General Hammond descended the stairs from his office into the control room of Stargate Command with fast half-steps. He strode at once toward the control station amidst the bustle and activity of personnel elicited by an unscheduled arrival. Through the large bay windows of the control room the stargate was straining with blue light, its energy inhibited by the trinnium iris locked tight over the aperture.

"Anything, Sergeant?" Hammond asked as he came up behind the shoulder of the seated technician.

"Receiving IDC transmission now, sir... it's the Tok'ra."

Hammond nodded, "Open the iris," and turned to head the visitor off at the ramp. While improving, relations with the Tok'ra within the SGC was still a touchy subject. Officially, of course, there was no dissension to speak of between the two allies, but on a personal level there was still a tense unease, distrust that would have to mend as wounds healed.

As Hammond strode into the embarkation room, giving the armed airmen against the back wall a curt order to stand down, the luminous event horizon of the wormhole was freed to flood its shimmering light into the room as the iris retracted and drew back from the opening.

Hammond stopped at the foot of the ramp and waited, mentally steeling himself for the always arduous task of diplomacy, secretly hoping the Tok'ra guest would be Jacob Carter. With Jacob Carter Hammond could be entirely honest, free with his opinions without fear because Jacob was a fellow Earther, Air Force officer, and a friend. He also hoped for Jacob's form to step through the stargate because he was the one Tok'ra whose arrival did not set the base shifting suspiciously at its fringes.

The event horizon rippled and then spit forth a tan-clad figure, the silence of the large room at once dashed by footfalls on the metal ramp.

Hammond's stoic composure left him as he blinked up at the man moving toward him.

"General Hammond, it's good to see you again, sir," Jack offered sincerely as the wormhole behind him blinked out, leaving the room all the darker but for once no less fantastical than it had been moments before.

Jack O'Neill walked easily down to stand facing General Hammond, alive and well, an impressive feat for a dead man.

"Colonel O'Neill?"

Jack partially smiled and allowed a second of nostalgia to look toward the control room then at the standing and gaping airmen with rifles gripped loosely in their hands, staring at the colonel returned from the dead.

Jack turned his gaze back to General Hammond, clearly waiting for his commanding officer to say something.

Hammond faintly shook his head, "Colonel, it's damn good to see you, too, but would you care to explain exactly what in the hell is going on? We were all led to believe you were killed a month ago on P78-294."

Jack's smile was the gentle smirk he spared only to his friends, "You have a couple of hours, General, because this is going to be a long debriefing."

Daniel caught sight of his team at the end of the hallway and started to jog, dodging errant SGC personnel as he called out, "Hey, guys, wait up!"

Sam, Teal'c, and Megan slowed and turned back to watch their wayward teammate hurry toward them. Daniel came to a stop beside Megan, sucking in a breath and pushing his glasses further up his nose, back into their proper position after having been jarred loose when he broke into a run through the hall. "So, does anyone have any idea what this is about?" Daniel asked, only slightly winded from his impromptu sprint.

"We know as much as you, DanielJackson," Teal'c answered as he fell into step beside Sam as the foursome started walking together.

"Has to be a reason General Hammond's called us all to the briefing room," Sam pointed out, simultaneously dreadful and excited to imagine what could be the reason for their summons. Perhaps they were being assigned a mission. Sam's position of command was still new enough that each prospective mission brought a hybridization of anticipation and fear.

The team trudged toward the familiar meeting room, each mind buzzing with its own speculations. Every one of which was shattered when the entire team marched into the briefing room and instantly came to a stop just inside the room barely a foot from the door.

They immediately saw General Hammond at the far end of the table, turned to speak with the man seated to his right. SG-1 at a glance could place the brown and tan of Tok'ra apparel, each jumping to judgments the moment those telling details registered. When he heard them enter, the Tok'ra turned his head to face SG-1, and as abruptly as that the team found themselves looking into the face of Jack O'Neill.

Stunned silence reigned, expressions bewildered; it was Jack who spoke first. He turned his chair to more completely face his friends and offered a childish smile, "Hi, kids. Miss me?"

