Thanks for the reviews! They are really appreciated! I'll try to follow through on the tips I've been given.
Leaning back against the wall, Colonel Jack O'Neill closed his eyes, mentally willing himself to wake up and find this had all been a freaky non-Miami related dream. Just for the heck of it, he clicked his heels together and muttered "There's no place like home. There's no pla-"
"What Sir?"
His eyes snapped open to see his 2IC staring at him, curiosity and amusement evident on his face. "Nothing Carter." He replied, then to change the subject, "How ya doin'?"
A stiff and unreadable aspect stole over her face, the good old military front. She was nearly as good at it as he was now. "Fine sir. You?"
Repressing a sigh, he answered as off-handedly as possible, "Just peachy Carter." At least he would be if he could get his team out of this prison. A through inspection of the hall had showed no escape routes, and he suspected his 2IC's head hurt too much to think of some smart-alec idea to get them out right now. Besides, without Daniel they were going nowhere. He'd only been gone twenty minutes and already Jack was getting that 'missing archaeologist' feeling. It started off as pins and needles in his right hand, crept up his neck and reformed itself into a splitting headache. And of course Daniel never got himself lost anyway that stocked aspirin. Honestly, the guy could speak 23 different languages, knew just about every myth and legend in existence and had apparently consumed several libraries, so why was it that when someone got lost/kidnapped/killed, it was always Daniel? You'd think all those brains would be good for something. After all, he reasoned, Carter was just as brainy as Daniel was when it came to numbers and incomprehensible scientific terms, and she didn't feel the need to get into trouble quite so much. Even Teal'c behaved better than Daniel and he'd had the enemy living in his gut for god knows how many years.
A slight gasp drew his attention away from Daniel's misfortune, as he glanced over to Carter sitting a few feet from him. She had been pretty quiet since coming round for the third time in a few hours, and Jack suspected it was more to do with suppressing pain than with a lack of things to say. He hoped that weird alien chick really had helped Daniel, he had looked pretty rough before she zapped him away. He'd hoped for a split second maybe she'd healed both of them, but judging by the way Daniel had been cradling his wrist, and the fact Carter still looked on the verge of passing out, he guessed the alien's benevolence extended just far enough to keep his team conscious.
He really, really hated aliens. Excluding their allies, and Teal'c of course. Heck maybe even Jonas, the kid hadn't turned out too badly in the end. He wasn't so sure he could extend the same sentiment to the Tokra, they were more trouble than they were worth in his view. But Jacob was a decent guy, and some of the hosts seemed ok. Though he had to admit Freya rather scared him. Someone with a snake in their head fancied him? Wasn't that usually Daniel's area? He could swear the blonde still gave him 'the eye' whenever he had the misfortune to run into her on a visit. Had it just been 'Freya', Jack might even have been interested, but that snake in her head really freaked him out. He was reasonably sure that 'Anise' saw him as little more than a lab-rat. A cute rat with only a little grey around the edges, but a lab-rat nevertheless. After getting his very own limited-time-only brand of Tokra in his brain, he felt even less inclined to get chummy with their allies. He squirmed mentally, fighting off one of his darker memories. Running through a forest on legs that were his, but he wasn't controlling them. Must have been how Carter felt with Jolinar, though at least she was at the SGC, rather than in the middle of some godforsaken goa'uld fortress. They had spoken briefly on the subject, very briefly. Carter had seemed reluctant to go into the details of her 'possession' and Jack had no real urge to make her. She had said however, one of the most frightening things about it, had been when he visited her. And she realized no matter what happened, he wasn't going to kill her. The words "We'll never let you go." Had tormented her, because though she had known they were meant for Jolinar, they held a different meaning for her. Not surprisingly at that point, she'd told him in no uncertain terms, she'd rather they 'let her go' than keep her locked up her whole life with a snake in the head for company, if it ever happened again.
And he could promise her that now, because given the option, he'd want the same.
"Sir?" Jack blinked, and realized he'd been staring at his 2IC, who was looking a little disconcerted. "Nothing Carter, your ribs bothering you again?"
Her face stiffened and in a carefully measured tone, she replied, "They're fine Sir. Nothing worth bothering about."
Resisting the temptation to roll his eyes, he opened his mouth to make a sarcastic remark about stubborn sub-ordinates when a flash from the far wall made him jump, and he saw a familiar figure stumble on the ground.
"Danny-boy!"
With the reappearance of Daniel Jackson, some of the tension in Teal'c's muscles eased. SG1 was once again a unit, and as such, their chances of survival were greatly improved. The Jaffa noticed the shocked and slightly dazed expression on his comrade's face, and hastened over to him from the archway he had been examining. "Are you alright Daniel Jackson?"
To Teal'c's bafflement, a slight smile appeared on his friend's face as he answered, "Dumb question Teal'c, really really dumb question." The archaeologist half walked half shuffled to the wall where the rest of SG1 sat, and all but collapsed against the wall. Teal'c exchanged a concerned look with O'Neill, who asked carefully, "What did she do to you Danny?" Teal'c grew confused as a short laugh was issued from Daniel Jackson. "To me? Oh she gave me a knife, told me to murder a kid, same old you know?"
If O'Neill found this as disturbing as Teal'c did, he was becoming just as good at concealing it, as he asked, "And you didn't, right Daniel?" the young scientist stared vacantly at O'Neill,
"Of course I didn't."
O'Neill's expression didn't flicker, "Good Daniel, you did good." Teal'c observed his commanding officer tense slightly as he asked, "So did you pass? I mean if you didn't we'd all be dead now right?"
Daniel Jackson smiled slightly, a bitter humourless expression; "I passed Jack." O'Neill patted him on the shoulder, "Well done Daniel, you did the right thing." A pause, "But next time, can you keep the knife? My hair really needs a trim ya know?" To Teal'c amusement, O'Neill ran a hand through his thinning hair to indicate some unwarranted growth. No one laughed, but the atmosphere in the hall seemed a little lighter. Teal'c relaxed a little, as the team sat, each contemplating their own thoughts. Major Carter spoke quietly, her question immediately returning the group to a more serious mood; "Did she say who was going next Daniel?"
A voice, becoming familiar now, from behind them "That would be you Major Carter"