A/N: First of all, my heart is with all of my readers in the UK today. I remember from 9/11 how violated I felt when so many innocent lives were lost for absolutely no good reason. My prayers go out to everyone affected by the tragedy, especially the victims of the bombings and their families.

When I first sat down to finish this chapter, I felt a little guilty by continuing to write in the face of such real-life tragedy and even contemplated holding off on this update. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that if I stopped doing something positive and enjoyable because of these events, I'd just be giving the bastards who masterminded the attacks exactly what they wanted. So, to hell with them. I hope my decision doesn't offend anyone. Please know that I am saddened beyond belief by the turmoil in our world, and I hope we can all someday find the common ground which will give peace to our beautiful Planet Earth.

With that in mind, please enjoy this last (monstrously long) chapter. The technobabble at the beginning is a setup for events that occur in Reap and Path. Hope its not too confusing. I've been chewing on this for months. In any event, an epilogue will follow promptly.

Thanks again for your amazing reviews and support. You, oh-fantastic-readers, are among my favorite people in the world!

Chapter 25

The warm atmosphere in the Ring chamber could not dispel the gloom which hung over the three grim individuals who purposefully walked its length. Words were in short supply. It seemed that now, with the painful decisions settled upon, everyone wanted to get the procedure over with.

As they approached the corner of the room containing the ancient device, Bett sighed ruefully. "It is a shame," she said, "that you were unable to meet any of my comrades. They felt it best to limit your contact with our species, given the nature of your visit."

Sam wilted a bit at her statement. "Trust me, Bett. No one shares that sentiment more than I do." She shook her head. "There's so much we could learn from you."

Bett's smile was kind. "Too much, I'm afraid." She shook her head. "If I could be sure that everyone on your world was as honorable and wise as the two of you, I could argue for an open relationship between our peoples."

Sam's face took on a somewhat cynical expression. "I don't think there's much chance of that," she muttered. "Sometimes I'm very ashamed of the way our species operates – even within my own government."

"Hell," Jack amended darkly, "Especially within our own government."

Bett acknowledged their words with a sad smile. "Perhaps it will not always be so."

Even as her sentence hung in the air, it was clear that none of them really believed it.

Reaching the stone circle, Bett instructed them to sit off to the side while she prepared the device. She was suddenly a flurry of purposeful movements, efficiently operating a control panel that sat just outside the Ring.

Sam watched the woman with unabashed curiosity. Finally, she could take the silence no longer. "Bett, since we're not going to remember this anyway, could you tell me what you're doing?"

The blue alien laughed melodically. "Your Colonel asked me much the same question when he last saw me operate the device. You are a very inquisitive species," she commented warmly. Then, still smiling, she nodded her head. "I'd be happy to explain. In a simple operation, the Ring can be activated by merely touching the symbols contained on its stones. However, when complex maneuvers are required, the steps are more complicated. What I'm doing now is programming all of the failsafe parameters into the device. I'm using a control panel, but it is merely a technological convenience. The panel simply conveys my data to the Ring's Key."

Sam inclined her head. "A key?"

Nodding again, Bett stepped away from the panel and into the Ring itself. "The Ring is completely useless without the Key that operates it." Pausing, she knelt down and lifted up the circular paving stone that marked the perfect center of the device. Beneath it, a small circle of metal could be seen. In seconds, Bett had depressed a small latch in an adjacent paving stone and a large, silver cylinder gradually rose up from the Ring's center. "This is the Key for our Ring. It is our understanding that there are other Rings in the galaxy, though we have never found one with a Key still attached to it. Alone, either component is useless.

"The Key generates a small electromagnetic field when isolated from the Ring, but it lacks the energy to do anything useful. The Ring itself has no power source that we can determine. However, something about its construction amplifies the power in the Key when the two are united and operational. The beauty of that design is that when not functioning, there is only a minimal energy signature emitted from the device, helping to keep it hidden. However, even after several millennia of studying these artifacts, we still have very little understanding of the synergy that takes place during operation. It is remarkable, because when the Ring functions, the energy it creates is immense. We simply don't know how or why it works that way." She blinked, almost incredulous that such a fact could be true. "My people are quite technologically advanced. Therefore, we can only guess that the Ring's builders were very sophisticated."

