A/N: Aaaaaah. What a nice feeling. FREE TIME! Well, as "free" as time can be when you're working full time, taking graduate classes, and being a mom to twin toddlers. At any rate, I managed to get another chapter on paper. Yay!

Thanks for the awesome reviews. I've got some big things planned for the upcoming chapters, so stay tuned!

By the way, I've re-uploaded this to correct a slight, fairy-tale error. Never confuse Goldilocks and Little Red Riding Hood. Doh! (Thanks, kate98!)

Chapter 17

There was something a bit unsettling about Tok'ra individuals, as far as Daniel was concerned. An angry Tok'ra was even less inviting. And, unquestionably, the combined fury of an angry Tok'ra and an irate two-star Air Force general was just plain scary.

Because his voice lacked the alien quality of a Tok'ra, it was clear that Jacob was the one currently in charge of his body. However, it was also clear that Selmak had been unable to calm the retired general, which didn't really comfort anyone in the room. The symbiote generally had a mellowing effect on Jacob, which meant that Jacob was either so angry he was beyond being soothed, or Selmak supported him in his irritation. Neither prospect was a very cheerful one.

Having been daydreaming about his own wretched situation, Daniel had missed Jacob's initial comments upon entering the conference chamber. However, by the scandalized looks upon the faces of the other High Council members, Daniel guessed that there had been more than a few four-letter-words included in the tirade.

"…you're all plotting this mess while I'm off risking my ass for a piece of technology that we all know is less than critical! What the hell were you thinking?" Jacob's eyes blazed with fury and indignation as he yelled at Telson.

For his part, the High Councilor did not look very happy, either. "Might I remind you, Jacob, you are in the presence of individuals who are not cleared for Tok'ra intelligence briefings. You really need to watch your words carefully." Telston's eyes blazed, too – literally. The symbiote obviously wished to make his presence felt, or he wouldn't have resorted to the theatrical gesture of making his host's eyes glow.

Jacob appeared unfazed. "Apparently, they're not the only ones lacking clearance for Tok'ra intelligence briefings." He stood rigidly, glaring at all the High Councilors with a look of pure frustration. "I'd like to know why none of you felt obligated to inform me of this important collaboration with the Tauri."

Clearing her throat, Anise stood and addressed Jacob calmly in her unsettling baritone. "I'm sure the High Council merely wished for you to complete your prior mission before undertaking another. There was some concern that if you learned of this situation, you would abandon your mission to rush back to assist with this operation."

Jacob's eyes narrowed. "You're damn right I would have! You had me in the middle of Podunk nowhere acquiring technology that we already possess! Anyone could have done that job, and you all know it. My place should have been here, on this mission, where I can offer skills and perspectives unknown to the other Tok'ra." He speared Anise with a look that would have left most people shaking in their boots.

"The High Council does not share your assessment, Jacob." Telston's eyes were both haughty and smug.

Jacob closed his eyes for a moment. When he next spoke, his voice had taken on the characteristic timbre and resonance of a Tok'ra. "It is odd, however, that one of the Council's senior members was not consulted before such a decision was reached."

At this, Telston grew a bit unsettled. Clearly, he had not been expecting Selmak to contradict him. "I'm sure you can understand our reluctance to come to you. There is a clear conflict of interest in this case."

At that, Selmak set Jacob's eyes ablaze with an eerie flash of light, indicating that Telston was not the only one who could engage in theatrics when the occasion warranted it. "I do not understand at all, nor do I see any conflict of interest." The symbiote's voice was less heated than Jacob's, but just as disquieting in its cold fury. "Major Carter, though important to me, is not my daughter. If you do not trust me to maintain objectivity, then I should wonder what function you think I ought to be serving on this Council. Perhaps I should be washing your robes, Telston?"

With that, several of the other Councilors looked ashamedly at the conference table, a sight that Daniel had never expected to see from a room full of Tok'ra. It was clear that some of them had gone along with Telston's ideas simply because it was easier than fighting him.

At the insult, Telston had gone both still and pale. "Of course not, Selmak," he said between gritted teeth. "Now that you are here, however, I see no reason for arguing. If you would like to be included on the mission, then there are no objections from the Council."

Selmak regarded him with a level stare. "Objections or not, I am going on this mission. And, in the future, I will be consulted on any operation that might benefit from Jacob Carter's experience as a Tauri, unless a clear security breach would result." His eyes narrowed as he continued. "I'm sure I don't need to explain the difference between a clear security breach and a minor inconvenience, do I?"

