Author's Note: I know in the series, the episode Descent, where SG-1 escape from the Goa'uld mothership, doesn't have Daniel in it, but for my story I'm going to pretend he was – instead of Jonas Quinn. Cheeky.

CHAKOTAY:

"...and so we were trapped on the ship. No way out." Jack was saying.

"You crashed into the ocean?" Tom asked eagerly, wrapped up in the story the Colonel was telling us.

"Yeah, and sinking fast." Jack continued. "Teal' and Daniel were already off the ship, and went to get help. But the rest of us were stuck."

I saw the momentary flash of grief in his eyes when he mentioned Teal'c, but he kept on talking. "Carter and I..." he trailed off for a minute, his eyes reflecting his pain.

I saw Daniel reach over and squeeze his arm comfortingly, and Jack smiled gratefully at him. "Carter and I," he began again, the sadness still in his eyes. "Headed down to the computer core to see what was happening, but before we could get there the corridor started to flood. And of course, the doors near us shut, trapping us in a small section, while the water rose around our feet."

I had to say that I was absorbed in his story, as were Tom, Harry, Tuvok and Madison. We were all sitting in the mess hall, eating dinner. And I had noticed that some of the crew at the nearby tables were also listening in. I couldn't blame them. It was an interesting story.

"So, what did you do?" Harry asked.

Jack smiled sadly. "Yelled at Jacob to open the doors, while Sam tried to rewire them. But none of it worked. I even tried kicking the doors, but that didn't help either." He took a breathe, almost as if he was trying to will the sadness away. "The water was flooding in fast. I was shivering by the time it was up to my waist. And I was trying not to panic by the time it reached my chest."

"I yelled at Jacob again as the water reached my chin. I was shivering and scared. Carter was just the same. I could see it." He continued. "By now we were swimming, trying to keep our heads above the water. And we were quickly running out of air. So Sam and I did the only thing we could."

"And what was that?" I asked, wrapped up in the story. How were they going to get out?

"We said goodbye." Jack looked at us. "By then I thought I was going to die. I couldn't see anyway to escape. And then the strangest thing happened."

"What?" Tom demanded.

"The doors opened all by themselves."

I blinked. "How? Why?" I breathed, more to myself than anyone else.

"We didn't know at the time, but Thor's consciousness was still inside the computer system. He saved us." Jack said. "Teal'c and Daniel arrived with the cavalry, but Sam wanted to stay and figure everything out." He smiled sadly. "She always did like a good puzzle."

"Yeah." Daniel agreed, the same sadness relfected in his eyes. "So Sam gets one of her brilliant ideas. If Thor's consciousness could be uploaded into the computer system, then it could be downloaded as well."

Jack nodded. "Jacob and Davis had already gotten off the ship, and we tried to follow. But our way was blocked as more water flooded the ship. We couldn't get out. And to make things worse, now that Thor had been downloaded, he was no longer in control of the ship, and the self destruct countdown had begun again. We had about a minute, before we would be blown up."

"I am intrigued." Tuovk said. "How did you escape?"

Intrigued was putting it mildly. I was enthralled. How were they going to get out? I couldn't see any way to do it.

"So Jack, of course, states something he thinks is quite obvious, but really isn't." Daniel said. "He tells us we're going to fly the gliders out. From the hanger bay."

Tuvok raised an eyebrow. "An interesting solution. But would the gliders be able to stand the pressure?"

"Jack said they would, and we trusted him." Daniel said. "They did."

"But that wasn't the end of our problems." Jack said. "It had obviously been too easy for us. You see, we couldn't activate the force field that would keep the water out of the hanger while we flew out."

"What did you do?" Madison asked.

"Well, that's the interesting part." Daniel said, before Jack could answer. "It seems Jack had a hobby of studying the schematics of Goa'uld ships. He told us to wait there, while he found a way to access a control panel and activate the shield." Daniel turned to glare almost teasingly at Jack. "And of course, being Jack, he didn't take the easy way."

"Hey! I did, too." Jack protested.

"Oh, so swimming through a flooded corridor, hot wiring a control panel while underwater, before transporting yourself across the ship using the rings, was the easy way, was it?" Daniel asked sarcastically.

"Yeah." Jack said. "I didn't try rewiring it on the outside, now did I?"

Daniel snorted, by said nothing. After a second, Jack continued the story. "So then all we had to do was fly the gliders out of the hanger, through the water and then back home."

