DISCLAIMER: The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-1, the goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.

A Snake In The Hand Is Worth Two In The Bush

Part fifteen

Jack knelt down beside Daniel and checked for a pulse, relieved to find it strong and only slightly irregular. Glancing over towards Clare he called out sharply, warning her to keep well away from the pedestal.

Clare was mesmerised by the object before her. There was a light surrounding it, fluctuating through the colours of the spectrum. Studying it closely she became aware that there was a pattern to the changing colours and that there was a brief moment at regular intervals when there was no colour there at all. After studying it through several cycles Clare quickly, smoothly, and without registering the action in her own brain, reached forward and picked the tablet and page-turner from its resting place. As she did so she was vaguely aware of a warning shout from Jack and at the same time a bright flash erupted from the pedestal before dissipating completely.

Jack, taking a moment to recover from being temporarily blinded by the flash, turned to Clare and snapped, 'What part of 'keep away, don't touch' didn't you understand? Didn't you see what that thing did to Daniel? Can't anyone keep their hands to themselves.' Jack, still muttering under his breath about damn' fool idiots who just have to touch everything, turned back to help Daniel up, leaving Clare bewildered and a little upset at his manner and the glares he was directing towards her.

A few minutes later Sam, Teal'c and Jacob arrived. As the field surrounding the tablet had disappeared, so had their inclination to murder each other and seeing the bright flash had come to check everyone was alright. Leaving the rest of his team to examine the interior of the cavern, Jack stalked outside taking Clare with him.

'You ok?' Jack asked shortly. He was still suffering from the shock he'd received after Daniel had been knocked flying and seeing Clare doing exactly the same thing. He'd really thought she was going to get hurt and hadn't considered how his sharp words were affecting her.

'I'm fine, thanks. Is Daniel alright?' Clare replied quietly.

'Oh yeah - didn't you see his face light up at the chance to explore that cavern? He may have a headache later, but he won't let that get in his way.'

After half an hour Jack called the others together, indicating it was time to head back to the gate. 'Unless you really want to spend another night in this place,' he added.

'There isn't really much of interest in there,' Sam replied. 'I have no idea where that energy field came from or what its power source was and there's nothing else in there. The cave is man-made but doesn't tell us anything.'

'Daniel?'

Daniel was absorbed in the tablet he was now holding. 'Sorry - did you say something?'

'Whatcha got?'

'Uh, actually if this is what I think…' a few more moments of going through the tablet and Daniel looked up again, 'It looks like the plans for building a goa'uld healing device. It's going to take me time to work through it and translate it, then Sam will need to try to figure out how to try to build it. It might take a while, but just think…'

'It is quite a find Daniel, but I think we should head back, now is not the time or place to be looking at a rock.'

'Artefact, Jack.'

'Whatever.' Jack plucked the tablet out of Daniel's hands and placed it in his pack, safely out of harm's way. 'Ready now?'

They returned down the slope, Clare hanging back this time as she was no longer needed to lead the way. She was also still feeling shaken by what had happened in the cavern and the sharpness of Jack's words.

Daniel walked with her. 'You know, back there in the cavern?' Clare nodded, staring at the path in front of her feet. 'He didn't mean anything by it, he only said it because he was worried that you were going to get hurt as well.' Leaving the subject alone after this, he chatted about the potential of the information they had found.

'Just think - this could revolutionise medicine. No more sickness, no more illness. I mean I know that at the moment most people wouldn't be able to use it, but once we know how it actually works by building one, anyone could use it. Just think of all those lives you could have helped to save.' Daniel continued chattering, leaving Clare to her thoughts, and partly grateful that for once no one was telling him to shut up.

After a short break for something to eat and drink at midday they continued on toward the gate, Sam inviting Clare to walk with her and Jacob.

'So, how are you finding things on the frontline?' Sam smiled.

'Different, and yet it all seems so much like home. It's hard to imagine how far away from home we actually are. It's been kind of fun.'

'Can I ask you something?' Sam asked, continuing when she received a nod. 'How did you get that tablet from out of the field? Colonel O'Neill tells me Daniel was knocked flying when he tried it.'

'The energy field was rotating and at regular intervals there was a gap. I just…reached through and picked it up. It seemed the obvious thing to do.'

'Wow. I'd like to have seen it in action. Still, it's probably just as well I didn't, I'd probably have killed someone if I'd gotten that close to it.'

They reached the 'gate as the sun was starting to get low in the sky. As they approached, Jack signalled for a halt in the protection of the trees that stood to one side of the gate. Sam and Teal'c moved to Jack's position, now seeing the reason he had stopped.

