Revelation

by caffeinenut

Sequel to Allies and Enemies. SG-1 goes searching for help in their fight against the Goa’uld, and Daniel learns something about himself.

Title: Revelation

Author: caffeinenut

E-Mail:

Category:action/adventure, drama, romance

Season/Sequel:Sequel to my story Allies and Enemies

Rating:PG-13

Summary: SG-1 goes searching for help in their fight against the Goa'uld,and Daniel learns something about himself.

Disclaimer:I don't own anyone or anything.

Revelation

Lieutenant Graham Simmons took his plate of food resembling chicken and mashed potatoes and found his way to where his friends and fellow teammates were sitting. Sergeant Silar, Sergeant Walters, and Dr. Emily Michaels were seated at a table away from the rest of the bustle of the commissary. He took the empty seat next to Dr. Michaels and dug into his mashed potatoes, listening to their conversation so he could jump in eagerly with his two cents. They were, as were probably the majority of the people under Cheyenne Mountain, discussing the rumors running rampant about Major Samantha Carter and Dr. Daniel Jackson.

"I heard they've been married for a few years now, but they've been keeping it quiet to protect themselves and their team," Walters said.

"I heard that they had to get married so the natives wouldn't be offended and kill SG-1," Silar said.

"I heard they had to get married because Dr. Jackson got Major Carter pregnant," Dr. Michaels informed them quietly, leaning over her plate of roast beef and corn.

"What?" Graham Simmons practically shouted, his fork with mashed potatoes poised just outside his mouth. "Where'd you hear that one?"

"From one of the techs who works with Major Carter," Emily supplied. "He seemed pretty sure of his theory."

"Well, I don't believe that one," Silar argued. "There's no way they'd be that careless. Besides, they got married off world. If they had had to get married because Major Carter was pregnant, why didn't they just do it on Earth?"

"To hide the fact that they had to get married," Emily pushed on. "It makes perfect sense. And it supports the belief that they've been having a torrid love affair for years."

Before they could finish their conversation, Colonel Jack O'Neill interrupted them. He sat down next to Walters, to the amazement, confusion, and nervousness of Lieutenant Simmons and his friends, and dug into his blue Jell-O. "Whatcha talkin' about?"

"Uh, nothing, Sir," Graham replied.

"I thought so." He looked up from his Jell-O and gave each of them a long, pointed, knowing look. "Make sure I never catch you talking about nothing again. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Sir," they all chorused.

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me," Colonel O'Neill said, standing up and taking his Jell-O with him, "I have a briefing I'm late to." The four remaining members at the table stared after the commanding officer of SG-1, an equal mixture of horror and guilt on their faces.

"Wow," Walters whispered. "How'd he know we were talking about them?"

"It's all everyone is talking about," Graham answered. "And he's right. We don't have the right to speculate and spread rumors about Dr. Jackson and Major Carter. We don't know what happened to them." Feeling deeply ashamed, Graham turned his attention to his meal, although he found himself no longer hungry.

"I know," Emily agreed. "But it's really hard not to wonder."

Jack O'Neill sat across from Carter and Daniel, pretending to read the MALP report from P2C-443, but in reality, was watching the two 'married' members of his team. Glancing to his right he saw Teal'c was doing the same, looking interested in the report in front of him, but discretely watching the other two members of SG-1. For their parts, Carter and Daniel were reading the report, or at least it looked to Jack and Teal'c like they were reading it. There were no sideways glances or shared smiles. Jack wondered if they were holding hands or playing footsie under the table. He wondered what was going through their minds, what they felt about all of this. They'd technically been married for six days, but the…event had never been discussed. He had no idea where Carter and Daniel stood in the matter, whether they were going to be married, or pretend that it didn't happen.

General Hammond entered the briefing room and took his seat at the head of the table. He looked at each of the members of SG-1 in turn, O'Neill and Teal'c meeting his gaze, Carter and Dr. Jackson keeping their eyes fixed on the table.

"I was thinking of sending SG-5 on this mission instead of you," Hammond jumped right in.

"Sir?" Jack questioned. "It is our turn in the rotation…"

"I know, Colonel. But I have other plans for your team," Hammond informed him. "We need to work on this Anubis-Ares alliance problem we have, and I think SG-1 is the best for the job. You have the relationships with those who can help us."

"To whom do you refer?" Teal'c asked.

"Well, the Krimm, for one," Hammond replied. "I was also thinking of Lord Yu, and the Tok'ra?"

"Yeah, the Tok'ra are a great help," Sam said under her breath. Unfortunately, it was loud enough for everyone at the table to hear her.

"I understand your feelings of frustration, Major Carter," Hammond began.

"With all due respect, Sir, I don't think you do," Sam answered, getting angry. "I don't think you have a clue."

Daniel inhaled sharply. The past few days had been very difficult on Sam, he knew. Between their jumbled up feelings, their accidental marriage, and the rumor mill of Cheyenne Mountain, Sam was feeling very frustrated and hopeless. And was spoiling for a fight. However, Daniel didn't believe it was a good idea for her to pick a fight with the base commander. "What Sam means, Sir, is that she…we…find it difficult to even conceive of the idea of asking the Tok'ra for help after how they responded last time. It is hard to finally see that they will always expect our help, but rarely give theirs in return."

Sighing deeply, Sam backed down, sending Daniel a look of gratitude for stepping in and keeping her from making a terrible mistake. The past six days had taken their toll on her. Sam was angry, upset, tired, and cranky, and not necessarily in that order. She had gotten very little sleep, tending to spend the past nights up pacing her house, trying to figure out what had happened, what it all meant to her, and what it all meant for her and Daniel and the rest of SG-1. Secretly, she was glad that General Hammond was bumping SG-1 off this mission; Sam didn't think she'd be able to handle it right now. What worried her most was that she didn't know what Daniel thought about all of this. Did he want to be married to her? Or did he wish it had never happened? They had discussed a relationship between them after getting back from being prisoners of Ares and decided that it was too much too soon to become intimate. And now, by some strange fluke custom on another planet, they were married. Of course, Sam thought, we don't have to follow this custom. We aren't from that planet; we don't have to be married under their law.

However, there was one big obstacle in their way: they could read each other's minds. Most people wouldn't call that an obstacle. Hell, most men would love to be able to know exactly what was going through a woman's mind. But this development would make it difficult to be with anyone else other than each other. Not that Sam wanted to be with anyone other than Daniel, but she had no idea how this new change had affected his feelings towards her. He had seemed fine with it, even happy and excited about it while on the planet, but back on Earth he hadn't spoken of it to her or anyone else, that Sam knew of. She was deeply afraid that he had changed his mind and couldn't bring himself to tell her. And he had completely blocked his mind from her, so she couldn't find out that way, either.

Suddenly, Sam was startled out of her thoughts by Daniel saying, "I haven't changed my mind."

It took a few moments for that phrase to register and for Sam to realize that he was talking to her. She smiled brightly at him, relief washing over her, easing her mind. Everyone else in the briefing room stared at them, wondering where Daniel's comment had come from. One moment he was giving them a list of possible uses for the Goa'uld homing beacon when he abruptly stopped mid sentence, turned to face Sam and spoke. And they all watched Sam's tired face transform with a beautiful smile.

"Ah, General, there they go again. Can you please get them to stop this!" Jack complained, only half-heartedly.

"Go again with what?" Hammond asked, still confused.

"That mind reading thing," Jack whined. "It's not fair. Why do all the cool things happen to Carter and Daniel?"

"'Cause we're the smartest," Daniel joked back, still looking at Sam in concern. She smiled back at him, trying to put him at ease, but Daniel wasn't buying it. She may be smiling brightly, but there was something missing in it, something that he hadn't seen since he first descended. Deciding that that night he'd confront her about it, Daniel turned back to General Hammond and Jack and their conversation.

"What about the relocation of the people from…the planet where Daniel and Carter got hitched," Jack asked, not remembering the name of the planet. "Shouldn't we be involved in that, Sir? I mean, it was our fault that they had to be moved."

"I already have SG teams 12 and 9 working on it. I'm sure they are more than capable of finding a suitable new homeworld for the Felitans. As for you four, I was thinking of sending you first to the Tok'ra, then to the Krimm. And I'm sure Master Bra'tac has much to share with us. We need to collect Intel on Anubis and Ares. That will be your job." Hammond sighed, seeing the looks on his favorite team's faces. Jack O'Neill looked less than happy about paying the Tok'ra a visit, and had made a sour face at the mention of the Anubis-Ares problem. As usual, Teal'c showed no emotion on his face, but after knowing the Jaffa for seven years, Hammond could guess what he was thinking, and he was thinking that the Tok'ra would probably be a waste of time. Doctor Jackson showed disappointment about not being able to spend his time helping the Felitans. He still blamed himself for calling the Goa'uld down on their planet and looked for every opportunity to make it up to them. There was also a hint of underlying fear that flashed through his blue eyes when Hammond had mentioned Anubis and Ares. Obviously, not all was well after his horrible experience. And Carter, she wasn't even looking at him, but rather at some interesting spot on the conference table. Hammond knew exactly what she was thinking; that she'd rather be back on Netu than go to ask/beg the Tok'ra for help ever again. Though, at the mention of the Krimm, Hammond had noticed, that she had perked up just a little.

Hammond sighed again. Had he had it his way, he'd forget about the Tok'ra as well. However, he had promised Jacob that he'd send Sam through for a visit as soon as she'd gotten back, and he was determined to keep his promise, more for Major Carter and Jacob and their relationship than for any personal purpose. Plus, the President had ordered him to find any and all possible allies against the Goa'uld, and that included the Tok'ra, even if the Tok'ra didn't think the Tau'ri were worth it.

Daniel could feel Sam's anger through their bond and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She had her head bent downward, staring at her clasped hands on the table, tearing her copy of the report on P2C-443 into tiny little pieces. Digging deeper, Daniel felt fear as well, a deep-rooted fear that shocked him. Fear from what? he asked himself. Giving Sam a nudge, she allowed him to feel what she was afraid of. Losing him. She was afraid that in the very near future Anubis and Ares would confront them and she would lose him. And the anger, it surprised him how deep it ran. He discovered that she'd much rather forget about the Tok'ra, write them off as unfriendly and poor allies than have to go back there and ask for their help. Even her own father. She was very angry with her father, feeling that he hadn't tried hard enough to convince the Tok'ra to help her and Teal'c when they were searching for him and Jack. The only way Sam seemed to know how to express that anger toward the Tok'ra and Jacob in particular was to ignore them. In Sam's mind, going there and asking them for help again was the same as forgiving them, which was something she wasn't ready to do yet. Knowing that he needed to talk to her soon, tonight, about this, he sent all his love through their bond, attempting to reassure her that he was there, that he wasn't planning on going anywhere anytime soon, that she wasn't going to lose him. Then he decided he needed to buy her some more time to forgive the Tok'ra.

Sam felt Daniel pushing into her mind, trying to get to the bottom of her foul mood. She felt bad about how she was acting; no one here deserved that, least of all Daniel. In an attempt to make it up to him, she let him in without any difficulty, letting him see what was bothering her. She let him feel her fear and her anger, knowing that he wouldn't judge her, or begrudge her her feelings. Suddenly, she felt the overpowering feeling of love and happiness, and it took her only a moment to realize it was Daniel, sending his thoughts through their bond into her mind. Smiling inwardly, Sam accepted Daniel's offering, wrapping herself mentally in his love, using it like a warm blanket, an insulation against her fear and anger, which she knew was what he had intended it to be used for. He's so sweet, Sam thought. How'd I get so lucky to have him?

You just do, Daniel sent to her.

Just do what? Sam replied

Just have me. And tonight, you can have me all night long.

My, Doctor Jackson, are you trying to seduce me? Sam sent back with mock disbelief.

Yeah. Is it working? he asked innocently

Let's get out of here as soon as we can, Sam replied suggestively.

Daniel smiled broadly, deciding to do something to hurry their departure. "Sir, if I may," Daniel interrupted Hammond and Jack and their conversation over whether SG-1 should contact the Tok'ra or the Krimm first.

"Yes, Doctor Jackson? What's on your mind?" Hammond asked, then realized what he'd said when he saw both Doctor Jackson and Major Carter blush furiously.

"Um…wuh-wouldn't it be easier if, uh, we split up? If we spoke to the Tok'ra and the Krimm at the same time? Time is of the essence here, isn't it?" he suggested, thinking that if General Hammond went for this idea, he and Sam could go visit the Krimm while Jack and Teal'c had the pleasure of dropping in on the Tok'ra, thereby giving him more time to talk to Sam about this and giving her more time to get over her anger and forgive her father.

No one at the table fell for what Daniel was trying to do. They all knew why he'd suggested this, and normally, General Hammond would not have gone for it. He'd have told Sam to 'suck it up and get on with her duty'. However, today, looking at Major Carter and her hopeful eyes, General George Hammond crumbled. He knew Carter was having a hard time dealing with what was tantamount to betrayal by her father and the Tok'ra. It was not something she'd just get over, no matter her duty or her station in the military. Knowing that someday soon Carter was going to have to confront her father and the rest of the Tok'ra, he also knew that it was something she needed to do when she was ready, and looking at those dark blue eyes, he knew she was nowhere near ready. Nodding, he decided to go with Doctor Jackson's plans, if only to save the sanity of his team.