Sam expelled a deep breath. "Wow," she said reverently. "Do you have any idea who built them?"

Shrugging delicately, Bett shook her head. "I'm afraid not. While the Ring was originally found in the ruins of an Ancient city, the construction of the device does not appear entirely Ancient. Our scholars suspect it was a collaboration between several of the elder races, though this is purely supposition." She smiled ruefully. "You must think we are very cavalier, studying the uses of a device we know so little about. I assure you, though, my people may not understand why the Ring operates as it does, or who designed it so flawlessly, but we are indeed masters in its operation."

Jack gazed intently at her. "You've already proven that to me," he said plainly.

Bett's grey eyes met his in a look of compassionate understanding. "I'm glad you feel that way," she said quietly. His faith in her abilities had been blind, the product of absolute desperation. She knew that such a leap had not been easy for him, and was now touched by his show of support.

Slowly, Bett became aware of her original intentions and lifted the metallic cylinder from the shaft in the Ring's center. It was a long, grooved object with a cluster of glowing crystals it its base. "The Key is a vastly complex piece of technology, though it is deceptively simple at first glance. The grooves that you see running down its length appear to be a simple physical guide for inserting the Key into the Ring. However, for those with knowledge of its secrets, the Key is infinitely more complicated. You see, there is an odd reaction between the metallic portion of the Key and its crystal terminus, but only when exposed to the correct bio-mechanical catalyst." Then, making sure she had Sam and Jack's attention, she placed three fingers on each of her hands into six of the grooves on the Key's surface. Instantly, the metallic portion of the device appeared to liquefy and shift in her hands, eventually reforming into a slightly new shape. The result was a Key covered in a multitude of metallic switches and levers positioned evenly down its shaft in long rows.

"Sweet!" Jack exclaimed enthusiastically. "It's like the evil cyborg in Terminator 2!"

Sam's eyes were wide as saucers. "Holy Hannah," she breathed in amazement. "That's… unbelievable."

Bett smiled at their awestruck expressions. "It is, indeed amazing. And it is also an ingenious way to protect the Ring's secrets from those who are unaware of it. These levers will revert back to a zero-state whenever the Key is removed from the Ring. In the zero-state, the Key programs the Ring to initiate a 'safe' maneuver." Seeing the confusion on her guests' faces, she explained. "The builders of the Ring must have worried what would happen if someone accidentally triggered the Ring. For example, if someone just stumbled upon a Key and managed to insert it into a Ring, they could potentially wreak great havoc. So, if the Key is in a zero-state, the Ring will survey the operator's consciousness and transport them to another Ring, nearest to whatever planet they consider home."

"Wait," Sam interrupted, "the Ring can read minds?"

Bett considered the question and chose her answer carefully. "Not exactly. The Ring itself has no consciousness. It can only survey the consciousness within it and use that as a guide. For example, if I were to place a rock in the Ring and activate a 'safe' maneuver on it from my control panel, the rock would not go anywhere, as it has no consciousness. However, if I were to perform a 'safe' maneuver on you, it is likely you would materialize in a Ring someplace near your home planet."

Sam continued to gape. "But… How does it know?"

Bett chuckled. "It does not know, Samantha. You do. I should point out, this 'safe' maneuver is not always successful. If the Ring is not able to gather the appropriate information from the consciousness, then the occupant will not go anywhere. Our research has shown that the maneuver is apparently most effective when the operator has extensive knowledge of the constellations on their homeworld. People who have never seen the stars in their planet's night sky are not transported anywhere during a 'safe' maneuver."

"Wow," Sam said softly. "That's really amazing. The Ring can use landmarks in your head to take you someplace."

