Jack woke up wondering where he was, then he remembered, and the more he remembered, the less he wanted to. He opened his eyes cautiously, Carter was already up and putting her boots on.

The clothes had miraculously reappeared.

She turned her head and saw him. She smiled faintly. "I would have woken you up after I was dressed." She said gently.

"Err… Thanks, but… Oh for crying out loud!"

"You could say that, yeah," she said in a soft voice, blushing slightly.

"You managed to sleep?"

"A little, yes. I kept watch though."

"You should have woken me up."

"You needed your rest."

He sighed. "Yeah, I guess so."

She had finished tying up her boots now. She stood and faced the wall. "If you want to get up, sir, I won't peek, I promise."

"There's nothing you haven't seen anyway," he grumbled.

"That is… to avoid temptation, sir," she said, a lump in her throat.

"No jumping your CO on mission-eh?" he said bitterly.

She sighed. "Sir?" she said, exasperated.

"All right, I'll get up and dressed."

He picked up his fatigues and noticed they had been cleaned up. He dressed in less than five minutes and coughed discreetly. "Carter?"

"Sir?"

"s'okay, you can turn around, I'm decent."

She stood up and turned to face him. Their gazes held each other for a while, conveying all the longing both had had to fight the previous evening.

O'Neill closed his eyes painfully, then bent his head in a resigned gesture. "I thought a bit about what happened last night while I was putting on my clothes."

"That was fast!" she smirked.

O'Neill looked at her arching an eyebrow, then his face softened. "It… We broke regulations yesterday, Major."

Sam flushed. "We were not respon--"

"Yes, we were!" he interrupted her sharply, then resumed more softly. "Yes, we were, Sam. I am responsible for letting my feelings interfere with the mission. I kissed you, for crying out loud!"

"As I am! I kissed you back, remember?" she exclaimed, fury in her eyes.

"Major!" he warned.

She fell silent and stared at her boots.

He stepped forward and stood before her. "Sam," he said, reaching for her arm, gently. "We can't go on like this. It's endangering not only your career, but also our missions. Teal'c and Daniel wouldn't mind if we got on with it – I think – but the regulations are there for a reason." He took a deep breath. "I'm not sure my judgment wouldn't be impaired by my feelings. It has to stop."

She looked sharply at him. "I told you I had a solution."

"For crying out loud, Carter!" he cried out in frustration. "I know your solution and I don't like it! As a military, you have a promising career ahead of you, while I don't. I'm an old soldier, Carter, and my insubordination track-record doesn't allow me to go much higher on the promotion scale!"

"That's not true!"

"What do you know, that's not true?" he asked defiantly. "I've made some pretty big mistakes and being an ex-retired colonel doesn't look good in a military file. Hammond lets many things rest, but they're all in my record, and when Hammond's not there to protect me anymore, I'm not sure the new guy will be as forgiving." He calmed down. "Major, as soon as we're off this God forsaken planet, we'll go see Hammond together, and tell him about what happened, and what almost happened here last night." He stroked her arm. "We didn't get intimate, Sam. But the feelings we have for each other are already a breach in the regulations, and have been since we first started having them."

"Yes, sir," she simply said, defeated.

"Let's check out on Daniel and Teal'c, shall we?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you know where they are?"

"No, sir. But I think the servant who brought us our clothes is right behind the panel over there." She gestured towards what passed for the entrance of their room.

O'Neill stepped forward and slid the panel open. A servant was indeed sitting on her heels behind it. She bowed respectfully and stood up wordlessly, beckoning them to follow her. O'Neill looked questioningly at his 2IC who shrugged, and they stepped in gear behind the servant.

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They arrived in a dining room, much like the one they had seen at Kyyato's, and found Daniel and Teal'c already eating.

"Jack, Sam!" Daniel exclaimed, smiling.

"Daniel, Teal'c" O'Neill replied casually.

"How long have you been here?" Sam asked.

"Apparently Doctor Jackson arrived much sooner than I," Teal'c started. "I have only been here a short time, O'Neill."

Jack and Sam sat down cross-legged next to Daniel and started picking through the various dishes that were displayed before them.