"Jack?" Sam could hear Daniel's voice from somewhere behind her but there was a detached, distant quality to it as she stared at her believed- killed in action CO, parts of her brain grinding to a halt as others spun and reeled wildly.

Jack pushed away from the table and stood to face his team, little in his posture telegraphing or outright suggesting but lending an air of waiting to the gray-haired officer all the same. He was standing there expectantly, watching the recent arrivals to the briefing room for their reception of him.

All Sam could coherently think in the next moment was 'thank God for Daniel'. While the others stood, gawking like goldfish, Daniel broke from the ranks of his rooted companions, brushing past Sam's shoulder in the process, and crossed the room toward Jack in eager strides. As he drew near, Jack smiled, seeming all the more real with every passing second.

"Jack!" Daniel yelped when he was inches from his friend and enveloped the colonel in a hug before the older man could put up any protest. Chuckling, Jack clapped Daniel on the back as he asked, "Been staying out of trouble, Danny? And if you say you have I know you're lying." He gave the archaeologist another firm pat on the back, clear body-language that the two should part.

Daniel wouldn't let go just yet, still hugging Jack, enough for the colonel's smile to falter a little and his eyes to dart in the seated general's direction. General Hammond was merely smiling, a fond, paternal expression etched into the lines of his face.

Daniel was mumbling, "We thought you were dead, we left you.."

Jack cleared his throat, "Hey, don't sweat it, Daniel, I know I looked bad last time any of you saw me."

Daniel finally let go his bear-hug hold of Jack and stepped back. The younger man blinked at the colonel and then, suddenly, smiled. It was the kind of face-engulfing grin that Daniel dispensed very rarely, and Jack had to smile back to have rated such a Daniel-smile.

"Colonel," Sam's voice shattered the two men's concentration as they broke apart to both look toward Sam. She had at last found her motor control, left her spot near the door, and was moving toward the returned SG-1 leader. Her eyes were glittering with unshed tears, unshed now and in front of the others unshed always, but the swelling elation put a pink flush to her face.

"Carter," Jack nodded professionally. His warm brown eyes sparked when Sam apparently made an instant resolution within herself and started toward Jack, clearly not about to stop until her body was halted by his. Sam's smile was brilliant as she stepped in close and began to put her arms around Jack's neck. No sooner had her arms come around him than they fell away, the major's expression going from happy to deeply troubled as she took an immediate step back. Jack was still waiting to put his arms around her in return, watching her back away from him in confusion. As she moved away, an obvious retreat, Sam unconsciously reached out and snagged Daniel's arm, pulling him a distance away from Jack.

"Major?" General Hammond's voice.

Sam watched Jack like he was part stranger, never taking her eyes away from him as she answered, "I sense a symbiote in him, sir."

Jack's disappointment at not getting a hug from Carter took a backseat to his realization of her concern. He quickly assured, "It's one of the good guys, Carter. What, the clothes weren't a dead give-away?"

Daniel and Sam blinked at Jack again, processing what he could mean, but this time it was Teal'c to break the silence, "ColonelO'Neill, are you implying that you have become the host of a Tok'ra?"

"You make it sound so permanent, but essentially, and only for the moment, yeah."

Sam found her eyes cutting to Hammond searchingly.

Hammond nodded, "It's all right, Major. Jack's been filling me in on the details; I'm aware of the Tok'ra inside him."

Jack's voice had lost some of the vitality and energy it had gained during the reunion as he explained, "His name is Aetom; you can all meet him later. For right now, I was just telling General Hammond about what happened on P78-294 after our forces pulled out from the original mission against Montu."

"SG-1, please, have a seat," Hammond gestured to the empty chairs.

SG-1 mutely did as bade, eyes transfixed on Jack, warring between joyful and uncertain. Sam moved around the table to sit opposite Jack at Hammond's left, still unknowingly dragging Daniel with her, clearly protective whether she noticed her behavior or not. For that matter, Daniel didn't seem to notice Sam's actions, instead merely let her keep him by her side without a second thought. Teal'c moved to claim the seat beside Colonel O'Neill, taking a moment to clasp arms with the man in warm greeting before bowing his head and sitting. Megan hung back, looking like she was starting to get the 'fifth wheel' feeling.

