Daniel sat back in his chair, rubbing his neck tiredly. He smiled. It had taken most of three days to finally decipher the alien text on a carved box bought back to the SGC by SG-5, but it had been worth it. When finally translated, the text had yielded valuable clues about the people who had once lived there, revealing the object to be a puzzle-box whose riddles were concerned with matters of life and death.
Nothing of technological importance, but still. The descendants of these people still lived near the 'Gate today, and understanding their culture was key in the negotiations taking place. There was a valuable trinium deposit nearby that might yield benefits to the SGC.
Reaching out, Daniel gently lifted the box and turned it, delicately examining the carved surfaces with the tips of his fingers. It was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, bone and wood inlaid around a thin, gold-tinged metal frame.
A sound at the door caught his attention and he put the box down, lifting blue eyes to see Jack lounging in the doorway. Daniel grinned back at him.
"Hey Danny," Jack said easily. "Whatcha doin'?" He pushed off the doorjamb and walked toward the archaeologist's desk.
Daniel shrugged, glancing around the room. Signs of the last three weeks of habitation were evident throughout. No more was the office a mere shell of his personality, but his return was fully reflected in the crowded desk, and piles upon piles of extra books sitting on every exposed surface, including the floor. All his things had been brought out from storage, untouched by the NID and untampered-with. It had been a relief to the scholar to find that nothing was missing.
He still had nowhere to stay, however, and so was living mostly on base. Jack dragged him off at least three times a week, to get him out of the SGC and back into life, as he put it. The excursions were always fun, with the entire team taking off to eat dinner and see a movie, or just to relax together. It was a chance for them all to reconnect, and to heal. And in fact, they were just about due for another.
"Not much," Daniel answered, a little surprised himself.
Jack raised his brows. "No kidding? What happened, run out of artifacts to catalogue?"
Daniel grinned. "No. I've just finished what I had to get done today, that's all." Of course, there was still an immense backlog of work that he really needed to get through, and no doubt everything would be piling up again tomorrow, due to that ridiculous panel that had been employed during his absence . . . Daniel shook his head. He had met these archaeologists and anthropologists, having been familiar with them by name and reputation. He'd had no trouble seeing their superiority, and deflecting the mocking jibes aimed at the last true academic lecture he had given. He'd been confident that he could manage the new members of the archaeological team, despite their negative attitudes.
Those attitudes had changed abruptly when they had found out who had opened the Stargate. Daniel would never have told them, but unfortunately Jack had accompanied him on the ill-fated mission to get to know his new staff, and Daniel counted himself lucky that he had persuaded the colonel to let them leave with their skins still intact.
Struggling to contain a smile at the memory, Daniel shook his head a little and reached for the box once more.
"Cool," Jack commented, coming into the room to get a better look at the box. "What is it?"
Daniel put it down wit a sigh, standing and stretching his back. "Just a puzzle-box. Not very different from a Rubick's Cube, really." The colonel winced at the popping of vertebrae, and focused his attention to the puzzle.
Jack played with the box for a minute, then turned his gaze on the archaeologist. "How's dinner at O'Malley's sound to you?"
Relieved at the offer and the opportunity it posed, the archaeologist fought a sigh of relief and nodded. A thought struck him. Daniel quirked a brow at the colonel. "Weren't we banned from there?"
Jack grinned. "Only for a little while."
Daniel shook his head in puzzlement, allowing Jack to drag him out the door. "How can you be banned for only a while?"
Jack shrugged, herding his archaeologist to the opposite side of the hall before making sure the office door was locked behind them. "Just one of those things."
Daniel felt a grin creep onto his face, allowing Jack to push him down the corridor toward the elevator. "We're going to get thrown out."
"If we are, Carter and Teal'c are going down with us," Jack informed him.
"They're coming?"
"Team dinner."
They lingered in the hallway, because pressing the call button three times in succession had had no perceptible impact on the speed of the lift's arrival. "What if they're busy?" Daniel asked slyly.
Jack gave him a look. "Just because you never do what I say doesn't mean that Carter doesn't," he informed the smirking archaeologist. "And what else does Teal'c have to do?"