Bett smiled. "Actually," she elaborated, "with a trained consciousness, the Ring can do almost anything in a zero-state. It is hypothesized that the builders of the Ring very likely operated it by only using the symbols on the stones and their thoughts, never manipulating the Key at all. We have had a few brilliant scholars who were able to perform simple tasks by using their minds to control the Ring, but these experiments are rarely performed anymore." She shuddered slightly. "Mistakes made during these experiments were sometimes very undesirable. The builders of the Ring must have had amazingly disciplined minds. Even small shifts in conscious thought during mentally-guided operation can have profound effects."

Sam looked fascinated. "So, theoretically, if you stepped into a Ring set at the zero-state and thought of this planet it could take us here?"

Bett nodded. "Provided that you had some idea what the night sky on my planet looked like, yes. But only because there is a Ring here. Zero-state maneuvers can only deliver people to other Rings. However, the destination Ring does not need to have a Key attached." Bett looked off into space. "There are volumes of information I could tell you about the Ring, but I fear we lack the time."

Suddenly, the excited mood in the room deflated as all three remembered their purpose for being there. "Please," Sam said quietly, "go ahead and prepare the procedure."

Looking regretful, Bett nodded. With purposeful movements, she replaced the Key in the Ring and returned to her control panel.

After a few moments, Jack cleared his throat. "Hey, Bett," he said, "I was wondering something."

She looked up. "Please, feel free to ask me anything."

"Well," he said slowly, "this isn't the first time we've come across technology that can alter memories. See, a few months back, some of my people were captured by bad guys and given some pretty horrible mental programming. Their memories of the capture were totally erased, and they went back to their regular lives like nothing happened." He winced. "Until, out of the blue, something triggered the crap in their heads, and they went totally crazy." Holding up a hand, he hastened to clarify himself. "I'm not worried you're going to do this to us or anything. I'm only bringing it up because, during this whole brouhaha, one of our allies came up with a way to screen for the programming. It could tell whether what we were saying was really the truth, or if it was just what we believed to be the truth. I'm worried that, after this procedure, the device would throw up all sorts of red flags for me and Carter." He shrugged. "I don't really expect to be subjected to that damn thing again, but I can't be 100 sure of it."

Bett smiled comfortingly. "I am aware of such technology," she said, "and I would not be concerned. We will not be giving you any memories, simply rearranging some of those you already have. Therefore the things you believe after the procedure will, on some level, be true. Also, since you are being changed willingly, your thought patterns will be completely natural. Your device would not be able to detect our changes. Even the Asgard, who have incredible technology, are completely unable to determine when a mind has been subjected to our procedures."

Jack nodded. "Good to know," he mumbled. Then, almost as an afterthought, he added. "And is the Ring going to, ah, eliminate us during this procedure, like it did the last time I was in it?"

Laughing, Bett shook her head. "You may rest easy, Colonel. The Ring will not be taking you to another time, dimension, or place. It will simply be manipulating your present consciousness. For this reason, you will not be 'eliminated.' The Ring will make you sleep for the procedure. Before you wake, we will use our conventional transporters to take you back to the surface."

That seemed to relax him slightly. "Good," he said. "Because I'm not ashamed to say that the whole idea of being zapped out of existence again made me a little nervous."

Sam smiled at him. "I'm not sure why. You're de-molecularized every time you step through the gate, and that doesn't seem to bother you."

Jack shrugged. "Yeah, but since I have no idea what 'de-molecularized' means, I'm okay with it." Seeing Sam open her mouth, he held up a hand, quickly cutting her off. "Eh! I don't want to know, so don't explain it."

Rolling her eyes, Sam remained quiet.

In a few moments, Bett stopped punching buttons on her control panel. "It is ready," she said softly. "I will leave you alone for a few moments, as I assume you have things you'd like to say. When you are ready, simply step into the Ring. My sensors will notify me, and I will return to complete the procedure." She walked over to them, taking one of their hands into each of her warm, blue ones. "I may not see you again in this lifetime," she murmured, "but your lively spirits and fierce loyalty have given my people new hope. We are very isolated on this world, so we do not often get to see the fine qualities that you have exhibited. We cannot help but believe that someday, if individuals such as yourselves are involved, the universe may again see the peace and prosperity which could end our protective watch of the Ring. Thank you so very much for that gift." She squeezed their hands gently. "You may not remember my people after you leave here, but I assure you, we will always remember you." Then, with a final kiss on each of their cheeks, she simply vanished from the room.

