Chapter 8: Alternatives
No more, God, let it end, Robert Rothman thought to himself as he curled up into a tight ball, trying to ignore the pain shooting up his left arm. He knew that it was useless, he knew that the simple prayer wouldn't accomplish anything, but he had to think it anyway.
He'd gotten out of the room he was in by picking the lock on the door. Patrick had been nice enough to untie him after the last session, and he'd used that to his advantage. Once the door had opened, Robert had been further surprised when he found no guards outside of the room. He'd taken a deep breath and had started walking down the hall towards the armory, when two hands had come out of nowhere to pull him roughly away from the corridor. He'd been turned around, his arms painfully held behind him, and pinned against the cold, corridor wall. Patrick had put pressure on his left arm until Robert had heard the sound of his arm breaking. The excruciating pain that followed had rendered him sufficiently docile so that all Patrick had to do was walk him back to the cell and throw him inside.
Now all Robert could do was lay there and hope for the end. He was confused about what was going on, because he couldn't quite figure out how Maybourne had gotten his plan in motion. He had to have had some help, because he alone couldn't maneuver a sitting president out of office, nor could he single handedly change the course of the SGC. Other, higher positioned people in the government, had to have been involved. Robert hoped that Daniel could figure out who they were. However, whoever had helped Maybourne had to have done it in secret, because the general was doing an admirable job of covering himself. Robert was fairly sure that not everyone at the SGC was aware of what Maybourne was doing.
It had been Robert's hope that if he could get to the armory, to someone who wasn't under Maybourne's 'special' influence, he could get help. He had been a fool to trust that no one was around to guard him. He should have been more careful. Hindsight wasn't going to do him a damn bit of good now.
Robert heard noises behind him and winced. It sounded as if someone was trying to open the locked door with the wrong key. He smiled bitterly at the thought that not even his 'jailers' had enough intelligence to get a simple lock right. The door was slowly eased open, and Robert closed his eyes, knowing that the time had come for him to pay for his earlier mistake. He took a deep breath and held it, waiting for the pain.
Instead, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was softly laid there, with no malice. Robert frowned, opened his eyes and turned his head slightly to the left and found himself face to face with a very concerned Daniel Jackson.
"Robert, are you okay?" Daniel asked.
Robert could see the frown deepen on his friend's face as he caught sight of the cuts and bruises he knew were on his face.
"I'm better now that you're here," Robert replied as Daniel helped him sit up, hissing in pain as Daniel's hand landed on his injured arm. "You too, Teal'c," Robert added when he spied the Jaffa standing guard by the door.
"What's wrong with you arm?"
Robert winced. "I tried to escape and Patrick wasn't very happy with me. How'd you get in here?"
Daniel shook his head and grabbed Robert's good arm, helping the archaeologist up. "The access tunnels from the surface. Rya'c is waiting up there for us, so we better book. I'll explain how we got to be here once we're out of here," Daniel added when Robert opened his mouth to ask more questions.
"So the guards outside are dead?"
"They are unconscious," Teal'c replied. "They will not be so for much longer, however."
Teal'c motioned for Daniel and Robert to stay inside the room as he checked the corridor. A few minutes later, he returned.
"Our presence has been detected, Daniel Jackson. I hear the approaching guards."
"Shit," Daniel exclaimed. "We're going to have to fight our way out of here," he said, and handed Robert a zat gun. "Can you handle this?"
"I don't need my left arm to shoot," Robert quipped, taking the weapon from Daniel. "How far are the access tunnels?"
"They are on the other side of this level," Teal'c informed them, "directly in the path of the incoming guards."
"We don't have much of a choice, so let's go."
Teal'c exited the room first, followed by Robert, then Daniel. They were halfway to the access tunnels when the first shots were fired. Teal'c, Daniel and Robert were armed with zat guns, while the SGC SF's were armed with standard issue, SGC weapons, which included zat guns, automatic weapons and staff weapons. The three intruders held their ground, but suddenly found themselves outnumbered.
"We can't possibly get through that," Robert exclaimed over the sounds of weapon's fire. "We're outnumbered three to one." He looked around the wall he was hiding behind and winced as he saw five more SF's join the fray. "The embarkation room, Daniel, it's on this level. Actually, it's right behind us."
Daniel turned to look at him, frowning. "It'll be even more heavily guarded that it is right here."
Robert shook his head. "Not if all their forces on this level are concentrated on getting to us. Only the group in the control room will have stayed at their posts."
Daniel thought the suggestion over and nodded, a glint in his eye. He immediately made his way over to Teal'c, almost getting hit by a bullet as he crossed the hallway. The two men conferred for a moment, before Daniel started to make his way back to Robert. When Daniel was halfway back to his position, Robert saw him fall. Daniel rolled out of the way, clutching his right thigh, as more shots were fired at the spot he'd occupied. Robert ran to his friend and helped him up, quickly bending down to see a growing red patch of red on Daniel's jeans.
"It was only a graze, Robert, I'm okay. We need to get to the control room and dial Chulak. Teal'c will keep the SF's at bay."
Robert shook his head. "He can't do it by himself, Daniel. I'll stay with him until you're ready for us to go through the gate."
Daniel's eyes narrowed as he thought the suggestion over, then he nodded. "I'll yell when it's time for you and Teal'c to go to the embarkation room. Be careful, okay?"
Robert smiled. "Always."
****
With one last look at his two friends, Daniel made his way to the control room. His heart was hammering against his chest at how badly things had turned out. Sam had been right in telling him not to try this stupid stunt, but he'd had to do it. Even if they died here, Daniel wouldn't regret coming back for Robert. He wanted to wrap his hands around Maybourne's throat for what he'd had his men do to Robert, but Daniel realized that now wasn't the time for revenge. That time would come, and it would be better enjoyed then.
Daniel reached the steps that led up to the control room and paused only long enough to take a deep breath. He took the steps two at a time, his zat gun ready. When he reached the control room, he found himself face to face with Harry Maybourne. Daniel hesitated only momentarily, before firing the zat gun once, sending the General to the floor, convulsing in pain.
"Anyone moves, and I'll shoot him once more," Daniel said to the three other people in the room. "I'm sure you don't want me to kill your fearless leader."
Daniel took small pleasure in seeing Maybourne writhing on the floor in pain, as two of the three technicians rose from their chairs and went to see how the general was doing. The third also stood, but he remained staring at Daniel.
"Dr. Jackson, is that you?"
Daniel frowned and regarded the man. Recognition clicked immediately at the sound of the man's voice. "Davis, you're still here?"
