Daniel and the others stared blankly at Oltorf unsure how to respond. Jack was the first to find his voice.
"I'm not who you think I am. I don't have any special gifts, and I can't save you from anything. I mean what is there for you to be saved from anyway. It doesn't look like your people are facing any major threats."
"Perhaps the mark you bear prevents you from doing the magic properly?" Oltorf challenged Jack and his glare dared the Colonel to dispute him.
"What mark?" Jack asked trying to hide the nervousness in his voice.
"That one there on your arm." Oltorf and his daughter pointed to O'Neill's forearm.
Daniel and Carter raised an eyebrow in confusion along with Teal'c. They couldn't see a mark on their CO's arm, but it was clear that Oltorf was certain there was something there.
"There's no mark on Colonel O'Neill's arm." Carter protested.
"You may not be able to see it, but it is there. I will show you." With that Oltorf reached for a candle that was just beside the pedestal and brought it close to Jack's arm. Ever so gently he let some of the wax drip onto the Colonel's skin and the rest of SG-1 watched as their CO's arm began to glow. At first the image was faint, but the image of black serpent on Jack's arm soon became clear.
"How did you do that?" Daniel asked as he reached out to touch Jack's arm, and was surprised when Jack wrenched his arm away.
"I don't know what you people think, but this little illusion of yours doesn't prove a thing." Angrily he wiped the wax from his forearm and reached for his jacket and slipped it on.
"You are a gifted one O'Neill, but that mark must block the magic in you." Oltorf tried to reach his hand out to the Colonel, but he backed away almost in reflex as his arm began to burn.
Unable to say anymore, SG-1 gathered their things and started back towards the stargate. Oltorf and his people begged them to remain, but their answer was a firm no. When they reached the gate Daniel began to dial when the trees began to move and their screams seemed to fill the air around them until it was almost unbearable. The team as well as the Kessians fell to the ground until only Jack remained standing.
He closed his eyes and it was as though he could hear the trees speaking to him. The voices seemed to surround him though he couldn't make out what was being said. He covered his ears to stop the voices, but they grew louder, so loud in fact that Jack was screaming at the top of his lungs for them to stop. Only then did he realize that Oltorf had placed the wand in his hand and he was muttering the words of spell as the trees began to quiet themselves.
Once the words were spoken a few times the trees were silent and a weary Jack O'Neill fell to the ground beside the DHD. He landed in a crumpled heap and Teal'c quickly moved to his side. Daniel and Carter sat up, stunned from what they had just witnessed, Jack tried desperately to catch his breath as Teal'c pulled the wand from his hand and placed gently on the ground beside him.
"O'Neill, are you well?" He asked as he placed his massive hand over Jack's shoulder.
"I'll be fine. That just took a lot outta me."
"What exactly did you just do, Jack?" Daniel managed to ask as he crawled towards the still winded Colonel.
"Um...would you believe me if I said I didn't know?"
"You looked like you knew exactly what you were doing. How did you stop that noise?" Daniel picked up the wand and waved it around for a moment before Jack reached up and snatched it from him.
"It was the trees. They weren't going to let us leave."
Oltorf scrambled to his feet and stumbled closer to O'Neill and the rest of SG-1. "I told you he was a gifted one. Only a gifted one could have calmed the enchanted trees."
"Sir, what do you mean they weren't going to let us leave?" Carter's voice rang in Jack's ears and he tried to come up with a way to explain things that would make sense to her purely scientific mind, but could think of nothing.
"The trees were trying to protect the Kessians. They thought we were trying to harm them. Had that noise gone on any longer it could have killed us."
"Have you lost it completely, Jack?" Jack turned to Daniel and shook his head.
"I know this probably doesn't make any sense, and it wouldn't unless...unless you believed in magic."
"Magic???" The skeptic in Carter made her shake her head. "What are you talking about? There's no such thing as magic. It's impossible."
"That's not entirely true. It's very possible, only a lot of people aren't capable of seeing it."
Again Carter shook her head and Daniel joined in. "Jack, you're trying to tell us that you just used magic, to stop the trees from hurting us?!"