Tears already streaming down her face, Sam barely had the strength to turn and look at Jack. When she did, the intense longing in his eyes was nearly her undoing. "Oh, God. I can't-"

He lifted a hand to her lips. "Shhhh." His rich, brown eyes traveled slowly over her face, almost in an effort to memorize every inch it. "There's nothing else to say, Sam. We both know this is the right thing."

Barely choking back sobs, she nodded once. "I know," she whispered. "But I can't make myself like it."

Slowly, he leaned forward and placed the barest caress of a kiss on her lips. The tender, heartbreakingly brief gesture expressed all the things he couldn't put into words. "I love you, Sam." He spoke in a low rasp. "When we wake up after all this, I might not remember what happened here, but I'll never forget what's in my heart." He stared fiercely into her tearful blue eyes, trying to convey the depth of his feelings. "I've known that I love you for a long time. That will never change."

Sam closed her eyes against the pain in her chest. Weeping softly, she tried to collect herself enough to reply, but could only force one sentence past her emotion-clogged throat. "I love you too."

Unable to bear the sight of her agony, Jack pulled her into his arms, holding on more tightly than he'd ever done before. After a few minutes, her shuddering sobs diminished. Slowly, with a pain that was nearly physical, the two heartbroken lovers gently separated.

Looking into her puffy, swollen blue eyes, Jack saw anguish and grief, but he also saw the grim determination that had served her so well as a soldier. "That's my girl," he said softly. "You ready?"

She nodded once, taking his hand in hers. Then, with one last, tender gaze, the pair stepped forward into the Ring and prepared to return to their old lives.

Daniel walked down the main corridor of their hijacked gunship. He'd been mainly successful in evading Anise/Freya since they'd commandeered the vessel. In part, this was because Krilnash had been sent back to the Tok'ra homeworld with their original vessel, leaving Anise with many of his former duties. The other part of his success stemmed from his enlistment of Teal'c in his efforts to avoid her. With any luck, he'd be able to put her off until Sam and Jack were onboard. After that, he'd likely be too busy to be cornered and propositioned. Plus, with Jack around, Freya might convince Anise that their body needed to be moving onto other human men.

Yeah, if he was lucky, he might sneak out of this one unscathed.

"Daniel Jackson, I am glad to have caught up with you." The odd, feminine baritone could only belong to one person.

Daniel sighed. Luck had never been very plentiful in his life.

Turning around, he pasted a polite smile on his face. "Anise," he said weakly. "How nice to see you." Almost as pleasant at seeing orange road construction barrels on the freeway, or an IRS audit notice in his mailbox.

She smiled in return. "Indeed, it is." She stepped up next to him, positioning herself in a manner that was uncomfortably close. "We must talk," she said softly.

Daniel subtly shifted away a bit. "Ah, I was just on my way to-"

Anise took his hand, causing the words to die in his throat. "Daniel," she said gently, "I know it has been your wish to pursue an intimate relationship with me."

Oh, God. "Yeah, about that-" Daniel frantically tried to think of something that wouldn't cause an interplanetary incident, but was saved when she cut him off again.

"I know you have worked very hard to prove yourself to me," she said knowingly, "and I appreciate the effort." She sighed. "You will never know how much I appreciate it."

Daniel felt his stomach clench. He was so screwed – though, hopefully not literally.

"However," Anise continued, completely oblivious to his discomfort, "I'm afraid that I've spent a long time in discussion with Freya, my host." She shrugged delicately. "Freya, I'm afraid, is not attracted to you, Daniel. And, though I've tried to convince her otherwise, I'm sorry to say she is not comfortable with the idea of a physical relationship. You and I, Daniel, will not be able to pursue our feelings."

Daniel was so relieved to hear that, he could almost kiss Freya. Almost. "Gee, Anise, that's really too bad." Wow. That was so phony-sounding, even Teal'c would have picked up on his insincerity.

