Jack O'Neill stood in the doorway of the cell watching his clone deal with the news of his wife's last act of love. It had been hard to see him break down like that; almost regressing into the man he was when he had first been brought back through the Gate. The hardest part of watching Gallagher go through this was that Jack remembered way too many times when he had felt like his clone did, totally devastated and with his belief system turned upside down.

Carter had taken it upon herself to stay with Gallagher, trying to help him as much as possible. She had pulled him into her embrace, holding him while he worked through his feelings. Jack knew himself well enough to know that Gallagher was simply letting her hold him like that. Sure enough, Gallagher pulled away from Carter to give her a small smile before turning his gaze toward the bars.

"Dinner's on," Jack said, hoping to pull Gallagher out of this funk. "It's probably cold by now, but it should still be good."

Teal'c bowed his head before walking toward the table in the outer room, while Daniel got up to follow him. Carter and Gallagher stayed where they were, but Jack figured they should get something to eat before the big showdown, which would be soon if he had anything to do with it. He was tired of being on this emotional rollercoaster.

"Come on, you two," he insisted. "I had to do some fast talking to get the cooks to make these. Are you going to let all that go to waste?"

"No sir," Carter said, as she got up off the bed to walk over to the table. Gallagher kept his seat though, which was trying Jack's patience.

"Well?" Jack prompted, as he watched his clone carefully. He so hoped that guy wasn't going to fall apart again. Once was enough for Jack to have to go through.

"I'm really not hungry," Gallagher finally responded. He looked despondent, but that was to be expected, considering the news he had just received. At least Jack hoped it was only sadness.

"Suit yourself," Jack said, hoping that if he didn't push it, the kid would get up and get something anyway. "You are going to miss out though."

"Did you talk to Patterson?" Gallagher asked, stopping Jack from his trip to the table to finish his meal.

"They're off-world right now," Jack responded. Gallagher seemed to be taking this calmly - too calmly given his reactions to everything else up to this point. Maybe the O'Neill spirit had finally kicked in and taken over.

"When are they expected back?"

"Tomorrow. Why?"

"Just wondering," Gallagher answered with a shrug. Jack stared back at his clone while his inner sirens were blaring. Although Gallagher seemed to not have a care in the world, there was an underlying menacing tone in his voice. Jack had a sinking feeling that Gallagher was planning on killing the members of SG-3.

"You won't get to see them," Jack said, having made the decision right that moment. "Is there anything you want me to ask them?"

Gallagher sat there on the bed staring at Jack, his expression showing nothing of what he was thinking. Jack was suddenly very worried for Reynolds and his men. If he was smart, he should be worried for himself, as well. "I just want to thank them for saving me," Gallagher finally spoke up, and Jack almost laughed in the man's face.

"Right," he responded, not believing him for a minute. "I'll make sure to pass that on," he said, as he went over to the table to get his share of the feast. "I had a talk with Mackenzie," Jack said calmly before looking back at his clone. "He wants you to talk to him."

"No," Gallagher responded. "It's not gonna happen."

"Just give him a chance," Jack said, knowing he was talking to a brick wall when it came to this subject. He knew very well how hard it was to talk to someone who was determined to drag out every last detail of the horrors he had faced. Being forced to talk to someone he couldn't trust just made him clam up and made the process of healing even harder for both parties.

"What did you tell him?" Gallagher asked, as he got up from the bed to come over to the bars of the cell.

"Just the stuff you told me," Jack said with a shrug. He was deliberately trying to keep things light, knowing he was treading in dangerous waters.

"Like what?" Gallagher asked, the angry tone in his voice a contradiction to the calm look he had on his face.

"Pretty much everything you told me about your life in Hulmeshur and the fact that you are dealing with the loss of your wife," Jack replied, before turning his back on Gallagher to walk the rest of the way to his destination. There really wasn't any use to sugar coat the news.

"Did you tell him about the flashbacks?" Gallagher asked, and Jack couldn't miss the worry coming out in waves.

"Yeah."

Gallagher didn't say anything, choosing to stare at the table instead, then looking back up to ask, "I take it you talked him out of sending me to an institution?"

"That never came up," Jack answered honestly. He had spent nearly two hours with the psychiatrist relating everything that had happened during his stay with his clone. Well, almost everything. Jack was not about to give Mackenzie anything that could possibly, even remotely, have anything to do with his own feelings. "He did say that there are some drugs out there that could help."

"I hope you told him what he could do with those drugs," Gallagher grumbled.

