One more chapter after this everyone. I'm debating on another story - unless, of course, I decide to take a Stargate break! Any ideas, suggestions greatly appreciated. Whump/no whump? I may even try a non-ship story (it's hard though - I love happy endings and romance!). I'll put in a shameless plug - the more reviews I get - and what I get - will help me decide. Thanks everyone.

Terra - Earth

The time had come to go home. Jack looked around the yard at all the people he'd gotten to know on this world. Many of these people were now his friends, especially Atta, with whom he'd been through so much.

He was going to miss them, and this life. In many ways it was so much simpler than the life they lived back on earth. Here he could have raised horses and probably other living things! As it was, he'd have to go back and continue the fight against earth's enemies.

He could feel the deep sense of loss already building in his chest. He was tired, so tired. He'd spent all his adult life fighting and right now, there was nothing he wanted more than to rest, with the woman he loved, and create something good, something joyous.

He looked over to where Sam was talking with some of the wives. She laughed at whatever Maya had said and he couldn't help but feel his heart expand with pride and love. She was so gorgeous and yet so smart and funny and kind. He really didn't know what he'd done to deserve her. For the first time in a long time he felt like God or the universe was finally looking at him and smiling. He just prayed it stayed that way.

He, more than anyone, knew how quickly life could turn and this time he swore he'd do everything in his power to not let anything bad happen. The only problem was he knew there were certain things outside of his control. The Air Force was one of them.

He didn't know what would happen when they returned. It could be fine, and then again, they could be in for serious trouble. He honestly wondered if the best thing was simply to not say anything and then retire. He and Sam could then 'start' a relationship which would be totally legitimate and no one could say anything. Of course, there'd always be rumors that they'd been having an affair all along but he knew there was really nothing he could do to stop that. He just hoped it didn't harm Sam's career.

The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. Oh, Sam had said he'd go crazy, and he would if he just sat around the house and didn't do anything; but, there were things he was interested in. Maybe he'd start a new career. He was still young enough and he'd have a great pension which would allow him to pretty much do what he wanted.

The fact was that he might be forced into it whether or not he wanted to retire. His knee was in pretty bad shape and he might just have gotten to the point where there wasn't much more they could do for it. If that were the case he would have to retire because he certainly couldn't see himself taking a desk job.

Just then he saw Daniel and Teal'c come out of the barn. He had been surprised that Daniel had taken so well to riding and seemed to really enjoy it. Teal'c, on the other hand, was never going to be a cowboy. He grinned, remembering the sight of the big warrior on his horse. A rider he certainly was not!

The two friends saw him and wandered over. "Hey Jack", Daniel called. "What ya doin?"

"Just relaxing Daniel. How about you guys?"

"Oh, I was just saying goodbye."

"Goodbye? To whom? You got a lady love here that I don't know about?"

"Jack", Daniel said in disgust. "Just because you and Sam spend most of your time in bed doesn't mean that that's what the rest of us are obsessed with."

Jack grinned. "You're just jealous Daniel."

"I am not! I have more important things to worry about."

"More important than sex? Daniel, I'm disappointed. There's nothing more important – or more fun – than sex."

"Okay Jack, enough. I so don't want to go there. I'm happy for you guys, really I am but I don't think I can take looking at your silly grin any more. Geesh Jack, you'd think you were the first man ever to - "

"Careful Danny."

"I was going to say – the first man ever to have a honeymoon."

"Indeed Daniel Jackson. I do not understand why O'Neill wears this expression all day. He appears very proud of himself and yet I believe he is not doing anything that most husbands do not do."

"Yup – you too Teal'c" Jack grinned and started walking back to the house. "you're jealous! You both gotta get some", he tossed over his shoulder.

"Hey Jack!" Daniel shouted. The Colonel stopped and turned back.

"Yeah what?"

"I see you're limping." This time it was Daniel who grinned.

"So? My knee is bothering me."

"Your knee – riiigght! What do you think Teal'c?"

"I do not believe it his knee that is causing him to walk with a strange gait. I believe it is as a result of - "

"Yup – jealous – you're both jealous", Jack turned and walked away, whistling while desperately trying not to limp.

"Jack", he stopped upon hearing Sam's voice. He turned and smiled as she hurried up to him. He couldn't help but smirk a bit when he realized that she was also walking stiffly. Oh yes, married life was wonderful.