"You flew underwater?" Tom asked. "Is that even possible?"

"Oh, it is." Jack said. "Fun, too. Almost like everything's been sped up and slowed down at the same time. There's nothing else like it."

"Don't even think about it, Tom" I said, when I saw Tom's expression. "The Captain would probably kill you if you tried to fly the Delta Flyer underwater."

Tom sighed sadly. "It's a pity though."

Jack grinned at him in an understanding way. "Yeah." He said. "Sometimes I wish I was still flying my fighter. Just so I could do somersaults and flybys – with the sole purpose of knowing I could do it."

"And driving people crazy would just be a perk, wouldn't it Jack?" Daniel said in a knowing tone.

Jack smiled. "Oh, yeah."

I chuckled. It struck me at that moment just how like Tom, Jack really was. They both had that sense of recklessness that came with being a pilot. It was just something they were born with that seemed to make them better pilots than those who played it safe – when they weren't trying to kill themselves, of course.

At that moment, B'Elanna and Riley entered the mess hall. Spotting us, they headed over, chatting animatedly all the while. I watched them in curiosity. I remembered Tom telling me that B'Elanna had been rather hostile towards Riley during their time on the Cube, and then on the planet. But I could see no sign of any hostility now. They just looked like they were friends – which was strange for B'Elanna. She usually took a while to warm up to people.

"Sir." Riley greeted as she reached the table.

"Commander." B'Elanna said. "Tom."

"B'Elanna." I replied.

"You kids have fun?" Jack asked.

"Oh, yeah." Riley grinned. "There's nothing like kicking ass to get the blood pumping."

"What were you doing?" I asked curiously.

"We were on the holodeck." B'Elanna explained. "You know, I take back anything I might have said about those knives. She's really quite good with them."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. B'Elanna complimenting people about their fighting skills was something that never happened. Well, it seemed, almost never. I looked at Riley. She must be good with those knives.

"She is, isn't she?" Jack said. "I've seen her do things I didn't even know were possible with those things."

Daniel grinned. "And he was sooo jealous."

"I was not!"

"Was to!"

"Boys!" Riley teased. "Play nice, now."

Jack turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "Sir." She added.

Daniel laughed. "That's right. Be a good boy, Jack."

Jack looked at Daniel and then straight at me. "I get no respect." He said. "Do you ever have these problems?"

"All the time." I said wryly.

"So what were you guys up to while we weren't here?" Riley asked.

"The Colonel was just telling us about the time he flew underwater." Tom said.

"Yeah." Riley smiled. "That's a good story. No one could believe it the first time we all heard it."

From there, the conversation became a war about who could tell the best story...with lots of bickering and teasing involved. I was yawning tiredly by the time Tom finished telling the story about time Seska and the Kazon had captured Voyager. "I think this is where I have to say goodnight." I said. "Unlike some, I have a shift in a couple of hours and would like some sleep."

Tom chuckled, and then he yawned too. "Good idea."

Gradually everyone said their goodnights and we all went our separate ways. I smiled when I thought about how our guests had changed. They were no longer the cold, reserved people we had first met. And I had a feeling that I might miss that soon. Particularly Jack and Daniel. They seemed just like Tom and Harry – which met they would be always creating trouble for everyone else. And I couldn't wait to see just what Harry and Tom thought about that.

JACK:

The next week followed quickly. Our time was spent visiting the holodeck and taking to the crew of Voyager...and Danny and I might have gotten into a bit of mischief too. Well, maybe more than a bit of mischief. We had pretty much declared a playful war on Tom and Harry. And we were winning, of course. But I had a feeling the Captain might have something to say about it soon.

So it wasn't really a big surprise when Captain Janeway approached us during one of our meals. We always spent them with the crew now. They seemed particularly fond of our stories. Janeway had even heard a few herself. "Jack, can I have a word?" she asked.

"Sure." I replied. "What's up?"

She motioned me a little distance away from everyone else, her expression serious. I felt a moment of dread. Something was wrong. "Jack, I have some news...but it may not be the easiest to hear."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Seven has been going over the data we took when you first travelled to the planet where we found you." She paused.

"And?" I prompted.

"She believes what the Borg Queen said was correct. That your reality has been split in two."

I stood there in shock for a moment. "What exactly does that mean?" I asked.

"Seven believes that the reality is divided..." she said.

"You mean Sam could still be alive?" I broke in.

"Yes." She said. "And Seven believes she has a way to send you back...if that's what you want."