Walter Davis smiled slightly. "Yes, I am. What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to set something right, something that started with General Hammond's death. Isn't that right, Harry?" Daniel asked, turning to the man on the floor who now glared at him.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Jackson, but you're in violation of your parole, not to mention that you're guilty of breaking into a top secret government facility. As soon as I get to my office, I'm going to have the state police come and take you back to prison," Maybourne said.
"I don't think so. If anyone is going to prison, it's you. Walter, did you know that General Maybourne here was holding Dr. Rothman in one of the storage rooms on Level 28 and had authorized for two of his men to beat him senseless until Robert told him where I was?" Daniel asked the still standing technician, whose gaze shifted between Daniel and Maybourne.
"I did no such thing!" Maybourne stated as he attempted to get up off the floor.
"One more move and I'll shoot you, Harry," Daniel said.
"Dr. Rothman is on vacation," Davis replied, looking from Daniel to the general. "I saw him leave a few days ago."
"He was on vacation until last night, when Maybourne's men picked him up. I'll even prove it to you. Robert, come in here a minute," Daniel yelled into the corridor and waited several minutes until Robert carefully made his way up the stairs to the control room. "Does he look like he was on vacation?"
All eyes, except Maybourne's, turned towards Robert. Daniel heard Davis gasp as he took in the archaeologist's state.
"Dr. Rothman, you look horrible?" Davis said.
Rothman chuckled humorlessly and pointed his zat gun at Maybourne. "I feel like crap, Walter, all compliments of Harry and his two agents, not to mention the other two who attacked me, Dr. Langford and Dr. Littlefield. How are they, Daniel? In the excitement, I forgot to ask you."
"They're okay, Robert, don't worry. You see, Walter, I'm not lying, but I don't have any concrete proof yet. For right now, step away from the computers and join the general on the floor over there," Daniel said. "Make sure they don't make any sudden moves, Robert. If they do, shoot Maybourne."
"My pleasure, Daniel," Robert replied.
Daniel made his way to the computers and began to type in a series of commands. A short while later, the Stargate began to revolve, locking each of the seven chevrons of the destination it'd been given. Daniel typed in some more commands, and the blast doors in front of the control room began to descend. A few commands later, and the entire bank of computer screens went dead.
"It's been nice chatting with you, Harry. Believe me, this won't be the last time you hear from me," Daniel said, smirking at Maybourne's glare. "Davis, I meant what I said. Keep an open mind until I can prove that I didn't kill General Hammond."
Daniel turned towards Robert. "Come on, let's go get Teal'c and blow this joint."
Several minutes later, the two humans and one Jaffa ran into the embarkation room, weapons fire following them. Daniel immediately closed the doors as they reached the room and winced as he heard Teal'c's zat gun discharge three times, aimed at the three remaining people in the room.
"I have told Rya'c where to meet us," Teal'c intoned.
"Great, let's go," Daniel said as the three of them quickly ran up the ramp and into the wormhole.
****
"Get the blast doors up!" Maybourne yelled as he got up off the floor.
From his position in front of the computers, Walter Davis grimaced. "I can't do that, sir. The dialing computers have been locked out."
"What do you mean, locked out? Jackson is an archaeologist, he doesn't know how to lock out the computers."
"He does now, sir."
Walter typed various commands at the prompt on the screen, and came up with the same answer every time: access denied. They were going to have to reboot the entire system and run off their backups so they could run a diagnostic of the primary dialing system to try to isolate the commands Daniel Jackson had typed in to lock them out. It was a lengthy process and inwardly, Walter smiled that the doctor had been able to pull it off. He had no idea what was going on, but he had always liked the mild mannered archaeologist and was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for right now.
"Dr. Jackson has completely locked out the dialing system, sir."
"Does that mean we have no record of where they went?" Maybourne asked, coming up to stand behind Davis.
"I'm afraid so, sir."
"Very well, get to work on it. I want that information as soon as possible."
"What the hell was that, General?"
Davis jumped a little at the new voice and kept his eyes glued to the computer screen in front of him.
"Senator, are you okay?" Maybourne asked.
Walter turned his head slightly to see Senator Lawrence Irving descending the stairs that led up to the briefing room. The Senator looked perplexed and angry.
"Who was that character and what did he want?"
Walter noticed the general's pause before his reply and wondered what that was all about. What was going on between Maybourne and Jackson?
"That was Daniel Jackson, the man who killed General Hammond. He was let out of jail on parole and decided to come and get his revenge against those he sees as responsible for him getting caught. He's a lunatic, sir. My teams will find him and bring him back to face his punishment."
The Senator was so quiet that Walter wondered whether the man was still there.
"Is that all, General? Would you care to explain how this Jackson character was able to get into this, the most secure of facilities, not to mention get into the control room, dial out and then lock the dialing computers so they can't be used?"
Maybourne was quiet for a long time. "Jackson used to be a member of SG-1, Senator, before General Hammond's death."
"So that man knows this facility inside and out?" Senator Irving asked.
"He used to, Senator. He's been in prison for twelve years, so a lot of things have changed since then. Dr. Rothman has obviously been corroborating with him and giving him information about this facility."
To Davis, Maybourne's words seem rushed and desperate. Not for the first time, he wished that he knew what was going on.
"So then Jackson's claim that you have been holding Dr. Rothman prisoner in this facility was false?" the Senator asked.
"Yes, it was. I would never hold a member of this facility against their will. Dr. Rothman was supposed to be on leave. He apparently only used that as an excuse to meet with Jackson and bring him back here."
The Senator did not say anything more and after a little while, Walter heard the man's footsteps as he returned to the briefing room. He wasn't given a chance to think about what had been said, because Maybourne's face was suddenly beside his.
"Get these computers working, Davis."
As the general made his way out of the control room, Walter sighed. What the hell is going on?
****
Senator Irving sat on one of the briefing room chairs, his brow knitted in concentration. He'd heard of the name Daniel Jackson before, but he couldn't quite remember where or in what context. It wasn't entirely related to George Hammond, of that Lawrence was sure.
He and George had been friends in college, so Lawrence had paid careful attention to the trial of George's murderer. He didn't remember many of the details about it, just that the evidence had seen rather sketchy and circumstantial. Lawrence had thought at the time that the man on trial for murder hardly seemed like a murderer. The fact that the man claimed he was innocent should have turned more heads, but it didn't. Everyone was eager to convict the archaeologist, so no one had questioned anything. No one with the power to help him, at least.
Lawrence had never liked General Maybourne, especially when it was time for his yearly review of the Stargate program at Cheyenne Mountain. The man was always annoying and smug during Lawrence's visits. He was the liaison between the White House and the SGC, which meant that he had to put up with Maybourne on a monthly basis. Lawrence would much rather deal with Jack O'Neill, but since the man was transferred to the other base, he was hardly on Earth anymore. Lawrence had always resented O'Neill's transfer, which had made him dislike Maybourne even more.