He suddenly frowned however, when he realized that they were riding out tomorrow. Oh God, how was he ever going to get on a horse?

"What's wrong Jack?"

"Huh?" he said, looking at Sam.

"You were frowning all of a sudden."

"Oh? Oh yeah, I was thinking about tomorrow."

"Sad to leave?"

"That too but I was actually thinking about having to ride."

"I thought you liked riding."

He got a wicked grin and waggled his eyebrows. "You know I do!"

"I meant horses Jack."

Sigh. "I know you did and it was actually horses I was thinking about."

"But you like horses."

"I do – but I'm just thinkin' – with all the 'riding' I've done this week, horseback riding's gonna be a bit -"

"Painful?" she asked.

"Yeah – very painful."

"You could ride in one of the wagons with the women and children."

"Nah, too embarrassing. What'll I say if they ask why I'm there? I'll have to tell them that my wife wore me out and my – manly parts – are too sore to ride."

"Manly parts?" she giggled. "I definitely wouldn't tell them that."

"No?"

"No, they'll all want to help make them better – and any woman who does that will have me to deal with."

"Oooh – woman fight? I kinda like the sound of that."

"Woman fight? Jack, that's disgusting."

"No it's not. In fact, it's what every man secretly dreams of; having his woman fight over him. Yeah, and I'm married to Sam Carter who could kick any woman's uh butt and most men's!"

"You're incorrigible, do you know that?"

"Me? I am not. I'm just - "

"A guy."

"Yeah", he smiled, "a guy. For which I am eternally grateful."

"Why? You think men are better?" she asked, a warning look on her face.

"Hell no! But if I wasn't a guy I wouldn't have you – and that's why I'm glad I'm a guy."

"Not only are you incorrigible, you're pretty smart Jack O'Neill. That kinda talk will definitely ensure that you get lucky."

"Really? Let's go then."

"Now?"

"Of course. I think now's a great time to get lucky." He was pulling her back towards the house.

"Jack, it's the middle of the day and we're supposed to be getting ready."

"That didn't bother you yesterday."

"True."

"Or the day before."

"Okay, okay, I get it."

"So?

"So, let's get ready later."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Don't tell me they're at it again?" Daniel whined. "We're never gonna make it home at this rate."

"I believe you may be correct." Teal'c suddenly looked puzzled. "Daniel Jackson?"

"Yeah Teal'c?"

"Is this behavior normal for humans who join together in marriage?"

"By behavior you mean - ?"

"I mean the number of times they seem to have inter - "

"Yeah, yeah – I get it. And, well, couples who are newly married do tend to – uh – do it more but I gotta say I think Jack and Sam take the cake."

"Cake? I did not know that there was cake involved. That must be why O'Neill likes it so much."

Daniel laughed. "No Teal'c, I just meant that they seem to be spending more time that most couples engaged in – marital relations." Daniel rolled his eyes at Teal'c's blank expression. "Sex Teal'c – they seem to be having a lot of sex."

"Indeed."

Later that day Sam and Jack were finally found in the great hall eating a late luncheon. They were both extremely hungry and looked very pleased with themselves. Daniel looked disgusted.

"Hey guys."

"Daniel." Jack continued eating.

"So, do you think we're really going to get out of here tomorrow?"

"If everything is ready, then yeah, I do. Why?"

"Well, I didn't know if you got everything done you needed to before we left."

"We did Daniel", Sam answered. "We're packed and we've said our goodbyes. How about you?"

"Oh yeah, Teal'c and I have pretty much been ready for days."

"Really?" Jack looked surprised. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because Jack, I usually couldn't find you – and I was told never to disturb you when you were in your bedroom – which is where you seemed to be most of the time since we've been back."

Jack kept chewing and just grinned.

"Daniel!" Sam sounded shocked. "We haven't been that bad!"

"Yes, indeed you have, Major Carter-O'Neill." Teal'c had wandered over and now sat beside them at their table.

"Really?" She looked back and forth between her friends. Realizing that they were telling the truth, she could feel herself start to go a bit red. "I'm sorry guys, we didn't realize." She turned to Jack who continued to eat and grin. "Did we Jack?"

"Oh yeah, I realized. Don't worry about it Carter – they're just jealous."

"Fine Jack", Daniel sighed and rolled his eyes, "but can we now think about getting home?"