Jack addressed her, "Captain Rawlins, right?"

Megan nodded, "Yes, sir."

"General Carter told me about a new person being assigned to fill out SG-1. I hope they've been playing nice."

Megan gave a brittle, uneasy smirk, "Yes, sir," then flickered an unintentionally seeking look toward her team leader. Sam gave her a small but confident, reassuring smile.

Hammond urged them both, "Please, have a seat. Colonel, if you would start over from the beginning?"

Jack looked at the people seated around the table before sitting back down himself. He rolled the chair up to the table and rested his forearms on the desk top. "The cliff's notes version, none of you were far off assuming I was killed on P78-294, I damn near did die, but my symbiote's previous host had also been wounded in the fight, beyond Aetom's ability to heal him, so he jumped into me. All I remember was waking up with a sn..symbiote in my head."

Sam ventured, "He took you unwillingly?"

"At first, yes, but it was under extenuating circumstances. Not entirely unlike the conditions that led to your being a host to Jolinar." Jack locked eyes with Sam for a moment, something intensely private and a little uncomfortable passing between them.

Hammond stated the obvious to recapture the train of thought, "The Tok'ra symbiote was able to heal the injuries Colonel O'Neill had sustained during the battle."

Jack nodded, "After that he and I struck up a bargain. I'd help him kill Montu– which we did, by the way, kicked some major Goa'uld ass– if he agreed to take me immediately afterwards to the Tok'ra base where he'd find a new host and I could come back to Earth."

Daniel leaned forward, "Well, something must have fallen through with that plan if you're here with the Tok'ra still inside of you."

The corners of Jack's mouth tugged down in a faint frown, acknowledgement of Daniel's correct assessment of the situation, "The Tok'ra are looking for a new host as we speak, but.."

"But hosts are hard to come by," Sam provided in understanding.

Jack nodded and scratched at the back of his neck before continuing, "We were able to talk the Tok'ra council into letting us spend our time waiting around for a new host on Earth instead of with the Tok'ra, with the general's permission, of course."

"We..." Daniel prompted.

Jack blinked, "Me and Aetom."

"The Tok'ra that took you as a host."

"Yeah."

Hammond said, "I see no reason to disallow it, however, I'll expect you to remain on the base for no less than forty-eight hours just as a precaution and you're to submit to a complete physical from Doctor Fraiser."

Jack opened his mouth to argue, most likely to try to whine and cajole his way out of a visit to the doctor, but he seemed to skip to another thought mid-action, making him pause then settle back into his seat without uttering a sound of protest.

"Sir..." Sam ventured toward the colonel, hesitating when Jack looked up at her, "correct me if I'm wrong, but... don't the Tok'ra possess stasis chambers capable of sustaining a Tok'ra symbiote outside of a host until one can be found?"

Jack shifted uncomfortably in his seat, expression torn, "Yes... and don't think I didn't consider that, but... well, fact is that from the symbiote's point of view the stasis chamber is a lot like solitary confinement; nothing fatal but nothing pleasant. We're holding that option as a last resort, but we both hope it won't come to that."

"From what Colonel O'Neill has told me," Hammond said, "he and the symbiote Aetom have established a truce and agreed to share the colonel's body until conditions allow for other options."

Everyone blinked at Jack, no doubt finding it hard to believe he would permit a symbiote to remain in him any length of time longer than absolutely necessary. Jack's loathsome opinion of symbiosis was legendary at the SGC. Jack's lips pinched but he said nothing. He dropped his eyes to his hands where they rested atop the table with fingers entwined. He blinked heavily.

