Sorry it's been a while :) I couldn't decide which fic to update next, eventually this one won. MX will be next :) Keep on reviewing and HUGE hugs and thanks to iamdragonrider for checking over my attempt at humour :) Enjoy!
Daniel scribbled into his journal, frowning down at the page. Humming slightly he crossed out a section and carried on.
"Will you stop that?" He looked up,
"What?"
"Humming. Writing. everything. It's so irritating." Jack was glaring at him. Sighing heavily Daniel set his journal aside.
"So what should I do? Sit and brood like you?" That riled him at least. He still got a somewhat sadistic pleasure in annoying his friend.
"I am not brooding! I'm…thinking."
"Like you have been for the last five hours?" At least I'm doing something productive." Jack scowled, and then snatched suddenly at his journal. "Hey!" The older man ignored him, flipping through to find his most recent work. They both sat, staring at the scrawled over page.
"Tic tac toe?" Jack's voice held no end of disbelief. "You've been playing Tic tac toe all this time? By yourself?" Daniel shrugged.
"Did you want a game?" His CO stared at him blankly. The archaeologist sighed. "It helps me think." Jack squinted at him, glaring.
"So let me get this straight." The colonel began slowly, menacingly. "We've just escaped from a plague ridden village. Carter and Teal'c are sick, and stuck in God knows what kind of place. We are…here." Jack gestured about, "And you're playing games?"
"Yep. Want a go?" Daniel offered the page and a pen expectantly. Jack stared.
"Alright then." and the two began a new game.
Glancing round at their surroundings, Daniel couldn't help but try and count up how many times they have fallen into this kind of trap. Fallen being the literal term. They'd been making their way back to the gate, well, Jack was almost running, and he'd been doing his best to keep up, when the ground went from under them. They'd fallen into a common hunters trap. Fortunately their were no…whatever this world's equivalent to deer was…in it at the moment, but it was deep and high, and so far they'd been unable to get out.
Not that they hadn't tried of course. For over three hours Jack had attempted to scale, climb, and half-run up the sheer walls. And insist that Daniel also try, and be a helpful stepping stone for that method. His back wasn't going to forget that in a hurry. After it became apparent that they weren't going to be able to climb out, they both yelled themselves horse for half an hour trying to attract the attention of anyone around. But if anyone was hanging around that particular section of the woods, they weren't feeling sociable. Or maybe they were just shy. So now they were sitting around, waiting for someone, either a native or a member of the SGC to come and rescue them so they could rescue their friends. Daniel sighed, stuck in a hole with Jack O'Neill. It could be worse…couldn't it?
Teal'c sat in the walled garden of Haven, enjoying the slight breeze the outdoors offered. He disliked being inside the building, the stifling air, the raw cries of those in pain, the dejected expressions. It was fresher here, he could believe there was hope, even as he ground the necessary herbs to tend to the ill. Major Carter had declined to join him, preferring instead to help another of the inmates try and feed those in stage two of the illness, a difficult task. He would have gladly assisted her, but she seemed to prefer to be alone. She had dismissed his concerned enquires with a smile and cheerful assurance. But her smile was thin, and her voice devoid of any real hope. He feared for her.
Footsteps approached him, light and even. He turned from his reverie to see Milliya coming from the makeshift 'bathroom', set just next to the river. She smiled slightly before wordlessly sitting down beside him. He nodded to her before returning to his task, following the recipe he had been given meticulously. She sat and watched him silently for several minutes, apparently absorbed.
"Is my method inaccurate?" He questioned her, desiring to know the cause of such intense scrutiny. She appeared startled, looking up before smiling.
"No, you're doing well. Though I'd suggest adding a little more water before you add the patree root. It tends to dehydrate the mixture." Teal'c acknowledged her, continuing for another moment before asking,
"And how is Major Carter?" Milliya threw him a sharp look, he wondered at the cause.
"She copes admirably. Her condition is more advanced than yours…or mine. Nevertheless she continues to work. You chose well in a mate." Teal'c rose an eyebrow.
"Major Carter is not my mate. She is however, a powerful warrior, and has earned my respect."
"Then you two aren't…lovers?" the young women enquired hesitantly. Teal'c repressed a smile. If Major Carter heard of this conversation her reaction would be…amusing.
"We are not."
"Oh I'm sorry." Though she did not sound it. "It's just you arrived together, and you keep asking about each other…"
"As I said, we are great friends." Teal'c expected her to return indoors, but she seemed intent on staying.
"I was betrothed before I was stricken with the curse." She said softly, her voice barely above the rush of the stream before them. "When I was taken to the Haven, I expected my beloved to accompany me. That happens sometimes, people can't bear to be parted you know?" Teal'c nodded, listening.
"But he was afraid. I know it is to be expected, he didn't want to die. But I was afraid too, I thought he would love me more than he feared death." A sad smile played over her face. "Two days later he was stricken too. He lasted only hours. I sat at his bedside as he drew away. He begged for the Fio'kek in the end, some do." It was hard to tell her feelings. Her face was twisted in a bittersweet sorrow now, then the next minute it was near anger. "It seems so long ago now, though it's less than six weeks. Now I'm alone, as you will be when your companion leaves you. We're all alone in the end." The last words were breathed out in a soft sigh. Teal'c considered, unsure how to proceed.
"You have undoubtedly suffered great losses. But I have found that even in the most desperate of situations, there is always hope." Milliya shook her head disdainfully.
"People have hoped for centuries and it has not availed them. They hope they or their loved ones will be spared though countless others perish. They hope in vain! The curse is no judge, it cares not for wishes or hopes. It kills and snatches indiscriminately. All we can do now." Her voice lowering to a soft purr, "is enjoy the time we have left." and before the stoic Jaffa could react, Milliya had leaned over and pressed her face to his.
'Ishta!' Her beautiful face flashed through his mind, as did her likely fury if she heard of this. He pulled away, almost shoving the brazen young women aside.
"You must desist!" He admonished sharply. For her part, Milliya seemed torn between anger and embarrassment.
"Why? You said yourself Samantha Carter is not your mate. We must take what pleasure we can in here. I assure you there is little enough."
"Be that as it may, there is another. And I intend to see her again." Milliya sighed, looking at him with a mixture of pity and frustration.
"Have I not told you, you will not leave here?" she appeared resigned, "however I know what it is to feel attached to a person, even if that attachment is now futile. I will leave you to your solitude." She rose, her dress drifting lightly about her. "However, when you come to accept your fate, if I am still alive to see it, I hope you will reconsider." He watched her leave, an shameless edge to her walk. He returned to his work, exceptionally glad O'Neill had not been present to witness that particular 'alien encounter'.