"I believe that is exactly what O'Neill is saying." Teal'c's voice seemed to startle the team and they turned in his direction.
"You actually believe this, Teal'c?" Carter was almost shouting at that point and the jaffa stood up to make his point.
"If O'Neill says he has used magic, I see no reason for him to lie." The blond woman almost seemed to pale as the jaffa towered above her.
"Easy there big fella. I think Carter gets what you're saying." O'Neill finally gathered the strength to stand, albeit rather wobbly, and placed a calming hand on Teal'c's shoulder.
"How can you just believe this so easily, Teal'c?" Daniel finally managed to speak as he helped a still stunned Carter to her feet.
"In all the years we have known O'Neill, he has never given us sufficient reason to doubt him. He has only lied to us to protect us, and this does not appear to be one of those times."
Daniel and Carter nodded in agreement with their stoic-faced friend and Jack took a step back trying to decide how to proceed, now that his secret was effectively out. For a moment he looked around him and saw that Oltorf and his people were standing quietly several feet from the rest of SG-1and they appeared to be almost frightened at what Jack had done.
"Listen, guys. This is not the easiest thing to explain, but if you guys will give me a chance, when we get back home I'll explain everything. I promise."
Silently Daniel, Teal'c and Carter nodded and then turned to face the Kessians. Jack stepped forward and motioned for Oltorf to come closer.
"You were right about me being gifted, but I cannot stay. I'm not the one that is supposed help you. I'm sure of that."
"Is it because of the mark you bear?"
"In a way yes. It's hard to explain." Seeming to understand, Oltorf nodded and took Jack's hand in his.
"Will you return here?"
"Perhaps, but I don't know for certain." He cast a glance back at his team who solemnly looked away.
With that Oltorf and the rest of the Kessians said their goodbyes and started back towards the village. Slowly Jack turned back to the rest of SG-1 and nervously bit his lower lip waiting to see who would speak first. Daniel, the ever-ready linguist decided to take the plunge.
"So what are we going to tell General Hammond?"
Jack shrugged his shoulders. "That's up to you guys. You can tell him the truth if you want to, I won't deny it."
"Do you want us to, Jack?"
He looked straight into Daniel's eyes and then slowly looked away. "I'd rather you didn't, but if you feel you have to then go ahead."
Daniel turned to Carter and then to Teal'c. It was obvious that neither knew exactly what they should do. Telling Hammond the truth meant that Jack would quite possibly be taken in for study by the NID, or worse, and that was something they knew they couldn't bear. The alternative was to lie to the General and risk the consequences if he somehow found out.
Jack toyed with the zipper on his jacket as his team members huddled together deciding his fate. A small part of him felt relieved that they knew at least some of the truth, but a bigger part of him was scared to death of what was going to happen if they decided to tell Hammond the truth about what had happened here. It would be the end of his work with the SGC, and would probably mean he'd have to go deeper into hiding than he already was, but the worst would be to leave those that he had come to care about.
As the team separated from their huddle, Jack braced himself for whatever their decision would be and took a deep breath. "What did you decide kiddos?"
"For now we tell Hammond that the Kessians are nice people and we should consider keeping in contact and getting to know them a bit better. This whole magic thing stays between us, but you're going to explain it all as soon as we get off base."
Jack looked Daniel square in the eyes and silently nodded in agreement. Without another word, Daniel dialed the gate and Carter entered their code into the GDO and they stepped into the event horizon. When they emerged on the other side, General Hammond was standing at the end of the ramp to greet them.
"Welcome back."
"Thank you sir. It was a lovely trip, lots of wonderful trees." Jack feigned a smile, but he knew the rest of the team was giving him what could only be described as death glares and he shuddered as he slipped past the General.
The debriefing was short, and to the General's surprise the details were rather sketchy as best. Reluctantly he ordered the team to return to work and turn their full reports in the following morning, and hastily they all took off in separate directions, leaving Hammond beyond confused at his flagship team's odd behavior.
That evening Jack paced the floor in his living room, waiting for Daniel, Teal'c and Carter to show up. He had promised them the truth, and he wasn't going to hold back, but he was hard-pressed to think that they would easily believe the story he was about to tell them.