Daniel awoke, feeling groggy, his vision blurry, slumped against a wall, his hands and feet bound. He closed his eyes, shaking himself in an attempt to rouse himself and also to try and work out why he was in this position, a fleeting thought of Vala flitting through his consciousness. He groaned as he opened his eyes once more, the sight of a dark, foreboding cell door slowly coming into view, the cell dark, dank, grey and bare. With equal slowness, he surmised where he was, his mind feeling as though it was clouded, although with what, he hadn't fathomed yet; the same going for why and who by.

He stretched, wincing at the strain in his muscles, and then he became aware of a presence behind the bars, somehow sensing it. He looked up to see a blurred figure behind the bars, a white face looking in at him. He rested the back of his head against the cool, dank wall and said, forcing himself to be calm,

"Who are you, and what do you want with me?"

The figure produced a bitter laugh and said in a scarily familiar voice, "Questions, questions, questions, Doctor Jackson. In the words of the Wicked Witch of the West – 'all in good time, my pretty', and I mean it – you are kinda pretty. No wonder General O'Neill likes you – I bet you have a lot of fun in that bedroom of yours."

Daniel closed his eyes, fighting to concentrate on the voice as the clouds in his mind threatened for one scary moment to overwhelm him. The voice continued,

"Anyway, we know who you are, Doctor Jackson, or should I say, the Guardian. We know of your powers and we intend to use them."

His eyes still closed, Daniel remarked, thoughts of the Trust running through his head, "Why oh why, would you ever think that I'd help you out?!"

"Because, Doc, we know that you wouldn't want any harm coming to your delightful children, one of whom is a medical miracle although which one, we were hoping that you'd tell us. Tumour indeed. What did you take us for?"

Daniel whispered, fighting the cloud, "If you so much as lay a finger on my children, I will hunt you down and kill you with my bare hands."

"Yep, we thought of that too so we took the liberty of drugging you so you couldn't focus properly. Nothing like being zapped by a half Ancient when we've got some important research work to do."

The voice continued, feigning cheerfulness, "I'll leave you to enjoy our lodgings before our boss decides that she wants to check you out. For the moment, bon nuit."

Before Daniel could say anything, he felt something sharp and stinging stabbing shooting into his arm, and his last conscious thought before his head slumped forward was that he was going to kill that man with the familiar voice if it was the last thing he ever did.

--------------------

Daniel awoke again, this time the reason a lot of water being thrown over him, soaking him completely. He closed his eyes and whispered, his head slumped forward, his mind growing less cloudier,

"What do you want with me?"

The chilling, booming voice of a Goa'uld made him snap his head up to see a blonde haired woman dressed in black sneering down at him. The woman said,

"I am Athena, your god, and I wish to learn of the abilities that you possess."

Daniel sighed, wondering how many more Goa'uld were going to be on his tail now, and he remarked with a bitter chuckle, "What makes me think that I'll ever tell you anything?!"

"Your participation, though desired, is not essential. My scientists can extract the information from the Ancient knowledge that is slowly expanding within your mind."

He shut his eyes tight before opening them quickly on seeing a cage in front of his cell, inside of which were the twins, crying in fear. His heart leapt into his throat as they called him, and he said to Athena, meaning every word,

"You harm them, and I'll kill you."

"I do not need both of them – just the one that gestated within you. The Trust are not stupid – you could not carry a tumour within you for three trimesters without being operated on swiftly. Moreover, the records show that ColonelCarter gave birth at the SGC but there is no surveillance footage of either of you arriving on base, yet you were both there, you having your tumour removed. Coincidence? I think not."

He remarked, "Ok, now you're seriously disturbed, even more so than before which is saying something…"

His remark was interrupted by one of Athena's aides hitting him across the face with the butt of a gun. His face turned away as he grimaced in pain, he said, panting for breath,

"My friends will come for me, and when they do, they won't hesitate to kill you. If you let me go, you could get lucky."