Anise, however, remained clueless. "Indeed. Still, I am flattered by your attentions. And I am glad I was able to help you retrieve your friends. It is small consolation, I know, but it will have to suffice."

Biting his lip to keep from smiling, Daniel just nodded solemnly. "I'll manage somehow."

"Good," she replied. Then, without warning, she lunged at him, planting a firm, wet kiss on his lips. Daniel thought his eyeballs might pop out of his head. The completely unexpected gesture left him stunned and fighting for breath. Thankfully, it also didn't last long.

"Wow," he gasped. The exclamation stemmed from his absolute shock at her actions, but she obviously didn't interpret it that way.

"I am sorry, Daniel. I should not have done that, it was unfair to you. However, Freya allowed me one kiss and I felt unable to resist the gesture. I know you must be devastated that we cannot have more, so I will leave you now. Please, be well." With that, she turned around and quickly walked around the corner, into a control relay room.

Daniel stood in the corridor for a moment, gaping like a fish out of water. He wasn't exactly sure what to make of the entire situation, but at least it seemed he was off the hook for sexual favors. When he turned back in his original direction, he stopped immediately at the sight which confronted him.

Teal'c, a bemused look on his face, stood silently in the corridor.

"How long have you been standing there?" The tone of Daniel's question left little doubt that he already knew its answer.

"Long enough to see that our efforts were not successful," Teal'c replied, referring to their joint plan to keep Anise out of Daniel's hair.

Daniel shook his head. "Actually, it's okay," he said quickly.

Teal'c raised his eyebrow questioningly. "I am surprised that one physical gesture of affection could sway you so easily."

Rolling his eyes, Daniel groaned. "No, Teal'c. I don't mean it like that." He speared the warrior with a wry stare. "I meant that the meeting was pretty painless. Seems Freya won't let Anise have her way with me." He shrugged. "So she told me how sorry she was, planted a big, wet kiss on my lips, and told me goodbye."

Teal'c considered his words. "That is good news, Daniel Jackson. You will also be relieved to hear that Jacob Carter has reconsidered his misgivings about O'Neill and Major Carter. He now feels he may have overreacted."

Daniel smiled broadly. "Oh, thank goodness. You know, I might actually get out of this stupid situation in one piece," he said, happy surprise evident in his voice.

Teal'c looked vaguely confused. "Daniel Jackson, how many pieces did you anticipate finding yourself in?"

Opening his mouth to clarify, Daniel saw Teal'c's face break into an uncharacteristic, broad grin. Instantly, he knew the Jaffa had been pulling his leg.

Clapping an arm around Daniel's shoulders, the large warrior continued to grin. "I believe the Earth expression for a moment like this is, 'Gotcha!'"

Standing at the base of the cliff, Jack looked up at its impressive height and sighed unhappily. "Carter, I still say we should have tried digging the gate out."

From her position across the campsite, Sam rolled her eyes. "Sir, there could have been ten feet of solidified ash on top of it. We probably couldn't have excavated the gate with a jackhammer. Besides," she added firmly, "Daniel's last transmission to us cut out at the moment of the eruption. Ash flows don't happen until days later. So, it's entirely likely that the gate was actually damaged before it was buried." She shrugged. "We're better off waiting for rescue."

Listening to her sound arguments, Jack knew she was probably right. Hell, she was Carter. She was pretty much always right. Still, he didn't have to like it. "Damnit," he barked impatiently, "I'm just a little sick of sitting around here, picking my nose."

Sam suppressed a grin. Her CO was not the most patient man. "Oh, c'mon, sir. You've done more than pick your nose. We've managed to survey most of the blast zone, gather lots of seismic readings, and even got an up-close-and-personal look at some of the local wildlife. We've actually been pretty busy."

Jack felt a wave of discomfort wash over him at her mention of the Big Bad Wolf. He'd managed to kill the thing before it had done any real damage, but it had been a close call. Two seconds slower, and he'd be standing under the shadow of this cliff by himself. Sneaking a look at his second-in-command's lovely face, he thanked his lucky stars he'd been paying attention. After pulling the giant, dead dog off of her, he'd wanted to haul her into his arms and make sure she was really okay. However, after their brushes with fraternization in the tent that fist night, he'd been iron-fisted in keeping control of his baser instincts. "Carter," he complained, "let's face it. I might have shot the stupid dog, but you've pretty much done all those other things." He speared her with a wry glare. "I assure you, I've neither gathered nor surveyed anything on this trip."

