Hank Landry checked his watch one last time, and at 1500 on the dot, the Stargate began to light up. A few moments later, the kawoosh burst through the room and the iris clamped shut until Sergeant Harriman confirmed, "It's SG-1, sir."

"Open the iris."

The metal wings spun open. Mitchell was first through, his head turned back as he continued a conversation with his teammates. "There has to be one," he insisted. "One planet where they're so funny looking you haven't been able to keep a straight face. C'mon, the one guys were blue. And half of them were naked."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow at him, because the Jaffa's face was always straight. It was Daniel who spotted General Landry's grim expression first, and he trailed to a halt on the ramp. Mitchell saw him stop and did the same, followed by Teal'c.

"Welcome home, SG-1," Landry greeted solemnly.

"What's wrong, General?" Daniel asked.

"The Korolev reached the black hole two days ago and came under attach from an unknown vessel. We received a distress call. And no one has been able to reach them since."

~/~

"She's fine, Daniel. You know she's fine." Jack O'Neill's voice on the phone said pretty clearly that he thought the younger man was insane for even bringing it up. "Apollo is gonna get there and have to pry her out of some access tube where she's fixing the whole ship single-handedly with bubblegum and the circuit board out of her cell phone."

"So they'd disabled the ship that was attacking them before they sent the distress call?" Daniel pressed. The thought gave him hope.

There was a brief pause. Then, "No."

"So you have no idea."

"She's fine, Daniel," Jack said again. "Think of all the insane odds she's come through before. Sometimes with SG-1, sometimes all by her lonesome. There are two hundred people on that ship with her. She's not gonna let them down, and they're not gonna let her down. She's fine."

Daniel took a breath, processed that, and told him, "It's okay to admit you're worried about her, Jack."

"I'm not worried! Who's worried?" the older man insisted. "Just you wait, Daniel. This is all gonna end in a happy little bow and you're gonna feel like an ass for doubting her."

"I hope so. I really do." But the knot in his stomach wouldn't go away. "When is Apollo due to arrive?"

"Two days. I'll keep you updated."

"Thanks."

It was going to be a long two days.

~/~

Daniel tapped his foot and picked at his food. He wasn't really hungry, but Mitchell had dragged him to lunch to distract him from… the documents he was too distracted to translate. He hadn't gotten much done all morning.

"You must eat," Teal'c reminded him from across the table.

Daniel took a bite of mashed potatoes and regretted it.

"There's no reason to worry yet," Mitchell said beside him, and for all Daniel knew, that was true. But the acid in his stomach said otherwise.

"SG-1." General Landry pulled out the chair beside Teal'c to join them with his coffee. "SG-22 is analyzing some geological abnormalities on P5X-974. They need additional equipment and some help with setup. It's a gravy run."

"General -"

The base commander held up a hand to stop the archaeologist before he'd even finished the word. "By the time you're done, Apollo will have reached the Korolev and we'll have news. In the meantime, if you're going to give yourself shin splints, it might as well be for a good cause."

The archaeologist's foot stopped tapping.

"You depart at 0900 tomorrow." Landry picked up his coffee and left.

~/~

Landry had been right; P5X-974 was the perfect mission to keep someone busy. The terrain was rocky and heavily sloped, and the gear they carried was fragile. Daniel hadn't had two brain cells to spare on other things as he'd picked his way carefully down the path. SG-22 hadn't given him a chance, either; their instructions had been nonstop for hours.

But that was done, and it was dark. And Daniel stared up into the stars, wondering if he was looking at Sam.

"The path up to the Stargate will likely be more difficult than the path down," Teal'c reminded him quietly from the next sleeping bag over. "You must sleep."

"Am I really the only one who's worried about her, Teal'c?" Daniel asked instead.

"You are not. But worry accomplishes nothing, and we are not in a position to be of assistance to Colonel Carter. Tomorrow, when we have learned more, perhaps that will change."

Daniel blew out a sigh and tried to sleep.

~/~

SG-1 was sweaty and dirty and Daniel's hand was bleeding from a stumble, but before Landry could even greet them, the archaeologist asked, "Any news?"

"Not yet, Doctor Jackson. Report to the infirmary."

~/~

Daniel's foot was tapping again. Teal'c ignored it. Neither one was accomplishing anything, though both stared at the file folders in front of them and occasionally flipped a paper over. Daniel could have gone home – should have gone home – but he wouldn't have fared better there.

The phone on his desk rang, and he snatched it up. "Yeah."

"Is Teal'c with you?"

Fear and hope surged together at Jack's voice, and Daniel caught the Jaffa's eye. "Yeah, Jack. He's here."

"Put me on speaker."

Uncertain, Daniel hit the button and set the receiver back in its cradle. "Okay."

"Do you have news, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

There was silence, and for a brief moment Daniel thought he'd hit the wrong button and disconnected the call. But the display still counted the seconds, and his heart sank.

"Apollo found debris from both ships," Jack said finally. "Korolev is lost with all hands."

Stunned, Daniel could only stare at the phone. She was gone. In the blink of an eye, and he couldn't even begin to process that. Teal'c was quiet, too, his gaze locked on the floor in front of the desk.

"Wait," the archaeologist managed to protest finally. "She, um…."

The phone clicked as Jack hung up.