"Nothing much to think about Daniel. Germanicus is sending some of his men to escort us and we'll go most of the way by boat." That still made him nervous but he knew he had to conquer his fear and now was as good a time as any. "We'll avoid Adrano City and make our way to Teal'c's ship and then head back to the nearest planet with a gate. From there it's home."

"Are you worried?" Daniel frowned, wondering what was in store for them.

"No, it should be pretty straight forward. As long as we avoid any Adrano troops."

"No, I mean about returning home?"

He thought about lying or about cracking one of his usual jokes, but looking at the concerned faces of the three people he was closest to in the universe he decided that truth was the best.

"A little", he replied, setting down the cup he'd been holding. "It's always hard to go home when you've been away for a long time. You're never quite sure what you'll find." He thought back to some of his longer tours of duty. Even though he'd been able to write and receive letters from home he'd still get nervous. He wondered if things were different now with email and the internet?

"I just keep having these dreams that we'll get back to earth and everything will be gone or some System Lord will have conquered it." Daniel confessed.

"No way. Ain't happened Daniel." He sounded so sure that Daniel relaxed a bit. He knew, logically, that there was no way Jack would know that, but somehow he believed him anyway.

"Do you think they've sold our stuff?" Sam asked. She was worried about her Indian and her car. She was pretty sure that family things would have been sent to her brother."

"Nah. As long as Teal'c is out looking for us Hammond will make sure it's all kept safe".

"Jack, how are we going to get through the gate. We've been gone a long time and they will have locked out our codes – even if we had a GDO, which we don't."

"Teal'c's taken care of that, didn't you big guy?"

"I did." He turned to Daniel. "I spoke to General Hammond and we arranged to leave a GDO with Bratac. The General knew it might take some time so he gave me a special code to use. We will return to Chulak and obtain the GDO and gate from there."

"Oh – good. It sounds like we have everything covered but I'm still feeling kind of nervous", Daniel admitted.

"Come on guys", Jack said as he sat us straight and looked at each of his friends in turn. "There's no sense worrying about this. We'll know soon enough whether everything is okay and anyway, no matter what's happened, we'll still have each other."

If they were surprised at the emotion in Jack's words, none of them gave any hint, but all of them nodded in agreement. It was true – they were all alive and still together – so no matter what, they'd be fine.

The final goodbyes the next day were emotional. Atta was traveling with them, along with some of the men, but Germanicus and the women were not.

"Thank you my friend", Germanicus hugged Jack and patted him on the back. "You have brought much to our world, and you have brought us a victory we never would have had without you."

"Oh, I don't know about that! You're a pretty smart guy. Thank you for all you've done for us. Hopefully we'll meet again one day."

After hugs and backslaps all around, Sg1 left, escorted by Atta and half a dozen other men. As they rode away from the compound the team all waved goodbye. They were all quiet after that, thinking of their friends and the fact that they would probably never see them again.

The boat ride was uneventful, although stressful for Jack. He stayed up on deck, Sam by his side, so he could breath the fresh air and not feel confined. It helped keep his terror at bay to stay out if the open.

The trip was going to take a bit longer as they had to circle around the city and avoid any Adrano. Fortunately, everything went smoothly and they arrived at Teal'c's stolen ship.

The Tokra were waiting, with Rannulfus still under lock and key. He was furious – shouting and complaining – as soon as he realized Teal'c had returned with his. Jack had gone in and taken a look at the slave-trader and could feel a wave of anger wash over him. He left the room before he did something he'd regret. He'd have to think about what was going to be done about the man. For now he was more concerned about saying goodbye to his friend Atta.

"Go safely Oneo", Atta spoke softly to the man who had become like a brother to him. "I will always remember my galley companion."

"Yeah, me too Atta. Thank you for everything. You saved my life and I will never forget you." Suddenly his expression lightened and he smiled. "You look after that family okay? Especially little Oneo."

"He's going to be trouble, if he's anything like his namesake", Atta grinned. "You too, Oneo, take care of your new family. I wish you many sons and daughters and that you find contentment when you return to your world."

As they watched the Alemanni ride away, Jack thought back to Atta's words. He couldn't help but think about the idea of children. It was a frightening thought, in many ways, but also an extremely attractive one. It was something he and Sam hadn't really talked about and he figured it wasn't too likely, not with the war still going on. There was no way he'd contemplate having kids if both he and Carter were still on active duty.