When Jackson had come into the control room, Lawrence had been at the foot of the stairs, ready to go down to talk to Maybourne. The man's harsh manner towards Maybourne had drawn Lawrence's attention, if only because someone else seemed to dislike the general as much as he did. When Jackson mentioned George Hammond, Lawrence had really paid attention. That was when the name had clicked in his head, and he remembered that the man threatening Maybourne was the same one who'd been convicted of killing George.
Lawrence had been about to descend the stairs once again, until Jackson's next comments. Jackson's comments about Maybourne and Dr. Rothman had intrigued Lawrence, because they were outright accusations. What had he said about Rothman? That Maybourne had him stashed in a storage room and beaten? Why would Maybourne want to do that to one of his own men? He'd felt like going down to the control room to ask for proof, when Jackson had called Rothman to the control room, and Lawrence had heard from Rothman's own mouth what Maybourne had done to him.
That had been enough to make Lawrence stay where he was, and think about all he'd heard. Whatever the reason, Lawrence was sure that what was going on with the two archaeologists would have something to do with George's death. Because of that reason alone, Lawrence was willing to investigate it, no matter what it took.
****
"Dad, thank you for coming," Samantha Carter said as she hugged her father, who had just stepped out of the Stargate. "It's good to see you." She nodded to the team guarding the gate. "Stand down."
"It's good to see you too, Sammie. I came as soon as I could," Jacob replied. "Care to tell me what's going on?"
"Did you bring the memory device?"
Jacob held up a small case for Sam to see. "This is our newest model, complete with imaging and recording capabilities. What do you need it for?"
Sam sighed. "It's a long story, Dad. Let's get to Jack's office so we can both explain it to you."
Sam took her father's arm and was about to guide him away from the Stargate, when an alarm suddenly went off.
"We have an incoming traveler, Colonel. It's from Chulak."
"Be on alert, just in case," Sam ordered and, along with Jacob, turned to face the Stargate.
When the wormhole established, it took a small while before any visitors came through. When they did, Sam momentarily held her breath at the sight of one Jaffa and two humans who looked like they'd been through a war zone.
"What the hell happened to you?"
The tallest of the humans looked up at her and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Sam. You were right, we shouldn't have gone to the SGC. But we got Robert out, see?" he said, pointing to the other human, the one who looked a lot worse off.
"Daniel?" she stared at him, unwilling to believe that the man standing in front of her was indeed the archaeologist she had known for so many years.
"Yeah? What's wrong, Sam?"
Sam smiled sheepishly. "Nothing, you just look so different, Daniel."
Daniel's smile faltered a bit. "Desperate measures and all of that, you know."
Sam nodded and walked up to the platform to meet them. "Dr. Rothman, you look like you need medical attention."
Robert nodded at her. "Some painkillers would be nice too."
"Come to think of it, all three of you look like hell. Teal'c are you okay?" she asked, as she noted the blood on his arm.
"My symbiote will heal the injury, Colonel Carter," Teal'c replied. "Dr. Rothman is the one in need of attention and I believe that Daniel Jackson was injured as well.
"It was just a graze, Teal'c," Daniel replied.
Sam held up her hands, cutting off the arguments. "We're all going to the infirmary, right now. You can deal with Dr. Frasier when you get there."
"Uh, oh. she's still around?" Daniel asked in mock fright. "I think I'll go back to the SGC now."
"Very funny, Daniel." Sam began to lead the limping men off of the platform and towards the infirmary. She stopped and turned to Daniel. "Shouldn't we wait for the SG team that Maybourne is sure to send after you? Just because you went to Chulak first doesn't mean that they won't figure out you eventually came here."
"The SGC isn't going to be dialing anywhere for a long time, Sam. I sort of crashed their dialing computers. They'll have to load the backups and put those in place before restoring the one I locked up."
"Nice, Daniel, very nice. So we have a little time to play with. Captain Hastings, if any of the Earth based SG teams, or General Maybourne, come through the Stargate, immediately notify General O'Neill or myself and keep them here. Understood?"
"Yes, Colonel."
"Are they going to be okay with that, Sam?" Daniel asked, glancing at the Marines.
"It's okay, Daniel, they're loyal to Jack, not Maybourne. Now let's get to the infirmary. Dad, the memory device I asked for is for Daniel," Sam said, rejoining her father.
"Hi, Jacob," Daniel said from where he was helping Robert. "Good to see you again."
"You too, Danny. What do you need the memory device for?"
Daniel sighed. "I need it to find out what really happened the day General Hammond was killed, because I don't think I killed him. The memories are there, I just can't get to them."
Jacob nodded. "This should be able to help you then. We should get to it as soon as possible, in case Maybourne decides to crash the party."
"As soon as Janet finishes poking and prodding me, I'm all yours."
****
Jack O'Neill made his way down to the infirmary as quickly as he could. He had just talked to Sam over the phone and he'd decided he wanted to be in the infirmary so he could hear the tale for himself. He wasn't pleased to know that Teal'c, Daniel and Robert were injured, but he was grateful that they were alive. His stomach was tied up in knots, because he had no idea what to say to Daniel or how to act around him after all this time. Could it be just like old times? Jack didn't think so, because he was sure that Daniel had changed just as much as he had. They were both completely different men than they had been, and that would make whatever friendship still remained between them a bit harder to maintain. Jack hoped that it wouldn't be impossible, though.
As he reached the infirmary, he heard Teal'c's voice.
"I do not believe that General Maybourne will strike right away. He must lie low and regroup."
"What makes you so sure of that?" Jack asked as he entered the infirmary to find Teal'c, Daniel and Robert all lying on hospital beds in various stages of undress, while Dr. Frasier examined them. Sam and her father were sitting to one side, beside Daniel's bed.
"O'Neill, it is good to see you again. I believe that General Maybourne will not attack right away because Daniel Jackson informed the technicians in the control room about what the general had done to Dr. Rothman. If he does anything suspicious now, it will sever to confirm the doubt Daniel Jackson placed in them."
Jack nodded. "Good point."
"Besides, Maybourne isn't going to be able to send anyone anywhere, not until he can get the dialing computers back up," Daniel added, causing Jack to finally turn towards him.
Sam had told him that Daniel looked entirely different than he had before, but it was still hard to actually see it. The longish hair and the bangs flopping onto the man's forehead were the only familiar things about him. Even the fact that Daniel wasn't wearing glasses screamed to Jack that the man on the bed was someone else. He frowned, when he noticed that Daniel was only wearing his boxer shorts and had a bandage wrapped around his right thigh.
