Sam stood in the briefing room overlooking the gateroom and watched her former team go through the Gate without her. She rubbed her stomach. "Well, guess it's just you and me, kid," she murmured, trying to suppress the green-eyed monster. As the wormhole shut down, she sighed and turned towards the stairs.

The nice thing about Stargate travel was that even when the weather in Colorado Springs was nasty, you could step through the gate to P-whatever and find yourself in a paradise like this. It said something about his life that he was more relaxed on an unknown alien planet than he was back on Earth. He wasn't sure what it said, but it said something. Jack soaked in the sun while Daniel and Teal'c discussed something about Greece, and health, and the natives. Well, actually, Daniel did most of the talking and T said stuff like "indeed" a lot. Still, the Jaffa was talking more than he had when Sam had been on the team.

A pretty young brunette was giving him the eye. He gave her a brief grimace that might have passed for a smile if one were charitable, and dragged his attention back to the mission. "Um ...do things feel a little ... 'off' here?"

Daniel frowned at him. "Are you crazy? It's a paradise."

"Yeah, sure, have an apple. What could happen?" Jack glanced around at the happy, healthy villagers. Yep, this was definitely too good to be true. The brunette had given up watching him and started over towards him with a dish of some kind.

"Uh, Jack, aren't you being a little negative, here?" Daniel asked.

Jack shot him a glance. "No." He turned his attention to the brunette, who was now standing before him.

"I am Kynthia," she said with a smile directed only at him. "Welcome to our village."

Jack glanced at his teammates. He supposed there was no need to be rude. "Thank you. Jack O'Neill," he introduced himself. "That's Daniel Jackson with the hair, and Teal'c without it." He gestured at them in the hopes she would transfer some of her attention to them; he had enough trouble dealing with women lately, he didn't want more.

Kynthia smiled at them both briefly, but returned her focus to Jack. She uncovered the dish she held, revealing some bread-like … stuff. She offered it to him.

"No thanks," he said, which seemed to disappoint her.

"Jack, we don't want to refuse their hospitality," Daniel put in.

Jack shot him a glance, but shrugged and took a piece. Daniel was the cultural expert, after all. Jack took a bite and flashed a smile at the girl.

"It is pleasing?" Kynthia asked hopefully.

"Very," Jack replied. Again, she was singling him out. "You should have some," he said to Daniel.

Kynthia moved the tray before Daniel could take any. "It is only for you," she told Jack, giving him the dish. She walked back to the group of women she'd been standing with and a lot of giggling began. That was never a good sign, when grown women started giggling like teens.

"'Only for you'?" Daniel repeated. "Jack, it sounds like she's taken quite a liking to you. Uh …"

"I know, Daniel," Jack said. "Don't worry. Given the situation back home I'm not going to pull a Captain Kirk, here."

"Who is this 'Captain Kirk' you speak of?" Teal'c asked.

"A character on an old TV show," Jack explained. "He liked to fool around with the native girls." This cake was really good. Really, really good. He ate more, dimly aware that Daniel was nattering away about television off to his right. It seemed to be coming from a long ways away. And he knew he should probably be a bit worried about the way his vision was becoming blurred around the edges, but just couldn't work up the effort. Carefully, he put the dish down next to him. He eyed the small piece left over, but decided not to eat it. Maybe not such a good idea.

He glanced up at nearby movement, and saw some local beauties crowding round. "Hello, girls," he said as they moved him to another bench. Nice view. Lots of pretty girls. Oh, look, there was the one who offered him the cake. Dancing. Sweet.

Sam knew there was no real need for her presence in the control room for every incoming wormhole. However as the foremost expert in Gate technology, and one of the most experienced officers in offworld travel currently on the planet (not that that necessarily meant much given that the SGC had only been in operation a few months), she figured it was justified. Not that SG-1 were expected back any time soon (they'd only been gone a few hours out of a two-day recon), but she hated when they were offworld without her. So when the offworld activation sirens went off, she headed for the Gate room immediately.

She made it just in time to see Daniel walk through the Stargate, alone.

"Doctor Jackson, where are your teammates?" General Hammond asked through the microphone.

"They're okay," Daniel said, but Sam knew him well enough to know that wasn't the whole truth even from a story above him. "Teal'c and Jack are … building ties with the natives. We just wanted to get this analyzed." He held up a standard sample container.

"Analyzed for what, Doctor?"

Daniel shrugged. "I'm not really sure, General. Some kind of drug or narcotic, probably."

"Very well. Take it to Doctor Frasier and get it and yourself checked out."

"Me?" Daniel frowned. "I'm fine, sir."

"You're probably right," General Hammond replied. "But as a new policy, no goes through the Stargate—either way—without a thorough examination. We don't want to take any chances."

Daniel was avoiding her. He'd managed to use his post-mission exam as an excuse to dodge her questions about the mission, then slipped into the locker room where Sam couldn't follow. The more uncomfortable he got and the more evasions he made, the more worried and suspicious she got. Sam was still trying to figure out how to make him talk when General Hammond showed up. Daniel was soon back in the infirmary to answer his questions, and Sam figured that was as good a way as any to find out what was going on.

"Doctor Jackson, would you mind telling me why Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c were the ones to stay and make friends with the natives while the SGC's best language and cultural expert was sent back with samples?"

Sam couldn't quite see General Hammond's face from where she stood, behind and to his left. She could, however, see Daniel's face, and he would never make it as a poker player. Something was wrong, and from the way he kept glancing at her it was something he didn't want to tell her. If Jack or Teal'c were injured or in physical danger he would have said something, already. Which left … what?

"Jack was … getting to know one of the Argosians better," Daniel said hesitantly. "We didn't want to … interrupt that. Teal'c and I were just sort of standing around watching things. And if something does … go wrong, somehow, Teal'c would be better able to …"

It was odd to watch the normally articulate Daniel flounder so much. "You think the Argosians might be hostile?" I asked. Combat was the only situation I could think of where Teal'c would be of more use than Daniel.

"No, no." Daniel shook his head. "The Argosians are peaceful; I doubt they'd have any idea how to fight even if they wanted to."

"You think a Goa'uld might come?" General Hammond asked.

"I doubt it. None of them can remember the last time Pelops came. Pelops was their Goa'uld. We don't think there's any danger, we just wanted to be on the safe side."

We. In all that fumbling, Daniel hadn't mentioned Jack giving an order. She'd only been on a few missions with Jack O'Neill, but hedidn't make decisions by committee. The click of heels announced Janet's presence in the room. Her frown was … not reassuring.

"We have the preliminary analysis of that pastry you asked for, Doctor Jackson," she said.