Athena knelt down next to him, her lips close to his ear as she replied in a sultry voice, "Your friends will never find you, and I am going to have so much fun examining you personally…"

She punctuated her comment with a caress of his cheek, and he flinched beneath her touch, retorting with a fierce expression, "I'm married, and if I wasn't, crazy, megalomaniac bitches with delusions of grandeur aren't my type."

As she straightened up, she said, "Hm, you lie. I believe our lady Hathor chose you to create a new generation of Goa'uld."

He grimaced at the memory, shooting back, "Against my wishes."

"Too bad, you would make a delightful host for my consort, Pallas, who is waiting for a desirable host such as yourself with great powers, but then maybe I would like you as a host, and rule amongst the remainder of the Goa'uld."

He sneered, remarking, "What Goa'uld do you plan on ruling?! We had Baal executed, and the rest are powerless."

"Precisely, my dear Doctor Jackson… now save your strength, we will begin the tests soon and soon you will discover all the good that the Goa'uld have to offer you."

He shot back, unconsciously channelling Jack, "Bite me."

"Oh… after the tests, there will no doubt be more than biting. I have heard a great deal of your talents, particularly those in pleasuring and satisfying ColonelCarter. But first… I want to know which of those children is the one whom gestated within you."

"You're nuts."

"On the contrary… very well, if you will not tell me…"

She lifted up a ribbon device and said, "I will give you one more chance… tell me which child."

"Go to hell."

"Very well."

She activated the device, an orange beam feeling as though it was piercing his skull and burning his eyes out. He shut his eyes, groaning at the pain as he tried to think of something. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to focus. He grimaced in concentration as he focussed on the beam that felt as though it was raping and pillaging his mind, and held onto it.

His eyes flew open in surprise when Athena screamed, the device flying out of her hand. Realising that his mind was clear enough to use his powers, he focussed on the device that one of her aides was in the process of retrieving, focussing his anger on it, and to his surprise, never mind theirs, it exploded, the Naquadah in the explosion causing the metal of the cell bars to warp as he turned his head away in an attempt to shield himself from the explosion and accompanying bright light.

Athena, collecting herself, said with a rather unconvincing sneer, "We will take you for your vivisection now…"

Directing his anger towards her, he lifted her clear off her feet as she vainly struggled against him, her aides gaping in horror at the sight, and he said, very, very angry at not only the situation but on remembering once more his bargain with Anubis, "You Goa'ulds have a problem with promises but I don't…"

He proceeded to snap her neck, her lifeless body dropping to the floor, and as her now weak symbiote emerged from her neck, he glared at it, the creature exploding into flames with a tortured squeak.

The aides brandished zats but they were too late – Daniel was way past any sort of reasonableness. With a roar of pure anger as he saw some men in black taking the twins away in their cage, he broke out of his restraints and, again to his surprise, threw a wave of fire outwards, mindful to create a safe bubble for the twins, the fire engulfing everyone else in the vicinity.

Gasping for breath, he slumped back against the wall again, having used a lot of mental energy, and he hoped that he wouldn't pass out until he and the twins were safe again. Focussing inwards, he slowly stood up and walked out of the cell, the door of which had been blown outwards by the blast wave, and he searched for the twins.

Closing his eyes, he wondered if he would be able to sense them, given that he had a lot of other powers in his 'utility belt', as Jack referred to his growing list. He wryly thought to himself that he was only on the brink of discovering everything about his powers, and if what he was already exhibiting was the brink, then the full gamut must be pretty intense. He closed his eyes and focussed, but as he did so, he sensed someone behind him, someone rather familiar.

He frowned as he turned around to see the person whom he had vaguely recognised earlier. Shocked, Daniel said in a neutral voice, "Agent Merek…"

Agent James Merek, the IOA Agent who had earned a punch from Vala for treating Tomin like scum before the Ark of Truth mission, had never lived his embarrassment down at not only Vala's hands but Daniel's too when he had defended Sam, and had promptly accepted the Trust's subsequent recruitment of him. The Agent, a 9mm aimed squarely at Daniel's head, said,

"Say your prayers, you inhuman monster."