"Did you get yourself shot, Daniel?" Jack asked, moving towards Daniel's bed.
"Something like that, but it's not too bad. Teal'c said that it was okay for us to come here, Jack. I hope you don't mind. Being here involves you with me and my crime and all of that, you know."
"Daniel, I would have been involved long ago, if only you'd let me. But you shut us all out," Jack said, his voice slightly harsher than he'd intended.
"I'm sorry about that, but there was nothing you could do. Not then, anyway."
"Why didn't you give me the chance to decide that for myself, instead of making the decision for me? Didn't you trust me enough?"
Jack saw Daniel's mouth open, and then close. He finally sighed. "It wasn't that, Jack."
"What was it, then?"
"Jack, let's not do this now, okay?"
Jack sighed. He ran his hands through his hair and fixed Daniel with a look. "Fine. I've waited twelve years for the explanation; I can wait a few more hours." He turned to Rothman. "How are you doing, Dr. Rothman? You look worse of all."
Robert grimaced. "I'm doing just dandy, General. Maybourne had some fun having me beat up to get information"
"He needs his rest is what he needs," Dr. Frasier said, speaking up for the first time. "Dr. Rothman, you're pretty beat up, not to mention that fracture in your arm. I'm going to give you some sedatives to put you out for at least 12 hours so you can rest, is that understood?"
Robert's eyes widened. "You can't do it now," he said, "I want to be there when Daniel submits himself to that Tok'ra memory thingy."
Janet was about to say something, when O'Neill beat him to it.
"Daniel isn't doing anything right now, except sleep and get better, the same as you, Dr. Rothman. Teal'c looks like he needs some time to meditate, so why don't we put off the memory extraction until tomorrow?"
Jack knew that it was important for them to know what really happened to General Hammond so they could better prepare to fight Maybourne, but he didn't want Robert, Daniel or Teal'c to do anything right now but rest.
"Jacob, if you can't stay, you can teach Sam how to use the device and leave it with us. We'll return it when we're done with it."
Jacob smiled at Jack. "Are you kidding, and miss this show? Not on your life. Besides, Sam still has a long story to tell me about what's going on, don't you Sammie?"
Sam smiled, slightly embarrassed. "Sure thing, Dad. Why don't we go get something to eat and I'll tell you everything. Daniel can fill you in on everything I miss tomorrow, right Daniel?"
"Right," the archaeologist replied.
"Good, then. Dr. Frasier, get Dr. Rothman's arm in a cast and sedated so he can feel better tomorrow. Teal'c, you feel free and do that Kel'no'reem thing you do while Daniel and I have a nice chat."
Janet nodded and proceeded to have Robert's gurney moved to another part of the infirmary so a cast could be put in his arm. With one last look at Jack, she left the room.
"So Daniel."
"Jack."
"Do I get that explanation now?"
Jack sat on the chair beside Daniel's bed and stared intently at the younger man. He saw Daniel look away from him and focus his attention on a point on the opposite wall.
"What do you want me to say?" Daniel finally asked.
"I don't want you to say anything, Daniel. I want you to tell me why you took it upon yourself to decide that we weren't going to get involved. What gave you the right?"
"It was my life, Jack!"
"It was our life too, Daniel. Did you ever consider that?"
Jack saw Daniel turn his face towards him, his eyes slightly wider and brighter.
"The team was never the same after you went to prison. Hell, none of us were ever the same. Having you away from the SGC would have been different if we could have at least kept in contact. However, you decided that wasn't going to happen. What's worse, you didn't even bother to tell us why you just shut us out."
Daniel sighed and tightened his fingers around the thin sheet that covered him.
"Why, Daniel?"
Daniel's mouth curved up into a small smile. He closed his eyes momentarily, but when he opened them, he focused entirely on Jack.
"Why? I was selfish, okay? I didn't want you to look at me in there and feel guilty at not being able to get me out. Or worse yet, I didn't want you to see me and believe that I could have possibly done what I was convicted of. There, Jack, I said it. Are you happy?"
Daniel's tone gave Jack a clue about his state of mind and he waited a bit before replying.
"I would never have thought that, Daniel. You should have known that. You should have had more faith in me, in Sam and Teal'c, to let us help. We never would have believed that you could beat Hammond to death with a metal vase."
"I missed you guys a lot, you know. I know that you couldn't be there, but I still missed you."
Now it was Jack's turn to sigh. "It was a lousy situation, Daniel. I think we all did what we thought we had to."
"Yeah, I guess we did," Daniel replied, smiling a little bit.
"You crashed the SGC's computers, huh?"
Daniel's smile widened as he looked at his friend. Jack looked older and greyer, but his face still had the same friendliness towards him that it had always had. That alone made Daniel feel immediately better for having come to the base. "Yeah. that was fun. I didn't think I could do it in such a short amount of time."
"Where did you learn to do that?"
Daniel's smile faded, and his expression became guarded. "I had a lot of extra time in prison and not enough to do. Computers were available at the library so I took advantage of them."
"I bet you were at the library a lot."
"Not for what you might think, Jack. However, after a couple of years, it got a bit better."
"Yeah, I bet. I have to admit, I miss the old Daniel."
Daniel's head came up from his examination of his fingers, his gaze focusing solely on Jack, which made him slightly uncomfortable.
"Shyness is a weakness in prison, Jack. You told me that, remember, while we were on Hadante? I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I quickly learned. This," and he pointed to his body, "was the only way to ensure that I wouldn't become another victim of the prison system, at least not without a hell of a fight. I wanted to survive to prove my innocence and here I am."
Jack couldn't help but notice the bitterness and sadness in Daniel's tone as he spoke. He chastised himself for being so insensitive, but couldn't lie and say that the man sitting on the bed in front of him was the same as he had been when Jack had seen him last.
"Don't get defensive, Daniel," Jack said, his voice carefully neutral. "I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, just that it's different. You're still you in there, no matter how much prison life changed you. You're still my friend, no matter what. If you still want the friendship, that is."
Daniel, who had turned his head away, turned it back to face him again. "I never stopped wanting your friendship, Jack, even when I shut you guys out."
"That's good to hear, Danny boy," Jack said, falling back into that familiarity he'd had with Daniel. "So then you do have information that helps us with this situation?"
"Yeah, I do. I told Sam some of it, but we should be able to go over it as soon as Rya'c gets here. He has my laptop with the documents in it."
Jack nodded and tentatively reached out to put a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "Rest, okay? We'll talk tomorrow morning."
Jack got up and was halfway to the door, when Daniel's voice stopped him.
"Thanks, Jack."
Jack turned around and smiled at Daniel. "Any time, Danny, any time."