Smiling, Sam was forced to acknowledge the truth of his words. "But, it's been like one big camping trip. I thought you liked being in the great outdoors."

"Only when I know I can easily return to my great indoors." He scowled. "Just think of all the Simpson's episodes I've missed."

Sam took in his dark expression and shook her head. Damn, he was cute when frustrated.

Oh no. Squarely stepping on those thoughts before they got out of hand, Sam quickly turned back to the gear spread out in front of her. Taking inventory of their supplies had been one in a series of tasks she'd engaged in, trying to keep her mind off everything that had almost happened upon their arrival. Thank God for Daniel's little wake-up call. She shuddered to think of the mess they'd be in now if things had progressed any further.

Glancing back in his direction, she was not surprised to see him still glaring up the cliff. It was a little annoying, she decided, how unaffected he seemed by their near-miss in the tent. She'd been jumpy and uncomfortable for days, and he'd been… Well, he'd been his usual, surly self. Sam suppressed a sigh. What did she really expect? He was a damn good CO. She just wondered if he'd meant what he'd said about their future pizza and beer conversation.

"Hey, Carter!" Jack's voice brought her instantly out of her reverie.

"Sir?" She looked at him and noticed he was pointing to a spot in the sky above the cliff.

"What the hell is that?" he asked curiously.

Sam turned her attention to the cloudless blue sky and squinted. A dark shape, growing larger by the moment, was apparently dropping out of the heavens. By its trajectory, Sam guessed it would land almost on top of them. Panic swept over her. "I don't know," she said anxiously, "but it's heading right for us."

Jack was about to reply, when suddenly, a look of dread passed over his features. A loud, emphatic expletive split the air. "Get behind something!" he ordered, pulling out his P-90. "It's a Goa'uld shuttle!"

One glance from Sam confirmed his words. Immediately, she dropped behind a large boulder and pulled out her own weapon. She was preparing to open fire when something very unexpected happened.

"Sam? Jack? Are you there?"

The crackling voice on their radios stopped them both dead in their tracks. Though the transmission was of very poor quality, the voice was unmistakably Daniel's.

Jack pulled his radio from his vest and spoke into it. "Danny? What the hell are you doing in a Goa'uld transport pod?"

The ship was almost on top of them by now. The noise from its engines was deafening. In seconds, it had passed directly over them, slowly descending to the ground on the other side of their camp. When it finally was settled, the ship powered down and silence once again fell on the area. In a moment, the pod's door opened, and Daniel stepped out.

"Hi guys!" He said, waving enthusiastically and walking in their general direction. However, seeing the suspicion on his friend's faces – and the guns in their hands – he stopped abruptly. "We couldn't find a ship to come get you," he yelled, "so we stole one instead."

Jack rolled his eyes and spoke into his radio. "Who's we?"

Suddenly remembering his radio, Daniel looked a bit embarrassed to have been yelling. "Teal'c, Anise, Jacob, and myself," he said into the device.

Sam's head shot up. "My Dad's here?" The anticipation in her voice was obvious.

Suddenly, a tall, robed figure stepped out from behind Daniel. With a squeal of delight, Sam put her weapon away and charged across the clearing. Daniel, they knew, could have been taken over by a Goa'uld. But Jacob, already host to a symbiote, was safe from that particular threat. Seeing her father had evidently put Sam's mind at ease.

Jack watched as Sam embraced her father. With a sigh of relief, he, too, put away his P-90. Walking across the camp, he approached Daniel with a smile. "Sorry about the reception," he said. "We just had to be sure, you know?"

Daniel waved a hand dismissively. "I'm just glad to see you guys are all right." He pointed over their heads. "Anise and Teal'c are in the ship. Are you ready to head back up?"

