Daniel stood up, taking a final drink from his canteen before fastening it to his waist. He'd stopped to rest against a large rock adjacent to the trail when he heard the General's voice, a gentle stab of doubt shooting through his mind.

That only lasted until he heard Jack's voice.

Everything about it set his teeth on edge. Jack's condescending comments about scientists didn't make him jump for joy either.

Rolling his shoulders to ease the tension in his muscles, he started moving again, continuing his leisurely stroll back to the gate. He wasn't in any particular hurry and, honestly, he wasn't sure what he was going to tell the General when he got there.

'Well, Sir, Jack ticked me off and told me I could go home,' didn't seem like the best explanation.

He should have a draft of his resignation letter around somewhere. He'd been plucking away at it lately. Apparently his unconscious mind had made this decision a while ago and his conscious mind was just catching up now.

Maybe he'd be able to go back to Egypt and continue some of the work he sorely missed. His welcome back into the archeological world might be a little rocky, but after dealing with the Goa'uld, he could handle just about anything. He'd be away from the front lines, away from the life and death decisions that marred every waking moment.

Low chatter over the radio pulled his attention away from his internal musings, his left hand immediately turning the volume back up so he could hear.

"…clear. Teal'c and I are going to scout a little more by the river, but there's no sign of them anywhere."

"I copy. These mountains seem to be infested with caves. If they're in here they could be just about anywhere. I'm—"

A scuffle over the radio melded into a thump before silence echoed over the line.

"Sir?" Carter's voice held a hit of anxiety, which only increased with each additional syllable. "Sir? What happened? Sir?"

"—damn rocks. You know what's a good idea, Carter? I think they should outlaw rocks on planets."

Humor colored Sam's next words and Daniel could picture the half-smile on her face. "Are you okay, Sir?"

"Fine. Nothing more than a bruised ego and some scrapes and bruises. And this…dust…gets into everything." Jack coughed once before he could click off the microphone, coming back on a few beats later. "Take a good look around the river and then head back to my position. The caves are going to take a lot longer than I originally anticipated."

"Should we call for back-up, Sir?"

"How much more daylight do we have?"

"Not much," she admitted, her tone a little distracted. "I'd say another few hours at the most."

"Negative then. It'll take the teams too long to get here. Let's rendezvous in an hour at the camp instead and we can plan our strategy for tomorrow. It might pay to get Hammond to send the UAV. Even though there's a lot of plant-growth, it should be able to pick up the scientists if they decided to go on a field trip."

Daniel turned the sound back down low as Sam acknowledged Jack's orders. They were working well without him, like a well-oiled machine.

They wouldn't miss him.

That bothered him—more than he wanted to admit.

They'd been a team. Friends, even. What had happened? When had things begun to change? Could he pinpoint the exact moment when things had changed, when things had become about fifteen degrees off-center?

He sighed again, his thoughts deep and dark. Casting his eyes ahead, the Stargate rose into view, the foliage thinning as he approached the clearing, The DHD appeared as he rounded the final corner.

Thinking back, Daniel realized that it had been a gradual decay, his tensions with Jack growing until they enveloped everyone, everything he did, everything he said, everything he saw.

But now, standing before the DHD, his hands hesitated over the glyphs.

Was he really being fair to the team, to the scientists?

He looked at his watch before casting a glance at the sky. It was already starting to darken, the afternoon quickly rushing into twilight. He could make it back to the camp before night completely claimed the landscape.

But did he want to?

Why should his issues with Jack affect Sam and Teal'c? They didn't do anything to him, in fact, they'd been supportive, his constant companions. It wasn't the scientists' fault that Jack was an ass.

His hands dropped to his side and he sighed, but he already knew that his mind was made up.

He turned, his feet sure against the uneven ground.

The time slipped away as he moved, the fast encroaching darkness slowing his progress. Two unanswered calls to Jack quickly turned to four. Each passing minute stretched out before him, yet slipped away faster than he could count.

Something had happened. He knew it in his bones.

After the fifth call, Daniel raised his hand to the radio, his chilled fingers struggling to find the button as his body continued to move. "Sam? What happened?"

The surprise in her voice was expected, but it hurt nonetheless.

"Daniel? I thought…the Colonel said…where are you?"

"I'm hiking back to the camp, probably about three-quarters of the way there," he answered, stepping over a branch that stretched across the trail. He waited a few beats, wondering if she was going to speak again. "Sam?"