"Any news from our host?" O'Neill asked while helping himself in front of him.

"Shimikko said--"

"Whoa! Shimikko?" O'Neill looked at Daniel, surprised.

Daniel blushed slightly. "Yes… Well, anyway, she said lord Hai-Ri-Ki had a war council to attend to, but he would be here soon to keep his word about what we said yesterday.

"Yeah, that would be nice. We need to contact Hammond, we're thirteen hours late."

"It's not that much considering our record through the years," Daniel smirked.

"Very funny, Daniel. Teal'c, if Hai-Ri-Ki decides to show up and keeps his word, you go to the Stargate and ring Hammond. Carter and I are going to try and help regarding the Kyyato situation, and Daniel… Well, Daniel can see with whatever-her-name-is what he wants to do to help."

"Shimikko said she would show me the archives."

"You seem to know that Shimikko rather well," Sam teased.

Daniel blushed. "We-err. She gave me the bath and a very nice massage and… Well, one thing led to the other and--"

"We get the picture, Daniel!" O'Neill rolled his eyes. "I once said you were bound to have a girl on every planet, I should have taken bets-- I'd be rich by now!"

Daniel coughed, obviously rather embarrassed while Sam chuckled discreetly and O'Neill shook his head sighing.

Their musings were interrupted by the swift arrival of their host. Daniel bowed respectfully, imitated by his friends.

Hai-Ri-Ki sat on his heels in front of them. "I trust you had a good night." He stated.

"Yes, my Lord, and we thank you for all the attention." Daniel replied.

"Good. As I told you, Lord Kyyato is about to launch a great attack and I have been busy with military preparations this morning. I recall you had a request about going to the dark stone circle. I will send four of my best men to accompany the one you choose to go, but we must be careful. Although I doubt he sill set a trap to capture you, since he must know you were caught by my men, the dark stone circle is at the northern border of his territory."

"Teal'c will go." Daniel relayed Jack's word.

"Very well, let him know my men will wait for him in the courtyard."

Daniel translated for his friends.

"Ask him where our gear is, Daniel. If Teal'c goes to the Stargate, we'll need our radios and other equipment," Jack said.

Daniel turned to Hai-Ri-Ki and translated.

Hai-Ri-Ki frowned. "Aren't these the weapons Kyyato spoke of?"

"Not entirely, my Lord," Daniel replied. "There are communicating devices that would help us talk to our friends on the other side of the dark circle of stone."

"There's nothing on the other side of the dark circle of stone!"

"Ah… yes. In some way. The dark circle of stone is actually a kind of portal to our world."

Hai-Ri-Ki frowned even more. "If you intend any treachery upon me I will have your head!" he suddenly exclaimed.

"No! My Lord! Please! The three of us will remain here as a proof of our good will, remember? Only Teal'c goes."

Hai-Ri-Ki seemed to relax a little bit. "Tell your friend that if he intends any treacherous action against me or my men, all he will find when he comes back will be headless bodies." He said, very coolly. "In the meantime, my men will lead him where your equipment is and he will retrieve what he needs. You shall remain here until your friend comes back."

"Ah… My Lord. We need our radios too! Err… Communication devices that--"

"You still have your honesty and your honor to prove, and with what that bastard Kyyato is preparing, I'd rather be cautious, you shall do as I say!"

When he heard Daniel's translation, Jack sighed and shook his head in a resigned attitude. Then he turned to Teal'c. "Let Hammond know our exact position, Teal'c. Tell him we are prisoners, although he says the contrary, until further notice. We'll try to show our good will and see what we can do."

"Understood, O'Neill."

"Tell him about the UAV too."

Teal'c bowed his head in understanding and stood up. A servant led him outside. The three others remained with Hai-Ri-Ki.

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The Stargate was a good four hour walk away from Hai-Ri-Ki's fortress and Teal'c walked fast. If his companions were suffering from his quick pace, they didn't show it.