Daniel retorted, his anger growing once more, "Gee, I'm not a religious man."

Merek squeezed the trigger repeatedly until the clip was empty, but Daniel raised a hand, the bullets stopping in mid-air before dropping to the floor with resounding clinks against the hard, stone floor. Merek, horrified, attempted to reload, but Daniel, with a wave of his hand, threw the gun clear of the Agent before walking towards him, a fierce glint in his eyes.

Merek, panicking, reached quickly for his zat, but Daniel cast that aside too before lifting a hand. The Agent was promptly thrown against the nearest wall, rather hard, and Daniel, not wanting to use his powers for this bit, approached the now terrified Agent and said, angry,

"You ever come near my family again, and I will make sure that you will be very uncomfortable for the rest of your pointless little life."

He then started throwing punches, punching the Agent in the face repeatedly, again unconsciously channelling Jack. Merek attempted to defend himself but Daniel's anger was too great, and the guy didn't stand a chance.

With Merek now a bloody mess, Daniel was about to deliver the killer blow when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and Jack saying, not hiding the amusement in his voice,

"That's enough Dannyboy – we've got the bastard."

Forcing his anger down, Daniel took a deep breath as he released Merek, who slumped down to the floor, a smeared trail of blood in his wake. Remembering what he was meant to do, Daniel said weakly, trying hard not to collapse as he leant his forehead on the wall, fighting an oncoming headache,

"Jack, the twins…"

Jack patted him on the shoulder and said, "Mitchell, Jonas and Vala have got 'em. Come on, buddy."

Two of Reynolds' men grabbed the bloody Agent, dragging him between them, blood trailing after him as Reynolds looked on in bemusement before looking at Daniel, concerned, asking, "Jackson – you ok?"

Daniel groaned, replying quietly, "I will be – I just need to get out of this place."

He felt Teal'c's hand on his back, the Jaffa saying, "Come DanielJackson – you certainly have a story to regale us with."

Struggling to stand as his friends steadied him, Daniel closed his eyes and focussed on the twins. He was barely aware of Cam calling through Jack's radio, sounding very bemused.

"Sir… the, uh, babies are… flying."

Jack, glancing at Daniel, called back, "I'm sure it's Daniel playing about. Regroup."

Daniel opened his eyes as the twins, scared, floated towards him and into his arms. He said, reassuring them, "It's ok – Daddy won't let anything happen to you."

He held them close as they cried, and he whispered, almost crying with relief, "You're safe, you're safe."

As Cam, Jonas and Vala joined them, Daniel said to his friends, "Thank you."

Everyone bemused, Jack remarked, patting him on the shoulder, "We didn't do anything – you stole the show. That's quite a punch you pack, and I assume you burnt out the Goa'uld, the goons and the cell?"

"Yeah."

"Sweet."

Teal'c, noticing Daniel sway, held him around his waist from behind, and as his friends looked at him in concern, Jack said, "Come on kids, let's get back to the mountain – our little Whitelighter needs to get checked out by Carolyn. Move out."

--------------------

Daniel unconscious in the Infirmary, the twins in the Nursery, Carolyn briefed his friends in the observation room. Jack asked,

"How come he's out for the count?"

"I had to sedate him – he was rather upset at how close the twins came to being in danger – they're fine too."

"Ah – good… I mean, that last part."

Reynolds asked, "Is he gonna be ok?"

Carolyn nodded, replying as she looked out through the window at Daniel once more, "Oh, he is although I needn't tell you that creating fire and manipulating it isn't something humans normally do."

Cam remarked, "I'll say, but Jackson ain't normal."

Vala added, her hand on Cam's shoulder, "That's true already."

Jonas asked, "Should we try to contact Atlantis?"

Jack replied with a sigh as he made to take his place in 'the chair', swiftly followed by Teal'c, "Get Walter to dial 'em."