Jack's head came up and an instant shudder of unease went through the three at the table who knew Jack's subtle body language as well as they knew their own. They three were already exchanging unsettled, even nervous glances, when the Tok'ra's voice intoned, "Colonel O'Neill has honored our agreement beyond the original terms and for that I am grateful. I assure you that if he asked me to leave now I would do so by any means, at any risk to myself."

Hammond leaned back in his chair, trying to seem nonplussed, "Aetom, I presume?"

Aetom, in Jack's skin, turned brown eyes with a familiar color but foreign soul toward General Hammond. Jack's lips were smiling thinly in a way no one at the table had ever seen that face smile, "Yes, General Hammond. It is a pleasure to meet you at last; Colonel O'Neill has expressed to me his respect for you on a number of occasions."

"Did, ah... did he just give you permission to..." Hammond gave an nondescript motion toward Jack/Aetom with his hand.

Aetom didn't seem to understand, momentarily becoming introspective, then he broke into a humoring smile, "Yes... we must apologize for not giving forewarning. After so much time undercover together then among the Tok'ra where the change between host and symbiote is not distressing we never adopted the habit of giving those around us explicit indication that we were going to switch control. If you find the situation too disconcerting you may speak with Colonel O'Neill again."

"No, that's all right," Hammond returned to his place at the table, "it was just a little unexpected."

Aetom nodded, "Of course. Again, my apologies. In the future we shall make a point of saying when I am about to speak."

Hammond took a moment to look at each member of SG-1 in turn, noting their reactions to Jack's change in personality, before saying to Aetom, "If you are the reason Jack O'Neill is alive and sitting here now then we owe you a debt of thanks."

Aetom cant his head in acknowledgement, "Colonel O'Neill saved my life as much as I his. While I very much wished to meet each of you, for there are very strong memories in O'Neill's mind of you all, I asserted myself so that I might express my condolences for the Tau'ri who were lost on... P78-294. They as well as my Tok'ra brethren were sent into battle because I grossly misjudged the situation. Though I did not know of Montu's cache of Jaffa on the planet, I feel responsible for the deaths incurred by their hands."

Hammond looked toward Rawlins then slowly answered, "Thank you, Aetom... it was a difficult loss for all of us."

"Yes," Aetom's voice dipped lower gloomily, hands perfectly still atop the table.

Hammond added, "A loss made less today by Colonel O'Neill's return thanks to you."

Aetom lowered his face in a nod and his eyes gently closed. Jack's hands began to move and fidget on the table. His posture slouched marginally and his head cocked idly to one side in personal distraction when his eyes reopened. Sam, Teal'c, and Daniel were unknowingly holding their breaths.

"Jack?" Daniel was the one from the original SG-1 to venture.

Jack looked up from a half-turned face, "Yeah." His voice was his own, the familiar timber of the Air Force colonel. His hands suddenly stopped tracing shapes on the table top and he looked more directly at Daniel's wide-eyed expression. A playful smile began to lift Jack's face. "Sorry... guess we really do need to work on that. Don't worry, though... Aetom's agreed to keep pretty much on the back burner while we're on Earth. He had the floor most of the time on P78-294 so.." Jack shrugged. He shook off the pensive mood and openly watched those around him for a reaction. It was blatant 'wrap things up' Jack O'Neill mannerisms, his looks in Hammond's direction pointed and expectant.

Hammond knew Jack's antsy movements as well as SG-1. "Very well. You're all dismissed, and Colonel, I want you to report to the infirmary at once."

Jack hesitated only for a heartbeat before relenting, "Yes, sir."

"Very well, then," Hammond gave a releasing nod and slowly everyone pushed away from the table, four in SGC fatigues and one in Tok'ra clothing. There was an uncomfortable hovering and watching over the table a moment, enough to plant the seed of worry in General Hammond, but as they all drifted toward the exits they also drifted together. Sam, whether consciously or not, gravitated to the place at Jack's side she had always taken, Daniel a step behind, positioned between them. Teal'c held back just enough to meaningfully keep Megan at his side, and as one they left the briefing room.

General Hammond was still assimilating information, sorting facts, but for what he'd just seen he had to give a small smile of relief.­