Finally, they reached the device. The first thing Teal'c noticed was that the UAV had disappeared. He puzzled over that for a short while before he went to the DHD and started punching the code, then the numbers on his GDO. While he waited for contact with the SG, he hoped the proximity of the Stargate would allow the small device to transmit his words.

"SG1 you're reporting-in seventeen hours and twenty two minutes late, and why don't I have a visual!" came General Hammond's voice.

Relieved that it worked, Teal'c responded:

"That is because we encountered belligerents and were taken prisoners by one, then a second, General Hammond. I believe that the first retrieved the MALP, that is why I can only contact you through my radio."

"Oh! You managed to escape, then?"

"We obtained permission from our second captor, General Hammond. But I do not have much time."

"All right, I suppose they can understand what you say?"

"No, General Hammond. I can speak freely. We are not held exactly prisoners, but are kept in a watched residence. Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter and Doctor Jackson had to remain with our host. Doctor Jackson believes he is some man of high importance, but he needs our help to defeat his enemy."

"I am not going to help someone who is keeping my people against their will!"

"Lord Hai-Ri-Ki is very cautious, General Hammond, and with reason. Apparently, a lot of spies have infiltrated his troops, for his enemy is most treacherous. In his position I would have done the same and not trusted us."

He could hear General Hammond sigh in the microphone.

"Teal'c, you know of our policy not to interfere when we can avoid it."

"I am aware of that, General Hammond, but Colonel O'Neill thought of a way for us to help them without actually exchanging weaponry of any sort."

"What is it?"

"He suggests you send a UAV through the Stargate and survey the area in order for us to know where and how the enemy is moving. Then we can offer a strategic advantage to our host for him to win the battle."

"You really think he has the means to do that?"

"That is how Colonel O'Neill assessed the situation, yes."

"All right, Teal'c. You tell the Colonel I have agreed to his plan, I'll send a UAV in exactly twenty hours. Will that be enough for one of you to be by the Stargate to retrieve the data it will collect? I'll send another MALP along; it would be nice if Major Carter were there to read the results with Colonel O'Neill."

"I understand, General Hammond. I will try and convince Lord Hai-Ri-Ki that we need to be here when you send the UAV."

"You do that, Teal'c."

The wormhole shut and Teal'c looked at the commander of the small team that had accompanied him. At that moment, a group of a dozen men suddenly emerged from nowhere, their sabers drawn, obviously coming in for a kill. Teal'c quickly drew the zat he had managed to retrieve and zatted a few of their assailants, while his companions fought savagely. One of his escort was killed before his eyes as he zatted his opponent.

Soon, only dead or unconscious bodies were scattered around the place. One of Teal'c's escort looked down at the fallen ones, and conversed a little with his fellow soldiers before looking at Teal'c and pointing to his zat. He said something to Teal'c, but the latter shook his head, not understanding what the other man said.

The latter bowed his head swiftly, then showed the path they had come from and said one thing more.

This time, Teal'c bowed his head and they headed back.

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After Teal'c's departure, O'Neill, Carter and Daniel were led back to their 'quarters'.

Daniel was fidgety. He hated being stuck in a room with nothing to do, and so did Jack, as his pacing back and forth indicated.

"Stop it, Jack!" he finally exclaimed, causing the other man to look at him, raising his eyebrows.

"Care to suggest anything else to do?" Jack quipped.

"Sir, Daniel!" Sam sighed, obviously exasperated.

A servant entered the room, approached them and started talking.

Daniel replied to her then turned to Jack. "She's offering refreshments." He said flatly.

"Water would be nice," Jack replied.

Daniel turned to the girl and spoke to her. The girl nodded and disappeared to bring a tray with their refreshments.

"May I see Shimikko?" Daniel asked the girl as she was about to exit the room.

The girl looked at him a bit surprised.

"She said she was going to show me things about your people," he supplied.

The girl seemed to hesitate then bowed her head and disappeared through the panel, closing it behind her.

"Ah crap!" Daniel exclaimed his hand clutching in his hair.

Jack smiled. "You're spending way too much time with me!" he joked, earning a dark look from his friend. He resumed his pacing.