Cam, followed by Vala, walked out of the observation room with Reynolds to the control room, and Carolyn, glancing at Jonas, remarked, "Crazy jobs we have."

As he slipped his arms around her waist, resting his cheek against her hair as she drew strength from him, he replied, gently kissing her forehead, "Oh, that really does go without saying. How are you doing?"

"Tired… I couldn't really focus on anything after I heard about them all disappearing. How about you?"

"Just raring to go."

She chuckled against his shoulder, remarking, "Typical… come on before someone gets on our backs about not acting professionally."

He smiled against her hair, replying, "Ah, but I am being professional – I'm comforting the stressed out Chief Medical Officer."

"Oh you."

--------------------

After being discharged from the Infirmary, and ordered to go home and get some sleep as the rest of SG-1 discussed how Athena had infiltrated the Trust, Jack and Teal'c forced Daniel to go home, and he reluctantly left with them and Elizabeth after picking up the twins from the Nursery.

At home, Daniel held the twins in his lap in the lounge, holding them close as he silently thanked whichever higher power hadn't allowed them to be harmed. Having been scared previously, they clung onto their father and he mentally assured them that everything would be fine.

Teal'c took them from him, saying, "DanielJackson, you need to rest. Have no fear – the twins will be safe with myself and O'Neill."

Daniel, without a word, got up and walked straight through the kitchen and out of the back door, sitting on the back deck, needing to be alone to think. Elizabeth asked Jack,

"Is he going to be alright?"

Jack replied, looking grim but then smiling as Cammie tugged on his shirt, "He'll be fine."

Jack then followed the Archaeologist, and found him hugging his knees to his chest. Sitting down next to him, Jack pulled the younger man into a hug, the Archaeologist coming willingly as he clung onto him, tears in his eyes. Jack smoothed the back of Daniel's head, saying,

"It's ok, Daniel – just let it all out."

His voice heavy with tears, Daniel whispered, "I nearly lost them, Jack… that bitch was planning on experimenting on me and James, but she didn't know which twin was the one I was pregnant with…"

He paused before saying, "I'm scared."

Raising his eyebrows briefly, Jack replied, "It's normal… come on, I'd be a bawling wreck if I had a fraction of the crap that you've got. You're doing well with it."

Laughing bitterly, Daniel said, "Sure Jack… I killed people with fire."

"They were asking for it – if you hadn't, they'd be cutting you open or doing unspeakable crap to the twins. Come on, stop beating yourself up about it."

Daniel sniffed, whispering, "I wish Sam was here."

"Ah, me too… thank God the weather's not being affected. I think you're starting to control yourself… I'm proud of you. Look… we haven't been able to dial Atlantis – how about we swing by with the Odyssey later on this week?"

Daniel shook his head, replying, "I can't risk it – the Daedalus was destroyed by the Wraith. Oh God Jack… what if…"

"Hey! That's enough of that out of you. This is Carter we're talking about."

Gazing down at the tired man in his arms, Jack said, "Come on, let's get you to bed – you could do with a rest. What time did those bastards take you?"

"Hmm, it was dark… I don't know."

Suddenly realising something, Jack exclaimed, "Shit!"

Meeting his gaze, concerned, Daniel asked, "Jack?"

"I failed you Dannyboy… I think those bastards zatted me."

Straightening up, Daniel remarked, "Jack, I don't think you'd be able to withstand a zat blast."

"Still… Anyway, come on, bed."

Looking down at his hands, Daniel said, "I… I don't think I can… I mean…"

Jack placed a hand on his shoulder, replying, "Don't worry… Doctor Lee's team were round earlier after doing the Forensics to fit frequency jammers and whatnot all over the house – those bastards aren't coming back."

Jack stood up, forcing Daniel to stand too as he continued, "No excuses – bed. You need the strength for when Weir's kiddie decides to show up. As I remember, my best buddy and my best ever second-in-command went into labour earlier than planned."

Closing his eyes, Daniel said quietly, "Jaaack…"