"You make an excellent point, Doctor Jackson. We have no idea when Anubis and Ares are going to attack Earth. It could be days, or years. It is best that we obtain our allies quickly. You and Major Carter should approach the Krimm, since Major Carter seems to have a good relationship with their leaders. That leaves O'Neill and Teal'c to deal with the Tok'ra." Hammond turned to Jack and smiled secretly, trusting Jack to take what he was to say literally. "It's time we light a fire under the Tok'ra's collective asses." He watched the stunned expressions of his team turn into smiles. "Make sure it's a big one, Jack. You leave at 0900 tomorrow morning."

"Yessir," Jack replied happily. This was turning out to be one of his most favorite assignments ever.

"Hi, Daniel," Jack said innocently as he entered Daniel's office and began fiddling with one of Daniel's rocks.

"Hi, Jack," Daniel answered back, just as innocently, watching Jack intently as he bobbled the priceless artifact in his hands.

"Whatcha doin'" Jack asked, still using an innocent tone.

"Working," Daniel replied. "What are you doing?"

"Bugging you?" Jack asked. To Daniel's relief Jack put the priceless artifact from P77-601 back without causing it any harm.

"Yeeaaaah. Um, why?"

Jack shrugged and picked up another rock. This one Daniel took from his hands and replaced it back on his desk. It was much more valuable to him; it was a fossil imprint that Sam had given him a few years ago that she got at the Smithsonian when she was there giving a lecture. It was just something out of the gift shop, but it was priceless to him because it came from Sam. There was no way he was going to allow Jack the chance to break it.

"That very valuable?" Jack asked only semi-interested.

"Very very," Daniel replied. "What do you want, Jack? I'm kinda busy."

Instead of answering Daniel outright, Jack decided to skirt around the issue, backing into it. "How are you, Daniel?"

"I'm a little annoyed at you right now, if you must know. I'm really not in the mood to be bugged. Other than that I'm fine," Daniel said cautiously, trying to figure out where Jack was going with this.

"How are things with Carter?" Jack asked, not meeting Daniel's eyes.

Ah, so that's what this is about, Daniel thought. He's here to see how Sam is, after her little slip up in the briefing earlier. And probably to pry and find out what exactly is going on between me and Sam. Daniel sighed, pushed his glasses up off his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. To be honest with himself, Daniel wasn't sure what exactly was going on between him and Sam. He knew he loved her, that he was in love with her, and that he wasn't planning on giving her up anytime soon. Other than that, he had no idea where any of this was going. He wasn't sure if he was ready to be married to her, but he also knew that it was only a matter of time before he would marry her.

"Sam and I are just fine. And before we get into this long, drawn out conversation that I don't have time for and don't want to have with you until I settle it with Sam first, I have no idea how we're going to handle this 'marriage' thing, okay?" Daniel rushed out, slightly exasperated. "Now, if you don't mind, please go and bug someone else, I have a lot of work to catch up on."

"Geez, sorry," Jack asked, offended. "I didn't mean to step into the Private Kingdom of Daniel and piss you off. I was only trying to make sure two members of my team were okay."

Daniel sighed, realizing that he'd hurt Jack's feelings. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you, Jack. It's just that this whole thing, being captured, turned into a Goa'uld, hurting my friends, then calling the Goa'uld to a helpless planet with helpless people…it's just too much. I'm tired, tired of it all."

"And Carter?" Jack asked.

Daniel smiled. "The one good thing to come out of all of this. My one ray of sunshine in an otherwise stormy world."

"Such a romantic, Space Monkey," Jack teased. "That was very poetic." Jack watched as Daniel blushed and turned back to whatever he was working on, only it appeared that he was no longer working on it. Jack smiled knowingly. His young friend was now thinking of a certain blonde astrophysicist. "Let's go collect Teal'c and Carter and grab something to eat in the commissary. It's past dinnertime and I'm starving."

Daniel's head snapped up, breaking him out of his, probably higher than PG-13, thoughts of Sam and looked at Jack. "After dinnertime? What time is it anyway?"

"It's 1934 hours," Jack said, consulting his watch. He watched Daniel do the math in his head and smiled. The man, after seven years, still couldn't deal in military time.

"Oh no, I'm late! I was supposed to meet Sam in her lab a half hour ago to go out to eat!" Daniel shoved the numerous piles of paper on his desk into one disorganized pile and slammed shut all of the open books. He started to run around his office, shutting off all the small lamps he had on. "I am so dead, I am SO dead," he kept mumbling.

"Hey, relax, Daniel. I doubt Carter's going to kill you over this. The woman's in love with you, for crying out loud," Jack tried to reassure his friend. But Daniel wasn't listening to him. He'd finished turning off all of the lights and had raced out of his office, leaving Jack standing in a dark room trying to comfort the sterile air.

Daniel raced down the corridor, shoving people out of his way until he reached the elevator. He pressed the button for Level 21 numerous times, thinking that somehow that would make the elevator move faster and, therefore, he'd get to Sam faster. But, it felt like an eternity before the elevator came to a stop and opened up on Level 21. Brushing past a few SF's, Sergeant Silar, and some medical personnel, Daniel ran as fast as he could toward Sam's lab. Coming to an abrupt halt right outside her door, he listened for a moment, hoping to gauge her mood before he entered. All he heard was music playing softly in the background. He was not as well versed in music as Sam, but this particular song and band he recognized. Californication, by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Daniel stood in the doorway, ready to apologize profusely to Sam, fully expecting her to toss him out on his backside. He peered inside the dimly lit lab, trying to find his…well, he wasn't ready to call her his wife and girlfriend somehow seemed less than what she was…and smiled at the sight before him. Sam was fast asleep over her workstation, her computer beeping softly to her left, and a partially constructed something on her right. She must be exhausted, Daniel thought. I wonder how much sleep she's gotten the past six days. Probably not much, though Daniel didn't know for sure. He and Sam hadn't spent a night together since they were 'married'. Quietly, Daniel entered Sam's lab and made his way over to her sleeping form. He knelt down on her left and gently touched her cheek, brushing back a lock of blonde hair. Sam had, apparently, decided to grow her hair out a bit; it was a little longer than usual, but still within military regulations. Daniel liked it on the longer side. It gave him something to run his fingers through and play with. And it made her look more like a child, more innocent and sweet. Sam stirred at his touch, but didn't wake. Smiling, Daniel bent down and kissed her cheek softly.

"Sam," he said gently. "Sam, wake up." Sam moaned softly in her sleep, but made no other attempt to wake up or any other acknowledgement that Daniel was there. "Sam, c'mon. It's time to wake up and get you home." This time Daniel gave her a little shake of the shoulders.

Lifting her head up abruptly, Sam blinked her eyes, trying to focus them. She must have been asleep for a long time, Daniel thought. Finally, her gaze settled on him and she smiled, stretching her arms high above her head. "Daniel," she said. "It's time for dinner already?"

"Well, actually," Daniel said a little sheepishly, looking at the ground, "I'm late."

Sam smiled. "S'okay. I'm not really hungry anyway."

"Sam," Daniel warned gently, looking once more at her. "You need to eat. You skipped lunch, and knowing you, probably breakfast as well." When she didn't reply, but looked away instead, he knew he'd caught her. "Now, we don't have to go out, but let's at least pick up take out or something. Even if we go straight home and I make grilled cheese sandwiches at your house, you need to eat."

Nodding, Sam agreed. "'Kay. Lemme just shut everything down here and we can go."

Daniel woke up and looked over at the alarm clock on the bedside table. Sam's beside table. He was in Sam's bed. With Sam. With a naked Sam. Naked. Both of them naked. It was just after six in the morning. Daniel smiled at the memories of the previous night that assaulted him as he fully came awake. Sensations started to come to him. Like the feel of something pressed down on his chest. Looking down he saw tufts of blonde hair sticking out from underneath a heavy comforter, brushing gently against his upper chest. Sam's hair. He had his arms around her back, and she had one arm across his chest, and one leg pressed intimately between his. And she was still fast asleep; he could feel her steady breaths against his chest, a little bit ticklish.

Daniel rubbed Sam's bare back gently, getting caught up in the memories of last night. He and Sam had gone straight to her house after leaving Cheyenne Mountain, where Daniel preceded to make spaghetti for dinner while Sam showered. After dinner, Sam had offered to do the dishes while Daniel relaxed in her living room and flipped through the TV channels, finally settling on a documentary on the Romanovs and the Russian Revolution on the History Channel. When the dishes were done Sam joined him on the couch, cuddling up to him, and Daniel wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. Pretty soon they hadn't been paying any attention to the documentary; they had been too busy paying attention to each other's mouths and bodies. Then one thing led to another, and the next thing Daniel knew, they were making love in Sam's bed.

Which was where he found himself that morning, happy and content. And deeply in love.

Daniel would have been happy to stay like that all day long, but they both had to be at the base in a few hours. Still absently rubbing Sam's back, he shook her gently, trying to wake her. She groaned a little, then snuggled in closer to him, almost completely obscuring his view of her by sliding farther under the comforter. Chuckling slightly, Daniel shook her a little more forcefully. "Sam, honey, it's time to get up." Her reply was muffled, but Daniel was sure he knew what it was. She was such a little kid in the morning. "What do you mean, no?" he admonished her softly. "We have to get up and get to work on time."

This time her reply was a little clearer. "Jus' five more minutes."

Not being able to say no to Sam, Daniel suggested, "Why don't I take my shower first, and start breakfast, then come back for you?"

Sam was reluctant to let Daniel up and out of the bed. She was enjoying having him close, all snuggled up under the blankets, but she also knew they needed to get going. Agreeing by rolling off of him and taking all the blankets with her, Sam burrowed down into her bed. Daniel leaned over and kissed the top of her head, the only part of her not covered by her warm comforter and then got out of the bed, and quickly jogged to the bathroom, chilly and wanting a warm shower to get his blood flowing, but a little disappointed that he had to leave Sam and the bed. Or rather, Sam in the bed.

As he stood in the shower, letting the warm water wash over him, Daniel couldn't help but think about what had gone on last night. It had been amazing, the best night of his life. There was no doubt in his mind as to how much Sam loved him, or how much he was in love with her. Last night had been wonderful, one of the most satisfying experiences of his life. I made love to the woman I love, he said to himself, over and over again. How many men can actually say that and mean it? It was if we were in perfect sync throughout the whole experience. Daniel smiled as he remembered what her hands had felt like on his skin, what her skin had felt like under his hands. He couldn't wait until they made love again. It had been perfect, absolutely perfect.

After his shower, Daniel returned to Sam's room and dressed, watching as Sam didn't move under the covers, fast asleep. Or at least pretending to be asleep. Too bad he had to end it. Leaning over her, Daniel tried to shake her up. No response. Daniel was almost certain she was awake, but pretending she wasn't so that he'd go away. No such luck for her. Deciding he had to get forceful, Daniel took a hold of all of the blankets Sam had piled on top of herself, pausing a moment to reflect on how she really liked to be toasty warm at night. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he yanked on the blankets as hard as he could, dragging them off of her, exposing her bare body to the chilly morning air.

Sam shot up in bed, a murderous look on her face. "Hey, that wasn't nice," she informed him, slightly miffed.

"Time to get up. By the time you finish showering, breakfast will be ready." With that, Daniel left. Then returned a few minutes later when he hadn't heard Sam get into the shower. She was once again, covered by her multitude of blankets, pretending to be asleep. Yanking on the blankets harder this time, he again succeeded in uncovering her. And this time he took the blankets with him when he left. And this time he heard her get in the shower. Daniel smiled at that, satisfied with how he'd handled the situation. One thing he'd learned quickly was that Sam was not a morning person and had to be hauled out of bed.

Daniel stood next to Sam in the Gateroom, wishing Jack and Teal'c luck as they prepared to leave for the Tok'ra base. Daniel was glad that it was Jack and Teal'c going and not him; he wasn't sure how he felt about the Tok'ra after they had refused to help Sam rescue him. It made him feel like the Tok'ra didn't think his life was worth anything, even though he had helped save them numerous times.

"You two stay out of trouble now," Jack warned the two youngest members of his team. "I don't want to come back and find out that you blew up half the base, or were kidnapped by pygmies or something."

"We'll do our best, Sir," Sam told him dryly. "Although, I don't think getting kidnapped by pygmies is even a remote possibility."

"Hey, in our line of business, anything's possible, Carter. Even pygmies."

"Yes, Sir," Sam replied, still not convinced.

"Be careful yourself, Jack," Daniel joined the conversation.

"That's it?" Jack asked in disbelief. "No lecture on being diplomatic and trying to see things from the other side and all that bullshit?"

Daniel shook his head. "Not this time. Be as obnoxious and difficult as possible. I don't really care. Diplomacy with the Tok'ra has gotten us nowhere. Play a little hardball."

"Play a little hardball? I think you've been spending waaaaaay too much time with me, Daniel," Jack practically laughed.