He sighed, thinking also about the last part of Atta's comments. Contentment – yeah, that was something he longed for. He was happy, truly happy now that he was with the woman he loved – but he wondered how content they'd be if they continued to go through the gate. Their kind of life brought excitement and adventure but rarely contentment. Oh well. He pulled himself up by the mental boot straps. No point worrying about it now.

"Are you all right?" Her soft voice interrupted his thoughts and he turned his head to see Sam's concerned face looking at him.

"Yeah, just fine. I'm gonna miss him."

"I know. He's pretty special. I'm going to miss him too – and Alarice and the children." She stood watching with him for a while. Finally, she began to speak again. "But you know what I'm going to miss the most?"

"What?" He looked at her curiously.

"The sense of peace here. I keep thinking about going back and – I'm kind of dreading getting back to the fight. I was kind of looking forward to settling down."

"Really?" he asked, surprised. He'd thought it was just him and that Sam would be anxious to get back. "I thought you missed all the action?"

Laughing, she reached out and gently touched his arm. "Oh, I don't think there's been a shortage of action since we've been here. I think it was more the dream of settling down and not having to fight anymore that seemed possible here."

"Settling down? You'd go crazy in a week", he answered, quoting her own words back to her.

"I would if it I had nothing to do but cooking and cleaning – but I would love to have time to do some more lab work and I think I'd like to write another book."

"Mmmm. Something big and incomprehensible again I bet."

"Maybe, although I might just do something a little more – popular."

"Really? What would you write?"

"I don't know. How about Fifty Ways to Please Your Lover?"

"Wow! You'd definitely do well with that one. However", he stopped and looked sternly at her, "you are so not giving away your secrets. I'm the only one who's gonna benefit from the genius skills of Sam Carter."

"I'm assuming you don't mean my skills as an astrophysicist?"

"Definitely", he reached down and kissed her, "not your skills", he kissed her a second time, "as an astrophys -", another kiss, "although I'm sure" kiss, "you're a wonderful" kiss, "astrophysicist. I was thinking more along the lines" kiss, "of your skills", kiss, "in -"

"Will you guys GET A ROOM", yelled Daniel. "And get on the ship. We wanna get going while there's still an earth to get home to." He turned to Teal'c. "Geesh, can you believe those too?"

"No. I am wondering if we made a mistake Daniel Jackson."

"A mistake?"

"In bringing them together. They are becoming – tiresome!" But since he looked at Daniel with a twinkle in his eye the other man knew he wasn't – totally - serious.

"Yeah, they are a bit obnoxious, aren't they? I'm sure it will get better though." He frowned. "And if it doesn't, I think we should arrange to have them both kidnapped again and dumped on some planet far, far away!"

It took Teal'c only a few minutes to get the ship ready and soon they were taking off from the planet where so much had happened. Jack looked soberly out of the port hole, contemplating how much his life had changed. He suddenly felt a warm hand grasp his and turned and smiled at the woman beside him. She laid her head on his shoulder and they sat there quietly as the space ship carried them back to their world, and to an uncertain future.

"I say we jettison him into space." Jack growled.

"We can't do that Jack."

"Why not?" he asked the archaeologist. "He's a hemorrhoid on the butt of the universe. Everyone would be a lot happier."

"Except Rannulfus", the exasperated younger man replied. "I think we should take him somewhere where he can be arrested and tried for what he's done."

"And where might that be Daniel? It's not as if there's some kind of intergalactic court of justice somewhere. And whom are they going to call as witnesses? Do you think Hammond or the Air Force are going to agree to us returning somewhere to testify against him."

"They might, as long as it was a world with a gate."

"O'Neill is correct, Daniel Jackson. There is really nowhere to take him. I must admit I concur with O'Neill. It would be easier to simply rid the galaxy of one such as he."

O'Neill sighed. As much as he really wanted to do that – and he probably would have in certain circumstances, he also knew his moral code wouldn't allow it. He really wished the man would try and escape and he'd be forced to kill him. As it was, he couldn't do it in cold blood, even though he was sure the man deserved it after all the pain and suffering – and death – he'd caused.

"What would happen if we gave him back to the Goa'uld?" Sam asked. "He's a renegade Jaffa isn't he? Who was his System Lord? If we returned him wouldn't he get in trouble?"