Telston's back stiffened with that question, but he remained silent.

Satisfied, Selmak seemed to relax slightly. Jacob's eyes once again fluttered closed and, in a moment, the retired general was clearly back in control. "Good," he said sharply. "Now, someone get me up to speed on what we're doing to bring my little girl home."

Jack issued a low groan of satisfaction from where he lay on his bedroll. "Carter, have I told you that I love you today?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Men will say anything in a moment of pleasure, Jack."

He grinned, though, in his current position, she couldn't see much of the expression. "There might be some truth to that," he said sleepily. "Just don't stop, okay?"

She chuckled. "If I'd have known you were such a sucker for a backrub, I'd have started giving them to you years ago." Leaning forward, she placed an affectionate kiss on the curve of his neck.

Jack smiled again. "Mmmmm. Years of Carter backrubs. Sounds like heaven to me."

Firmly kneading the knotted muscles in his shoulders, Sam's hands worked tirelessly. "Of course," she continued conversationally, "If I had started doing this years ago, I probably would have jumped you right off the bat. I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have been able to resist all these lean, smooth muscles combined with that interesting noise you make when I hit a really sensitive spot."

Jack wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "And just how is this a problem?"

She laughed. "Well, the whole 'indictment on fraternization charges' issue does come to mind."

"Killjoy." His muttered response was laced with humor. "Still," he said on a yawn, "I think it would have been worth the price." His words were deceptively lazy. With speed borne in life-or-death combat, Jack rolled them both over so that he now lay snugly on top of her. The whole, lightning-quick motion took less than a heartbeat to accomplish.

Sam was a little amazed that he could still take her breath away so easily. It had been nearly three weeks since they'd been stranded together on this planet, and despite the hefty dent they'd made in Daniel's box of little foil presents, every one of Jack's touches felt like a new experience. "Sure you're not just being blinded by my amazing massage abilities?" she jested quietly, loving the intense gleam in his brown eyes.

"I'm pretty sure," he said gruffly. "After all, I've gotten lots of backrubs from my physical therapist, and I never once told him that I loved him." Despite the humor in his words, his gaze smoldered with passion.

Sam's breath hitched a bit at that deep, mesmerizing expression. "Poor guy," she said softly. "He was missing out on the best part of the massage." Her eyes glowed softly with overwhelming affection. "That's the real reason I do it, you know."

Jack leaned forward and placed a soft, gentle kiss on her lips. "Sure it's not your charitable instincts kicking in? I figured you were doing it to take pity on your ancient, broken-down CO."

She laughed lightly and ran a finger down his five-o'clock shadow. "Ancient and broken-down?" Grinning impishly, she shook her head. "You're going to have a hard time selling that line, considering all the amazing things I've seen your body do in the last few weeks."

He returned her smile with an equally wicked one of his own. "I think I owe all those amazing things to you, Carter," he said, nibbling gently on the base of her neck. "You're a bona-fide fountain of youth."

Closing her eyes and savoring the delectable sensation, Sam made a soft, contented noise in the back of her throat. "Jack?" she asked breathlessly, as his kisses grew steadily more ardent.

"Yes?" he mumbled between caresses.

"Have I told you that I love you today?"

Sitting at yet another table in yet another Tok'ra chamber, Daniel, Teal'c and Jacob were hunched over piles of documents. The amount of information was quite impressive, considering the short time allotted for gathering it all.

Their mission was scheduled to commence at first light. In the meantime, they'd all used every moment since the High Council meeting to review the pages and pages of gathered research. Daniel was currently trying to decipher a blueprint of their target ship, when Jacob shifted in his seat with a noise of dissatisfaction.

"I can't seem to find the thermal images taken the morning Sam and Jack were stranded," he muttered absently.

Instantly, Daniel and Teal'c raised their eyes and locked gazes over the table. Words weren't necessary to convey their mutual thought.

Uh-oh.

"Ah," Daniel said, hoping to sound nonchalant, "I'm not sure those made it into the stack of papers from the SGC."

Jacob' frowned. "Why the hell not?" Obviously, the stress of the situation had started taking its toll on the retired general. Though he wasn't as grumpy as he had been earlier in the day, he was still rather short-tempered.