"What can I say?" Daniel asked, shrugging his shoulders and smiling innocently. "After seven plus years, something was bound to rub off."

Giving Daniel's shoulder a friendly squeeze, Jack asked, "So when do you ship out, wise-ass?"

"Sam and I are going to Krimm in a few hours. It's still the middle of the night there, or so Sam says."

General Hammond in the control room interrupted their conversation. "Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c? You ready to leave?"

"Yessir," Jack replied, lifting his eyes to his commanding officer. "Start 'er up."

As the Stargate came to life, rotating around, locking in coordinates, Jack turned to Carter and pulled her a little distance away from any eavesdroppers. "Anything you want me to tell Dad while I'm there?" he asked gently, knowing this was a sore subject with her.

Sam shook her head, refusing to meet his eyes, staring at the ground instead. She hadn't really given it much thought except to think that if things had gone her way, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c wouldn't even be going to see them. "I don't really care what you say to him, Sir. I certainly have nothing to say to him right now."

"Carter…" Jack began softly.

Sam looked up at him abruptly. "Don't, Sir. I know I have to forgive him. I know he's my father, and we've spent too many years estranged and have only just started to become close, but I'm not ready to forgive him for what he did. Or didn't do. Someday, hopefully soon, I will be able to, but right now…I just can't." Sam turned away from him and looked at Daniel, who was deep in conversation with Teal'c, oblivious to her stare. "Not when it concerns his safety and life." Jack didn't need to be a mind reader to know whom Sam was referring too. He followed her gaze and looked at his favorite archeologist as well.

"You know, Carter, I'm sure your father did all he could to convince the Tok'ra to help."

"He should have tried harder," Sam replied softly, not willing to budge on this issue. Not wanting to get into an argument, Jack allowed Carter to have the last word. This time.

With a whoosh, the vortex spiraled out of the Gate and then back on itself, leaving a watery looking event horizon. Nodding briefly up at General Hammond, Jack, followed closely by Teal'c, walked up the ramp and went through the Stargate without a back ward glance, re-emerging on a planet with a Tok'ra base.

Zat guns were pointed at Jack and Teal'c as they came out of the Stargate. Luckily, those zat guns were being held by members of the Tok'ra, who immediately lowered them upon seeing who had come through their Gate. Jacob rushed up to the front of the group of Jaffa, eager to see his daughter. But she did not come through; only Jack and Teal'c had come.

"Ah, a friendly welcoming committee just for us. Teal'c, I feel so important," Jack joked, making his way towards the Tok'ra. "And I always thought they didn't like us." Jack removed his baseball cap, smoothed back his hair, which he always claimed got messed up with each trip through the Gate, even though Carter constantly assured him there was no wind to mess up his hair, and then replaced it on his head. He noticed Jacob making his way toward the head of the line of Tok'ra, and walked over to him.

"Hello, Dad," he said, a bit of smarm creeping into his voice. "How are things here?"

"Jack!" Jacob exclaimed. "You're okay." Jack nodded. "And Daniel? And Sam? Where are they?"

"They're both fine. They're on another mission at the moment and couldn't make this one," Jack only half lied. They were on another mission, which was true, but only so they could miss this one.

"So, you and Danny were rescued, I see. How?" Jacob asked, interested in hearing his daughter's part in it all. And interested in hearing anything Jack knew that was going on with his daughter and the archeologist. He knew George thought something was, had mentioned that Sam seemed to be in love with Danny-boy, but Jacob wasn't too sure. Daniel wasn't the type of guy Sam was usually drawn too. In Jacob's opinion, he'd have figured Sam would have chosen to give her feelings and open her heart to Jack O'Neill over Daniel Jackson. But Danny-by over Jack?

But Jacob, Selmak silently told her host, You haven't really known Sam in a very long time. Maybe her choice in men has changed? Especially after her disastrous relationship with Jonas Hansen. And O'Neill is a safe bet, since technically, they aren't allowed to have feelings for each other, given the Tau'ri military.

I still would have thought Jack would be the one, Jacob told his symbiote.

So, she chose the sensitive geek over the closed-off flyboy. Do you think that Jack is better for her than Daniel? Selmak asked.

Absolutely not, Jacob replied without hesitating. Daniel's right for her because he is open and not emotionally closed-off. Sam needs that.

Then what's the problem?

No problem, just supprised.

Then shut up,

Smiling, Jacob replied, Yes ma'am.

Walking away from the Stargate, Jacob next to him, Teal'c a step behind, and the rest of the Tok'ra following them, Jack recounted the tale for Jacob, Teal'c adding a bit here and there, both making sure Jacob heard and understood exactly what had happened and what his daughter had done to rescue Jack and Daniel. Jacob, for his part, listened with rapt attention, eyes growing wider and wider as the tale continued on. He couldn't believe what his little girl had gone through to rescue her friends, what she'd been willing to sacrifice and what she had sacrificed.

"Why didn't Sam and Daniel come with you two?" Jacob finally asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Like I said, they're on another mission," Jack reiterated.

"C'mon Jack. You and I both know that I don't buy that."

"The truth?" Jack asked, watching as Jacob nodded his head. "Well, let's just say you and the Tok'ra aren't on Sam's Christmas card list this year."

"She's upset that we didn't help her rescue you," Jacob stated with absolute certainty.

"That's one way of putting it," Jack agreed tactfully. "You might also say that she's royally ticked off at the Tok'ra, and you, too."

"Me? I begged the High Council to help her rescue you," Jacob pleaded.

"She thinks that you didn't try hard enough," Jack informed him gently. "Don't worry about it," he tried to assure Jacob when he saw the look of horror and anguish on his face. "She'll forgive you and get over this. She just needs a little time. It was about Daniel, after all."

Getting the opening he was hoping for Jacob asked, "Jack, tell me, is there something going on between Sam and Daniel?" He knew his fishing attempt was blatantly obvious, but he wanted a real, honest reaction and answer.

Jack gulped, his expression that of a deer caught in headlights. Behind them Teal'c gruffly cleared his throat. "C'mon you guys, tell me what's going on!" Jacob demanded of the two members of SG-1.

"Okay, okay. Yeah, there is… something… going on between your daughter and Daniel," Jack answered, resigned to tell the tale, though he knew it really was for Carter to tell her father. And he didn't want to start something between Jacob and Daniel. Jack knew how overprotective Jacob could be when I came to his daughter. Jack fervently hoped Jacob wouldn't be too angry with the archeologist.

"What kind of something?" Jacob asked.

"Um, well…it's a long story Jacob," Jack tried to deflect.

"Uh-uh. Tell me what's going on, Jack," Jacob said warningly.

"Well, first off, they got married…"

"WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

It was a very eventful, very loud, walk back to the Tok'ra base.

Daniel and Sam followed Charek away from the Stargate and to the awaiting hovercraft that would take them to the capitol city and to a meeting with the Krimm rulers. Sam was happy to see Charek, having formed a friendship with the man who had started all of this by trying to kill her. Sam felt she owed Charek a debt, for if he hadn't tried to kill her, then it would be very likely that they would not know of the new Goa'uld alliance. And, Sam realized, she and Daniel would probably not have admitted their feelings towards each other. That, in and of itself, Sam wasn't sure she could ever repay him for.

"Doctor Maltar has expressed his wishes to see you again, Sam, and to have you and Doctor Jackson over for dinner with him and his wife," Charek said, concentrating on piloting the hovercraft at near breakneck speed back to the city.

"It will be good to see him again, as well. And to introduce him to Daniel." Sam turned around in her seat next to Charek and faced Daniel. "You'll like Doctor Maltar. He's a scientist who gets almost as much pleasure out of helping people that you do."

"I met him already. Briefly, on our first trip to Krimm," Daniel informed them. "But I thought you said that the Krimm were creating biological weapons to…hurt people?" Daniel asked, confused.

Sam nodded. "Some were, or still are," she said, glancing at Charek briefly out of the corner of her eye, catching his slight nod. "But Doctor Maltar had actually been working on a vaccine for a disease that affects young children on Krimm, similar to our leukemia. He was specifically asked to create the disease that saved you, and agreed, after meeting me."

"I guess humans aren't the only ones who can't say no to you," Daniel joked, reaching out and giving Sam's arm a squeeze, letting her know he was grateful for whatever she had said to convince Doctor Maltar to help.

Once they reached the city, Charek slowed the hovercraft down and made his way through crowded streets to the Central Tower, where they were to meet with the Ruling Triad to ask their help in the fight against the Goa'uld. Daniel stared out the window of the hovercraft, staring in awe at the large buildings and busy streets, taking in the much higher level of technology that the Krimm displayed. Towers that would have dwarfed the tallest buildings on Earth. Moving vehicles that did not pollute the environment and moved faster than anything Daniel could have imagined, but caused no accidents or interference. The city, to Daniel, looked like something right out of a movie set, complete with state of the art special effects. He was absolutely fascinated.

Sam watched Daniel watching the outside, smiling at the childlike wonder on his face. He's like a little boy seeing something new and amazing for the first time, Sam said to herself. He gets like this every time we encounter a new culture that he finds fascinating, which is pretty much every time we encounter a new culture. Sam loved the look on his face, so innocent. After all he'd been through, the last thing Daniel was was innocent. And yet, the look on his face seemed to say otherwise.

Slowing down in front of the Central Tower, Charek parked the hovercraft on one of the hoverpads. He pressed a button and opened up all of the doors, indicating for Sam and Daniel to step out of the 'craft. He did the same, then beckoned Sam and Daniel to follow him into the building. They rode up the elevator lift in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. The lift came to a gently stop on the 673rd floor and opened its door. Following Charek out of the lift and down a long, dimly illuminated hallway, Daniel glanced over at Sam. She had a happy, innocent look on her face as well. She gets like that every time we get the chance to study some new, more advanced technology, Daniel said to himself, unconsciously echoing her thoughts from before.

"Charek," Daniel called ahead, breaking away from his thoughts and trying to focus on the task at hand. "What can you tell us about the Ruling Triad?" he asked, wanting to go into this meeting as prepared as possible.

Charek stopped and turned to face the other two, who stopped as well. "The Ruling Triad is made up of the three highest-ranking members of the Three Guilds, those being the Military Guild, the Merchant Guild, and the Science Guild. Tal Obran, from the Military Guild, has been in more battles, been in command of more military campaigns than anyone else, past or present. Sechar Mixa is the representative from the Merchant Guild. He has more business sense than anyone I have ever known. He can take anything and turn a profit. He's also my father's brother, so if we need, we can tap that connection. And lastly, Kiara Telmor, the head scientist. She's descended from a long line of scientific geniuses, and those who created the Goa'uld. Her mind can probably give you two a run for your money."

Daniel laughed inside at the English idioms coming from and alien's mouth. Obviously, Charek had spent a lot of time with Sam and Teal'c when they had been here previously. He started walking again, this time next to Charek, while Sam was a step behind, lost in thought. Daniel knew what she was thinking about; her mind was completely open to him. She was running through ways to convince the Krimm's Ruling Triad to help them in the fight against the Goa'uld. Daniel listened in to her mental conversation with herself, keeping his thoughts to himself. She didn't need to know that he was afraid the Krimm would not agree to help them. He had no idea why he thought that; he barely knew the Krimm. Maybe it's because I still feel some anger towards them for trying to murder Sam, Daniel thought to himself. I don't know them as well as Sam, and I certainly don't trust them. But Sam seems to.

Once they reached the chambers of the Ruling Triad, Sam stopped between Daniel and Charek right in front of the door and took a deep breath to try to calm herself before she entered. She knew what she was up against. She knew it would be very difficult to convince the Krimm to help, since they had been so against the idea of sharing any information on the Goa'uld back when she had been nearly killed for her insistence and curiosity. But convince them she must, or the Goa'uld would wipe them all out before long. There was no doubt in Sam's mind that the Goa'uld remembered where they had come from and were only biding their time until they were stronger, more technologically advanced than the Krimm before they attacked. Now, if only she could convince the Krimm of that.

"Okay, I'm ready," she said quietly, as much to herself as to her two male companions. She turned to her left and nodded to Charek, who then opened the chamber door and stepped to one side, letting Sam enter first. Daniel was close on her heels, Charek bringing up the rear and closing the door behind them.

Sam paused as soon as she had taken a few steps into the chamber, looking around her in fear. She was standing at one end of a narrow corridor formed by two long tables on either side, numerous, empty chairs on the other side of the tables. All the way down at the other end of the corridor, Sam could make out human forms, three of them. The Ruling Triad, she thought to herself. And she froze. I can't do this, I can't do this, she mentally whispered to herself over and over again. She was all set to turn around and run out of the chamber room when she felt a familiar presence in her mind.

Yes, you can, Daniel told her.

No, I can't, Sam answered back.

Yes, you can, he replied. I know you, Sam. You can do anything. Just walk up to them and give it to them straight. They'll listen to you. If you could convince Lord Yu to help you rescue me and Jack, you can convince the Krimm to help us.

Sam nodded. I can do this. I must do this. She mentally sent her thanks to Daniel, along with her love. Then, she marched down the long corridor towards the three figures, oozing confidence as she moved. Daniel and Charek flanked her, impressed with her show of calm and strength, though they both knew she was so scared she was probably quaking inside.