No more, God, let it end, Robert Rothman thought to himself as he curled up into a tight ball, trying to ignore the pain shooting up his left arm. He knew that it was useless, he knew that the simple prayer wouldn't accomplish anything, but he had to think it anyway.
He'd gotten out of the room he was in by picking the lock on the door. Patrick had been nice enough to untie him after the last session, and he'd used that to his advantage. Once the door had opened, Robert had been further surprised when he found no guards outside of the room. He'd taken a deep breath and had started walking down the hall towards the armory, when two hands had come out of nowhere to pull him roughly away from the corridor. He'd been turned around, his arms painfully held behind him, and pinned against the cold, corridor wall. Patrick had put pressure on his left arm until Robert had heard the sound of his arm breaking. The excruciating pain that followed had rendered him sufficiently docile so that all Patrick had to do was walk him back to the cell and throw him inside.
Now all Robert could do was lay there and hope for the end. He was confused about what was going on, because he couldn't quite figure out how Maybourne had gotten his plan in motion. He had to have had some help, because he alone couldn't maneuver a sitting president out of office, nor could he single handedly change the course of the SGC. Other, higher positioned people in the government, had to have been involved. Robert hoped that Daniel could figure out who they were. However, whoever had helped Maybourne had to have done it in secret, because the general was doing an admirable job of covering himself. Robert was fairly sure that not everyone at the SGC was aware of what Maybourne was doing.
It had been Robert's hope that if he could get to the armory, to someone who wasn't under Maybourne's 'special' influence, he could get help. He had been a fool to trust that no one was around to guard him. He should have been more careful. Hindsight wasn't going to do him a damn bit of good now.
Robert heard noises behind him and winced. It sounded as if someone was trying to open the locked door with the wrong key. He smiled bitterly at the thought that not even his 'jailers' had enough intelligence to get a simple lock right. The door was slowly eased open, and Robert closed his eyes, knowing that the time had come for him to pay for his earlier mistake. He took a deep breath and held it, waiting for the pain.
Instead, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was softly laid there, with no malice. Robert frowned, opened his eyes and turned his head slightly to the left and found himself face to face with a very concerned Daniel Jackson.
"Robert, are you okay?" Daniel asked.
Robert could see the frown deepen on his friend's face as he caught sight of the cuts and bruises he knew were on his face.
"I'm better now that you're here," Robert replied as Daniel helped him sit up, hissing in pain as Daniel's hand landed on his injured arm. "You too, Teal'c," Robert added when he spied the Jaffa standing guard by the door.
"What's wrong with you arm?"
Robert winced. "I tried to escape and Patrick wasn't very happy with me. How'd you get in here?"
Daniel shook his head and grabbed Robert's good arm, helping the archaeologist up. "The access tunnels from the surface. Rya'c is waiting up there for us, so we better book. I'll explain how we got to be here once we're out of here," Daniel added when Robert opened his mouth to ask more questions.
"So the guards outside are dead?"
"They are unconscious," Teal'c replied. "They will not be so for much longer, however."
Teal'c motioned for Daniel and Robert to stay inside the room as he checked the corridor. A few minutes later, he returned.
"Our presence has been detected, Daniel Jackson. I hear the approaching guards."
"Shit," Daniel exclaimed. "We're going to have to fight our way out of here," he said, and handed Robert a zat gun. "Can you handle this?"
"I don't need my left arm to shoot," Robert quipped, taking the weapon from Daniel. "How far are the access tunnels?"
"They are on the other side of this level," Teal'c informed them, "directly in the path of the incoming guards."
"We don't have much of a choice, so let's go."
Teal'c exited the room first, followed by Robert, then Daniel. They were halfway to the access tunnels when the first shots were fired. Teal'c, Daniel and Robert were armed with zat guns, while the SGC SF's were armed with standard issue, SGC weapons, which included zat guns, automatic weapons and staff weapons. The three intruders held their ground, but suddenly found themselves outnumbered.
"We can't possibly get through that," Robert exclaimed over the sounds of weapon's fire. "We're outnumbered three to one." He looked around the wall he was hiding behind and winced as he saw five more SF's join the fray. "The embarkation room, Daniel, it's on this level. Actually, it's right behind us."
Daniel turned to look at him, frowning. "It'll be even more heavily guarded that it is right here."
Robert shook his head. "Not if all their forces on this level are concentrated on getting to us. Only the group in the control room will have stayed at their posts."
Daniel thought the suggestion over and nodded, a glint in his eye. He immediately made his way over to Teal'c, almost getting hit by a bullet as he crossed the hallway. The two men conferred for a moment, before Daniel started to make his way back to Robert. When Daniel was halfway back to his position, Robert saw him fall. Daniel rolled out of the way, clutching his right thigh, as more shots were fired at the spot he'd occupied. Robert ran to his friend and helped him up, quickly bending down to see a growing red patch of red on Daniel's jeans.
"It was only a graze, Robert, I'm okay. We need to get to the control room and dial Chulak. Teal'c will keep the SF's at bay."
Robert shook his head. "He can't do it by himself, Daniel. I'll stay with him until you're ready for us to go through the gate."
Daniel's eyes narrowed as he thought the suggestion over, then he nodded. "I'll yell when it's time for you and Teal'c to go to the embarkation room. Be careful, okay?"
Robert smiled. "Always."
****
With one last look at his two friends, Daniel made his way to the control room. His heart was hammering against his chest at how badly things had turned out. Sam had been right in telling him not to try this stupid stunt, but he'd had to do it. Even if they died here, Daniel wouldn't regret coming back for Robert. He wanted to wrap his hands around Maybourne's throat for what he'd had his men do to Robert, but Daniel realized that now wasn't the time for revenge. That time would come, and it would be better enjoyed then.
Daniel reached the steps that led up to the control room and paused only long enough to take a deep breath. He took the steps two at a time, his zat gun ready. When he reached the control room, he found himself face to face with Harry Maybourne. Daniel hesitated only momentarily, before firing the zat gun once, sending the General to the floor, convulsing in pain.
"Anyone moves, and I'll shoot him once more," Daniel said to the three other people in the room. "I'm sure you don't want me to kill your fearless leader."
Daniel took small pleasure in seeing Maybourne writhing on the floor in pain, as two of the three technicians rose from their chairs and went to see how the general was doing. The third also stood, but he remained staring at Daniel.
"Dr. Jackson, is that you?"
Daniel frowned and regarded the man. Recognition clicked immediately at the sound of the man's voice. "Davis, you're still here?"