"He would be tortured and killed Major Carter-O'Neill."

Jack couldn't help but smirk at Teal'c's form of address. Sam had begged him, on more than one occasion, to call her Sam but he always refused. Now he'd added the 'O'Neill', which Jack admitted to himself, he really liked. He glanced over at his wife who glared at him. He shrugged and continued to smirk. So, sue him. He still liked it.

"Sounds good", Jack looked at Daniel and Sam's expressions and sighed. "Hey, I said it sounds good. I didn't say we should do it. I know it wouldn't be right. So, any other ideas? We could take him back to earth with us and have him tried there."

"How? He's an alien. He'd have to be sent to solitary since he couldn't be sent to a regular prison."

"Okay then people, I'm fresh out of ideas."

No one said anything for a while, all of them trying to figure out a solution for their prisoner. If it had just been a case of revenge, or even justice, for what had been done to them they probably would have just let him go. The problem was, they knew he'd start his slave trade up again and they couldn't let him victimize more people.

"Why don't we take him back to one of the planets he's stolen others from?" It was Sam who finally spoke. "We could hand him over to the people there and let them deal with him."

"Hmmm. I like it." O'Neill decided. "Trouble is, how would we know which planet and how would we get there?"

"I know O'Neill. When I was looking for you I discovered from which planets Rannulfus and his men would steal slaves. I understand something of the people on each planet as well. I believe I know one where he would have a fair trial but where he would also receive justice."

"Great, let's drop him off!" When no one moved he said again, "Let's go. I want to get rid of him as quickly as possible. I've been dreaming of a beer and pizza for a long time now so let's get a move on!"

It was the next day before they were able to drop off the slave trader. He'd yelled and screamed at them, calling them names in all different languages, but he was ignored. Jack stayed as far away from him as possible, still tempted to mete out some direct and very personal punishment.

The people of Archaea were extremely pleased to receive Rannulfus. He'd taken a number of their young people over the years, including the daughter of the chief. It was a just society, but O'Neill was pretty sure the trader was going to receive full and complete justice for what he'd done.

"Okay campers, let's go home." O'Neill spoke softly as they watched the local people take Rannulfus away in chains. He turned back and got on the ship, a sudden dark mood descending on him. As the others boarded the ship he noticed that they too seemed pensive. He was pretty sure it was the worry about going home as well as the feeling that their journey of the last year – for good and bad – was ending.

By the time they'd arrived on Chulak all of them were feeling jumpy and nervous. He'd bitten Daniel's head off a couple of times and had even been short with Sam. He would have apologized except for the fact that they were equally as crabby with him.

He'd really had to go easy around Bra'tac. Normally he liked the man, and had great respect for him, but today the Jaffa really got on his nerves. He felt like he was going to scream if he called him 'human' one more time. O'Neill was not a hard name to remember for God's sake! It was Sam's hand on his arm that eventually calmed him down enough to be civil.

"Bra'tac, as good as it is to see you" (okay, little white lie there), "we really do need to get home. Do you think you could get the GDO for us?" He was worried Bra'tac was going to insist they stay for supper or something but fortunately, the man just nodded and went and retrieved their ticket home.

As Jack took the small piece of earth technology it really hit him. They were actually headed back to earth. Soon they'd see the SGC, their friends and comrades – and they'd have to deal with all the fallout. He took a deep breath and looked up at his team. Each of them looked apprehensive – but they were also giving him looks of encouragement. They were right – as he had been – they were in this together.

With a smile and a soft 'thanks' to Bra'tac he turned to his team. "Let's go home."

They stood in front of the DHD and simply gazed at the Stargate. This is what had brought them all together, all those years ago. It had brought them each great suffering but also great joy. They'd shared wonderful new sights through this portal. They'd met new people, both human and non, and had learned things beyond what any of them had ever imagined. For Jack this gate also meant redemption and the coming again of hope and happiness.

With a smile he looked at Daniel "dial her up Danny. Home is waiting."

General Hammond was working on his month-end reports – probably the thing he hated most about his job. It was times like these that he thought about Jack and the man's abhorrence of paper work. He could definitely sympathize!

As he continued to sign form after form he let his mind wander to his lost team, to Sg1. He wondered where they were, if they were still alive, or if they'd died on that planet months ago.