A few minutes later, the panel opened to reveal Shimikko. She stepped in the room and walked towards Daniel. "Daniel-sohn, if you would follow me, I will show you where the library is."

"What she say, Daniel?" Jack asked.

"She's going to show me the library. Want me to ask something?"

"Yeah, tell her we need to see the important guy – what's his name Carter?"

"Hai-Ri-Ki," she replied.

"Yeah, Hai-Ri-Ki." Jack confirmed.

"Well, Jack, I can, but wouldn't that require my presence? I'm the only one who can understand their language."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Daniel, I may not be the brightest man, I know that. You don't need to understand the language when planning strategy."

"How?" Daniel asked, bewildered.

"Daniel, that's my field of expertise we're talking here. Go read your books and learn whatever you can about those people, I'll do the military thing, okay? Don't worry about the language, I'll manage."

"Sir?"

"Yes, Major?"

"Where would that leave me?" she asked sarcastically.

"With me, of course!" O'Neill looked at her raising his eyebrows as if it was obvious.

"And what about the pretense of me being your wife?"

"Well, my 'wife' is also a damn good officer, my best ally, and my best asset, end of story." He spoke firmly, surprising both Daniel and Sam.

"So, Daniel? Do I need to poke you in the ribs?" Jack asked, growing impatient.

Daniel swallowed and turned to Shimikko before speaking to her.

"She says you have to wait here while she will go and ask her Master," He translated.

O'Neill sighed. "All right. You go and we wait."

"I've never seen you that patient, Jack. Don't do anything rash, okay? We're walking on eggs here."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Well thanks, Mom! Do I need to remind you who's in command here?"

Daniel chuckled. "No, Jack. Just a friend's advice, that's all."

Daniel then followed Shimikko and Sam and Jack remained behind, Jack resuming his pacing, Sam staring in front of her with blank eyes.

She opened her mouth, but Jack interrupted her before she had a chance to speak.

"We'll talk about it when we're home, Major. Once and for all, let's put this behind us and concentrate on the mission."

"You're right, sir," she said, "I was just gonna say thanks for the compliment".

"Oh!" He stopped pacing then and sat cross-legged next to her.

She sat staring in front of her, silence descending upon them.

"Penny for them, Major?"

"Sir?"

"You're doing that 'over thinking things' again."

"I do not."

"Do too."

Sam sighed.

"You doubt my ability to convince Hai-Ri-Ki?"

"Sir, I have no problem with your commanding and military abilities, otherwise I would have asked for a transfer long ago."

O'Neill chuckled bitterly. "I'm too damn good for my own good, then!"

"Sir?"

"Nothing," he said, eluding her question. "I damn well know you have no problem with my leadership, what I meant was: what would you have done in my position?"

Sam looked at him a little intrigued. He had never asked for her opinion about something military, although he had always trusted their silent understanding regarding these matters. "I am not ready to be in your position, sir." She simply said.

"You damn well are!" he exclaimed. "I thought I was the one doubting my abilities!"

Sam snorted.

"What makes you think you're unfit for command, Carter?"

"When we were brought here, and we were faced to Hai-Ri-Ki, you instantly knew how to react. I didn't."

He shook his head. "That's because like I said sometimes you over think things, that's all. But I for one never doubted your ability to command, Carter."

She smiled faintly. "Thank you, Sir."

"It's true, Carter."

They lapsed into silence for a minute before the panel opened to reveal the same old man who had introduced them to Hai-Ri-Ki the previous day. O'Neill and Carter stood up swiftly. The man looked at them, then barked something, beckoning them to follow him.

They went through several corridors and were led to the 'throne room' where Hai-Ri-Ki awaited them.

He was surrounded by several men in arms, obviously still in that war council. He looked upon them and beckoned them to sit down, which they did, bowing – as Daniel had showed them.

Hai-Ri-Ki started speaking but O'Neill quickly showed he didn't understand what was said. Jack winced a bit, frowning in concentration, then he smiled, raising his finger, earning bewildered looks from the other people in the room, and mimed writing.

Hai-Ri-Ki frowned, then understanding seemed to dawn upon him and he barked something to one of his servants.