Walter Davis smiled slightly. "Yes, I am. What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to set something right, something that started with General Hammond's death. Isn't that right, Harry?" Daniel asked, turning to the man on the floor who now glared at him.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Jackson, but you're in violation of your parole, not to mention that you're guilty of breaking into a top secret government facility. As soon as I get to my office, I'm going to have the state police come and take you back to prison," Maybourne said.
"I don't think so. If anyone is going to prison, it's you. Walter, did you know that General Maybourne here was holding Dr. Rothman in one of the storage rooms on Level 28 and had authorized for two of his men to beat him senseless until Robert told him where I was?" Daniel asked the still standing technician, whose gaze shifted between Daniel and Maybourne.
"I did no such thing!" Maybourne stated as he attempted to get up off the floor.
"One more move and I'll shoot you, Harry," Daniel said.
"Dr. Rothman is on vacation," Davis replied, looking from Daniel to the general. "I saw him leave a few days ago."
"He was on vacation until last night, when Maybourne's men picked him up. I'll even prove it to you. Robert, come in here a minute," Daniel yelled into the corridor and waited several minutes until Robert carefully made his way up the stairs to the control room. "Does he look like he was on vacation?"
All eyes, except Maybourne's, turned towards Robert. Daniel heard Davis gasp as he took in the archaeologist's state.
"Dr. Rothman, you look horrible?" Davis said.
Rothman chuckled humorlessly and pointed his zat gun at Maybourne. "I feel like crap, Walter, all compliments of Harry and his two agents, not to mention the other two who attacked me, Dr. Langford and Dr. Littlefield. How are they, Daniel? In the excitement, I forgot to ask you."
"They're okay, Robert, don't worry. You see, Walter, I'm not lying, but I don't have any concrete proof yet. For right now, step away from the computers and join the general on the floor over there," Daniel said. "Make sure they don't make any sudden moves, Robert. If they do, shoot Maybourne."
"My pleasure, Daniel," Robert replied.
Daniel made his way to the computers and began to type in a series of commands. A short while later, the Stargate began to revolve, locking each of the seven chevrons of the destination it'd been given. Daniel typed in some more commands, and the blast doors in front of the control room began to descend. A few commands later, and the entire bank of computer screens went dead.
"It's been nice chatting with you, Harry. Believe me, this won't be the last time you hear from me," Daniel said, smirking at Maybourne's glare. "Davis, I meant what I said. Keep an open mind until I can prove that I didn't kill General Hammond."
Daniel turned towards Robert. "Come on, let's go get Teal'c and blow this joint."
Several minutes later, the two humans and one Jaffa ran into the embarkation room, weapons fire following them. Daniel immediately closed the doors as they reached the room and winced as he heard Teal'c's zat gun discharge three times, aimed at the three remaining people in the room.
"I have told Rya'c where to meet us," Teal'c intoned.
"Great, let's go," Daniel said as the three of them quickly ran up the ramp and into the wormhole.
****
"Get the blast doors up!" Maybourne yelled as he got up off the floor.
From his position in front of the computers, Walter Davis grimaced. "I can't do that, sir. The dialing computers have been locked out."
"What do you mean, locked out? Jackson is an archaeologist, he doesn't know how to lock out the computers."
"He does now, sir."
Walter typed various commands at the prompt on the screen, and came up with the same answer every time: access denied. They were going to have to reboot the entire system and run off their backups so they could run a diagnostic of the primary dialing system to try to isolate the commands Daniel Jackson had typed in to lock them out. It was a lengthy process and inwardly, Walter smiled that the doctor had been able to pull it off. He had no idea what was going on, but he had always liked the mild mannered archaeologist and was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for right now.
"Dr. Jackson has completely locked out the dialing system, sir."
"Does that mean we have no record of where they went?" Maybourne asked, coming up to stand behind Davis.
"I'm afraid so, sir."
"Very well, get to work on it. I want that information as soon as possible."
"What the hell was that, General?"
Davis jumped a little at the new voice and kept his eyes glued to the computer screen in front of him.
"Senator, are you okay?" Maybourne asked.
Walter turned his head slightly to see Senator Lawrence Irving descending the stairs that led up to the briefing room. The Senator looked perplexed and angry.
"Who was that character and what did he want?"
Walter noticed the general's pause before his reply and wondered what that was all about. What was going on between Maybourne and Jackson?
"That was Daniel Jackson, the man who killed General Hammond. He was let out of jail on parole and decided to come and get his revenge against those he sees as responsible for him getting caught. He's a lunatic, sir. My teams will find him and bring him back to face his punishment."
The Senator was so quiet that Walter wondered whether the man was still there.
"Is that all, General? Would you care to explain how this Jackson character was able to get into this, the most secure of facilities, not to mention get into the control room, dial out and then lock the dialing computers so they can't be used?"
Maybourne was quiet for a long time. "Jackson used to be a member of SG-1, Senator, before General Hammond's death."
"So that man knows this facility inside and out?" Senator Irving asked.
"He used to, Senator. He's been in prison for twelve years, so a lot of things have changed since then. Dr. Rothman has obviously been corroborating with him and giving him information about this facility."
To Davis, Maybourne's words seem rushed and desperate. Not for the first time, he wished that he knew what was going on.
"So then Jackson's claim that you have been holding Dr. Rothman prisoner in this facility was false?" the Senator asked.
"Yes, it was. I would never hold a member of this facility against their will. Dr. Rothman was supposed to be on leave. He apparently only used that as an excuse to meet with Jackson and bring him back here."
The Senator did not say anything more and after a little while, Walter heard the man's footsteps as he returned to the briefing room. He wasn't given a chance to think about what had been said, because Maybourne's face was suddenly beside his.
"Get these computers working, Davis."
As the general made his way out of the control room, Walter sighed. What the hell is going on?
****
Senator Irving sat on one of the briefing room chairs, his brow knitted in concentration. He'd heard of the name Daniel Jackson before, but he couldn't quite remember where or in what context. It wasn't entirely related to George Hammond, of that Lawrence was sure.
He and George had been friends in college, so Lawrence had paid careful attention to the trial of George's murderer. He didn't remember many of the details about it, just that the evidence had seen rather sketchy and circumstantial. Lawrence had thought at the time that the man on trial for murder hardly seemed like a murderer. The fact that the man claimed he was innocent should have turned more heads, but it didn't. Everyone was eager to convict the archaeologist, so no one had questioned anything. No one with the power to help him, at least.
Lawrence had never liked General Maybourne, especially when it was time for his yearly review of the Stargate program at Cheyenne Mountain. The man was always annoying and smug during Lawrence's visits. He was the liaison between the White House and the SGC, which meant that he had to put up with Maybourne on a monthly basis. Lawrence would much rather deal with Jack O'Neill, but since the man was transferred to the other base, he was hardly on Earth anymore. Lawrence had always resented O'Neill's transfer, which had made him dislike Maybourne even more.