"Sorry. Teal'c's walking out to meet you and he's bringing a bigger flashlight. You're going to need it."

The worry in her voice nearly sent his stomach into back flips. "Sam, what happened to Jack?"

Her soft exhale carried over the channel. "We don't know. He's not here and he's not answering our radio calls. It could just be interference…"

"But you don't think so."

"No."

"What was he doing off by himself?" Daniel found himself asking, the words falling from his lips. At Sam's hesitation, he knew the answer instantly. He heard the confirmation in the tone of her reply.

"His job."

The same words that hung between him and Jack now hovered on the air once again, this time aimed in his direction.

'You stupid son of a bitch.'

He was speechless.

If Jack were here, Daniel knew what he'd say. Something about turn-about being fair play and all.

And for once, Daniel would have to agree.

XXX

Even with the bigger flashlight he'd swiped from the camp, the tunnels were still dark, the dust clinging to every surface. His knee ached from where he'd tripped and fallen over the stupid small stalagmite in the middle of the floor. He'd ripped the material of his BDUs open and given himself a nice sized gash that seemed to have stopped bleeding, but his leg and knee still hurt, the residual ache reminding him that he wasn't as young as he wanted to remember.

And it seemed as if he couldn't get the dust out of his lungs.

The cave system was larger than he originally thought, the passages curving, angling up and down, forcing him deeper into the mountain. He'd lost count of the number of tunnels he'd searched, reaching the end before turning around and backtracking to the entrance and starting again on another one.

Stalactites hung from the ceiling in various shapes and sizes while hundreds of stalagmites rose up from the surface of the cave floor to meet them. In some places he'd had to squeeze to continue on to the end of the tunnel only to turn around and trudge back, wiggling through a space that he swore had gotten smaller.

He coughed again, for what seemed like the fiftieth time in the last ten minutes. Even after a few swigs from his canteen, it wasn't getting any better.

The passage he was in this time was different than the others. Moving steadily, the floor had sloped downward sharply at first before finally leveling out, his free hand finding purchase against the wall, guiding him, the coating of dust and dirt getting thicker with each step.

He'd stood in the middle of several intersecting passages, holding the wall for support as he coughed, taking a few minutes to decide which way to go. He picked one finally, shoving himself off the rocks, his flashlight's beam cutting through the darkness.

In any other instance wandering through these caves would be fun. Looking for misplaced scientists wasn't exactly his idea of a good time.

The first passage he picked dead-ended where the stalactites and stalagmites had joined, forming a wall that blocked his way. Using the tip of his P90, he enlarged a small hole on the side of the corridor, opening it enough to shine the flashlight through. From what he could see—mainly the thick plume of dirt and dust in the air, floating in the beam of his flashlight—it looked like the passage continued on but there was no need for him to look any further. The scientists were not here.

Turning around yet again he returned to the crossroads of passages, his feet making the next choice. Twice more he picked paths before finally returning to that same intersection and the last passage.

The floor sloped downward once again, sharply in places, the loose dirt under his boots making it slippery. Bracing himself against the wall, he placed his feet precisely before shifting his weight, easing down the incline.

Movement in the corner of his eye distracted him and he lost his footing, barely recovering before he stumbled and fell. Squinting into the darkness, he tried to figure out what he'd seen, but there was nothing there.

Darkness played weird tricks on your eyes.

Shaking his head, he focused instead on his exploration, calculating how much further he had to go. Shining the flashlight forward he could just make out the end of the passage and the point where it leveled off.

He wasn't expecting the feeling of movement under his boots.

XXX

By the time Daniel and Teal'c stumbled back into camp it was dark and the wind had picked up. It wasn't much warmer in the tent, however—and Daniel wasn't talking temperature either.

Sam eyed him from across the room before returning to the papers she was reading. Stepping in further, the Jaffa slid around him, laying the flashlight and his staff weapon on one of the large tables.

Wiping his hands on his pants, Daniel didn't think he'd been so uncomfortable in his life.

Walking closer to one of the desks, he leaned against it, fingering the papers cluttering its surface. He knew she should probably say something, anything to break the silence, but he didn't know where to begin or how to explain. How do you apologize for letting your friends down, for being an idiot?

