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 twenty-one

Jack woke to a pounding head and a foul taste in his mouth. It took him a moment to realise that someone had woken him and that someone was Teal'c who was standing over him extending a hand holding a cell phone. Grabbing the phone ungraciously and giving its bearer a glare, he spoke into the phone.

'This had better be good.'

'Colonel O'Neill you need to listen carefully.' Jack sat upright in bed, forgetting his headache as the urgency in General Hammond's tone came through loud and clear. 'Colonel Simmons has been here with orders for me to release Clare into his custody so they can study her abilities and access any information she holds. I've told him you're all on vacation and I have no idea where you are and have not been able to contact you. Do you understand?'

'Yes sir. Thank you sir.' As Jack acknowledged his understanding the line went dead. Groaning softly to himself, he filled Teal'c in on the details and sent him off to start brewing lots of hot, strong coffee. The Jaffa did not touch the stuff himself but he could make a decent cup of coffee.

Jack woke Sam and Daniel, bringing them up to speed on what needed to be done, giving Sam instructions to get Clare up and dressed.

After failing to wake Clare on her first attempt, Sam ended up shaking her by the shoulder and calling her name loudly until she got a response.

'It's too early - go back to sleep,' Clare muttered, still more than half asleep.

'Oh, no you don't. You're going to get up one way or another,' Sam insisted as she pulled the covers from the bed, only for Clare to pull the pillow over her head, removing that obstacle as well, Sam received a glare for her efforts.

'What's the fuss?' Clare mumbled.

'Time to get up,' Sam said cheerfully, grinning at Clare's condition and glad that although she had been a little tipsy last night it had not been enough to make her regret it this morning, apart from a slight headache and a dry mouth which could soon be cured with aspirin and coffee. 'How are you feeling?'

'Terrible. I think I'm dying.' Clare groaned, clutching her head.

'Only one answer for that, I'm afraid.' Sam hauled Clare to her feet, pushed her into the bathroom and turned on the shower at full blast. Clare, hoping that a nice warm shower would help ease her hangover, stepped in and gasped at the shock of icy water, trying to step backwards and out of the cubicle only to be prevented from doing so by Sam who was leaning against the door, blocking her exit. By the time she was recovered sufficiently to turn the water to a more comfortable temperature, the cold water had worked a partial miracle and she was feeling a little more alert.

Once she was showered and dressed she joined the rest of SG1 in the kitchen where Teal'c handed her a large mug of strong coffee and a plateful of eggs. Gulping the coffee gratefully she pushed the eggs away, only to have Teal'c push it back to her.

'You must eat so you may recover. I have witnessed this on many occasions. Eat.' With Teal'c standing over her like that she had no option and did start to feel better, at least a little.

'We should head for my cabin,' Jack informed the others as he nodded a good morning to Clare.

'Won't that be the first place they'll look?' Daniel asked, a frown on his face.

'Probably, but we'll be expecting it and if we're lucky, by the time we get there they'll be long gone. We'll stay there for a few days and then head back and hire something nearer to home to see if that'll put them off our trail.'

'Er, what's going on? Did I miss something?' Clare, her hangover starting to recede, had begun to take note of the conversation going on.

'Welcome back to the land of the living,' Jack greeted her, seeing that she was now with them in mind as well as body. 'How's the head?'

'Still there I think, and it seems to have gotten back to its normal size,' she replied, 'But is there any need to shout?'

'Clare, we have a bit of a problem,' Daniel butted in, trying to keep his voice quiet. 'Another department within the government is aware of your unique abilities. They're responsible for studying all the alien technology we lay our hands on to see if they can make use of it to defend earth against the goa'uld. Unfortunately they have also expressed an interest in seeing what information and help they can get from you and they are not always selective in how they get that information. We've had a bit of advance notice and we're making plans to hide out until something can be sorted out.'

Clare stared at him, mouth partially open, not quite believing what she was hearing. Surely this couldn't be right? She was a human being - an American citizen - and she had rights. Didn't she? As if hearing her unspoken questions, Jack answered her.