When Jackson had come into the control room, Lawrence had been at the foot of the stairs, ready to go down to talk to Maybourne. The man's harsh manner towards Maybourne had drawn Lawrence's attention, if only because someone else seemed to dislike the general as much as he did. When Jackson mentioned George Hammond, Lawrence had really paid attention. That was when the name had clicked in his head, and he remembered that the man threatening Maybourne was the same one who'd been convicted of killing George.
Lawrence had been about to descend the stairs once again, until Jackson's next comments. Jackson's comments about Maybourne and Dr. Rothman had intrigued Lawrence, because they were outright accusations. What had he said about Rothman? That Maybourne had him stashed in a storage room and beaten? Why would Maybourne want to do that to one of his own men? He'd felt like going down to the control room to ask for proof, when Jackson had called Rothman to the control room, and Lawrence had heard from Rothman's own mouth what Maybourne had done to him.
That had been enough to make Lawrence stay where he was, and think about all he'd heard. Whatever the reason, Lawrence was sure that what was going on with the two archaeologists would have something to do with George's death. Because of that reason alone, Lawrence was willing to investigate it, no matter what it took.
****
"Dad, thank you for coming," Samantha Carter said as she hugged her father, who had just stepped out of the Stargate. "It's good to see you." She nodded to the team guarding the gate. "Stand down."
"It's good to see you too, Sammie. I came as soon as I could," Jacob replied. "Care to tell me what's going on?"
"Did you bring the memory device?"
Jacob held up a small case for Sam to see. "This is our newest model, complete with imaging and recording capabilities. What do you need it for?"
Sam sighed. "It's a long story, Dad. Let's get to Jack's office so we can both explain it to you."
Sam took her father's arm and was about to guide him away from the Stargate, when an alarm suddenly went off.
"We have an incoming traveler, Colonel. It's from Chulak."
"Be on alert, just in case," Sam ordered and, along with Jacob, turned to face the Stargate.
When the wormhole established, it took a small while before any visitors came through. When they did, Sam momentarily held her breath at the sight of one Jaffa and two humans who looked like they'd been through a war zone.
"What the hell happened to you?"
The tallest of the humans looked up at her and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Sam. You were right, we shouldn't have gone to the SGC. But we got Robert out, see?" he said, pointing to the other human, the one who looked a lot worse off.
"Daniel?" she stared at him, unwilling to believe that the man standing in front of her was indeed the archaeologist she had known for so many years.
"Yeah? What's wrong, Sam?"
Sam smiled sheepishly. "Nothing, you just look so different, Daniel."
Daniel's smile faltered a bit. "Desperate measures and all of that, you know."
Sam nodded and walked up to the platform to meet them. "Dr. Rothman, you look like you need medical attention."
Robert nodded at her. "Some painkillers would be nice too."
"Come to think of it, all three of you look like hell. Teal'c are you okay?" she asked, as she noted the blood on his arm.
"My symbiote will heal the injury, Colonel Carter," Teal'c replied. "Dr. Rothman is the one in need of attention and I believe that Daniel Jackson was injured as well.
"It was just a graze, Teal'c," Daniel replied.
Sam held up her hands, cutting off the arguments. "We're all going to the infirmary, right now. You can deal with Dr. Frasier when you get there."
"Uh, oh. she's still around?" Daniel asked in mock fright. "I think I'll go back to the SGC now."
"Very funny, Daniel." Sam began to lead the limping men off of the platform and towards the infirmary. She stopped and turned to Daniel. "Shouldn't we wait for the SG team that Maybourne is sure to send after you? Just because you went to Chulak first doesn't mean that they won't figure out you eventually came here."
"The SGC isn't going to be dialing anywhere for a long time, Sam. I sort of crashed their dialing computers. They'll have to load the backups and put those in place before restoring the one I locked up."
"Nice, Daniel, very nice. So we have a little time to play with. Captain Hastings, if any of the Earth based SG teams, or General Maybourne, come through the Stargate, immediately notify General O'Neill or myself and keep them here. Understood?"
"Yes, Colonel."
"Are they going to be okay with that, Sam?" Daniel asked, glancing at the Marines.
"It's okay, Daniel, they're loyal to Jack, not Maybourne. Now let's get to the infirmary. Dad, the memory device I asked for is for Daniel," Sam said, rejoining her father.
"Hi, Jacob," Daniel said from where he was helping Robert. "Good to see you again."
"You too, Danny. What do you need the memory device for?"
Daniel sighed. "I need it to find out what really happened the day General Hammond was killed, because I don't think I killed him. The memories are there, I just can't get to them."
Jacob nodded. "This should be able to help you then. We should get to it as soon as possible, in case Maybourne decides to crash the party."
"As soon as Janet finishes poking and prodding me, I'm all yours."
****
Jack O'Neill made his way down to the infirmary as quickly as he could. He had just talked to Sam over the phone and he'd decided he wanted to be in the infirmary so he could hear the tale for himself. He wasn't pleased to know that Teal'c, Daniel and Robert were injured, but he was grateful that they were alive. His stomach was tied up in knots, because he had no idea what to say to Daniel or how to act around him after all this time. Could it be just like old times? Jack didn't think so, because he was sure that Daniel had changed just as much as he had. They were both completely different men than they had been, and that would make whatever friendship still remained between them a bit harder to maintain. Jack hoped that it wouldn't be impossible, though.
As he reached the infirmary, he heard Teal'c's voice.
"I do not believe that General Maybourne will strike right away. He must lie low and regroup."
"What makes you so sure of that?" Jack asked as he entered the infirmary to find Teal'c, Daniel and Robert all lying on hospital beds in various stages of undress, while Dr. Frasier examined them. Sam and her father were sitting to one side, beside Daniel's bed.
"O'Neill, it is good to see you again. I believe that General Maybourne will not attack right away because Daniel Jackson informed the technicians in the control room about what the general had done to Dr. Rothman. If he does anything suspicious now, it will sever to confirm the doubt Daniel Jackson placed in them."
Jack nodded. "Good point."
"Besides, Maybourne isn't going to be able to send anyone anywhere, not until he can get the dialing computers back up," Daniel added, causing Jack to finally turn towards him.
Sam had told him that Daniel looked entirely different than he had before, but it was still hard to actually see it. The longish hair and the bangs flopping onto the man's forehead were the only familiar things about him. Even the fact that Daniel wasn't wearing glasses screamed to Jack that the man on the bed was someone else. He frowned, when he noticed that Daniel was only wearing his boxer shorts and had a bandage wrapped around his right thigh.