Things had gone on at the SGC with little outward change. Hammond had been around enough years, and had witnessed enough loss, to know that life does go on, that the world doesn't end just because someone you cared about left – or died. The fight against the Goa'uld continued and others had arrived who had – almost, but not quite – filled Sg1's big shoes. It was true that no one was indispensable – that didn't mean they didn't leave an awfully big hole.

So, things had continued, almost like normal, except they weren't the same. There was something missing, something lacking without the presence in this world of Jack and Sam and Daniel and Teal'c. They were all unique and very special people. They were his people, but they were also his friends and he missed them. He looked over at the small Homer Simpson figurine that O'Neill had given him one year for his 'Secret Santa' gift and sighed. God, he missed that man's humor and irreverence. The Air Force – hell, earth – was just not the same without him.

Suddenly, he could hear the gate activate and Walter's announcement of an unscheduled off-world activation. He frowned, trying to remember if any teams were away. As far as he knew there was no one. Hopefully it was just one of their allies come to offer some snippet of information. He prayed it wasn't someone coming to tell them Armageddon was coming.

He slowly stood up and made his way down the stairs to the control room. "Any idea who it is Sergeant?"

"I haven't received the IDC as yet Sir", he stopped and put his hand to his earphone. "Wait, it's" he looked at the General, "it's Teal'c Sir. It's the code you gave him before he left to look for Sg1." Walter's eyes were wide but Hammond refused to let himself hope. There'd been too many times in his life where he'd been disappointed.

"Open the iris Son." The wormhole engaged and then there was a short pause. With a 'shloop' Teal'c walked through and into the gate room. Hammond took the mike, disappointed but refusing to show it.

"Welcome home Teal'c. Go get yourself checked out and then come up and we'll debrief."

"Thank you General, but I have brought something back with me. I believe you would like to see it first."

Hammond went to speak again, to tell Teal'c he'd see whatever it was after he'd had his medical, when he heard another 'shloop'.

He stood up straight, shocked and speechless, for behind Teal'c stood Daniel Jackson. He was immediately followed by two more bodies coming through the event horizon.

"Hi General", Jack's voice called up to the Control Room. With a big grin he saluted. "Glad to see us?"

General Hammond glanced quickly at Walter, just in time to see the biggest, shit-eating grin on the Sergeant's face. He was pretty sure his expression was the same.

"Yes Jack", he answered into the mike. "Very glad to see you. Welcome back Sg1!" He'd thought he would never get the chance to say those words again. God, what a great day it was. "Go, get yourselves checked out and we'll debrief. And Jack?" The other man looked up on his way to the Infirmary.

"Yes Sir?"

"You've been missed Son – all of you!"

"Thanks George", he replied. "Ditto!"

Just as he neared the Infirmary Jack heard a screech that he was pretty sure could have wiped out an entire galaxy of Goa'uld. He couldn't help but grin. Yup – one tiny power-monger just got the surprise of her life.

"Hey Janet", he said as he walked in to the exam room. She was just pulling back from having given Teal'c a hug. The big man looked slightly stunned, but not unhappy.

"COLONEL!" She rushed over and threw her arms around him, which, considering the height difference was a little awkward. "Oh, it's so good to see you Sir. We all thought you were dead."

"I did not Dr. Frasier." Teal'c replied calmly.

"No, you're right Teal'c, you didn't – and thank God for that." She turned to each of her friends and suddenly looked at them with a more critical eye. Jack rolled his eyes, recognizing that the Doctor had taken the place of the friend.

"We're fine Janet."

"I'll be the one to judge that Sir. Can you all get up on the tables? I'll just get a couple of my nurses to help me." As she walked out of the room Jack called after her.

"NO NEEDLES!" She just waved her arm at him, not even looking. "Damn, I just knew it. We're gonna get poked and prodded for the next week!"

"Well, we have been away a long time Sir." Sam added quietly. He turned to look at her in surprise.

"Sir?"

"Sorry", she smiled. "Old habits and all. I think it's being in this place. It seems wrong to call you Jack while we're here."

"Hey, maybe that'll mean you'll both give it a rest for a while!" Daniel said.

"Jealous Daniel – just jealous!"

"Am not Jack."

"Are too!"

"Am - "

"STOP", Sam interrupted. "Janet will be back soon and I don't want to have to explain that conversation."

"Fine", Jack looked over and glared at Daniel. 'Jealous', he mouthed. Daniel gave him the finger in return.