"Yeah, I did," Jack said, as a smile came to his face. "But he told me that the drugs were not suppositories. They were not made for that use and wouldn't work on him anyway." His grin got wider, as Daniel choked on something he was drinking and Carter laughed. But the full smile on Gallagher's face, the first real smile since he had been brought back to Earth, was what made Jack's day. "There will be no drugs," he insisted.

Gallagher nodded his head, still grinning at Jack's joke. He was standing next to the bars of the cell, staring out through them, and Jack suddenly wondered why the man rarely came out of the cell. The door was always left open, giving Gallagher free rein to walk about both sides of the bars, but he only came out to get food. His own smile faded as he contemplated this thought. "You know," he said, as he watched Gallagher's face, "You don't have to stay on that side of the bars all the time. This door stays open and unlocked for a reason."

Gallagher's smile had left completely by the time Jack finished what he was saying. "I come out there sometimes," he said defensively.

"No you don't," Daniel spoke up, coming to stand next to Jack. "You're right," he said, turning to look at Jack, then back at Gallagher. "He rarely comes out."

Gallagher stood his ground, his face clearly showing his unease. "What difference does it make?" he asked, as the unease look turned into resentment. "Either way, I can't leave this room. I'm still a prisoner," he accused, while glaring at Jack.

"Yes, you are," Daniel said, realization dawning on his face. "And you're making sure you stay a prisoner."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Gallagher snarled, curling his hands around the bars. He stood there, clenching the bars tightly as he glared out through them. "I want out of here."

"You still blame yourself," Teal'c spoke up, walking toward the cell. "You have from the moment you came back through the Stargate alone."

"Yeah, so what of it?" Gallagher ground out. Jack could see panic in his clone's eyes and he worried that they were pushing him too far again. "That doesn't mean I want to stay a prisoner."

"Good," Carter said, brushing past everyone to walk into the cell and grab Gallagher's arm. "Because you will be getting out of here soon." She tried to pull him out of the cell, while at the same time insisting, "Come on," as she tugged harder on his arm, "The General brought us some cake and a whole pie. The cooks spoil him outrageously," she added conspiratorially, then gave Jack a meaningful look as she passed him on her way over to the table.

Jack took the hint and was even in full agreement with her. Gallagher's self-imprisonment was one subject they didn't need to hash over. He followed her over to the table, then told them, "I ran into Colonel Mitchell in the hallway on my way here."

"Oh yeah?" Daniel asked, completely forgetting Gallagher's self-imprisonment tendencies. "When did he get back?"

"About an hour ago," Jack said with a grimace. "Man, can that guy be persistent. He's determined to find out what's going on in here." The grimace turned into a small smile, as he thought about the Colonel's determination to get what he wanted. "He pestered me all the way over here to find out why we are holed up in this cell."

"What did you tell him?" Daniel asked, as he reached for his plate.

"What did I tell him?" Jack asked, with a raised eyebrow. Daniel should know him better by now.

"Oh," Daniel said with a nod, "Forgot who I was talking about for a minute there," he said, waving his hand airily. "What was I thinking?"

"He doesn't need to know about any of this," Jack told them, hoping they would remember that when Mitchell got a hold of them. He knew these people though, and shrugged as he realized he didn't need to worry.

"Did he bring back the plans for the naquadah accelerator?" Carter asked eagerly. "He was supposed to be on P4S-536 only in a supervisory role, but he promised that he would try to get the plans to the accelerator so that we can begin building our own." Her eyes shone with excitement as she continued, "The plans are rumored to detail the flow of current that actually makes…"

"Carter!" Jack exclaimed, to put a stop to what he just knew was going to be a long-winded explanation on how this new acquisition worked. She stopped in mid-stream and gave him an apologetic look, which prompted a nod from him. He looked over at Gallagher and saw that he was thinking the same thing Jack was – some things never change.

The rest of the evening was fairly uneventful as Jack and his friends shared their companionship. Gallagher did join them in eating dinner, but he was still aloof, preferring to keep to himself, which was fine with Jack. As long as he didn't go off on a tangent, everything would be fine.

Darkness and silence enveloped Jack as he tried to move his arms in an effort to ease some of the discomfort he was dealing with. A feeling of claustrophobia washed over him while the walls threatened to close in. He was definitely uncomfortable, but at least he wasn't facing the terror and the pain that lay beyond the walls of the box he was imprisoned in.

