Jack, Sam, and Teal'c stepped out of the 'Gate to the empty foyer on Abydos. Something didn't seem right. Jack's hair on the back of his neck pricked up. For the first time since their original mission, they hadn't been greeted upon their arrival.
"O'Neill, I do not like this feeling I am getting," Teal'c stated, his eyes canvassing the area.
"Yep, know the feeling big guy." Jack raised his P-90 to the ready.
A young Abydonian boy ran into the building, frantically waving his arms. "Na-ne! Na-ne! Don't shoot!"
"What's going on?" His Colonel voice took charge.
"Dan'yer sent me to find you. Apophis has com to Abydos. He has kidnapped Sha'uri and Ska'ara. We must hurry before the Jaffa use the rings." The boy ran, heading back to the village.
"C'mon, let's go find Jackson." Jack took off after the boy, Sam and Teal'c following.
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"Ska'ara! Psst, Ska'ara!" Daniel hissed in a loud stage whisper.
Ska'ara pulled himself to the bars of their cell. Daniel was on the other side calling him over. He had his P-90 ready, his ears alert. His basic training kept his emotions at bay during this critical mission.
"I'm going to need you to keep everyone calm and away from the doors." Daniel started messing with the hinges, but Ska'ara couldn't see what he was doing.
"Sha'uri!" Ska'ara said sharply to Daniel. "Apophis took her! For Amonet!"
Daniel's head jerked up quickly. "Where is she? What about Ta'ashra?"
A small child stepped forward, clinging to Ska'ara. "How do you like your 'son', Dan'yel?" he joked. "I thought it best to keep her with us where she can be protected."
"Thank you, Ska'ara. You did good." Daniel's eyes shone with relief as he took in the sight of his daughter disguised as one of the guys. "Hey, Baby, it's Daddy. Don't say a word, okay. Just stick with Ska'ara and you'll be safe." Tay silently nodded and hid behind Ska'ara.
"Dan'yel, I believe Sha'uri is being kept near Apophis. Find him and you will surely find her."
"Thank you. I'm going to need you to stand back." Daniel stood and moved across the hall
Ska'ara could see him grip something in his hand. There was a small explosion on the hinges of the door and it fell open. The men rushed out of the cell and flooded the hall.
Daniel picked up Tay, gave her a hug and handed her to Kasuf. "Go with Grandpa, Darling. Kasuf, lead them into one of the side chambers. I'll meet up with you."
"I am coming too, Dan'yel!" Ska'ara turned and ran after him.
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"C'mon, Captain, c'mon," Jack murmured, pushing the last of the Abydonians through the Stargate. He had heard the firefight in the ship above him, knowing it was Daniel.
He looked up to see Ska'ara running towards them. "Dan'yel and Sha'uri are close behind. Quickly, we must leave!"
Jack was about to ask what had happened to Apophis when Daniel and Sha'uri ran past him and dove into the Stargate.
"Guess that's our cue!" Jack threw Sam into the event horizon and followed after her.
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"Colonel O'Neill, what the Hell is going on here?" General Hammond shouted the second Jack stepped out onto the ramp.
"Wrong person to ask, General. You might want to find Captain Jackson." Jack leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees and breathing heavily.
"Report straight to the infirmary. Captain Jackson is already there." Hammond left the Gateroom swiftly to prepare for the debriefing.
"C'mon, Dr. Carter, let's go find out what's going on."
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Daniel, Sam, Jack and Teal'c made their way to the briefing room in silence. Teal'c had been sent back through the Gate to inform the SGC of the arrival of the Abydonians. He hadn't witnessed the events that took place afterwards. Jack and Sam had returned to the Gate to help the Abydonians through. Daniel and Ska'ara were the only ones to know the truth.
Ska'ara was waiting for the group when SG-1 arrived. "Dan'yel, it is good to see you well!" He jumped up and hugged Daniel tight, seeing him for the first time since their arrival.
"Okay, Captain, what's going on here?" Hammond pointed for Daniel and the rest of SG-1 to sit. Daniel and Ska'ara sat next to each other on one side, Jack, Sam, and Teal'c on the other. "I sent SG-1 there for your monthly check-in and a village came back!"
"Apophis attacked about three days before you came through. I couldn't risk sending a message to you. He took Sha'uri while I was in battle with his Jaffa. He took all the women, but only a handful made it on board his ship. He left the rest to wander the desert. The men were rounded up and brought in together." Daniel paused. "Some of the women died of heat stroke."
"I snuck onto the ship and rescued Ska'ara and the other men. They helped me release the women and I ordered them all back to the Stargate."
"Colonel," the General looked into his eyes, almost to the point of glaring. "Where were you while this was going on?"
"Teal'c was recognized as the 'Shelver' or something-"
"The Shol'va, O'Neill."
"Right, that. Anyway, we were attacked and were fending off the Serpent Guard and five battalions of Jaffa."
"Okay, continue, Captain."
"I found where he was holding the women. Sha'uri had just been thrown back for some reason. While I was helping the women escape, Ska'ara and his friend found Apophis's chambers. The 'boy' distracted Apophis long enough for Ska'ara to slice his spinal cord from behind. The Goa'uld slid out of his head, but not before he hit the self-destruct."
"That would explain being thrown through the Gate," Jack said dryly.