"Daniel!" Janet said, shocked. "What are you doing?"

"Ah, nothing Janet. We were just fooling around."

"Oh, okay. Just don't let the General see you do that." Jack looked over and smirked and raised his eyebrows. Daniel squinted back at him, promising retribution.

"Okay, I want to know everything", Janet said. "First, were any of you hurt while you were gone?" They all looked at Jack, who, of course, tried to look innocent.

"I'm fine now. There's nothing wrong with me that a fishing trip, a nice cold beer and a very large steak won't cure." As Janet started to speak Jack interrupted in disgust. "I know, I know – let you be the judge of that."

"So, is anyone going to tell me what happened?"

"We were kidnapped by slavers and taken to a planet where we were sold." Sam began. "J – ur the Colonel was injured on the flight. He'd tried to help me – some men got a bit rough with me – and he was whipped." Janet raised her eyebrows and walked over to the Colonel who glared at his wife.

"She'd have found out anyway Colonel." He simply grunted in reply. Sam continued.

"They put some kind of stuff in our eyes which made us temporarily blind. They gave Daniel and me the antidote before we arrived on the planet. Our eyes were fine after that."

"And the Colonel?" Janet was looking down at him speculatively.

"Ah, they didn't give him the antidote."

"Why not?" she asked, frowning.

"He'd made them angry I think. They also saw him as more of a threat." Janet nodded. She could believe that.

"So, what happened next?"

"Well, we were taken to the city in a cart. I guess the natives on the planet aren't aware of space travel. When we got there Daniel and I were taken to the slave market and the next day we were sold. I was sold to a woman names Acquilina, Daniel to a scholar by the name of Aetius."

Janet turned to O'Neill who was looking down at the floor. When he didn't say anything she looked to Sam and Daniel, who were both frowning.

"Jack was sold as a galley slave."

"A galley – you mean like Ben Hur?"

"Yeah", O'Neill said softly, "exactly like that."

"Oh my God Sir. Were you there long?"

"I think it was about four months although I kinda lost track of time."

"How awful. Were you – hurt?"

"Not really, at least not after the initial – punishment on the spaceship."

"Jack!" Daniel interjected. "Tell her the truth."

"That is the truth Daniel."

"What about your eyes."

"What about them. They're fine.

Daniel turned to Janet. "They never gave him the antidote so he was chained to the bench for months, totally blind. They didn't release them – ever. They had to sit in the same place the entire time, feet and hands chained to the floor and the oar. The ship was eventually in a battle and was sunk. Jack, and his 'bench-mate' Atta, were the only ones to survive but Jack was hurt pretty badly. Fortunately, they were rescued and eventually taken to Atta's homeland where he recovered."

Janet just shook her head. She should have known! She'd definitely have to give Jack an extensive physical. He looked at her with pleading eyes but she wasn't going to fall for it, no way!

"You forgot to tell her that while he was still recuperating he helped the people who saved him win a major battle and managed to rescue both of us."

"Hey", he protested. "I didn't do that on my own. It was Germanicus' soldiers."

"You were the one behind it Jack."

"Look Doc", Jack continued. "Once we were rescued by Germanicus – he's Atta's brother by the way – everything was fine. They became our friends and helped us back here and we're all good. My wounds are long healed and I really just want to go home." He hoped he sounded believable and pathetic enough. He really, really didn't want to spend any time in the Infirmary.

"Of course you forgot a couple of little details Jack." The Colonel looked at Daniel and made a slashing gesture with his hand across his throat but of course, Janet picked up on it.

"What else Colonel?"

"Nothing Janet. We helped the Alemanni – that's the enemy of the people who enslaved us – win another battle and then had to rescue one of their people who'd been captured."

"And got captured yourself in the process and br -"

"Daniel SHUT UP!"

"Sir. I'll find out anyway you know. It would be better if you just told me, that way I'll know what to look for and it will take less time."

He looked at her suspiciously, eyes narrowed. He wanted to trust her – but his experience of doctors told him that she'd want to keep him longer if she knew what had happened.

"Just make him take off his shirt Janet." Daniel said softly. She looked around and realized they were all looking very serious. Jack, per usual, was looking down at the floor.

"Sir?"

"Yeah", he sighed. He knew it would have to happen anyway. Still, he hated being on show. "Can you just – not have the nurses around?"