After what seemed like an interminably long time, Sam arrived at the end of the corridor, standing in front of three seated Krimm, two male and one female. The Ruling Triad. She took a deep breath and was about to speak first and introduce herself when one of the men spoke first.

"Ah, Major Samantha Carter, of the Tau'ri," he said, not sounding impressed. "I feared I might have to meet you one day. To what do we owe this visit?"

Taken slightly aback by the man's attitude, but too good an actress to let is show, Sam adopted a commanding pose despite her nausea and said, "Well, Sir, first I would like your names, since you seem to know mine already," she practically demanded. "Then, maybe, we can discuss the purpose of my visit."

The Krimm who had spoken to her cocked his head at an angle and stared hard at Sam. She stared back, neither blinking, knowing this was a battle of wills, and whoever looked away or blinked first would lose. Sam was determined not to be that person, for she knew that if she was, then her plea ended then and there. There would be no way the Krimm would help her after that.

The Krimm looked away first, giving the other two members of the Ruling Triad a look, before continuing to speak. "I am Tal Obran. They are Sechar Mixa and Kiara Telmor," he indicated the other two with a nod of his head. "How can we help you, Major Carter?"

"The Goa'uld," Sam said without preamble. "They are a very real threat. I am here as a representative of my homeworld to ask you for you help."

"No," Tal Obran answered with finality. "If that is all, you are dismissed."

"That's it?" Sam demanded angrily. "The answer is 'no'? Without even hearing what I have to say?"

"Yes," Kiara Telmor replied. "We have more important matters to deal with than the Goa'uld."

"With all due respect, I don't think you do."

"You are not Krimm. You do not live on our world. You do not know which matters are important to us and which are not," Sechar Mixa added, standing up and radiating anger.

"Uncle," Charek pleaded, breaking protocol. "Please, listen to her."

Sechar Mixa turned to his nephew and glowered at him. "Nephew, I think you should keep your opinions to yourself. You no longer have the standing you once did in our society," he warned quietly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Charek demanded.

"It means that you are no longer someone our people will listen too. Leaving with the humans before has lowered you in the eyes of our society. You are no longer thought of as a leader, but as one with strange ideas and delusions. I would be careful what you say and do, Nephew."

Charek's eyes lit up in anger. He couldn't believe how this was turning out. After what he'd seen and experienced with Sam and Teal'c before, he figured his people would jump at the chance to fight and possibly destroy the Goa'uld. Instead, they were hiding their heads in the sand, pretending there was no problem, no threat. He couldn't believe how stubborn and obtuse his leaders were being. The fate of the Krimm, in fact, the whole universe most likely, depended upon creating an alliance, a federation, of species/people opposed to the Goa'uld. Charek couldn't understand why the Ruling Triad was turning away.

It wasn't long before Sam, Charek, and the members of the Ruling Triad were discussing things very heatedly, at times practically shouting at one another. Harsh words and insults were traded back and forth. Reason left them, leaving a hopeless situation that just seemed to get worse and worse as the minutes ticked by.

Daniel inhaled sharply, watching helplessly as the situation escalated, not knowing what to do to make the situation better. Things seemed to be getting out of hand rather quickly, and even though Daniel was a fast thinker, he wasn't that fast. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, he stepped up and stepped in, hoping to take some heat off of Sam and Charek, hoping to be a quiet voice of reason in an increasingly loud conversation ruled by anger.

"Hey, hey!" he said loudly, getting everyone's attention. "Can we at least keep this civil?" he asked. Tal Obran took a harsh breath, but remained quiet, looking at his fellow members. Sam and Charek both glanced over at Daniel, visibly glad to have someone else take control. Daniel gulped, realizing he was now in control, and not sure where to go from here. And he was scared. This alliance was going to be decided on what he said, or didn't say. He wasn't sure he was up to this. Then he felt Sam's reassurance and stepped forward, ready to engage the Ruling Triad and hopefully negotiate an alliance.

"As I see it, the Goa'uld are a very real, very dangerous threat. I should know. I was recently taken prisoner, and it was only through the hard work and partnership of Major Carter, Charek, and a few others that I was rescued. Had there not been a partnership, I would still be a Goa'uld myself, more than likely planning your demise." He paused, seeing if his words were sinking in. They seemed to, as the expressions on the Ruling Triad went from anger to thinking. And a willingness to listen. Taking this as a good sign, Daniel continued, "The Goa'uld know about Earth and its people, and they certainly know about the Krimm, having been created by the Krimm. And whether it was a good idea, sanctioned by you or not, Charek helped Sam rescue me, thereby bringing the Krimm to their attention once again. They will not sit back and let that rescue go by. They will attack; it is only a matter of time. I know. I have seen it first hand. It is their way. Whether they win or not will depend on what we decide here. United with a common goal, we can fight them, perhaps not defeat them entirely, but enough to make them think twice about attacking us again. However, if we walk away from here separately, they will attack our worlds individually, and destroy us quickly. Then where will that leave us?" Daniel took a deep breath, pushing his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose, ready to move in for the kill. "You have the technology to match the Goa'uld. But you lack the experience. We have the experience, but lack the technology. Together we'd be a formidable enemy, one the Goa'uld would think twice about before attacking. We have no chance alone. But together? We might just win this war. So, I urge you to really think this proposal through before you come to a decision."

Taking a deep breath, Daniel stepped back, awaiting a response from the Ruling Triad. When it came, it certainly wasn't the one he expected.

"You speak well, Doctor Daniel Jackson, and are very wise for your years," Tal Obran started.

"And you have made some strong points," Sechar Mixa added.

"Yes, you have," Tal Obran continued. "We will seriously discuss what you have brought to light and give you an answer as soon as possible. We will not take what you said, nor our discussion lightly."

Inclining his head in thanks and respect, Daniel turned and left, followed closely by Sam and Charek. Once outside the chambers, the door shut, Sam reached out and grabbed Daniel, pulling him into a tight embrace. "Thanks," she whispered into his ear tearfully.

Daniel rubbed her back soothingly with his hands. "You're welcome," he whispered back.

"You were wonderful, Doctor Jackson," Charek beamed with approval.

"Daniel," Daniel responded.

"Huh?" Charek asked, confused.

"Daniel. Call me Daniel," he clarified.

Charek smiled. "Daniel." He knew that meant a lot coming from the archeologist, since a few months previously he had tried to kill the woman the archeologist was madly in love with.

The three friends left the Central Tower, Charek escorting the two humans to visit an old friend Doctor Maltar, who had extended an invitation for them to dinner, each lost in thought over what had happened in the chambers of the Ruling Triad, and what would happen from there. Charek was surprised to hear that he had fallen out of favor due to his previous actions in helping Sam and Teal'c. He had been hoping his credibility and popularity would win more of the Krimm over to ally themselves with Sam and Daniel's side and fight the Goa'uld. This no longer appeared to be the case. Sam was impressed with Daniel's diplomatic skills and was doing nothing to hide it. She made sure she sent her feelings through their bond, as well as taking his hand and squeezing it tightly within hers, not letting go as they walked back to the elevator. She felt lucky to have him on her side and in her life. Had he not been present at this meeting, Sam knew she wouldn't have been able to stay calm and would have ended up yelling loudly at the Ruling Triad in frustration, getting nothing accomplished. With Daniel there, she had a feeling that the Ruling Triad would agree to help them. Daniel just had a way with people and could usually get them to do what he wanted, but in such a way that they thought it had been their idea all along. Daniel, reveling in Sam's feelings for a short time, was not so sure he had done anything of importance in those chambers at all. He wasn't sure that he had swayed them to his side at all. And he had no idea where his speech had come from. When he had seem Sam beginning to get frustrated, he decided he had to step in and keep her from…going off on the Ruling Triad. So he had spoken. Very eloquently, according to Sam's thoughts, but she was biased. There had been no plan, no rehearsed speech. Daniel had just started talking, hoping desperately to make a point and turn the minds of the Ruling Triad. However, their initial response hadn't been what he expected. He figured that they would toss him, Sam, and Charek out on their asses. Instead, they had agreed to give the matter much thought. Perhaps he had made an impression, scored a point, as Sam kept telling him.

Shrugging it off, Daniel decided to put the meeting into the back of his mind for the time being. Sam was taking him to Doctor Maltar, the man responsible for the drug that saved him from the Goa'uld. He didn't want the not quite successful meeting with the Ruling Triad to affect this dinner. Smiling at Sam, he squeezed her hand back gently led her out of the elevator and towards the exit of the Central Tower.

"Colonel O'Neill, it is good to see you safe and well," the Tok'ra Malik said, stepping forward and extending his hand in greeting.

Jack stared at the offered hand for a moment, trying to decide if he should take it or not. If he didn't, it might hurt their chances of getting the Tok'ra to step up to their part of the alliance. But, if he did shake Malik's hand, he felt he would be betraying his teammates and all of their hard work and sacrifice to get him back, especially Carter. The two things that Jack as a team leader insisted on was never leave a man behind, and to stand by your teammates.

He did not take Malik's hand.

This did not go unnoticed by Teal'c, Malik, and Jacob.

"Yeah, thanks for all the help you gave my team," Jack replied sarcastically.

Malik bowed his head briefly, and then attempted an explanation/apology. "You must understand, the High Council has had its share of problems lately. If there had been a way to help Major Carter and Teal'c we would have, I assure you. We feel badly that we could not have been more helpful. You and your team must have suffered."

Jack snorted derisively. "Ya think?" He began to pace back and forth. "Lemme in to see the Council and I'll tell them EXACTLY what happened. I'm sure you'd all be impressed with the strength and courage of the primitive Tau'ri."

"Jack…" Jacob interrupted in disbelief. "It couldn't have been that bad, from what you've told me…"

Jack turned on Jacob, anger blazing in his brown eyes, but it was Teal'c who spoke, calm, cool, collected, but with an underlying tone of anger and disappointment. "You were not there. You do not know many of the events that transpired. O'Neill has only given you the…highlights. Had you helped us when Major Carter and I asked, then much that did happen would not have taken place."

Jacob closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself and briefly considering allowing Selmak to take over for the time being. But, telling himself he could remain calm, he opened his eyes and spoke to Jack, a man he hoped was still a friend. "I think it can be agreed that both the Tok'ra and the Tau'ri have screwed up in the past, this just being one of those times. You're here, now, Jack, for a reason. Even after what happened, you've come to us."

"This is just a courtesy call. I'm here to inform you of our current plan and to ask if you wish to join our campaign against the Goa'uld. I am not here to ask for your help. We no longer need the Tok'ra. Thanks to your daughter, Jacob, we have better, more powerful allies." Jack took a breath, marched over to the open doorway of the High Council's chambers and spoke loud enough for those inside to here him. "I'm here to tell you that Earth feels you haven't been living up to your end of the bargain, here, and that we've decided that an alliance with the Tok'ra is not worth our effort."

That got Jack his desired response. Five Tok'ra came rushing out of the chamber, including Gershaw. "Colonel, what is the meaning of this?" she demanded, eyes flashing in anger.

Jack shrugged nonchalantly, smiling inside. Got 'em, he thought. "Earth doesn't feel as if it is benefiting from this alliance. We feel we're putting way too much into this alliance and not getting nearly enough out of it. So, unless things change, Earth is going to end this alliance."

"Not benefiting?" Gershaw asked in disbelief. "What about the reports on Goa'uld movements and current plans?"

"And how many people has Earth lost when you give us wrong information? How many lives do we risk when you ask us to do your dirty work for you?" Silence followed Jack's statement as everyone in the room reflected on what had been said. It was Jack who broke the silence. "Teal'c and I are here to tell you what we are doing. We are not here to ask you for your help, merely to make sure you stay out of our way."

"Okay, Jack, what do you have planned?" Jacob asked. He was afraid. Hearing the way Jack was talking, Jacob was terrified that he'd finally lost his daughter once and for all. Years ago, when Sam had been a young woman, he'd lost her for a long time, not hearing from her for nearly ten years. She'd been angry with him, and rightly so. He hadn't been much of a father at that point, and had certainly not acted as he should have. It had only been a short time before her assignment to the SGC in Colorado that they had started speaking again. This time, after what Jack had described to him, he and Sam might never be okay again.

"Well, as I said, Carter made us some new allies. I don't know where she found the courage to go to the planet and speak to the people who tried to have her murdered, but she did. And came away with good friends and a way to save Daniel and me. These new allies, the Krimm, have bigger and badder weapons and…sciency stuff. Carter and Daniel went there to iron out the plan to break up the Anubis-Ares comedy hour. Teal'c and I are here to ask if you want to join us. Once you answer, we're off to see Bra'tac, and then meet up with Carter and Daniel."

"What exactly are you saying, Colonel O'Neill?" Councilor Gershaw asked him.

"Yeah, Jack, could you be a little more clear?" Jacob requested.

Jack shrugged and looked over at Teal'c, who raised an eyebrow in response. "I thought I made myself pretty clear, T," he said.

"Indeed," Teal'c replied monotonously.

"Colonel O'Neill, despite what you think…" Gershaw started before Jack cut her off.