Daniel shrugged. "Work out, kel'no'reem, visit Ry'ac, read, watch TV -" He was unceremoniously herded into the elevator.
"All of which pale in comparison to a night out on the town, eating steak and enjoying good company," Jack waved off other activities confidently.
"Your treat?"
"Yup," the colonel responded cheerfully, punching the button for the next level down.
"Will wonders never cease," Daniel murmured.
"Hey! I treated the last time we went out!" Jack protested, wounded at the unjust accusation.
Daniel took one look at the innocent expression on his friend's face and snickered. "No," he corrected. "Sam did."
The elevator doors opened on that last statement, revealing the object of their conversation. "Sam did what?" she asked warily.
"Nothing important," Jack jumped in.
Daniel rode right over him. "You treated the last time we went out to eat. It's Jack's treat tonight."
Sam looked pleased at that. "Really? Where are we going?"
"O'Malley's," Jack responded confidently.
"Sir? Haven't we been banned -"
Jack waved off her objections. "They didn't really mean it, Carter," he answered blithely. "We'll get in, no fuss."
The two scientists shared a look. "Whatever you say, sir," Carter replied, a smile tugging at the sides of her mouth.
Tracking Teal'c down wasn't difficult at all. It was harder to haul him away from his workout, but Daniel saw undisguised relief in the faces of the four Marines who were being simultaneously pounded across the mats. The Jaffa was reluctant to give up on his 'workout', but Daniel rather thought Teal'c was inwardly laughing at them all.
Less than half an hour later, the four moved topside. Trading comments easily, the drive to the restaurant was short.
Daniel was openly shocked when they weren't turned away at the door. "The manager will see us here," he intoned certainly, in a voice of doom.
Jack smirked. "No, he won't. I made sure he wouldn't be in today before I rounded you all up."
Carter looked suspicious, leaning over the table and placing her glass of water challengingly between them. "And how, exactly, did you do that, sir?"
Teal'c raised an inquiring eyebrow.
"I called up and pretended to be a buyer interested in taking this place off their hands. His assistant told me he was out of state on a business trip." Smug was the best word to describe the twinkling dark eyes leveled confidently on them all.
Daniel rolled his eyes, leaning back comfortably in the booth. He had been sandwiched in by Jack, with Sam and Teal'c opposite. The other scientist didn't look as squished as the archaeologist felt, despite Teal'c's considerable bulk.
"With a proposition like that, I'm surprised he hasn't come racing back here to take you up on it," he commented.
Jack seemed to search for a response to that, and in lieu of finding anything to say, grabbed for his menu. "Prime rib, king cut," he muttered loudly.
Sam winked at Daniel, who grinned cheekily.
Absorbed in their menus and ordering, Daniel enjoyed the lackadaisical conversation, even though it was coded as a result of their location. But he had come to a decision recently that he had been meaning to talk about with his team, and this seemed like the time for it.
He waited, until the plates had been cleared and a cup of coffee sat in front of him. The waitress came with the tally, and Jack discreetly handed her a credit card. It was now or never.
"I've been thinking," he began slowly, fingers tracing over the handle of the mug on the table.
"Be shocked if you ever stopped," Jack rejoined immediately, sipping at his own Irish coffee.
The expected smile was slow in coming, and the playfulness slipped out of the air around them. It was replaced by a cautious silence all too familiar to the members of SG-1 recently.
"About what, Daniel?" Sam asked quietly, bringing her eyes to his face.
Daniel, as ever, refused the easy way out, and locked eyes with his friend. "I want to go through the 'Gate again," he admitted forthrightly. His voice was low, the archaeologist aware as ever of their surroundings.
Instant smiles wreathed the faces around him. Sam grinned, and Jack beamed happily. Teal'c blinked in acknowledgement, the corners of his mouth curling up.
"Great! I'll have you back on SG-1 as soon as I call the general and -"
Daniel shook his head, raising a hand to forestall any comments. The serious look on his face bled away any joyful emotions the others were feeling. "I've already talked to General Hammond," he told them quietly. "I've decided that it would be best if I joined another team – at least for awhile."
