It was only a couple hours later. Jaffer was restless and wanted out, and he was more than willing to let Jack know about it, even though O'Neill was sleeping peacefully. Straddling Jack's chest, Jaffer loomed over him, looking down and waiting for Jack to wake up and notice him. Nothing doing. Jack was asleep and not waking up. Jaffer lowered his head and licked Jack's face, and O'Neill tried to roll away, only to find himself bracketed by the big lab's big ole feet.

"If Timmy isn't trapped down a well, you're in big trouble, little man..." Jack mumbled, sleepily, bringing his hand up to avoid another lick.

Jaffer whuffled his face, this time keeping his tongue to himself, but he wanted out.

Jack sighed, and slapped Jaffer's side gently, telling the dog he was awake, and yes, he'd let him out, just let him up. The big dog moved, and Jack sat up, mumbling incoherently. He looked at his watch; he still had another hour or so before Teal'c would come wake him for his watch. He opened the tent flap for Jaffer, and the dog headed toward it.

"Don't go too far," Jack muttered. "And stay away from Daniel's little toys."

Jaffer didn't respond, although Jack expected he would someday. Instead the dog left the tent, and Jack lay back down to go back to sleep. Jaffer wouldn't go far, he was too well-trained to stray.

..................

The large black dog moved stealthily around the camp, his feet making very little noise as he checked the area out, making sure no food was out and about making a pest out of itself that needed to be dealt with. Unfortunately, none was. Jaffer wandered a little ways from the dying fire, and his nose told him Teal'c was close at hand, even though he couldn't see the big Jaffa. He followed his nose, knowing that his nose was never wrong.

Teal'c was leaning against a tree. Not because he was tired, because he wasn't, but because by leaning against a tree he was blending in with the surroundings and not making a target of himself. This planet didn't appear to have any threatening beings on it, but Teal'c was a warrior bred and raised, and you didn't get to be an old warrior by making assumptions. He was watching the camp, and had seen Jack's tent open, and Jaffer leave. He'd also heard O'Neill say something, but even his sharp ears hadn't been able to make it out. More than likely, he was reminding his dog to stay close. The Jaffa had watched Jaffer make his rounds of the camp, then had lost track of the midnight colored dog when he went off into the trees. Right up until a sneeze only a few feet behind him caused Teal'c to turn, and look down.

Sure enough, there he was, wagging his tail happily, waiting for Teal'c to pet him. Which the Jaffa did.

"You should go back to bed, Jaffer," Teal'c said, reaching down and stroking the glossy hide that was so much like his own Jack's – only a different color.

Jaffer wagged his tail, and turned his head. Something else had caught his attention. A smell he almost recognized. He sneezed again, and left Teal'c to finish his watch, trotting silently off into the darkness. Teal'c watched him go, but like Jack, he wasn't worried about Jaffer straying. He waited, looking to see which direction the dog headed, then went back to watching the camp, unwilling to be distracted for too long.

......................

"Sheflid fi jab'lepidid?"

The voice made Jaffer stop short, and the dog was surprised when he saw a person standing in his way when a moment before there had been nothing. His head went up, and his tail stopped wagging, as he used his senses to tell him as much about this person as they could.

The man – who didn't smell quite like a man to Jaffer – knelt down, and held his hand out to the dog in a gesture Jaffer recognized immediately. Jaffer wagged his tail slightly, unsure of what to do. The man didn't smell of fear, so obviously he wasn't afraid of him, which meant that he probably belonged here, even though he didn't smell familiar, either. But since he didn't smell familiar, Jaffer wasn't quite ready to just go on up and allow himself to be petted. If his Jack were with him, Jaffer would have. Jack gave Jaffer clues all the time without O'Neill realizing it. People that Jack didn't really like, Jaffer could tell immediately, and he was more wary around them. The people that Jack did like – Sam, several other adults, and every kid that they'd ever come across – Jaffer knew immediately, and was all over these people in greeting.

"Canisla ki'flaj oladsue?"