"Don't give me that bullshit. You have no idea what I think," Jack scoffed. "But I have no problems telling you. I think you Tok'ra are a bunch of hypocritical, holier-than-thou pain-in-the-asses, who only give a damn when it directly affects one of their own." He shoved his face a mere centimeter from Gershaw's and jabbed his finger at her. "And I'm here to tell you that that attitude isn't going to cut it with us anymore. You pull your equal share, or we're through." Turning, Jack started to walk away, intending to leave the Tok'ra standing there with their mouths wide open like gaping fish, when Jacob reached out and snagged his arm, halting him.

"Jack?" Jacob questioned, not really understanding what was going on.

"Earth has decided that our treaty with the Tok'ra is no longer effective, and unless things change right here, right now, you're on your own," Jack summarized. "Clear enough for you now?"

Angry now, Gershaw demanded, "What right do you have to make us change our ways? The current alliance is sufficient."

"What right? How about the fact that my team was nearly destroyed because you wouldn't get up off your collective asses to help us!" Jack shouted at the Tok'ra, not caring about the consequences. "I have been through a lot in my years in the US Air Force, have been prepared for a lot of scenarios, especially since joining the SGC. But nothing could have possibly prepared me for what my team and I just went through. To watch as my best friend was turned into a host for a Goa'uld, and then tortured me! To know my 2IC was tortured as well as she went to make the ultimate sacrifice and trade herself for him!"

"Our operative…" Malik started, but Jack interrupted.

"Don't you dare tell me you had an operative on that ship," he warned dangerously, his gaze shooting daggers from his chocolate brown eyes. When all of the Tok'ra looked down at the ground rather than meeting his gaze, Jack snorted derisively and stormed down the corridor, muttering angrily to himself. No one, not even Teal'c, dared to follow after him.

Jacob turned his eyes from Jack's departing form and focused on Teal'c. "Teal'c, what was that all about? What's all this talk about someone becoming a Goa'uld, and Sam being tortured?"

Teal'c met each of the Tok'ra's gazes before finally settling upon JacobCarter. "O'Neill did not disclose every event that took place," Teal'c informed them. "While he and DanielJackson were prisoners of Ares and Aphrodite, DanielJackson was taken by Aphrodite as a host for her lover, Adonis. Adonis derived pleasure from torturing O'Neill."

"And Sam?" Jacob prompted.

"We were captured during our infiltration attempt. Though neither Major Carter nor DanielJackson has elaborated on the events to me, I believe that Adonis tortured Major Carter as well." Teal'c turned to look at the corridor O'Neill had just walked down, hoping to see his friend coming back, a little more calm than he had been a few moments before. But the corridor remained empty. "It has been difficult for all of us to readjust after our experiences. O'Neill blames himself for what happened to DanielJackson. However, I believe he blames the Tok'ra for allowing it to go on for so long. And for what happened to Major Carter."

Teal'c, though he had revealed very little in his speech, nothing the Tok'ra couldn't have extrapolated on their own, he still felt as though he was betraying his friend's confidence, as so he stopped talking. He knew how difficult it had been for him, to know his teammates, his friends, had been captured and were being tortured. He saw first hand how difficult it had been for Major Carter. He also knew that he would not have liked the events that had occurred and his feelings aired out for all to see, so he extended that courtesy to the rest of SG-1 and stopped speaking.

"Teal'c, if you would allow us a few hours to discuss this, we can give you an answer, and possibly support," Jacob offered quietly, sadly, looking around and meeting the eyes of the other Tok'ra standing with him.

Teal'c briefly inclined his head in acceptance, then left to go find O'Neill.

Daniel remembered why he liked Doctor Maltar on sight. He had a bright smile and soft hands, and reminded Daniel of one of the only foster parents he had ever liked. He was very gregarious and welcoming, hugging first Sam and then Daniel as well, ushering them into his modest house and taking their jackets and packs from them. He was about a head shorter than Daniel, close to Sam's height, with gray hair turning white, a large, round face, and a large girth. He started to ask them a million questions about what had happened to them at the hands of the Goa'uld, how fast his contagion had worked, how the meeting with the Ruling Triad had gone, so fast that they didn't have any time to answer. Then a petite woman waving a wooden spoon interrupted them.

"Taymu, let them into this house at least," she cried, jabbing him in the shoulder with the spoon, "before you start bombarding them with inane questions!" The woman, presumably Doctor Maltar's wife, was much shorter than he was, with graying hair pulled back from her face into a bun, and a stern look on her face, trying to hide her amusement at her husband. Not quite successfully.

Doctor Maltar grinned a toothy grin and lovingly said, "Sam, Doctor Jackson, this is my wife, Kenna. The bane of my existence."

"Oh, please," Kenna Maltar scoffed. "Stop acting like an old dursla and show our guests into our common room while I fix some drinks." As she disappeared around a corner, Doctor Maltar led the way into a very cozy room decorated in deep reds and greens, with a large, comfortable looking couch under a big, picture window and a clock standing up in the corner. Sam and Daniel seated themselves on the soft couch while Doctor Maltar took a chair across from them.

"So, tell me," he asked, leaning forward eagerly, elbows on knees, "how fast did my contagion work?"

"Well, first off, I didn't get to use the dart. I had to use the pill form," Sam informed him. "And pretty quickly I'd guess. Daniel was unconscious for a few days, but when he woke up he no longer had a Goa'uld inside him

"You used it on him?" Maltar asked incredulously. "I sure hope you tested it first."

Sam shook her head. "No time. He was a host, so I used it to save him." Sam looked to her left and caught Daniel's gaze and his reassuring smile. "I didn't have a choice."

"So what happened to you?" Doctor Maltar asked, directing his question more toward Daniel than Sam. "What happened after Sam gave you the contagion?" When Daniel didn't respond right away Doctor Maltar realized that this might not be the conversation he wanted to have; it may have made Daniel very upset to relive those horrors of being a host. "I'm very sorry, Doctor Jackson. If this is upsetting to you we don't have to continue to discuss it."

Daniel shook his head. "No, it's okay. The drug…it was painful, and I passed out quickly. The next thing I knew I was waking up with Jack leaning over me and telling me I'd been unconscious for five days. There was still some residual pain, but no Goa'uld. I'm sorry, but that's all I can remember," he said sadly.

Doctor Maltar shrugged his shoulders. "Don't be. From what you have just said, it's probably a good thing that you were unconscious. Pain and all that. But it worked. That's the important thing. How do you feel now?" Sam and Daniel looked at each other, shifting uncomfortably on the couch. Doctor Maltar caught their shared look and actions and apologized. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be asking this, it's very personal, and obviously makes you two uncomfortable."

"That's right, you shouldn't," Mrs. Maltar admonished upon entering the room with a tray of drinks. "I know you're a scientist, but that doesn't give you the right to pry into their personal feelings."

"It's really okay, Mrs. Maltar. It's just difficult to talk about, brings up a lot of bad memories," Daniel explained. "But Doctor Maltar deserves to know, since he's the reason I'm still alive and well. And without a Goa'uld."

"Then after dinner, please. No work talk at the table. And it's Kenna and Taymu," Mrs. Maltar said.

"Ah, so dinner's finally ready?" Taymu joked. Kenna nodded. "Well, let's go eat then. Once you've tasted my wife's cooking, you'll never want to leave our house. I have the best cook in the universe, if I do say so myself."

General Hammond looked at his watch again and sighed. Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c should have checked in by now. Pacing, trying to decide whether to send a team after them or to wait a little longer and give his flagship team more time, he failed to notice the man and his entourage who walked into the control room behind him. Senator Robert Kinsey.

"General Hammond," the man said more like a demand than a greeting.

Hammond whirled around, startled. When he saw who was speaking to him his stomach turned to lead, a deep, impenetrable pit of fear slowly building. This can't be good, he thought to himself. Why is he here? Now? "Senator," he said as politely as he could. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"As I understand it, two members of SG-1 have recently become telepathic, due to a fruit from off-world. I am here to bring a sample of this fruit, as well as Doctor Jackson and Major Carter, to Area 51 for study," he said smugly, handing General Hammond a folder with his orders from the president.

Hammond flipped through the papers, shocked by what he was reading. "The President okayed this?"

"As you can see, he signed the order himself," Kinsey said, pushed forward and pointing to the President's John Hancock on the bottom of one of the papers. "He feels that this event warrants further study, especially to the dangers of telepathic connections between humans and teammates."

"You can't do that!" Hammond shouted at the smug Senator. "They are human beings with rights! You can't lock them up in some lab and study them!"

"I'm afraid the President's signature says otherwise, General," Kinsey retorted. "Now, if you'll be so kind as to call Doctor Jackson and Major Carter up here…"

"Well, I'm afraid I can't do that right now. Doctor Jackson and Major Carter are currently off-world on an important mission and recalling them right now would be detrimental to Earth's security and possibly continued existence. Now, if you'll excuse me, Senator, I need to go use my red phone," Hammond brushed past Senator Kinsey. As he started up the spiral staircase from the control room to the conference room and his office, the Stargate started up and an incoming wormhole formed. Before anything came through, Walters closed the Iris to protect the SGC and Earth.

"Sir, receiving Colonel O'Neill's and Teal'c's IDC code," Simmons informed his superior. "And an audio transmission."

"Let's hear it," Hammond ordered, returning to stand by Walters.

"General Hammond?" Colonel O'Neill's voice came through.

"Yes, Colonel. What's your status?" Hammond asked.

"Not exactly good, Sir. The Tok'ra are still discussing our proposition. I think they're split on the matter. I can tell that Jacob wants to help, maybe Malik as well, but the others…it's not real pretty here, Sir. How are Carter and Daniel doing?"

Hammond took a deep breath before answering. He was hesitating, and knew Jack knew he was. He hoped that would be enough to deter Jack from asking too many questions, to get the idea that this wasn't a secure channel, since Kinsey was right there. "I'm not sure, Colonel. I haven't heard from them yet; they're not due to check in until tomorrow. It's probably better for them, anyway."

"Sir?" Jack asked. "What's going on back there?"

"Senator Kinsey is here, Jack. To take Doctor Jackson and Major Carter back with him to run tests on their telepathy," Hammond informed him bluntly.

"Over my rotting corpse," Jack returned seriously.

Hammond smiled. "I don't expect otherwise, Jack. I was just on my way up to speak to the President when you called."

"Well, don't let me 'n' Teal'c keep you from that," Jack said. "We'll call back later."

"Colonel, before you go, Bra'tac sent us a message about an hour ago, saying that he and the rebel Jaffa would be more than willing to help us in this endeavor, but he's not sure how much help he can give. Many of the rebels are busy dealing with individual System Lords right now. But he and Rac'nor are going to travel around and gather as many men as they can," Hammond informed the two members of SG-1. "And Rya'c sends his love to you, Teal'c."

"Next time you speak to them," Teal'c stepped in, "please have someone tell Rya'c I look forward to seeing him soon."

"Will do, Teal'c. Good luck, and if things aren't working out by your next transmission, then consider your mission over and return to the SGC. Hammond out."

As the transmission ended and the wormhole shut down, Hammond once again started up the spiral staircase. "Now, Senator, I'm off to reverse this inane order and to get you booted from my complex." He turned to Simmons. "Don't let him touch anything, unless it's something that will electrocute him." Then Hammond continued up the stairs, hoping to be able to change the President's mind and save two of his favorite people.

After dinner, which was wonderful and very satisfying, in Daniel's opinion, he offered to help Kenna do the dishes while Taymu showed Sam science journals in his office that outlined recent advancements in the Krimm science fields that could be used against the Goa'uld. While he suspected the Krimm certainly had an easy way of washing dishes, Daniel picked up what appeared to be a sponge and began to wipe clean the dirty plates. He watched as Kenna placed all the leftover food in something that appeared to be a small garbage compactor and then place the dirty plates on the counter next to him. Then she picked up a rag and began to dry those dishes he had already washed.

"Thank you for dinner, Kenna. It was wonderful. And Sam really liked it as well. Perhaps you can give me the recipe so I can try to make it for her at home," Daniel complimented.

"The women do not do the cooking on your world?" Kenna asked.

"Uh, well, men and woman usually are equal in that. Except that Sam's a horrible cook. She burns toast. Constantly," Daniel laughed. "I'll probably end up doing the cooking, but I don't mind. I learned how when I was a kid and actually enjoy it, when I have the time."

"I know how that is," Kenna commiserated. "One night a week Taymu gets home before I do. I volunteer at one of our city's orphanages with a number of other people and we take turns cooking the children their dinner meal. On the night I cook, I usually return home very late, so Taymu took to cooking a meal for me on that night. I don't have the heart to tell him his cooking leaves much to be desired. His thoughts and heart are in the right place."

"That's nice," Daniel commented quietly, his thoughts briefly drawn elsewhere when he felt excitement through his bond with Sam.

"Taymu told me you were an orphan as well, that you lost your parents when you were a child," Kenna said gently, hoping she wasn't being too forward.

Daniel turned to face her, startled by what she'd just said. "Uh, yeah. How'd he know?"