A group of twenty or so people were sitting around the fire circle, the fire now being lit. They wore simple, medieval style clothes and were armed with knives, spears and something that looked like blowpipes.

'Daniel, I thought you said they'd only be here twice a year.' Jack hissed.

'No, I said that in England they gather at the winter and summer solstice and that this seemed similar. This obviously takes place more frequently.' As he finished speaking Daniel moved to the side of the trees, away from the rest of the group and walked towards the circle. Jack, furious at Daniel's complete lack of awareness of the potential danger, sent Sam and Teal'c after him, keeping Clare and Jacob with himself.

'Hello. I'm Daniel Jackson and we're peaceful explorers from the planet Earth.'

As they moved forward, the group around the fire stood up, assuming defensive positions, but allowing the strangers to approach. Daniel held his hands out before him, palms facing up to indicate that they were no threat.

'We just need to get to that device and we'll be out of your way, you can continue with your celebration. Or whatever.' Daniel's voice trailed off as he realised that at their approach to the DHD the crowd had turned ugly, for some reason what they had done had offended these people and with no warning, darts were flying towards them. Daniel made a dive for the DHD, bobbing his head up to try to dial home between darts while Sam and Teal'c provided cover for him, but in spite of their less sophisticated weaponry it looked like the locals were about to win.

Jack ground his teeth, frustrated at not being able to do anything. The gate had been dialled successfully and was waiting for them to go through, but there was no way they could reach it through the battle now playing out in front of them. Daniel was already through the gate, Sam and Teal'c looking towards Jack when Sam felt something pierce her arm. With a cry, Jacob raced out from where they were hiding, shooting with his zat gun as he went, creating a path to the gate. By some miracle he made it though in one piece, grabbing Sam and diving through the gate. Teal'c paused, listening to Jack's instructions on his radio then he too went. A few moments later the gate shut down.

**************

In the gate room Sam was struggling with Jacob, trying to regain her feet even as the medics were hurrying towards her to get her to the infirmary.

'Sir, we have to go back for them. I volunteer to return with SG3. We left them behind.'

'Major, I am well aware of that, but at the moment you are going nowhere except the infirmary. We won't leave them there longer than we have to.'

'General, I insist - I will go back.' As Sam was speaking she pushed aside the medics, knocking them flying. She started to head to the control room, to dial the gate herself if necessary.

'Major, what on earth do you think you're doing?'

'I'm going back for them General and you can't stop me. I'm going whether you like it or not. Get off me.' This last was directed at the SF's who were trying to stop her. Her strength took them by surprise and she easily pushed them out of her way.

The next moment she was lying flat on her face, Teal'c's heavy bulk on top of her, pinning her down.

'I am sorry Major Carter, but you do not appear to be well and will injure yourself if I allow you to continue.'

Sam continued to struggle wildly, fighting the Jaffa who prevented her from moving, screaming and shouting that she had to go back for the Colonel and Clare. She continued to struggle even after Dr Fraiser had given her a sedative and it was not until she had been given three times the normal dose that she calmed down and all fight went out of her.

'Would someone tell me what that was about?' Hammond demanded.

'She took some kind of dart to her shoulder, George. There must have been something on it.' Jacob replied as they followed the General to the briefing room.

'When O'Neill realised he could not get himself and Clare Dawson safely to the Stargate he ordered me to return with the others and to wait twenty four hours,' Teal'c informed them.

'That would give the locals a chance to finish whatever rite they were conducting.' Daniel supplied. 'But they could well be done sooner than that. For all we know, because this happens more frequently they could be gone by morning - their morning, that is. Couldn't we at least try again in twelve hours? We can't leave them out there.'

'Negative, Dr Jackson. We can't afford to further antagonise these people and if they seemed to become agitated when you approached the 'gate, we don't want to give them any excuse to try to find Colonel O'Neill and Clare. We wait twenty-four hours. Dismissed.'

Jacob was already in the infirmary with Sam by the time Daniel and Teal'c arrived.

'She's going to be ok,' Jacob informed them. 'Doctor Fraiser says there was some kind of venom on the dart which is what made her go crazy back there. She's calmed down now but she has had to be restrained.'

'Are you going to stay with her?' Daniel asked. As Jacob nodded, Daniel and Teal'c departed, feeling a little superfluous. Normally one of them or Jack would stay with her, but with her father being here they left the two of them together, Daniel to try to take his mind off the situation with his latest find and Teal'c to carry out kel'noreem for the same reason.