Daniel swallowed. "Clerical error?" He hoped Jacob didn't notice the slightly nervous pitch to his voice. "I noticed that they were missing yesterday."

"That's damn sloppy of them," he growled impatiently. "Maybe I should call Hammond and find out whose incompetence is to blame."

Certain that his palms were sweating, Daniel called upon every diplomatic instinct in his body. "Just relax, Jacob. I saw the pictures myself before we left Earth. There was nothing vital in them. All the hot spots were located over visible fumaroles in the mountainside."

Jacob's brow wrinkled. "Fumaroles?"

"Steam vents," Daniel explained, holding his breath and waiting to see if Jacob accepted the answer.

"Oh." The older man digested that piece of information for a moment before replying. "I guess I just want to know what sorts of dangers they're facing out there."

The tension between Teal'c and Daniel seemed to seep away instantly. Clearly, Jacob wasn't going to call Hammond and demand the pictures, which might open an investigation that Daniel didn't relish the thought of. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out he was the last one to have the images in question. "Really, Jacob," he said calmly, "there's little to worry about from the volcano. Sam and Jack were more than 25 miles from the volcano, on the opposite side from the active zone. I'm sure they were uninjured when the eruption happened."

Jacob nodded reluctantly. "What about other dangers? Inhabitants? Wildlife?"

Teal'c spoke for the first time, inserting a note of authority into his voice. "The ruins of a city were visible, but in the opposite direction from Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill's last known location." Daniel nodded his agreement, and Teal'c continued. "As for wildlife, we did warn O'Neill of the possible presence of predators in the area. I'm sure they took precautions to protect themselves."

At that, Jacob looked a bit alarmed. "What kind of predators?"

Daniel should have realized what was going to happen next, but he was so relieved to have gotten past the thermal-images pitfall, that he didn't see it coming.

Teal'c elaborated calmly. "I suspect that they were quadripedal pack animals of some sort. But I would not worry, Jacob Carter. O'Neill promised to keep your daughter from coming to any harm." he paused, patiently searching for something just out of reach. After a moment, a lightbulb seemed to go on in his head, allowing him to complete his thought perfectly. "I believe his exact words were, 'I'll be sure to protect her from the big bad wolf.'" After uttering the phrase, the large warrior looked rather pleased that he'd spoken it correctly.

Unfortunately, Daniel was decidedly not pleased with Teal'c's mastery of that particular Earth expression. Upon hearing Teal'c's innocent remark, Daniel almost choked on his own tongue. Before he could even take a breath to start damage control, Jacob exploded.

"He said WHAT?" An angry flush had begun creeping up the Tok'ra's neck, spreading with alarming rapidness to his cheeks and ears. Daniel honestly wouldn't have been surprised to see steam coming out of his ears.

Teal'c was clearly confused by this tirade. "I thought you would be pleased by O'Neill's diligence in securing Major Carter's safety."

Jacob's eyes were blazing with fury. "Oh, I'm sure he was diligent in securing something of Sam's, but you can bet your ass it wasn't her safety!" A vein on his neck was actually bulging visibly.

Daniel fought the urge to bang his head on the table. "Jacob," he said pleadingly, "its not what it sounded like." Violently, he shoved aside the little voice in the back of his head that was chirping, "Oh, yes it was!" He tried to keep the desperate anxiety out of his expression as he continued. "I'd made a 'Little Red Riding Hood' comment earlier in the conversation, so Jack didn't mean anything unprofessional by his remark – he was just goading me." Man, if Sam and Jack did make it back in one piece, they'd owe him big time.

Teal'c looked confused. "What is Little Red Riding hood? And why did I not hear you mention it before now?"

Biting his cheek to keep from screaming, Daniel smiled at Teal'c, though he suspected it looked more like a bearing of teeth. "It was one of those Earth expressions you keep missing," he said pointedly, praying that the warrior understood.

He didn't. "But Daniel Jackson, I did not hear you–"

Violently interrupting his friend, Daniel turned to Jacob and spoke swiftly. "Jacob, you're overreacting to this. We just need to concentrate on getting them home safely."

The older man's expression gleamed with menace. "Fine," he said tersely. "But if I find that O'Neill has manhandled my daughter in anyway, I reserve the right to re-strand what's left of his body on a faraway planet." The intense gleam in his eye supported the threat in his words.

Daniel sighed resignedly. And he'd thought taking a ship from Anubis would be difficult…