"Sam?" he began, the word hesitant. She stiffened at the sound of his voice, her shoulders tensing. A few moments passed before she glanced up at him, her eyes hard.

"What, Daniel?"

He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

"You should be." Her tone was uncompromising.

Teal'c approached silently, his gaze lingering on both him and Sam. His tone, while somber, was not accusatory. "What has occurred between you and O'Neill?"

Daniel sighed, his eyes dropping to the page his fingers were playing with, rolling the corner, bending and folding it. "It's a long story."

He could hear the Jaffa shift beside him and Daniel glanced up. He could feel his eyes widening as his friend seated himself carefully on a nearby stool, his body relaxed. "I believe we have the time you require."

"Shouldn't we be looking for Jack?"

"If you haven't noticed, Daniel, it's dark," Sam commented, moving closer to where Teal'c was perched. "Stumbling around in unfamiliar terrain is not exactly a bright idea."

"But isn't there something we can do?"

"We are doing something. Unless you're willing to hike back to the Stargate to dial up the SGC, it makes more sense to stay here and wait for General Hammond to dial in, which should only be a few hours from now."

"Oh."

"Therefore we have sufficient time for your lengthy tale."

Daniel sighed, his fingers shoving up his glasses to squeeze the bridge of his nose. Letting his hand drop, he glanced back and forth between his friends. "I don't even know where to begin."

Sam moved closer, her jaw tight, her eyes flashing with an anger he knew he deserved. "Why did you walk, Daniel? You knew we had a mission. The scientists are depending on us."

"I was angry," Daniel replied, the words falling from his mouth. "Jack can be such an ass."

Sam crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing. "While I admit that the Colonel can be difficult at times to deal with, being angry with him is no reason to walk away from a mission."

"I know," Daniel muttered, unable to hold her gaze.

"But you stormed off in a huff leaving him—us—to find the scientists. And because you weren't here the Colonel was forced to search by himself. And where does that leave us now? One Colonel short, that's where."

"It's not my fault that Jack got lost—"

"Lost? He could be lying in a heap somewhere for all we know. There could have been a cave-in. Anything could have happened, but we can't look for him until morning because we don't have the right equipment. How exactly do you plan on explaining all of this to General Hammond?"

"I don't know!" Daniel yelled back, his anger finally finding some release. "If Jack wasn't so impulsive—"

"Impulsive? Since when did the Colonel become impulsive about a rescue mission? Since when does he walk away when someone is in trouble? He works his ass off protecting people."

The unspoken words 'like you' hung in the air.

"But that's just it, Sam. When will Jack start to put some trust in me? He always second-guesses my decisions. He never trusts me to do my job. He treats me no better than a child."

"Apparently he's right on the money because that's how you've been acting. If the Colonel didn't trust you, you wouldn't be on the team—end of story."

"Daniel Jackson, O'Neill trusts your judgment implicitly," Teal'c said, his voice a drastic contrast to the high emotions running through the room. "I agree with Major Carter. If O'Neill did not trust you or value your opinion, he would have found a replacement for you on SG-1."

"I'm not so sure about that," Daniel said, the Jaffa's words giving him time to breathe, to get his emotions under control. "I mean, look at what happened with Reese. If he'd trusted me, if he'd just given me a little more time…He didn't have to kill her."

"Daniel Jackson, we were losing the battle against the replicators. Had O'Neill delayed SGC personnel would have perished. There was no room for error. O'Neill acted as he should. There was no other choice to make."

"She was shutting them down."

Sam shook her head. "No, Daniel. They were starting to act on their own. The Colonel did his job and saved the mountain, and most likely the planet."

Daniel sighed and turned away, shaking his head.

"Do you disagree, Daniel Jackson?"

"I shouldn't be surprised. You military types all think alike."

Sam's jaw dropped and it took her a moment to find her voice. "Us military types? You of all people should know better than to generalize since you're the one who's always complaining about how narrow-minded people can be when they do just that." Sam's eyes narrowed and she leaned in. Daniel felt a little uncomfortable under her scrutiny, but refused to back down, to move. "Is that the real problem then? Are you jealous?"