"Did you get yourself shot, Daniel?" Jack asked, moving towards Daniel's bed.
"Something like that, but it's not too bad. Teal'c said that it was okay for us to come here, Jack. I hope you don't mind. Being here involves you with me and my crime and all of that, you know."
"Daniel, I would have been involved long ago, if only you'd let me. But you shut us all out," Jack said, his voice slightly harsher than he'd intended.
"I'm sorry about that, but there was nothing you could do. Not then, anyway."
"Why didn't you give me the chance to decide that for myself, instead of making the decision for me? Didn't you trust me enough?"
Jack saw Daniel's mouth open, and then close. He finally sighed. "It wasn't that, Jack."
"What was it, then?"
"Jack, let's not do this now, okay?"
Jack sighed. He ran his hands through his hair and fixed Daniel with a look. "Fine. I've waited twelve years for the explanation; I can wait a few more hours." He turned to Rothman. "How are you doing, Dr. Rothman? You look worse of all."
Robert grimaced. "I'm doing just dandy, General. Maybourne had some fun having me beat up to get information"
"He needs his rest is what he needs," Dr. Frasier said, speaking up for the first time. "Dr. Rothman, you're pretty beat up, not to mention that fracture in your arm. I'm going to give you some sedatives to put you out for at least 12 hours so you can rest, is that understood?"
Robert's eyes widened. "You can't do it now," he said, "I want to be there when Daniel submits himself to that Tok'ra memory thingy."
Janet was about to say something, when O'Neill beat him to it.
"Daniel isn't doing anything right now, except sleep and get better, the same as you, Dr. Rothman. Teal'c looks like he needs some time to meditate, so why don't we put off the memory extraction until tomorrow?"
Jack knew that it was important for them to know what really happened to General Hammond so they could better prepare to fight Maybourne, but he didn't want Robert, Daniel or Teal'c to do anything right now but rest.
"Jacob, if you can't stay, you can teach Sam how to use the device and leave it with us. We'll return it when we're done with it."
Jacob smiled at Jack. "Are you kidding, and miss this show? Not on your life. Besides, Sam still has a long story to tell me about what's going on, don't you Sammie?"
Sam smiled, slightly embarrassed. "Sure thing, Dad. Why don't we go get something to eat and I'll tell you everything. Daniel can fill you in on everything I miss tomorrow, right Daniel?"
"Right," the archaeologist replied.
"Good, then. Dr. Frasier, get Dr. Rothman's arm in a cast and sedated so he can feel better tomorrow. Teal'c, you feel free and do that Kel'no'reem thing you do while Daniel and I have a nice chat."
Janet nodded and proceeded to have Robert's gurney moved to another part of the infirmary so a cast could be put in his arm. With one last look at Jack, she left the room.
"So Daniel."
"Jack."
"Do I get that explanation now?"
Jack sat on the chair beside Daniel's bed and stared intently at the younger man. He saw Daniel look away from him and focus his attention on a point on the opposite wall.
"What do you want me to say?" Daniel finally asked.
"I don't want you to say anything, Daniel. I want you to tell me why you took it upon yourself to decide that we weren't going to get involved. What gave you the right?"
"It was my life, Jack!"
"It was our life too, Daniel. Did you ever consider that?"
Jack saw Daniel turn his face towards him, his eyes slightly wider and brighter.
"The team was never the same after you went to prison. Hell, none of us were ever the same. Having you away from the SGC would have been different if we could have at least kept in contact. However, you decided that wasn't going to happen. What's worse, you didn't even bother to tell us why you just shut us out."
Daniel sighed and tightened his fingers around the thin sheet that covered him.
"Why, Daniel?"
Daniel's mouth curved up into a small smile. He closed his eyes momentarily, but when he opened them, he focused entirely on Jack.
"Why? I was selfish, okay? I didn't want you to look at me in there and feel guilty at not being able to get me out. Or worse yet, I didn't want you to see me and believe that I could have possibly done what I was convicted of. There, Jack, I said it. Are you happy?"
Daniel's tone gave Jack a clue about his state of mind and he waited a bit before replying.
"I would never have thought that, Daniel. You should have known that. You should have had more faith in me, in Sam and Teal'c, to let us help. We never would have believed that you could beat Hammond to death with a metal vase."
"I missed you guys a lot, you know. I know that you couldn't be there, but I still missed you."
Now it was Jack's turn to sigh. "It was a lousy situation, Daniel. I think we all did what we thought we had to."
"Yeah, I guess we did," Daniel replied, smiling a little bit.
"You crashed the SGC's computers, huh?"
Daniel's smile widened as he looked at his friend. Jack looked older and greyer, but his face still had the same friendliness towards him that it had always had. That alone made Daniel feel immediately better for having come to the base. "Yeah. that was fun. I didn't think I could do it in such a short amount of time."
"Where did you learn to do that?"
Daniel's smile faded, and his expression became guarded. "I had a lot of extra time in prison and not enough to do. Computers were available at the library so I took advantage of them."
"I bet you were at the library a lot."
"Not for what you might think, Jack. However, after a couple of years, it got a bit better."
"Yeah, I bet. I have to admit, I miss the old Daniel."
Daniel's head came up from his examination of his fingers, his gaze focusing solely on Jack, which made him slightly uncomfortable.
"Shyness is a weakness in prison, Jack. You told me that, remember, while we were on Hadante? I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I quickly learned. This," and he pointed to his body, "was the only way to ensure that I wouldn't become another victim of the prison system, at least not without a hell of a fight. I wanted to survive to prove my innocence and here I am."
Jack couldn't help but notice the bitterness and sadness in Daniel's tone as he spoke. He chastised himself for being so insensitive, but couldn't lie and say that the man sitting on the bed in front of him was the same as he had been when Jack had seen him last.
"Don't get defensive, Daniel," Jack said, his voice carefully neutral. "I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, just that it's different. You're still you in there, no matter how much prison life changed you. You're still my friend, no matter what. If you still want the friendship, that is."
Daniel, who had turned his head away, turned it back to face him again. "I never stopped wanting your friendship, Jack, even when I shut you guys out."
"That's good to hear, Danny boy," Jack said, falling back into that familiarity he'd had with Daniel. "So then you do have information that helps us with this situation?"
"Yeah, I do. I told Sam some of it, but we should be able to go over it as soon as Rya'c gets here. He has my laptop with the documents in it."
Jack nodded and tentatively reached out to put a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "Rest, okay? We'll talk tomorrow morning."
Jack got up and was halfway to the door, when Daniel's voice stopped him.
"Thanks, Jack."
Jack turned around and smiled at Daniel. "Any time, Danny, any time."