"Sam told him, I believe. She talked quite a bit about you to my husband, actually. One of the things that impressed her the most about you was the fact that though you had suffered many horrible things in your past you still showed an incredible amount of compassion and understanding to people, even if they didn't always deserve it." Kenna smiled secretly at Daniel. "She's really very in love with you, that one."

Daniel smiled back and nodded. "I know. I can feel it. Literally." At Kenna's confused confession Daniel explained what had happened on the Felitan's home planet with the kaylen fruit. "It gives us this added sense of intimacy and makes things between us very comfortable. It's a deep connection that transcends the physical plane. I wouldn't give this up for anything."

Later that night, as they lay in bed together, snuggled up after making love for the second time in their relationship, Sam told Daniel why she had been so excited while speaking to Doctor Maltar. She explained that the Krimm scientists had developed a type of ship armor that absorbed the kinetic energy from weapons fire and dispersed it across the ship, using it to strengthen shields and weapons. "It's using their own weapons against them," Sam said excitedly. "The Goa'uld won't be able to harm the Krimm ships."

"Have they been tested against a Goa'uld warship yet?" Daniel asked, not really happy about hurting Sam's hopes, but knowing he had to be realistic here, and that she did, too.

"Well, no," Sam replied dejectedly. "But it's worked with the Krimm's own weapons, so there's no reason to think that it won't work with the Goa'uld weapons as well, since the technology is essentially the same." She began to get excited again. "Daniel, do you realize what this means? It means that the Goa'uld won't have an effective weapon against us. Anything they throw at us will be absorbed by our own ships and then sent back to them as weapons."

"Until they find a way to work around that armor," Daniel reminded her gently, playing with her blonde locks.

"Why do you have to do that, Daniel?" Sam demanded angrily, slapping his hand away. "Why do you have to take something good and find something negative about it?"

Taken aback by her anger, Daniel got up out of the bed and said loudly, "I'm just trying to be realistic here, Sam." He began to pace back and forth in front of the bed. "This solution may work right now, but how long will it be before the Goa'uld adapt and come up with weapons that penetrate the armor before it gets absorbed?"

Sam turned away from him, curled up under the blankets and said softly, through tears, "I just want to protect you. Why can't you let me believe that this will work and will protect you? I don't want to lose you."

She may have said it softly, but Daniel did hear it and was suddenly contrite. He came around the bed and knelt before Sam's curled up body, trying to pull the blankets down a little so he could see her face. She wasn't letting him, holding on to those blankets so tightly she remained completely covered. But he could feel her sadness through their link and knew she was crying under there. He reached over and began to gently rub her back through the blankets, trying to soothe her. "I don't want to lose you either, Sam. And I know you. You'll want to be out there in the thick of things when we attack the Goa'uld. And if that ship armor doesn't work…" he trailed off, both of them knowing what he was saying, even though it was left unsaid. "I'm sorry for what I said, Sam. I just want to protect you just as much as you want to protect me."

Sam, hearing what amounted to his apology, pushed the blankets down a little and said, "It's okay, Daniel. I do understand. You don't ever have to be sorry for wanting to protect me." She sat up and reached out, pulling Daniel into a tight embrace. "And I'm sorry for overreacting. It's just, I lost you once before. I'm not sure I can do that again." She could feel Daniel nodding against her, accepting her apology and understanding her reasons. "So, our first argument, huh? Did we do okay?"

Daniel chuckled against Sam's neck, blowing warm breath against her. "I think so. We made up pretty quickly," he decided. He went to Sam without hesitating when she pulled him up into the bed with her. Sam wrapped her arms around him tightly to keep him from going anywhere as she snuggled up against him. Daniel began to run one hand up and down her arm and shoulder, the other tangling itself in her blonde hair. Kissing the top of her head that was resting on his shoulder he said, "Why don't we get some sleep and worry about this tomorrow. We could go and see this new armor and some of the tests first hand, then go from there."

"That sounds like a good suggestion," Sam replied, snuggling in closer to him. Goodnight, Daniel, she thought through their link.

'Night, Sam, came the reply. I love you.

Love you too. Only Sam's reply was a little muddled.

She's falling asleep, Daniel realized. He watched as Sam's breathing evened out and she entered a deep state of sleep. He watched her sleep for a while, thinking how lucky he really was to have her in his life and in his arms. There's nothing I wouldn't do for her, he thought, even if it was for her own good and made her angry at me at first. I'm going to hold on to her with both hands and never let go, never leave her side. Because, without her, I am no longer me. With that thought, Daniel allowed himself to drift off to sleep, keeping a tight hold on the woman in his arms.

Jack was awakened by Teal'c urgently shaking him. Years of military training caused Jack to wake up instantly, jumping to his feet and looking around for his weapons and hat. "What is it?" he asked, strapping on his P90 and jamming his olive colored baseball cap down on his head. "What's wrong?"

"General Hammond is sending a transmission through to us here. It is of the utmost importance, O'Neill," Teal'c replied. "We must hurry."

Jack and Teal'c, with Jacob and Malik on their heels, charged down the crystal corridors to the ring transport to the surface. Wishing the transport worked faster, Jack's mind ran through many different possibilities as to what was wrong. They ranged from Kinsey getting to Carter and Daniel to the two scientists being kidnapped by pygmies. One of these days we're going to run into pygmies and I'm going to die of laughter from the look on Carter's face. But that's off topic. Something must have happened to Carter and Daniel. Fear caused an uneasy, sick feeling in Jack's stomach. Is this how Carter and Teal'c felt when Daniel and I didn't report in and were captured? No wonder Carter freaked out.

When they reached the surface Jack raced to the Stargate, the MALP, and the open wormhole. "General Hammond? What's happening?" he asked without preamble.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Jack, but I've just received word from the Krimm homeworld. The Goa'uld are attacking as we speak," Hammond rushed out. "I'm sending as many SG teams through as I can. Can you get there?"

"We'll leave right away," Jack said, all business. "O'Neill out." Once the wormhole disengaged, he turned to Teal'c. "You ready to kick some ass, T?" he asked.

"Indeed," Teal'c responded. "We must leave at once, if we are to get there in time to cause harm to the Goa'uld." He could tell that O'Neill was more than worried about Major Carter and DanielJackson, as was he. His friends had been through so much in the past few months he wasn't sure they'd be able to get through this as well without him and O'Neill there for help and support. Teal'c was very afraid that something was going to happen to either Major Carter or DanielJackson, something that the other would not be able to recover from. He reached over to the DHD and quickly began dialing the address for Krimm. As he did this, he listened in on the conversation O'Neill was having with JacobCarter and Malik.

"We're going, with our without you," Jack informed the Tok'ra. "We'd prefer to have as many people on our side as possible, but we can go it alone."

Making a quick decision that he hoped the rest of the Tok'ra would honor Jacob said, "We'll send a message from here to the Council giving them the coordinates, then Malik and I will go with you now while the rest of our people quickly gather our forces and follow."

Nodding at the Tok'ra and indicating that he should make it quick, Jack turned to Teal'c as he activated the Stargate. "Two days, Teal'c. It's only been two days since we spoke to Carter and Daniel, and four days since we went off on these separate missions. And now look at what's happened. How could this have happened in two days time?"

Teal'c, realizing the question was rhetorical, did not answer it. Instead, he clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. "I'm sure Major Carter and DanielJackson are well. If something had happened to them the Krimm would have informed General Hammond."

"Or maybe it's Hammond who didn't inform us," Jack responded fatalistically.

"He would not be so dishonorable, O'Neill," Teal'c assured him.

"You're right, T. We'd better go." Shrugging off Teal'c hand Jack turned back around to face the Tok'ra. "You guys ready? We need to go five minutes. ago." Jacob and Malik both nodded. "We don't really know the situation over there yet. Okay, T, you're in first, take point. I'll follow next, then Malik, then Jacob on our six. Weapons ready, boys." Jack snapped the safety off his P90 and watched as Teal'c prepared his staff weapon for battle. The two Tok'ra removed their zat guns from their belts and opened them up into the on position. The four of them were ready to go. "Let's head out." Teal'c led the way up to the Stargate, Jack on his heels. Jack fervently hoped they were ready for whatever they were to find on the other side.

The two members of SG-1 and the two Tok'ra were greeted by a few Krimm wearing long, white robes as well as Colonel Reynolds of SG-3. Upon seeing friendly faces, Teal'c, Jack, Malik, and Jacob put away their weapons and hurried down the few steps to ground level. Immediately Jack asked for a report on the situation.

"So far it's only a space battle. The Krimm are holding their own with this new armor for their ships. I'm not really sure how it works, not my department. I'm sure when you find Major Carter she could give you a long, detailed explanation," Colonel Reynolds explained. "However, at this moment, she is up there in the middle of the battle flying something that looks like a cross between a death glider and something out of Star Wars, Sir. I'll take you to a transport ship that will take you up to their command ship in orbit."

"O'Neill, I believe I will be more effective flying a ship in battle," Teal'c said.

"The attack ships are launched from the larger carriers in orbit. I'm sure there's one on the command ship you could use," one of the Krimm spoke up. Teal'c turned to him and inclined his head in greeting.

"Doctor Maltar, it pleases me to see you well," Teal'c said.

"And you as well, Teal'c. Come, let's go into orbit."

"Teal'c, you know this guy?" Jack asked quietly as they followed Colonel Reynolds and the Krimm.

"Indeed. He is Doctor Maltar, the man who created the contagion that killed the Goa'uld in DanielJackson. He is a friend," Teal'c replied. "He can be trusted."

They only needed to walk a short distance from the Stargate before they arrived at a small shuttle. Climbing aboard, Doctor Maltar introduced them to the pilot, a young man named Kero. Indicating that they should take seats for take-off, Jack sat between Jacob and Doctor Maltar. He watched the Krimm scientist fasten something similar to a seat belt or a safety harness. "Are we really going to need that?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes," Doctor Maltar replied. "As Sam commented earlier, it's a bumpy ride to the command ship."

"You saw Sam earlier," Jacob practically shouted, leaning across Jack who was trying, unsuccessfully, to attach his safety harness.

"Yes," Doctor Maltar replied calmly, pushing Jacob back and lending Jack a hand. "I saw her early this morning, when she and Daniel awoke and had breakfast with my wife and I. That was when we first received the reports of Goa'uld ships in our system. I took Sam and Daniel to a launch pad and brought them up to our command ship." He turned to Keno and nodded his head to tell the young pilot to go.

"Prepare for launch!" Keno shouted back. With a hard thrust, the ship took off at top speed, throwing Jack back against his seat. Looking out the tiny viewport over Teal'c's shoulder across from where Jack sat, he saw that they were taking off at an almost vertical ascent. And very very quickly. He had no idea exactly how fast they were going, but his insides felt like they were turning into goo, so Jack figured very damn fast. He looked around at the others in the ship, wanting to see if anyone other than him wanted to throw up. Teal'c as usual, looked as calm and stoic as ever. Does nothing bother that guy's constitution? Jack thought. Next to Teal'c was Malik on one side and Colonel Reynolds on the other. Colonel Reynolds looked okay, but he had his eyes closed. Jack figured he'd done this at least twice before, so maybe he was getting used to this. Jack hoped this was the case. He didn't think he could ever do this again if it didn't get easier each time. Malik looked like he was turning green. I guess the Tok'ra aren't immune to G-forces. So used to inertial dampeners that Malik has probably never felt anything like this before. Poor guy. Glancing briefly to his left, Jack saw Jacob's expression and suddenly felt very very sorry for the man. He was too worried about his daughter to really know what was going on. The expression on his face was a mixture of pure terror and anguishing guilt. He carefully reached out and touched Jacob's hand, letting him know everything would be all right. The two other Krimm and the three other members of SG-3 all seemed okay, leading Jack to once again believe that each trip got easier and easier as the body adjusted. Luckily, thought, Jack did not have to endure this for very long. It was only a few minutes before they were docking on a very large ship.

Once they exited the transport shuttle Doctor Maltar led them down dark, metal corridors towards what he called Command and Control. He explained that that was where the military leaders were located and where Daniel most likely was. Shoving them all into an elevator, they rode up five levels and were deposited right outside Command and Control. Tying a code into the box right outside and conceding to a retinal scan, Doctor Maltar explained that one needed a special code and DNA access into Command and Control. "As a safety precaution." When the door opened, Doctor Maltar entered, gesturing for the others to follow him. Once inside, Jack looked about in wonder. This ship made the very advanced Prometheus look like a car in a junkyard. Soft lights illuminated pristine metal workstations. Everyone was wearing some kind of helmet with skinny antennae like projections in their ears and in front of their eyes. No one was touching any kind of console, but things were obviously getting done. The picture on the viewscreen was constantly changing, people constantly moving about. But no one was talking.

"Neural interfaces," Doctor Maltar explained. "Works faster." He went over to a man in a center seat, who Jack figured was the captain or the commander, or whatever. The man in charge. Tapping him gently on the shoulder, the man took off his headgear and turned in his seat.

"Ah, Doctor Maltar. I see you have returned." He then turned his eyes to Jack and Teal'c. "Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c, I presume?" When Jack nodded the man smiled. "Ah, good. I was hoping I'd meet the man who trained Major Carter and Doctor Jackson. I must compliment you on your team, Colonel. They are quite a pair. I am Tal Obran, commander of all Krimm forces."