Jack knew well enough that this was only a temporary feeling of safety. His peace would be shattered soon enough when aching pain moved into his joints and muscles, while he crouched in the box that he had been jammed into, a box only big enough to allow him minute movement. Add to that the heat of the desert sun beating down on the box, which made him feel like he had been stuffed into an oven, and he was destined to be extremely miserable.

Someone banged on the outside of the box and Jack yelped when his arm came in contact with the side of the hot wall of the box. The banging continued, causing his head to throb with each pounding blow. He refused to respond or make any noise to let them know he was there, knowing that if he did, they would pull him out and start beating on him and right now, he was much better off in the box – at least until true misery took over.

The pounding continued, waking Jack up from the dream and he groaned as he sat up to hold his head in his hands. "Stop with the pounding, will ya?" he growled, before looking up to see what all the noise was about.

"Something wrong, General?" Gallagher asked, as he whacked a spoon against a metal bar of the cell.

"Yes," Jack snarled. Gallagher hit the bar with the spoon again, causing Jack to jump up and go over to his clone to snatch the spoon out of his hand. "What the hell's the matter with you?"

"Have you thought about letting me go topside yet?" Gallagher asked with an evil grin. It was apparent that the man had decided to aggravate Jack to death until he gave in.

"I told you I would take care of it," Jack snarled angrily. That kid was so ready to get his ass kicked.

"Why not now?" Gallagher pressed. "There's no time like the present."

Jack didn't answer, he just went back over to his cot, sat down heavily on it and put his head back into his hands. What he wouldn't do for a couple of aspirins.

"Shall I send for some coffee, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked from his seat at the table. Jack just nodded, wondering if he should just kill Gallagher and put an end to all of this. "Tell them to bring some aspirins with them."

"Make the arrangements now," Gallagher encouraged fervently. "Come on, Jack. Please?"

Jack knew that there couldn't be too much harm in letting this guy out for some air, he had been doing a lot better. In fact, judging by his behavior this morning, he was slowly becoming his old self again. Jack ran his hand through his hair, before sighing and nodding his head.

"Yes!" Gallagher said enthusiastically, as he grinned back at Jack.

Jack got up and went over to the door and knocked on it to alert the guard, then told him what he needed, aspirin being at the top of the list. The SF nodded and left to do the General's bidding while Jack turned his attention back to his clone. The guy was pacing as he tried to control the anticipation of actually getting the chance to go outside.

"It won't be long now," Jack said, and Gallagher nodded as he continued to pace. "I want to make sure you realize that we won't be leaving this base," Jack stressed, wanting to make sure Gallagher knew the rules. "We're just going out for a little walk, that's all."

"A little walk," Gallagher repeated as he smiled at Jack. "Thank you."

It took a while, but the SF finally came back with the goods that Jack had requested, then waited just inside the door for them to get ready to leave. Jack immediately grabbed the aspirins and took two of them, which he chased down with a gulp of his coffee. He then took the jackets from the pile and handed one to Gallagher, while he and Teal'c put their own coats on. Three more SFs showed up while Jack pulled the plastic handcuffs from the pile. He turned to look at Gallagher, who took one look at the handcuffs then shook his head as he backed away.

"It's a necessary evil," Jack said, as he waited for Gallagher to make up his mind.

"You don't need those, sir," Gallagher responded, making Jack proud of his clone. Gallagher knew the rules of the game, and he played the game well, reverting into the role of a soldier when others were around.

"I think I do," Jack said, giving Gallagher a knowing look. "Look, do you want to go or not?"

"I won't try to run," Gallagher insisted, as he stared at the handcuffs.

"Yes you will," Jack told him. "It's what I would do."

Gallagher finally looked up at Jack, giving him a surprised look. Jack returned his stare, still waiting for his decision. Gallagher's surprised look turned into a full-blown glare as he stuck out his hands so that Jack could bind them together.

"Let's go," Jack said when he'd finished. They made quite an entourage as the group made the trek down the hallway toward the elevator. Jack and Gallagher walked next to each other, with Teal'c staying close behind them, while two of the SFs led the way and the other two pulling up the rear. They made it all the way to the elevator before Jack heard someone calling him.

Jack sighed, then gave Gallagher a meaningful look before greeting Colonel Cameron Mitchell. "Mitchell," he said, "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing sir," Mitchell responded. "Lieutenant," he said, as he nodded at Gallagher who nodded back warily. "Hey Teal'c. I missed you at my 'Welcome Home' party." This was said with a smile, and Jack knew he was kidding, but then again, was he?