"No!" Daniel exclaimed immediately, but lowered his voice as he continued. "Of course not. Why is it that anything we don't understand we kill? Why do we always have to resort to violence? We could have learned so much from Reese, but we'll never get an opportunity now. Jack made sure of that." Daniel paused only long enough to draw another breath before plowing on. "And it's more than just that one incident with Reese. Jack was going to blow up Lotan and the entire Gadmeer civilization just because he didn't have a better solution. What kind of a plan is that? And Sam, he killed you for all intents and purposes when that entity had taken over your body. But what does Jack get? A pat on the back and a resounding 'thank you, job well done'." Daniel knew that if sarcasm were visible, it would be pouring from his lips.

"Daniel, you know in every instance that there was good reason for the Colonel to act the way he did," Sam's voice was hard, but had lost some of its anger. "But you also seem to forget the number of times he's trusted you, relied upon you. In the case of the Gadmeer, setting that bomb to explode—knowing you were on that ship—it was the hardest thing he had to do. He had no way to know if you'd be able to talk sense into Lotan—"

"He should have trusted me."

"He didn't have a choice but to follow through with his plan. He had no idea what was going on up there. If you hadn't been able to convince Lotan to stop the ship, the Enkarans would have been wiped out of existence. Yes, everything worked out in the end, but your actions undermined the Colonel's authority. And do you know what your actions said to me or to anyone looking on for that matter? That you didn't trust him to do to his job, to do the right thing. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to make those kinds of decisions—decisions that affect people's lives?"

Daniel glanced away, unable to bear her heavy stare. Sam, however, wasn't finished.

"Did he stop you from going on a nearly suicidal mission to the System Lord's summit meeting? No, instead he fought long and hard to make sure you were safe, to make sure that you had a way to get home if things went bad. He trusted that you would be able to get the job done. If he didn't trust you, he wouldn't have let you leave the SGC. I think it's time that you got your head out of your ass and started paying attention."

She paused for a moment, taking a breath and letting it out slowly. "I also think that you should cut him some slack. He's only human, Daniel, just like you. He does the best he can. And if our track record as a team is anything to go by, I know he's the one I'd want watching my six when things got tough. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that he'll do everything in his power, anything it takes, to make sure everyone gets home alive—even if it means pain on his part. You might want to consider that before you go pointing your finger at him again, accusing him of not trusting you, of being anything less than the honorable man he is."

Maybe the fault wasn't all on Jack's side. Perhaps, just perhaps, some of the blame rested with him. Sam obviously interpreted Jack's actions differently and despite his words to the contrary, Daniel really didn't dump Sam into the typical military mold.

Sam's jaw was set, the muscles tight, although her eyes held a note of sorrow that nearly broke his heart. The last thing he wanted to do was to let her down, to let the team down. She was right; he'd been an ass. And standing here, in the middle of a temporary lab set up on an alien planet halfway across the galaxy from Earth, he knew how wrong he'd been, how shortsighted he'd become.

He needed time to think, to mull over the things she'd said. And then, if he decided that she was right, he had some apologizing to do. And even if Jack still deserved part of the blame, was it cause enough to lose a friendship, one that had been built up over time, over years? Because Jack was a friend—something Daniel had forgotten in his anger, a good friend, and one that he had let down. But even as realization swept over him, shame rose up from within, mixed with feelings of desperation.

They had to find him. He had to talk to him, to set things straight between the two of them.

But what if he didn't get the chance? What if they couldn't find him? What if they found him and it was too late?

The possibility of never seeing his friend again nearly sent him reeling to his knees. That couldn't happen. There had to be something they could do here and now to ensure that he'd get the chance to talk to him later.

"Sam," Daniel began, his voice hesitant, soft in the silence that had settled over them. "Is there anything we can do before the General calls? What do we know about the caves?"

She shrugged slightly, running a hand through her short blonde hair. "While I was waiting for Teal'c to come back with you, I'd started going through the scientists' notes, trying to find a note, a clue, anything that could shed some light on what was going on."

"Are you looking for something specific?"

"No," she shook her head. "I'm just looking for anything that might indicate what they thought was in there, but there's a lot of paper to get through."

"What do you say I put on some coffee and we put our heads together and start looking?" Daniel suggested, hoping that she'd take his version of an olive branch.

She stood for a minute, her gaze resting gently on his face before nodding once. Her eyes slid to Teal'c for a moment before returning to him. "I'd like that and I know just where you can start."

"Great," Daniel smiled, a feeling of relief settling down on him momentarily. He'd straightened one thing out. Now he just needed the opportunity to finish the rest. "Let's get started."