her feet as he came inside, gingerly sliding the hot box onto the counter before wrapping his arms around her.
"How did you even know we were back?" she asked as her hands slid smoothly over the cool leather of his jacket to lace behind his neck.
"Little bird told me," Jack shrugged.
"A little bird named Landry, huh?" she grinned.
"A little bird named Daniel, actually," he replied, then dipped his head to meet her lips.
She returned the kiss for a moment, then asked softly, "Are you guys ok?"
"Me and Daniel?" Jack shrugged. "We will be. So how's it going?" he asked, gesturing toward her worktable.
"Well, the biggest problem was disabling the safeguard that the Heand use to prevent the technology from working on anyone carrying a live symbiote, but I managed to…"
"Of course you did," Jack interrupted, forestalling a complicated technical explanation that he knew he wouldn't understand with another long kiss. "So…good then?" he asked when their lips parted again.
"I was just finishing," she replied, smiling fondly. She rested a hand on his chest for a few moments, then abruptly pulled back. "I should find Landry--"
"Eat first," Jack said, catching her hand as she started for the door and gently turning her back toward the cooling pizza.
"Sir, I--Jack," she broke off with a wince.
"That's gonna take some getting used to," he allowed, forcing a smile. "Sam, eat. I still outrank you. For the moment, anyway."
"Yes, sir," she replied, swallowing against a bittersweet wash of emotion that tightened her throat. Picking up the first slice, she asked quietly, "Are you sure this is what you want?"
"No," he admitted. "But I'm sure I don't ever want to sit behind a desk at the Pentagon waiting to hear…you know. And before you ask, I'm sure I won't ever regret it."
"Sure?" Sam asked, meeting his eyes again. She still wasn't convinced that his retiring was going to make anything different the next time SG-1 found themselves in this type of situation. Unless of course he intended to rush off with Vala to rescue them without even trying to go through the proper channels, and somehow that didn't seem like Jack O'Neill…or did it?
"I said I was sure, didn't I, Carter?" he asked, though his tone was gentle, not at all the pointed one he would normally use for a question like that. He reached out to brush her cheek with a knuckle, then let his hand drop away. "C'mon, eat. Everybody's in the infirmary with Daniel."
Sam nodded and hurriedly gulped down the pizza, then followed him out to the infirmary. The group now included both Jade and Martouf, which somehow didn't surprise her. She smiled a greeting as she and Jack walked over to Daniel's bed and Landry turned to them.
"News, Colonel?" he asked her.
"They're finished, sir," she replied. "I have six working models…"
"Six?" both Landry and Daniel said as Dr. Lam quietly got up and began preparing a syringe.
"Teal'c, Carter, and I discussed this on the planet, General," Cam spoke up. "We'd like General O'Neill to lead this mission."
Jack's eyebrows rose, and Landry smiled a little, looking from one to the other. Jack's retirement wasn't official yet--wouldn't be for a few weeks at least. He knew of several other regulations he would technically be breaking under the circumstances, but Mitchell and Carter knew them as well.
"You ok with that, Daniel?" he asked, turning back to the archaeologist and holding his gaze while Carolyn approached.
"Absolutely," he nodded, then his eyes bulged and he twisted to face Carolyn as the needle sank into his arm. "Ow??????"
"Just relax, Daniel," she said calmly, offering no apology.
"Whaddaya--whaddaya mean, relax?" he demanded, blinking in an effort to clear his suddenly blurred vision. "Whaddid you do to me?"
"Just a sedative," Carolyn replied in the same even tone. "You'll wake up in a few hours."
"I can't--I have to go with them…" he slurred, sinking back on the pillows.
"And I had a feeling that Martouf would want to come along," Sam finished as Daniel's eyes slid closed.
The Tok'ra looked momentarily surprised and offered her a faint smile, and Landry gave a nod. "Then you have a go, SG-1," he said, then added half seriously, "Try to get her home before he wakes up."