Daniel Jackson was a genius. Yeah, he was pretty modest about it (most times) but when it came to his fields of studies – archeology and languages – he was as much a genius as Samantha Carter was in her own. Maybe even more. As he'd been translating the bark chips from Mayan to the other language – or glyphs, or whatever they were – his agile mind had already begun learning the symbols. Not all of them, of course, but a fair number of them were already familiar to him before he and Teal'c even walked over to the ruined walls to decide where to start.

"Shine your flashlight over here, will ya, Teal'c?"

He pointed with his own, and Teal'c added more light when he complied. It was as good a place as any to begin. There weren't as many crumbled areas, which meant that he wouldn't have so many blanks to try and fill in when it came to trying to figure out what was being expressed.

"This will work..." He smiled excitedly and took the lanterns from Teal'c, placing them at the best places to give him the most light, and then he picked up his notebook, turned to a blank page, and plopped down on the ruined floor next to the wall and got started.

Knowing there was very little he could do to help, Teal'c simply stood close by, his flashlight shining on the wall near Daniel, and his other hand holding his staff weapon while he stood guard over his friend – who was already lost in his work.

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

"Have you found out anything so far?" Jack asked about an hour later. He and Sam had just arrived at the ruins with Jaffer padding silently between them, and a couple covered plates of bacon and eggs in their hands.

"Not too much, yet," Daniel said, absently. He was only paying a little attention to Jack; most of his mind was still on the wall, and his notes.

"We brought you guys some breakfast."

"No thanks, Sam, I'm not hungry."

"Daniel..."

"Jack... I'm busy."

"You can take the time to eat."

"Jack..."

"Daniel..."

Daniel sighed, but Jack ignored the frustrated sound and handed him a plate. Jaffer came over to sit next to Daniel, more than willing to help him with his meal if he really didn't want to eat it all.

"He doesn't get any of it, Daniel."

Daniel scowled, and Sam thought that if dogs could scowl, Jaffer would have scowled as well.

Damn.

"Do you know how important it is that I get this translated?"

"I know you'll think better if you're not hungry."

"That's not true."

"Eat, and we'll see."

He wasn't going to win, and he knew it.

"If I eat, will you leave me alone for the rest of the morning?"

"Probably..."

"Fine."

Daniel took the fork Jack handed him, and Sam grinned as she gave Teal'c his breakfast, reaching out and taking his staff weapon from him so he could eat.

"So... are these people Mayan?"

Daniel looked up at Jack. He never really expressed an interest in any of the cultures they'd come across, so the question was unexpected.

"What?"

"You said the language was Mayan," Jack said, scowling at the odd look he was given by everyone present. "Does that mean they're Mayan?"

"I don't know, yet." He took a bite of his breakfast, and found it was pretty good. Probably worth eating. Sam must have cooked it. "And I'm not going to find out if you keep interrupting me."

"Yeah, yeah." Jack sounded completely unrepentant. "Finish eating and I'll leave you alone.

Daniel shook his head; he knew better. He'd be left alone until Jack got bored – which rarely took long – and then O'Neill would be hovering over his shoulder. Especially since he actually seemed interested in what was being done.

"Sam? Why don't you take him somewhere else? Keep him out of my hair?"

"I'm not in your-"

"Sure, Daniel." Sam grinned at Jack. "Let's go clean up breakfast and leave Daniel alone, shall we?"

"How come Teal'c gets to stay?"

"He's helping."

"I could help."

Daniel sighed. "Go away, Jack. Give me a few hours, at least."

O'Neill was about ready to say something, but Sam set Teal'c's staff weapon against the nearest wall, took hold of his arm, and pulled him away before he could.

"We'll be back for the plates later." Meaning she didn't want him to stop what he was doing to return them.

"Thanks, Sam."

"Have fun, Daniel. Holler if there's anything we can do."

"Or if you see one of the floating hand people." Jack added.

"We're going to have to learn what they're really called," Sam told Jack, as they walked back to the campsite, with Jaffer leading the way this time instead of walking between them. "General Hammond probably wouldn't appreciate us handing in a report with such an unscientific name on it."

"I'll ask them next time I see them," Jack promised. Of course, he wouldn't understand the answer.

They reached the fire, and Jaffer flopped down next to it, his nose sniffing the air around him and his posture showing every sign of being ready to sit there until dawn. O'Neill watched him settle, then looked down at the dishes that were waiting to be washed, and then out into the darkness that was just barely showing signs of the coming day. It'd be daylight in only a couple hours, and since he was fairly certain there wasn't anything out in the woods that was cause for alarm, Jack had other things on his mind besides dishes.

"So..." He reached out and pulled Sam into his arms, loving the way the firelight made her already beautiful eyes sparkle. "Didn't you say something about 'doing' me?"

She laughed, and shook her head.

"I thought I already did."

"I don't remember."

"You sure you're up for that, Jack? You're pretty scratched up."

He decided not to make the obvious reply to how 'up' he was, and instead took her hand and lead her back to his tent. Daniel could play with his wall... Jack would find other – far more interesting ways – to amuse himself, and Sam.

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

Author's note: Okay, Daniel needed a little more time – even if he is a genius! Next Chapter we'll find out about them!