"Jack O'Neill. This is Teal'c. The other two are from the Tok'ra, Malik and Jacob Carter," Jack introduced, not quite sure if this man could be trusted. He appeared pleasant and genuine on the outside, but there was something about him that rubbed Jack the wrong way. He filed that away, making a mental note to ask Teal'c his opinion of the man later. Teal'c usually had a better read on people than Jack did.

"Jacob Carter? Any relation to Sam Carter?" Tal Obran asked, intrigued.

"She's my kid," Jacob responded. "I need to speak to her immediately. How can I do that?"

"You can't right now. Her unit's out there in combat. I need to keep the channels open, I'm sorry," Tal Obran informed them. "Hopefully this won't last much longer and then you can speak to her."

At just that moment the door to Command and Control whooshed open and Daniel Jackson came running in, glasses askew on his nose, shirt untucked from his pants, hair all tousled and sticking up at all angles. He pushed past the SGC personnel, the Krimm, and even Jacob, Jack, and Teal'c, without even realizing who they were. "Commander Obran, you have to recall Grisla Unit. I've been monitoring the Goa'uld communication channels and they're massing the bulk of their gliders to attack Grisla Unit when they make their run at the shield generator!"

Reacting instantly to Daniel's statement he replaced his headgear and closed his eyes. A few moments later he removed his helmet and turned to the archeologist. "How did they know our plan?"

Daniel shrugged and pushed his glasses back into position "I don't know. I only know what I translated. Did you get through to Charek in time?"

Commander Obran nodded. "Yes. He and Major Carter are going to use their units to draw out the death gliders and then allow Borbak Unit in to knock out the shields. Once the shields are down, all three units are going to return here for a recharge."

Daniel nodded. "Good. I need to speak to Sam, anyway." Then he seemed to realize whom he was standing among. "Jack, when'd you get here?"

"About five minutes ago, Space Monkey. What the hell is going on?"

"The Goa'uld attacked," Daniel replied simply.

"I can see that," Jack shot back. "Why?"

"I don't know." Daniel gave Jack a look as if to say, how the hell am I supposed to know that.

"Oh. Okay." Jack turned to Commander Obran. "What can I do to help? Teal'c here is a good pilot; he should probably be out there."

Tal Obran shook his head. "Not yet. Once some of my units have returned, then I can assign him to one. Until then, I'm afraid it's a watch and wait game." He replaced his helmet and changed the view on the screen. "Watch carefully. The attack ships with the red wing are from Grisla Unit, the one Captain Charek is commanding. The green wings belong to Borbak Unit, commanded by Captain Augustos. The yellow wings are Tatak Unit, commanded by your own Major Carter. Watch how Grisla and Tatak draw out the death gliders and keep them away from the sensitive shield generators of that Goa'uld mothership. See how well they work together?" They all watched as the two units played a game of cat and mouse with the death gliders, drawing them out, then playing a game of tag, slowly taking them farther and farther from the shield generator. The Goa'uld weapons seemed to hit the Krimm attack ships but do no damage. The attack ships shimmered with each hit, but nothing happened to them. Then, as they continued to watch the viewscreen, the Borbak Unit came in silently and focused their weapons fire on one spot, the spot the death gliders had been guarding until they'd been drawn away. Something exploded and Borbak Unit beat a hasty retreat past another, larger Krimm ship. That ship bombarded the Goa'uld ship with their weapons. In an instant, the Goa'uld ship exploded in a bright white light, sending debris for kilometers.

"Sweeeet," Jack commented. "We'll take about a dozen each."

Obran snorted. "Daniel warned me you'd be sarcastic." Jack pretended to be hurt, but then turned to Daniel and smiled.

"Well, that's me. So, how soon can they be delivered?"

"Sir," one of Obran's men interrupted their casual banter. "The Goa'uld are pulling back."

"But not out of the system?" The younger officer shook his head. "Then the battle is delayed, not finished." He turned to his guests. "Come, let us use this brief break in the battle to become acquainted. And to meet Captain Charek and Major Carter down in the docking bay."

But before they could move a few steps an explosion rocked the ship. They were all thrown off their feet and onto the ground. Warning sirens blared left and right, bright red lights flashing, smoke billowing up out of a few consoles. Tal Obran grabbed his neural interface and jammed it on his head. A few moments later he removed it and stood up. "We have a problem. There was a large explosion down in one of the docking bays. It's destroyed a number of our key systems, including our docking bay doors. Anyone can enter our ship now."

Without another thought, Tal Obran, along with Daniel, Jack, Teal'c, Jacob, Malik, Colonel Reynolds, and a number of Krimm and SGC soldiers hastily exited Command and Control and made their way down to the docking bay. All prepared their weapons for battle, knowing that an explosion and open doors was not a good thing. Daniel feared for Sam, afraid that the docking bay that exploded was the same one she was entering in her attack ship at the time. He reached out with his mind and touched hers. She was okay, but worried. Her arm hurt a little, bumped around in the explosion, and Jaffa were coming out of a ship that had entered the docking bay along with the Krimm attack ships. A cloaked ship.

"So that's how they got in," Daniel murmured to himself. However, Obran, Jack, and Teal'c were very close to him and overheard him.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Cloaked ship. The Jaffa came in a cloaked ship," Daniel elaborated.

"How do you know?"

"Sam told me."

"Oh. When?"

"Just now."

"How many?"

Daniel paused, mentally speaking to Sam before giving Jack an answer. "About 25, she thinks." Another pause, then. "They're in a firefight! We have to hurry!" He took off as fast as he could down the corridor.

"Dammit, Daniel! Be careful!" Jack shouted after him, picking up the pace as well. Teal'c and Jacob were right behind him, Tal Obran, Colonel Reynolds, and everyone else a few steps behind them. The only thing that ran through Jack's mind was that Carter would kill him if anything happened to Daniel. Kill him and make it hurt. Jack tried to catch up to Daniel, but no matter how fast he ran, Daniel was still a few steps ahead of him. And he wasn't listening; he was too concerned for Sam to think of anything else, least of all himself. The man's going to get himself killed, Jack thought.

And as Jack rounded a bend, he saw just that.

Daniel shot at point blank range by a Jaffa with a staff weapon.

He hit the ground with a loud thud and did not move.

Everything after that seemed to happen very slowly. Jack jumped back around the corner, out of the line of fire. He was aware of a woman screaming, and he belatedly realized it was Carter crying out Daniel's name in anguish. She must have seen it happen, and certainly felt it through their connection. Praying that she would stay put and not race to Daniel's side, at least until the Jaffa were taken care of, Jack quickly leaned around the corner into the docking bay and fired three consecutive shots, taking out three consecutive Jaffa soldiers. As he hid back out of sight he was joined by Teal'c and Jacob. He quickly recounted what he'd seen and watched their expressions closely. Teal'c schooled his into quiet acceptance, but deep behind those eyes Jack thought he saw sorrow and anger. Jacob closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them they flashed, showing that Selmak had taken over. Obviously this was too much for Jacob to handle and keep a clear head, especially since it was his daughter in there, and the man she loved lying, most likely dead, a few feet away.

Jack, Teal'c, and Jacob listened to the sound of weapons fire in the docking bay, trying to decide if they should jump in and help, or wait for the others to reach them first. But they didn't need to decide. Only a few moments after Teal'c and Jacob had joined Jack, Tal Obran and the others dropped to their knees to join the small group.

"Daniel?" Tal Obran questioned.

"Down, just around the corner. It's not good," Jack replied. "There are about 15 Jaffa in there, as well as a few of your people and Major Carter. We need to take out the Jaffa."

"If we catch them in a cross fire," Obran suggested. At Jack's nod of agreement, Obran took over and they swarmed through the doorway to the docking bay, shooting. Taking out the Jaffa. There received help from those inside the docking bay, and Jack saw Carter take down a few herself with deadly accuracy. Staff blasts whipped past his head, exploding against the walls behind him. He ducked to avoid a zat blast or two, jumping behind an attack ship for cover, Teal'c right behind him, watching his six, as usual. Jack saw Jacob and Malik jump behind cover in the opposite direction, Tal Obran and two of his men finding somewhere else in the room. Colonel Reynolds stayed at the doorway, covering his teammates and allies from there. It was over quickly, one Jack and the others entered the firefight. Once the Jaffa were all taken down, Jack watched as Carter raced out from behind the gray, metal storage crates she was hiding behind and dropped to her knees beside Daniel's unmoving body. She took his hand, trying to will him awake.

Jack joined Carter and felt Daniel's neck for a pulse. There, but incredibly faint. If he didn't get immediate medical attention he wasn't going to make it. That was for sure. He scooted over next to Carter and put an arm on her shoulder for comfort then said quietly, "Daniel needs medical attention now."

"Doctor Fraiser is on her way down, Sir," Colonel Reynolds informed him, coming over as well. "She came over with one of the medical support teams. I just called her."

Jack nodded at Colonel Reynolds, then turned his attention to Carter. She was shaking, mumbling something over and over that he couldn't quite catch. He turned her face to his and he saw a glazed look in her eyes that frightened him; he'd only ever seen that look once before and not on Carter. No, it had been on his own face, staring back at him in a mirror, in a hospital. Right after Charlie had shot himself with Jack's gun. Oh no, not Carter. I won't let what happened to me happen to her, Jack vowed. He owed Charlie and Daniel that much. Taking both of Carter's hands in his he said strongly, evenly, "He's not dead, Carter. He's not gone yet."

"I can't feel him. He's not there," Sam whispered. "Why can't I feel him?" She continued to shake, but more violently now, and Jack passed her off to her father, knowing that she was in deep shock and needed help right then. Jack needed to concentrate on Daniel at the moment, so he let Jacob and Teal'c take care of Carter. He watched as they tried to pull her away, but she became hysterical, lashing out at them, trying to stay with Daniel. Finally, Teal'c just reached around her, pinning her arms to her sides, and dragged her away, Jacob trying to talk to her, get through to her, the whole time Carter screaming to let her go, that she had to be with Daniel.

Janet Fraiser arrived just then and immediately went to work on Daniel. After a few moments of monitoring his vital signs and attempting to stop the bleeding, she looked up and Jack and shook her head just slightly. Her signal for not being able to do anything. "Doc," Jack said quietly, choked up. "Doc, there's gotta be something."

"There's nothing I can do. This is all up to Daniel. I can stabilize him enough to move him to a medical facility and hook him up to a bunch of machines, but that's about it," Janet quietly, sadly informed him, tears running down her cheeks. "But I don't think any of that is going to help. Sir, I don't think Daniel's going to make it this time."

Daniel woke up surrounded by bright white light. "Oh boy, not again," he murmured to himself. He sat up and looked around, recognizing the Gateroom back in Cheyenne Mountain. An empty Gateroom. He looked over to the Stargate and there she was, Oma Desala, standing in front of the great metal ring. Daniel just waited patiently at the bottom of the ramp, waited for her to come to him and to tell him what was going on. But instead of coming toward him, she seemed to wait as well, wait for someone to join them. Another white glow came through the Stargate and coalesced into human form. The form of a young boy, around twelve years of age. Shifu, Sha're's child.

Deciding that he'd done enough waiting, wanting to get this over with Daniel called up to them, "I figured I wasn't going to be allowed to ascend again, after being tossed out before."

"We are not here to help you ascend," Oma Desala told Daniel. "We are here to tell you that you have the power to ascend by yourself. Or to heal yourself and to return to your friends. Whichever you choose."

"Excuse me? I thought you guys took all my ancient powers away when you voted me off the island?" Daniel asked, wincing as he realized what he'd just said. I'm spending way too much time with Jack watching Survivor.

"We took away your thoughts and memories, but not your abilities," Oma replied, understanding his metaphor. She stepped down the ramp. "You have always had those abilities, Daniel Jackson."

"I don't understand. What are you saying?" Daniel asked, confused, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"A man cannot reach his destination until he knows from where he has started," Shifu chimed in.

"Yeah, yeah, and if I immediately recognize the candlelight his fire, then the meal was cooked a long time ago. I get it, okay, you're going to speak in riddles. But at least give me riddles I can understand," Daniel responded, annoyed.

"I believe that one is self-explanatory, Daniel Jackson. Just think on it," Oma admonished him. "Do not immediately think what we say is beyond your grasp."

"Okay, okay. Let's see," Daniel said in frustration, running his hands through his hair and making it stand up on end. "A destination…an end point, meaning a journey, meaning…life, perhaps? Then the starting point…birth…parents. You're talking about my parents," he said, abruptly looking up from the ground and staring intently at the two ascended beings.

"Yes," Oma Desala replied.

"But I knew my parents. I mean, they died when I was eight, but I did know them."

"You did not know all," Oma said. "You are who you are, where you are, because of them."

"Yeah, I went into archeology because of them," Daniel said.

"No. I am talking about now. This very moment," Oma corrected.

"A person is the sum of his parents' abilities and his own experiences," Shifu added.