"Did you leave your home?" Teal'c asked gravely.

"No, not really Teal'c," Mitchell responded with a grin. "What I meant was, I… well, I thought you and the rest of SG-1 would be around when I got back from my little stint on P4S-536. You know, to welcome me back."

"Welcome back," Teal'c replied.

Jack grinned at Gallagher, then told Mitchell, "We've got someplace to be. You'll understand if we don't…" He left the sentence hanging, trying not to be rude.

"Oh… oh sure," Mitchell said, obviously wanting to hang around to find out what was really going on. "You sure you don't need any help?" he asked, as he gestured toward the SFs.

"We're fine, Colonel," Jack insisted. He then stared pointedly at the Colonel when he didn't leave right away.

"Okay then," Mitchell said, having run out of reasons to hang around. "I'll be going now."

Jack just nodded his head, then turned to Gallagher and rolled his eyes when Mitchell finally turned and walked back the way he came. "I don't envy Landry," he told his clone.

They made it to the entrance at the top of the facility without any more disturbances and Jack was glad to see that the weather was trying to cooperate with this little excursion. It was the end of March, which meant cold, windy days, but at least the sun was shining and there were very few clouds in the sky.

Gallagher stopped walking when he had a clear view of the sky, and he looked up to stare at the vastness of it. Jack stood next to him, feeling exhilaration flow through him as the wind made its presence known.

He gestured for the SFs to stand down, then grabbed Gallagher's arm to pull him along. Daniel came out of the facility at that moment, having followed them out, but stopped next to Teal'c, realizing that Jack and Gallagher needed this time to talk.

"You cold?" Jack asked, as Gallagher shivered violently.

"Just a little," Gallagher responded. He continued to stare out at the scenery as they walked away from the guards. They walked a short way, until Jack stopped and put his hand on Gallagher's arm to stop him from straying too far from the SFs.

"This is far enough," Jack said, when Gallagher gave him a questioning look. They stood there in silence for a few minutes before Gallagher spoke up.

"It's cold," he said, still staring out at the trees. "I used to wish for this while I was living on that planet." Jack didn't know how to respond to this, so he kept his silence as Gallagher took in the sights. "Not as cold as Antarctica," Gallagher admitted.

"You don't know the half of it," Jack responded, half-heartedly. "I spent several months there. Granted, I was in stasis, but still…"

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Gallagher said, with a smile. "Actually, I was thinking of that time when the Stargate malfunctioned and I almost died there. Now that was cold!"

Jack had to agree with him on that one. He grinned at Gallagher, then asked, "Are you ready to go back inside?"

"No," Gallagher responded stubbornly. "Not yet."

"Okay," Jack said. He stood there waiting for Gallagher to get his fill, knowing it may take a long time before the guy would actually admit that he was ready to head back to his cell, but he waited anyway.

"Jack," Gallagher said, as he stared out at the mountains in the distance. "Do you remember when we came back from that prison in Iraq?"

Oh crap, Jack thought with a feeling of panic rising inside his mind. "Yeah," he finally said warily, "Although I do my best never to think of that time."

Gallagher turned to look at him then, watching him closely. "I feel like that now," he said quietly.

Jack couldn't respond. He just stood there next to the only person in the entire world who knew exactly what he had gone through, and stared blankly at him, watching as the wind played havoc with his hair. The guy needed a haircut, Jack thought, as he tried to make sense of the memories and stray thoughts that were running through his mind.

They continued to stare at each other until Gallagher finally said, "It's different this time, though. I don't remember ever going through flashbacks like I've had over the last couple of days. It's scary because I think that maybe I've finally gone crazy."

"No," Jack finally spoke up, as he shook his head. "You're too strong for that. Mackenzie says you just need to talk about what scares you the most, and you won't have the flashbacks anymore."

"Really?" Gallagher asked, with a skeptical look on his face.

"Yeah… well, I think that's what he said," Jack admitted. "He did say that once you spill your guts, you are well on the way to recovery."

"Mackenzie always says that," Gallagher replied, a grin forming on his face.

"I know," Jack laughed. "It's become his trademark." He stood there for a few seconds longer, then told his clone, "Your lips are turning blue. You ready to go in yet?"

Gallagher looked back toward the building, dread clearly visible in his features. "Yeah," he said with a heavy sigh, "I guess it's inevitable, isn't it?"

"Let's go," Jack said, as he tugged on the man's arm. "Maybe we can avoid Mitchell this time."