Sam, who'd been exchanging happy words with her father, suddenly turned to face them. "Wait," she said excitedly, "we've got some great seismic readings on the instruments back at our main camp. Can we go collect them first?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Carter, haven't we spent enough time on this godforsaken planet?"

She glared back at him. "Sir, the entire reason for this mission was to-"

He cut her off by raising his hand. "Never mind," he muttered. "I'm not arguing with you. Let's just go and get this over with." He knew that when her science was on the line, he didn't stand a chance at changing her mind.

"The transport pod can have us there in a few minutes," Daniel said. "Let's grab your stuff and get inside."

Seeing the dark glare on Jack's face, Sam smiled reassuringly. "Sir, it will just take a few minutes."

"Yeah, fine. Let's get on with it."

She stifled a grin. He really was cute when frustrated.

Within minutes, the four of them had all the gear onboard the transport vessel. As the ship rose off the ground, Sam looked out the front window of the craft. "Holy Hannah," she breathed. From the ground, the devastation caused by the eruption was bad enough, but from the air, she could see the entire scope of the destruction. It was incredible.

Jack had been giving the approximate location of their base camp to Jacob and hadn't looked out the window until hearing Sam's exclamation. When he, too, saw the wreckage in the blast zone, he blinked in shock. "Damn," he muttered. "That was some eruption."

Daniel noted the shock on his teammates faces and nodded. "We're all pretty impressed that you guys made it through in one piece." Seeing his friends in such good health had cheered him immeasurably. Still, he was a little curious by their completely normal behavior toward each other. Daniel didn't think that he'd find them making puppy-dog eyes or anything, but he really thought he'd be picking up on something… different. It almost looked as though they'd spent the entire three weeks on this planet as nothing more than CO and second-in-command.

Tearing his eyes off his comrades, Daniel forced himself to look out the craft's window. No, he thought. It couldn't be possible. Nobody had that much willpower. He was certain that he'd interrupted something personal that first night… and then there had been the thermal scans. Could he have read his friends so totally wrong? Had they actually decided to keep a professional distance? The interactions between the two so far appeared to support that idea.

Daniel shook his head. What a shame.

At Jack's direction, Jacob slowly lowered the transport into a grassy clearing. "You two really had a tough hike from your original location," he said respectfully. "And that last leg was all uphill."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, my knees weren't real keen on that." He shrugged. "Still, it looks like your daughter did a pretty good job of finding a safe place to park ourselves. If we'd have been caught in that blast, we'd be toast. Literally."

Still chatting idly about their experiences, the four of them walked off the transport and into the remains of Sam and Jack's base camp. As Sam rushed around, gathering equipment, the three men wandered over to the remnants of the campfire. Settling down on logs, they waited for Sam to finish.

"Sounds like you guys haven't had an uneventful trip, either." Jack leaned backward, looking at Daniel and Jacob expectantly.

"Yeah. At first, we couldn't get in touch with Jacob. The only way we could negotiate a rescue from the Tok'ra was to help them hijack one of Anubis' gunships." Daniel tried to sound diplomatic, in deference to Jacob's symbiote, but he couldn't quite keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Jacob sighed. "I wasn't very happy with the Council when I returned home and heard what had happened."

Nodding, Daniel agreed with that statement. "It was pretty impressive, actually. Jacob really helped us out a lot. I'm not sure we-"

Suddenly, Jacob shot up from his relaxed, seated position, startling both Daniel and Jack with his intensity. "You son of a bitch!" he bellowed, lunging directly at Jack.

For his part, Jack couldn't have been more surprised if he'd suddenly found himself on fire. Combat reflexes kicked in and he was able to roll away from the angry Tok'ra's charge, but he was completely baffled by the cause of the attack. "What the hell?" he yelled.

Not to be denied, Jacob moved with superhuman speed and yanked Jack to his feet. "I trusted you!" he roared. "For that matter, so did your government!" Then, before his prey could escape, Jacob's fist shot out and met Jack's jaw with a resounding thump.

The whole incident had happened so quickly, Daniel had barely had time to stand up before Jack was crumpling to the ground. Looking at Jacob like he'd lost his mind, he rushed over to Jack's woozy, though still conscious form.

