Author's Notes: Characters not mine... blah, blah... just playing writer for a bit. Not really sure where this idea came from; I was just having some fun with dialogue and the characters. There's no real plot, per se... maybe I'll stumble upon one at some point. There's no real direction either... but rest assured, even though it starts out a little dark, the story is meant to be fun and light. I'll get to that in short order. In the mean time, enjoy a bit of false drama!

Having just returned to earth after a long but uneventful meet and greet to P51-6X3, Daniel decided it was time to go shopping if he wanted to eat at all in the next few days. It was late afternoon by the time SG1 had returned, gotten thoroughly checked over by Janet and debriefed with General Hammond, and by now it was into the early evening. He'd considered just going home and working with whatever might still be in his refrigerator, but a stick of butter and a bottle of ketchup didn't sound very appetizing, so he'd headed to the supermarket. Shifting the paper bags he held so as to better access his car door, Daniel dug in his pockets for his keys. Not finding them, he finally gave up his balancing act and set his groceries on the ground while he renewed his search.

"No!" Daniel turned toward the sound of a panicked voice somewhere nearby. "Leave me alone!"

Locating a young woman who seemed to be struggling with another man, Daniel abandoned his car and quickly made his way toward them. "Hey!" he raised his voice. "Are you okay?"

The woman screamed as the strange man made a grab for her, pulling her toward the far end of the parking lot.

"Hey!" Daniel shouted, running toward them.

Somewhere in his subconscious, Daniel recognized that the man had turned his attention away from the woman and had pulled a gun and was pointing it wildly in Daniel's direction. Reflexively, Daniel dove toward the nearest car as a shot rang out.

Peeking out from his cover, Daniel quickly ran forward as he saw the attacker running away, further down the lot.

"Hey," he turned his attention to the young woman. "Are you okay?"

Before he could do anything else, the woman flung herself into his arms.

"Thank you so much!" she burst out, voice a little muffled in Daniel's shirt. "I have no idea who that man was! I'm so scared I'm still shaking!" she pulled away and held her hand out flat, demonstrating that she was, indeed, shaking.

As she drew away, Daniel noticed spots of red on her clothing. "Are you hurt? You're bleeding."

"No." she responded quickly, looking down at the splotches on her shirt and patting her hands over herself. "It's not me."

The woman looked up, and her eyes fell to Daniel's abdomen. He followed her gaze and noticed a growing red splotch of his own.

"Oh, god." He heard her whisper, just as things began to get a little fuzzy. "911!" her voice rang out as Daniel felt himself falling. "Somebody call 911!"

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Daniel opened his eyes and blinked furiously as he passed under row after row of fluorescent lights.

"Sir, can you tell me your name?" a voice came above him and slightly to his left; he turned his head and allowed his eyes to focus now on a woman in a white coat and blue scrubs who was gripping the metal rail of the gurney Daniel realized he was on.

"Sir?" the woman asked again. "Can you hear me?"

"Daniel Jackson."

She smiled. "Daniel, I'm Dr. Burlington. You're looking pretty good. Any numbness?"

"Nope." Daniel replied easily now that he'd gotten his bearings. "Just pain. Lots of pain."

"Okay, well, believe it or not, that's a very good sign." The gurney had now stopped, and Dr. Burlington was putting on a gown and latex gloves. "We're going to get you up to surgery now Mr. Jackson. Before we put you under, do you have any family you'd like us to contact?"

"Jack O'Neill."

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