"Sir." Daniel raised his eyes to Hammond's. "There is no planet left for these people to go home to." A tear glinted in his eye as he realized his home had been destroyed.
"We'll work on finding them a new planet, Captain. Right now, I want you all to report back to the infirmary, Dr. Fraiser would like to see you."
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Janet was waiting for them when they reached their destination. She was worried, Jack could see, but who wouldn't be after trying to take care of her own teams, plus thousands of villagers.
"Colonel O'Neill, J.J. was placed in quarantine as soon as UOA was announced. Everything is clear, you may retrieve him when you are ready." She turned to Daniel, her eyes getting softer.
"Captain Jackson, Daniel, can I speak to you privately for a moment?"
Uh oh, Jack thought. Not a good sign. He looked to his left at Sam, seeing in her eyes she was thinking the same as he. They'd better give them time to talk. He clapped his hand reassuringly on the younger man's shoulder.
"Dr. Carter, would you mind helping me calm J.J.?" He turned to Sam while leaving the room. She quickly followed with Teal'c on her heals.
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Jack, Sam, and Teal'c sat in the commissary eating lunch. Sam sat across from Jack, J.J. bouncing on her lap. She gave the boy another small bite of cake as his father looked on.
"What do you think happened?" Sam asked the man sitting across from her.
"I don't know, but here comes Daniel now." Jack pointed to the younger man behind Sam's back.
Daniel pulled over a chair and sat next to Sam. He flopped over and laid his head over his crossed arms.
Jack glanced up at Sam and Teal'c, nodding in the direction of the food counter.
"I think we'll just go get J.J. some milk. Teal'c you comin'?" Sam stood with J.J. and walked away, leaving the men alone at the table. Teal'c laid his hand on Daniel's shoulder before following Sam.
"Daniel, what's wrong?" Jack asked, moving around to sit next to his friend.
"I don't really feel like talking right now, sir," Daniel answered through his arms.
"You made me talk during my darkest hour, it's time I returned the favor." He thought he heard a slight snicker. "Do I have to make it an order, Captain?"
"No, sir." Daniel lifted his head and sat up straight. "Our home has just been decimated. We have nothing left. And I found out what happened to Sha'uri while I wasn't there, the reason Amonet refused her." Daniel paused for a moment, looking away from his best friend. It was as if he could avoid all contact, it would all turn out to be a dream.
"Amonet… she didn't… but then… and she came through… but he was already…" Daniel was sobbing now, deep grief laden sobs of sorrow beyond imagination. Jack was surprised. Whatever it was, it was bad enough for Daniel to skip straight over his sneezing attack.
"Daniel! What happened?" Jack grabbed Daniel and turned him so they were facing each other.
"Kasuf fell on Tay for starters. He was trying to protect my baby girl and got shot. He landed on her, breaking her arm. He's dead." Daniel hung his head.
"What does that have to do with Amonet and Sha'uri?"
"Nothing, but it's part of what went wrong. Jack, we… we lost our son," Daniel finished.
"You don't have a son," Jack said, somewhat confused.
"We were going to, though. I found out about a month and a half ago, when I noticed how big she was looking. Apophis didn't use the ribbon device on Sha'uri's head. She was supposed to be the perfect, the chosen. He wanted her to experience a pain more torturous than death itself. That's what Janet had to tell me. That Sha'uri went into premature labor on the trip through the Gate and our son was stillborn."
"Oh. Daniel, I'm… sorry," Jack said, resting his hand on Daniel's shoulder. He didn't know what else to say. Daniel didn't even get a chance to play with his son the way Jack had with Charlie. "How's Sha'uri?"
"Sleeping. She's going to be there possibly until tomorrow. Tay and I are going to stay on base until she can be released, but then we're not sure where we're going to go. Sha'uri can't go with her people, too much risk."
"Well, you know, under immigration laws, she has been a citizen since you were married," Jack suggested.
"Where would we stay? I had the Air Force cancel the lease on my apartment when I decided to stay on Abydos." Daniel stood, pacing in front of Jack.
"With me, at least until you find a place of your own."
"We couldn't, it would be too much of an imposition. We wouldn't want Tay to hurt J.J."
"She's what, almost six. J.J.'s two, I think she's the one you gotta worry about."
The men laughed. Jack knew that would get a smile out of Daniel.
"Okay, Jack, I'll talk to Sha'uri about it, see what she says."
"As long as you need it, my door's open for you guys." Jack and Daniel stood together, Jack giving the younger man a reassuring pat on the back.
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"Dr. Carter, the Asgard have informed us they are willing to move the Abydonians by ship if we can Gate them to an uninhabited planet," Hammond said calmly during their meeting the next day. "Do you have any in mind?"
"I can think of a few," Sam reassured him.
"General, Sir," Daniel spoke up suddenly. "Sha'uri and I would like to stay on Earth."
"We can start the paperwork immediately. What about your brother-in-law?"
"He's now the leader of the village with Kasuf gone. He'll be leaving with the rest of the villagers to their new home."
"Okay then, you're dismissed."
SG-1 stood to leave, Jack allowing Sam and Teal'c to leave first. He held Daniel back and pulled his keys out of his pocket. He pulled one off the key ring and pressed it into Daniel's palm.
"Whenever you're ready to move in," Jack said and exited the room, leaving Daniel standing with his mouth agape.
A/N: Next chapter Happiness. please r and r