She nodded and quickly gestured for them to leave. They'd been taking temperatures, blood pressure and blood from the other three teammates. Once they'd left she turned back to the Colonel. "Okay Sir. Can I look?"

"Okay." He paused and then began to pull off his tunic. He'd be really glad to get back into modern clothes.

He'd never seen his back – mirrors weren't common where they'd been – but he had seen his chest. He hated it - hated it with a passion, and avoided looking at it as much as possible.

He knew Janet had seen lots in her career so couldn't help but feel uncomfortable when he heard her gasp.

"Oh Sir", she said from behind. She'd seen men who had been whipped before, of course she had, but she'd never seen anything to compare to Jack's scars. It looked almost as if he'd been flayed alive. There was no space on his back that wasn't covered in the ugly looking scars. It was a miracle he'd survived. She reached out and touched him and he jerked away.

"Do you have much feeling Colonel?" Sam and Daniel looked shocked. They hadn't even thought about that.

"Some. A lot of it is pretty numb."

So intent was she on his back that she hadn't paid any attention to his chest. As she walked around to speak with him she glanced down. What the hell! She reached out and touched the red looking letters. This scar looked much newer and like it wasn't quite healed yet.

"Sir?" she asked. He just shook his head, feeling ashamed.

"He was branded Janet", Sam said softly. "It was when we went to rescue Crispus, a young man who had helped me escape. Jack was captured and they branded him as a runaway slave."

"What does - ?" she looked at Daniel. Jack still wouldn't look up.

"Fugitivus", he answered quietly. "Fugitive."

"Oh." Realizing suddenly how difficult this was for O'Neill, she became all business like again. "I'm going to order scans for all of you as well as all the blood work. We've already ascertained that you're 'Goa'uld-free' so you should be able to go and have your briefing with the General, but you'll all need to come back for further tests." She looked down at the Colonel. "Sir, I'm going to get in touch with the Academy about getting a plastic surgeon to look at you." He looked up sharply at that. "Colonel, that brand needs a graft. It looks deep and it's not totally healed. The surgeon may even be able to get rid of the letters."

Although he didn't look happy at the prospect of grafts, he was cheered by the thought that he could possibly get rid of the FUG. The letters, for some reason, made him feel ashamed.

"It'll be okay Jack", Daniel grinned, "Sam can hold your hand and kiss it better." Janet stared in shock at Daniel's words. What the hell was he thinking? She glanced over at Sam and, instead of anger, saw that her friend was blushing.

"Daniel!" Sam retorted. "Stop it."

"I've been trying to tell ya", Jack interjected, "jealous!"

"Jack, I am not jealous. I'm just tired of watching the two of you kiss and cuddle all day. It's, it's – what is it Teal'c?"

"It is 'tiring' Daniel Jackson."

"Yeah Jack – it's tiring."

Jack snorted. "Tiring? That's terrible isn't it Sam? We wouldn't want to tire you." He looked back at Jackson. "Daniel, if I want to kiss and cuddle Carter all day, everyday than I'm gonna do it. If you don't like it then close your eyes or go away." He then decided to return to his childhood and stuck his tongue out at the other man. "Still say you're jealous", he whispered.

"Aaaarghh!" Daniel groaned and grabbed his head. "Janet please, poke him full of holes! He deserves it."

"Daniel, that's not very nice Danny!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" Janet's shout stopped everyone cold.

"Oops", Daniel grimaced. He'd kind of let the cat out of the bag. "Sorry Sam, Jack. I forgot."

"It's okay Daniel, we weren't trying to hide anything."

"Okay, enough. Now tell me what this is about? Why are you kissing and cuddling a Major under your command? And why does everyone seem okay with that?"

"Hey, I'm not okay with that Janet", Daniel looked hurt. "That's why I was complaining. I mean, I am okay with that, just not so much of it."

"Daniel!" She then whipped her head around to look at Jack and Sam, "Sir? Sam? Now give. What is this about?"

"Uh", Sam looked slightly panicked and turned to Jack who simply sighed. As the senior officer he guess if fell to him.

"We're married Janet."

"What? Who?"

"Me and Danny", he said scathingly. "No, Sam and me, Doc. We didn't think we were going to make it back so we – got married."

"Oh. My. God!" she plopped down, boneless, on one of the examining tables. "They're going to kill you!"