'They consider that because you have been 'compromised' by an alien life form and have had the equivalent of a computer database downloaded into your brain then that gives them the right to treat you like a guinea pig. I don't have any intention of allowing that to happen, and neither does General Hammond.'

'So what are we going to do?' Clare asked.

'We're going to head for my cabin in Minnesota and hang out there for a few days, then we'll come back this way and hire somewhere until General Hammond sorts this mess out.' Jack advised. 'We need to work out some details, though, I don't believe for one moment that the NID won't be watching this place.'

'I know someone who can help us out there,' Clare said, standing up abruptly. 'Don't worry, I won't be long,' she called back to them, followed by the sound of the front door slamming.

Five minutes later, Clare returned with an older man, he looked to be in his late sixties and had an air of confidence and self-assurance about him.

'Clare - what's going on?' Jack demanded.

'This is Mr W - Wilson. I figured he might be able to help us out. Mr W, this is Jack, Daniel, Sam and Teal'c.' Clare performed the introductions.

'Could I have a word Clare - alone?' Jack looked pointedly at the man she had brought over.

'Jack, isn't it?' Mr W said. 'I recognise the military when I see it, I don't know what kind of trouble you're all in, but I know enough to be able to keep my mouth shut, not ask any questions and do what needs to be done. Besides, if it's got Clare involved, I know you can't have done anything wrong.'

'Ex-air force?' Jack asked.

'You know I can't answer that - I'd have to shoot you if I told you,' Mr W joked, but even as he laughed, Jack's instincts told him they could trust this man.

'The way I see it, you need to hide out for a few days in Minnesota while keeping the bad guys off your tail?'

'That just about sums it up,' Jack admitted.

'You think there's a possibility these other guys are already watching you?'

'It's possible.'

'Ok, here's what you're going to do.' Jack opened his mouth to protest at this, but Mr W didn't give him chance to say anything. 'A couple of you need to head off now and try to lose anyone who tries to follow you and make sure this cabin is secured. The other one will need to go hire a car and pick Clare and her friend here up from the other side of the woods.' Mr W glanced around to make sure they all understood what he was saying. 'My bet is, that as it's Clare they're after, once the rest of you leave you shouldn't have too much trouble, but Clare needs to be more careful.

'Sam, you've been staying with Clare anyway so it will look natural for you to stay on once the others have left - I'm not happy about leaving Clare without someone to watch out for her and I think you should be up to the job.'

'Thank you, sir, I'll do whatever I can to keep her safe,' Sam acknowledged, slightly amused at the bemused expression on Jack's face as someone else took complete charge of their plans.

'I've got a plan to get you two away, I just need to speak to a few contacts.' Mr W, with a final glance around, left them standing and returned to his own home next door.

'Well, you heard the man, we've got our - instructions.' Jack nearly said orders, but felt that that would be going a little too far in the circumstances.

'O'Neill - are you sure we should accept help from this man?' Teal'c queried, uncertainty in his voice.

'Yeah - the guy has special forces written all over him, maybe not any time recently, but he has certainly seen some action in his time.' Jack replied. 'Clare, will you promise me something?'

Clare looked at him, as she said guardedly, 'That depends on what it is.'

'Please don't ever do that to me again. I think you've just added a few grey hairs to the collection.' He grimaced as he spoke. 'Normally that's Daniel's job. Did you know that before I met him I didn't have a single grey hair?'

'Jack - that's not fair, just because you're getting old doesn't mean you have to blame it on me,' Daniel protested.

'Well, back to our plan,' Jack ignored Daniel. 'Teal'c, you're with me and we'll head straight to my cabin. Daniel, you can do the car hire thing and pick up Carter and Clare - where?' He looked quizzically at Clare, only to be startled by another voice answering.

'From the other side of the woods, there's a small side road, just here,' Mr W had returned with a map of the area, which he laid down on the table. 'Once you've picked them up, carry straight on, then take a left, another left and then you're on the freeway. What are you all doing here still? Scoot. And make sure you take good care of Clare, if anything happens to her…' he left the unspoken threat hanging.

'Ok, so everyone knows what they're doing?' Jack looked round for nods of affirmation. 'Cool. Next stop, Minnesota.'