"Dad!" Sam had apparently witnessed the seemingly unprovoked attack and had instantly run to intercept her father. "What's the matter with you?" She stood in between her father and Jack, a look of fear and concern on her face. Clearly, she though he'd gone crazy.

Not willing to shove his daughter out of the way, Jacob instead turned around and dropped to his knees. When he stood back up, he held something small and square in his hands. Glaring at his daughter, he held it out to her.

It was a condom wrapper.

Daniel felt the air in his lungs evaporate. Oh, hell. Looking at his two friends, he was unsurprised to see them glaring directly at him.

"Dad, wait." Sam stepped forward and snapped the wrapper out of his hands. Flushing at what her father was implying, she still managed to speak matter-of-factly. "Daniel sent these over with our supplemental gear."

"What the hell for?" Jacob, if anything, looked more angry than he had been, upon hearing of Daniel's involvement.

Jack slowly picked himself up off the ground and spoke in a calm, if somewhat annoyed fashion. "Christ, Jacob. You were in the military. You know damn well what condoms are used for out in the field."

Suddenly, some of the anger seemed to lift from his expression. "Muzzle protection." It was a statement, not a question. Turning, he examined his daughter very carefully. "That's all you used these for?"

Sam felt herself turning beet red. "Dad," she hissed, mortification evident in her words, "why on earth would you think otherwise?"

Jacob stared at her unflinchingly. "Because Teal'c let it slip how your CO had vowed to keep you safe from the 'Big Bad Wolf.' I could just imagine those words coming out of his mouth-" he said, pointing at Jack, "-and I didn't like the tone I heard him using in my head. Don't think I'm stupid, Sam. You're a beautiful woman. The two of you, stranded out here, by yourselves…" He stared piercingly at her. "You think anyone wouldn't be tempted in the same situation?"

Sam's crimson face reflected anger and embarrassment. "Well, I'm sorry to be the one to dispel your delusions, Dad. But nothing happened. Daniel was smart enough to send the condoms because he knew that the gritty ash from the eruption was likely to damage our weapons if we couldn't protect them. You can see by looking around that it was a good idea. There must be millions of tons of that dust around, and it gets into everything. As for the Big Bad Wolf," she said, lifting her t-shirt slightly, "you can see he was very real. Thankfully, the Colonel is a good shot." She glared at her father. "He saved my life, Dad. He really did protect me from the Big Bad Wolf."

Jacob saw the evidence of the attack on his daughter's ribs and grew pale. Suddenly contrite, he turned back to Jack. "Hell, I'm sorry," he muttered. "I'm just an overprotective father who's been on the edge for weeks, worried about her safety. Can you forgive me?"

Seeing the angry, red welts on Sam's ribs caused a tremor to run through Jack. He had no idea why they caused such a visceral reaction within him, but it was all he could do to keep from trembling at the sight of them. He'd been so wrapped up in his discomfort, he almost missed Jacob's apology. Tearing his eyes away, he sighed. "Don't apologize to me," he muttered. "Apologize to her. I can see why you might not trust me, but your daughter has much better judgment than you just gave her credit for."

Jacob flinched as if he'd been struck. He slowly turned to his daughter, who was tucking the hem of her t-shirt back into her pants. "Sweetheart, I'm-"

"It's fine, Dad." She cut him off, sounding tired. "I just want to get off this damn planet. We can talk about this later, okay?"

As Jacob helped Sam collect the rest of her gear, Daniel leveled an assessing look at his friend. If he didn't feel something completely different in his gut, he'd swear the two of them really mean what they'd said just now.

Jack saw Daniel examining him and glared. "You and those damn condoms," he muttered. "I assure you, Danny, we weren't amused."

Daniel turned away from his friend, struggling to keep the surprise and disappointment out of his eyes. Apparently, he'd put too much faith in the strength of their emotional attachment to each other. "Teal'c thought it was funny," he tossed back over his shoulder.

Jack growled. "Teal'c? Since when does Teal'c think anything's funny?"