Daniel thought on this, trying to figure out what it was Oma Desala and Shifu were trying so desperately to get him to understand. He knew his time was limited; it was only a matter of time before his body would give out and he would die. He needed to solve this mystery before then. He needed to get back to Sam. But, being Daniel Jackson, this talk was intriguing, and he wasn't ready to walk away from it right then. Okay, he thought, I am here, in this very position because of them. I am a mixture of them and my experiences…they said abilities, my parents' abilities…I can do things because my parents could…I have the power to heal myself…I didn't now all about my parents…parents' abilities…my abilities…I can heal myself…Daniel looked abruptly at Oma Desala, disbelief written all over his face. No way, he thought. Could that be possible?

"One, or both, of my parents were ascended," he said softly, almost with deadly certainty.

Daniel was moved to the medial bay on the Krimm command ship. Sam never left his side. It had been almost four hours since he'd been hit, the battle between Krimm and Goa'uld still continuing outside. Sam sat in a chair next to Daniel's bed, holding his hand and talking to him. Someone, she didn't know who, had wrapped a blanket around her, nor did she really care. All that mattered was Daniel, getting Daniel well. Making sure Daniel lived. She couldn't feel him, and that scared her. She was amazed at how used to this telepathic link she had become. It had been less than ten days since she and Daniel had become mentally bonded, and yet Sam wasn't sure she could live without it now. Daniel, you have to come back to me, Sam silently pleaded with him, holding his hand more tightly. I can't do this without you. You promised me you wouldn't leave, that nothing was going to happen to you. Please don't break that promise to me. I need you here, with me. Sam wiped away the free flowing tears with her other hand and sniffed. There was no way she'd make it if Daniel died. She knew her life would end if his did.

Jack, Jacob, Teal'c, and Janet watched Sam watching Daniel from across the medical bay. All three were as deeply worried about Sam as they were about Daniel. Sam was very pale and unresponsive to anyone who came over to her. They all feared she was just going to spiral into a deep depression the longer Daniel remained as he was. And if he died…They didn't even want to think about that. Jack knew that if Daniel died, he was resigning from the Air Force and leaving the SGC. Permanently. He'd lost too many people in his life to willing participate in something that keeps taking his friends away. Daniel, Jack prayed, don't die. Who'm I gonna bug day after day? And Carter, don't do this to her. We still need you, Danny. I still need you. You're like my annoying kid brother who constantly gets on my nerves, but who I would lay my life down for because I love so damn much. Jack wiped a few stray tears away as he let his emotions take over, a rare occurance. Then he whirled around and punched the metal wall. Hard. And broke his hand. And didn't care.

Teal'c, fearing the worst, was preparing himself for a deep kel'no'reem to appropriately deal with the feelings that DanielJackson's death would once again invoke. Perhaps I can get Major Carter to join me, he thought to himself. She'll need support after this. Teal'c was most worried about Carter; the look in her eyes, vacant, unfocused, scared him. If DanielJackson died, Teal'c knew Major Carter would never be the same again. He also realized that not only Major Carter would be deeply affected by DanielJackson's death. He knew he would have trouble dealing with it, as would JacobCarter, Doctor Fraiser, and most definitely, O'Neill. If Daniel died, life would be irrevocably changed forever. He watched as O'Neill hit the wall, then favored his hand. Anger. O'Neill was angry wit the situation, and probably with himself and Daniel as well. Teal'c understood. He was angry as well.

Janet cried. She just looked at Daniel, and at Sam, and cried. She remembered how difficult it had been for Sam the last time Daniel died. She knew that Sam hadn't been able to deal with the loss and had sought out help from Dr. Mackenzie. This time, Janet feared, there would be nothing Dr. Mackenzie could do. Or her. One of her best friends lay dying, and she, a doctor, could do nothing more to save him. And her other best friend was so traumatized that she wasn't even hearing the words of comfort and support Janet had tried to give her. Janet's feelings could be summed up into one word: helpless. She was helpless.

Jacob looked at his daughter and nearly fled from the room. He had never seen Sam so distraught, so much in shock, so…out of it. Not even when her mother had died, Jacob said to himself and Selmak. At least when her mother had died she still spoke, albeit not much. She was there. But this? It's as if she's retreated into herself, her own little world, and only Daniel can rescue her. I'll miss him if he dies, but Sam…Sam won't just miss him. She'll morn him so deeply that I'm afraid she won't recover.

"She's hasn't said anything to me except 'I can't feel him'," Jacob said.

"She's still in a state of shock," Janet tried to explain. "She has no idea where she is or what's going on around her. She probably didn't even realize you were there when she said that."

"She must love him very much," Jacob commented quietly.

"You have no idea," Jack responded just as quietly.

"I do not believe that Major Carter will survive if DanielJackson does not," Teal'c added.

"C'mon Daniel," Jack said under his breath, "don't do this to us again."

"One of my parents was an ascended being," Daniel said. It was the biggest revelation of his entire life.

Oma Desala nodded. "Your mother. It was her job to guard a sacred artifact in Egypt. One your father found. Your mother fell in love and took human form, to be with him. They had you. You are part ascended being, Daniel Jackson. You always have been. You did not need my help two years ago to ascend; you could have done that on your own."

"I just needed a push in the right direction, huh?" he said. "So if I'm part ascended being, I should be able to heal myself and others. I should be able to read ancient. I should be able to know how the Stargate works. How come I don't know any of this? How come I couldn't read ancient before I ascended?"

"If you do not believe you can, they you won't," Shifu replied.

"Riiiiiight. Because I didn't think it possible, I didn't open myself up to the possibility," Daniel said slowly. "So, I'm a human with the powers of an ascended being?"

"In a manner of speaking," Oma Desala said.

"What does that mean?" Daniel asked, getting tired. He just wanted to know how to get back to Sam. She must be going crazy with grief right now, Daniel said to himself. I can't believe I'm doing this to her again.

"You are who you are, where you are, because of your parents," Oma Desala repeated. "It is your destiny, Daniel Jackson."

"My destiny? Are you saying destiny is predetermined? Because I can site a long list of people who would both agree with you and disagree," Daniel started to lecture.

Oma raised her hand and cut him off. "You are half ascended being, Daniel, on your mother's side. Therefore, you have great abilities. Great gifts." She came down off the ramp completely and placed her hands on his shoulders, looking deeply into his eyes. "Because of your gifts, you and only you, could get the Stargate to work. It was part of your destiny."

"Because I'm part ancient-slash-ascended being," Daniel said slowly, starting to grasp what Oma Desala was saying. "So, because of who my parents were, an archeologist and an ancient being, I became and archeologist who specialized in the theory that aliens built the Great Pyramids, thereby getting pulled into the Stargate program and opening Earth to the horrors it has seen…" Daniel trailed off. "So, really, if what you say is true, then it's my fault. It's all my fault…Earth getting pulled into this war, Sha're getting capture and killed…all of the death and destruction we have endured…" Daniel looked at her with horror in his bright blue eyes. "I'm a curse. I should just die, and get away from the ones I love before I cause more harm."

"You give yourself far too much credit, Daniel. Yes, it was your destiny to show Earth the Stargate. But you were not in control of how Earth would use the Stargate. Anything that happened afterwards wasn't you fault." As Daniel lowered his gaze she reached out and pulled his chin up, making sure to make eye contact with him. "And it is your destiny to save your world, Daniel."

"Save them? How, when all I touch is ruined…" Daniel said dejectedly, feeling sorry for himself.

"You are half ascended being. Anubis is part ascended being as well. You have the power to confront him and, quite possibly, destroy him," Oma Desala informed him. "The Others will not interfere with Anubis's plans. Shifu and I cannot interfere. But you can."

"I can defeat Anubis?" Daniel questioned, looking up, eyes wet with tears.

"Maybe," Oma replied. "He could just as easily defeat you."

"Experience leads to victory," Shifu stepped in.

"Practice makes perfect," Daniel answered. He smiled crookedly. "So, if I work my powers I could fight Anubis and maybe destroy him to save Earth, and everyone else." He sighed deeply. "I guess I'd better get started."

Oma Desala smiled at her pupil. "To begin, first you must heal yourself so you can continue on your journey."

"Are my parents here?" Daniel suddenly asked, changing the subject.

"Yes," Oma replied.

"Can I see them? Speak to them?" he asked hopefully.

"Perhaps someday, but not today. You have not yet reached that level of understanding. When you do, you will be able to speak to them as we are speaking now," Oma explained.

Disappointed, Daniel nodded. "I understand. Small steps, not great leaps, lead to total understanding of and mastery over oneself."

Both Oma Desala and Shifu beamed at him, proud that he arrived at that conclusion on his own.

"So, I don't have to go with you?" Daniel asked, making sure he had a choice.

"Your journey has not yet ended, Daniel," Oma replied cryptically.

"So, you said I could heal myself. How?" he asked.

"Just believe you can. Focus on something, something very important to you, feel that something, then feel yourself getting better for that something. And you will."

"Do I have to nearly die again to be able to speak to you?"

Oma Desala shook her head. "Through a deep meditative state you will be able to reach us," she told him. "Eventually, you will be able to reach your parents as well."

Daniel nodded. "I look forward to that. Would you tell them that I love them?" Oma agreed. "Okay, then, I'm ready to go back."

"Just believe, Daniel Jackson. Believe," Oma said, fading away.

"The wind is swift and strong, the tree bends, but it does not break," Shifu said as he followed Oma Desala.

"One of these days," Daniel said out loud to himself, "I'm gonna figure out what that kid is taking about."

Beeping. Loud, incessant beeping brought Sam out of her cloud and back into the real world. The machines Daniel was hooked up to were beeping. Beeping, in Sam's opinion, wasn't always a good thing.

"Janet!" Sam called hoarsely.

Janet, Jack, Teal'c, and Jacob rushed over to Daniel's bed, Jacob wrapping his arms around his daughter, preparing for the worst. Instead, he watched as Janet disconnected many of the machines and pried off the bandages on Daniel's chest, covering where he'd been hit with the staff weapon. There was no longer an open, gaping wound. In fact, his skin was perfectly smooth, unmarred. Next, she removed the endotracheal tube down his throat and they all watched as Daniel coughed and then spluttered and opened his eyes.

"Daniel?" Sam called in disbelief. "Daniel, are you okay?" Then she felt him. She felt his thoughts and his feelings. Their link was reestablished.

Daniel looked over at Sam and even though she was very pale, eyes red and running with tears, he didn't think she'd ever looked more beautiful. He reached out with his hand and grasped hers, giving it a good squeeze.

Hey, Sam, he thought through their link, sending his love and thoughts. Are you okay?

Shouldn't I be the one asking you that question? she retorted.

Didn't I tell you I'd always worry about you?

Yeah, and you said I wasn't going to lose you, she accused.

And did you? I'm right here.

I almost did.

But you didn't. And boy do I have a story to tell you.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Jack groaned. "Would you two puhlease stop doing that!"

"Doing what?" Daniel and Sam asked in unison, as innocently as they could.

Jack groaned again. Then he smiled at his two 'kids'. "It's good to have you back, Daniel. You gotta tell me, how did you heal like that?"

"I just thought about it," Daniel replied.

"Thought?"

"Yeah."

"No kidding."

"Nope."

"Wow."

"Exactly."

"DanielJackson, it pleases me greatly to know you will recover," Teal'c interrupted.

"Thanks, Teal'c. I'm glad I'm going to be okay, too. And do I have something to tell you." Taking a deep breath and looking at Sam for courage, Daniel began his tale. "I did nearly die. And then I was back in the Gateroom on Earth, empty, except for Oma Desala and Shifu. And they told me I was part ascended. My mother had been an ascended being when she met my father and fell in love. Her abilities were passed on to me. And I can use my abilities to fight Anubis. Oma Desala said it was my destiny." He ended his short explanation and looked at his friends, waiting for their responses.

"So you're half Ancient, ascended being, whatever? Our own secret weapon against the Big Bad Wolf?" Jack asked for clarification.

"Big Bad Jackal, and yeah, pretty much."

"Cool."

Daniel's gaze fell to the blankets covering him and he began to play with them nervously, removing hand from Sam's grasp. "This changes things, doesn't it?"

"How so?" Teal'c asked.

"Well, I'm not who you thought I was…"

"Are you not still DanielJackson?" Teal'c asked.

"Yeah,"

"Then nothing is changed. You are still my teammate and my friend."

"Same here," Janet echoed.

"Does this change which side you want to fight on or how you feel about my daughter?" Jacob asked. When Daniel shook his head no Jacob continued, "Then this changes nothing for me, other than the fact that I now have a son in law." He looked over at his daughter and smiled. "I could have gotten much worse."

"Daniel, you being part Ancient or whatever doesn't change anything between us, except that now I figure you'll be a bigger pain in my ass, being all high and mighty," Jack joked.

Then Daniel looked over at Sam, waiting for her to drop the bombshell on him and walk away. But, she didn't. Instead, she just reached over and hugged him tightly. "I love you," she said into his neck. He could feel the tears leaking from her eyes running down his skin. "All of you." Sighing, Daniel wrapped his arms around his wife and held on as tightly as he could manage, relieved that everything was going to be all right.

Author's note: Don't worry, there will be a sequel. Please send comments.