Silence dropped between them, thick and stifling.
Jack nodded slowly. "Okay, Danny."
The archaeologist blinked. "Okay?"
Jack spread his hands. "Okay."
Daniel stared, almost incredulously, at Sam and Teal'c. "Is this okay with you?"
Teal'c looked the other man straight in the eye. "I am not pleased that you will not be rejoining SG-1, Daniel Jackson," the Jaffa admitted forthrightly. "But I believe that you need the time and space to heal. I would not begrudge you that chance."
A flush crept into Daniel's cheeks; ever a man of piercing insight, he was nonetheless uncomfortable having his own true motivations laid bare. Still, he did not flinch from the truth. "Thank you," he answered. Blue eyes searched Sam's face next.
The scientist looked a little sad, but she smiled at him. "Teal'c's right," she told him. "Besides, it's not like this is permanent."
Daniel nodded, still playing with his coffee.
Jack grinned. "So, do you know what team you'll be getting?" There was a bit of a hard look in his eye, despite the smile.
Daniel managed a smile at that. No doubt Jack was going to rag the commanding officer of his new team to take care of the archaeologist. Teal'c looked ready to back him up, and Daniel could see Sam mentally compiling a How to Care for Your Archaeologist list. His new commander's life would be hell.
Or not.
"Actually," he said lightly, "SG-2 recently had a slot open up on their team. Their acting diplomat/archaeologist, Ana Moreno, is on maternity leave."
Jack stilled, stared at him. "Ferretti?" he managed at last. "You're going to be on Ferretti's team?"
The one officer on base that both Daniel and the General knew Jack wouldn't be able to browbeat into intimidation. Not that he wouldn't try, but Ferretti would give back as good as he got. Besides Carter and the General, there wasn't any other member of the military on base that Jack trusted more. SG-2 was really the best choice for Daniel's return to the field.
They were another first contact team, but had seemed to have a lucky streak that precluded them from a record like SG-1's. They'd seen their share of violence, but it was nothing like the events that had conspired to tear apart the SGC's premier team. Some might put it down to luck; Feretti put it down to his men's skill, and Jack attributed it to the ability of the commander.
Jack, contemplating these events, took a big swig of his Irish coffee. "Good choice," he managed, before his voice dropped to a whisper. "Ferretti. Why did it have to be Ferretti? I'm never gonna live this down."
Sam wasn't smiling, precisely, but the twinkle in her eyes grew at the colonel's subvocal moan. "Lose a bet, sir?"
Jack glared at her. "Nothing you need to worry about, Carter."
"Indeed," Teal'c added. "I myself lost thirty dollars."
Daniel tossed him a surprised glance over his coffee mug. "You bet Ferretti?" The idea boggled the mind.
"Indeed," Teal'c told him darkly. "I placed a wager with Major Ferretti."
Daniel's eyes narrowed at the lack of details. "And?"
"We lost," Jack interjected, coming to the Jaffa's rescue.
Even Sam looked a little shifty.
Daniel held back a smile, reaching into his pocket. He came up with eighty dollars in cash, and thumbed through it speculatively. "It wouldn't have been on how long it was going to take me to get back through the 'gate, would it?" he asked innocently.
Teal'c raised a brow, and Sam flushed guiltily. Jack sputtered, shocked.
"Lou cut me in on his take," Daniel told them light-heartedly, pocketing the money once more. He surveyed the expressions around him; amused outrage seemed predominant.
Jack threw up his hands, a grin on his face. "I shoulda known," he groused. "I've never seen Ferretti so smug."
Daniel smiled serenely, contentedly sipping the last of his coffee. Plans of revenge against his new team leader flew through the air, thick and fast. Settling his mug down in front of him, he listened in relief to the relaxed banter. He was a little surprised how easily they had accepted his decision. Perhaps he had expected more argument. But he was encouraged by their support, as he hadn't been when he had first resigned from the SGC, months ago. It showed that they wanted him to do this his way. It gave him hope.