The man wasn't saying anything that Jaffer understood, but by kneeling low he wasn't posing himself as a threat, and his voice was soft. Jaffer debated for another moment, then walked over to the outstretched hand to sniff it. His dark muzzle passed right through the hand, and the man muttered something to himself, in a tone that Jaffer recognized as friendly. His tail moved a little more as he wagged it in response.

"Skilad'd oc'f Sekpar."

The man's face tensed as he concentrated, and the hand was suddenly solid, and he reached for the black lab once more. This time when the man tried to pet Jaffer, he could, and Jaffer's tail wagged again. There was nothing the lab could find wrong with this person. He smelled a little strange, and Jaffer didn't understand what he was saying, but he didn't understand Jack all the time, either, so that couldn't be held against him.

"Pliadit!"

The man raised his voice and called, and a moment later Jaffer found himself surrounded by people. None of them any more substantial than the rest of the man, although the hand remained solid as it petted the black lab's face.

There was a babble of voices, and Jaffer didn't understand any of them, but not all of the noise was coming from adults. There were several small forms among the large ones, and Jaffer had little hands passing through him as they all tried to pet him as well.

"Gedl'sef."

The little faces looked up at the first man, who was obviously telling them something, even though Jaffer didn't know what. Then there were a few looks of concentration, and once more he found himself surrounded by solid hands, all reaching out to touch him, curiously, timidly, and then with more confidence when they realized Jaffer wasn't a threat to them. The lab wagged his tail, and then sneezed. Which caused the little ones, and a number of the adults, to laugh. Jaffer knew that sound in any language, and his brown eyes grinned happily as he took all the attention they wanted to give him.

"Jaffer!"

"Je'ldifidic?" They all turned at the distant sound of Jack's voice in the night, the hands that had once been solid, suddenly once more ethereal. Jaffer turned as well.

.....................

Jack had laid in his sleeping bag for all of five minutes before deciding that he didn't want Jaffer outside alone at night. Not that he was worried about Jaffer straying. But... well... there could be something out there that might hurt his baby. Something Jaffer couldn't handle without him. He couldn't go back to sleep knowing that he should be guarding his baby while he looked for that perfect place to pee.

He'd gotten out of the tent and looked around, expecting Jaffer to be nosing around the campfire, but the dog wasn't anywhere in sight. Jack wasn't worried, since he'd frequently lost sight of the black dog on a dark night in his own back yard. It was the nature of blending in, he supposed.

"He went that way, O'Neill..."

Teal'c's deep voice drew Jack's attention, and he looked and saw the Jaffa pointing off to the left, away from the ruins. Jack nodded, and walked the same direction, not making any noise since he didn't want to disturb the others. About five minutes later, he'd decided he was far enough away, and had called his dog, knowing Jaffer could be right in front of him and he wouldn't see him.

"Jaffer!"

............

The call came again, and Jaffer looked up at the odd people who had materialized from no where, then back over his shoulder, obviously inviting them to come with him. They either didn't want to, or didn't understand, because none of them moved. With a sigh, Jaffer turned and went back the way he'd come. He wouldn't have dreamed of ignoring Jack for another call, and although he liked these new people –especially the little hands! – he loved Jack, and Jack's side was where he belonged.

He followed his nose and found O'Neill only moments later, coming up behind him and sneezing. Jack jumped in surprise, and the grinned, reaching down to ruffle his dog's ears and head.

"Where'd you go, little man?"

Jaffer wagged his tail, not answering, and Jack ran his hands along the black lab's sides, just to make sure he was okay. Not that he was worried or anything, it was just... a... well... yeah, maybe he was a little worried. The dog seemed fine, though. Even in the dark, Jack knew Jaffer's body well, and nothing seemed to have any swelling or bumps or cuts, and he finally slapped his side playfully, and stood up again.

"We have watch soon, we might as well stay up and let Teal'c go to bed early, hey?"

Jaffer wagged his tail. Why not?

The two of them headed back towards camp, watched carefully by a small, invisible form that smiled when she saw the way the strange being interacted with the smaller, even stranger being that only a few minutes before she'd actually touched. Obviously they liked each other. She wanted them to like her, too.

"Gedloi?"

She turned at the sound of her name, and went back to the others, passing silently through the night, and the trees, and the rocks.