I wake up a few hours later. The rain has stopped and the clouds have left leaving a clear view of the sky. I lie still for a minute watching the three moons in the sky full of stars I have never seen. As I watch I faintly hear the sound of someone humming. I turn my head and see that it's Daniel. He moved over to the other side of Sam and is humming to her. "Daniel?"

"Mark. How long have you been awake?"

"A few minutes. What's going on?"

"A Jaffa patrol passed by about twenty minutes ago. They went right by us but I don't know where they are now. Sam started getting a little... disturbed. Since they might be close by I thought I would try to calm her down before she wakes up screaming." I look at my sister. Again she's asleep, a very peaceful look on her face.

"It seems to be working. Look Daniel, why don't you get some sleep. I'll take watch or keep lookout or whatever it is you call it."

"Okay. Whatever you do don't leave our little tent. If you start hearing noises wake me up." He hands me the zat gun and slips under the blanket to Sam, assuming the same position I had. "And remember, the first shot just knocks things out. Don't be afraid to shoot anything that comes in, even if it's the good guys. Better safe than sorry and I know they'd understand." I nod and move to the spot that Daniel was at.

I stare up at the stars for a moment before looking back towards them. He's already asleep. He must have been exhausted. I turn my head again toward the stars, and absently wonder which one is Earth. Earth. Home. I wonder if I'll ever see it again. My wife, my kids, my life. My life, which up until a week ago, was perfect. Now, I'll never be the same. I have no doubt that they will ask me to not tell anyone. It must be a secret, and a pretty big one. How else could you explain the fact that my dad has an alien living inside him and he never even bothered to tell me. And Sam was even worse. From what I think I understand, she's been with it from the start. And this probably isn't the only time that she's been captured, kidnaped, or tortured. Don't they think that I would like to know these things.

Oh no, I'm getting mad again. Mad at Sam. Mad at dad. Mad at everyone. But mostly mad at myself for not noticing. I start feeling like the dumb idiot who believed people who are being abused when they say they ran into the doorknob and fell down the stairs. I turn my head back towards Sam. She's starting to stir, but not in the right way. She's starting to tremble and moving her head back and forth haphazardly. Her arms and legs start twitching, and I think they would be thrashing about if her muscles would obey the commands. I realize that she's having a nightmare. As I watch, her movements become more frantic and I start to hear whimpering. I think about what Daniel told me, about screaming herself awake, and I'm thinking that would be a bad thing right now.

I quickly go over to her, kneeling down on her other side like Daniel did. I try talking to her, brushing her forehead, and everything else I can think of to get her to calm down, but nothing works. Then I remember Daniel humming to her. I start to copy his actions. I have a vague memory of mom doing this when I was scared. Maybe she did the same thing with Sam. As soon as I start humming she begins to quiet down. I stay there sitting by her until I hear a sound.

What was that? Did I just imagine it. I quiet down and listen with everything I have. Nothing. I'm just about to go back to my former spot when I hear it again. A footstep. And it was getting closer. I get my zat gun ready. My heart is pounding in my chest. Closer, the footsteps are coming closer. I stop breathing, hoping they'll pass by like Daniel said they did earlier, but I guess I don't have the same luck he does. A shuffling of the bushes says they are coming in. I tense up as I see someone coming through the bushes. Someone I don't recognize right away. I shoot the intruder with the zat, and watch as they fall to the floor. Someone else is already taking their place though. I'm starting to panic now. I point the zat towards the new person before my panic filled mind lets me hear what is being spoken.

"Mark!"

"Dad?"

"Mark. You okay?"

"Yeah dad, I'm fine." I take a few deep breaths to calm down. After a minute I look at the form on the ground. It's Colonel O'Neill. Crap.

"Nice greeting there Mark."

"I'm sorry Colonel. I thought you might have been the other guys."

"Other guys?"

"Yeah, Daniel said that a group of the bad guys walked by a couple of hours ago."

"Where is Daniel?"

"I'm right here Jack"

"Is Sam with you?"

"Yeah." I bend down and offer him a hand up. He gratefully accepts and his small smile tells me there's no hard feelings for shooting him. I lead them back the few steps to where Sam and Daniel are. I'm sort of surprised to see the position they are in. Sam was now on her side, curled up in a fetal position. Daniel had both his arms around her and had pulled her up almost to his chest, careful not to touch her already injured back. He doesn't make any move to get up.

"Hey Danny. Nice place you got here."

"Yeah, well the neighbors are hell, but the payments are nice." He looks around for a minute before looking at the Colonel again. "Where's Teal'c?"

"He's out scouting around, trying to find some sign of SG-2 or the Jaffa. How's Sam?"

"Not so good. She's getting a fever. I think her wounds are infected, but it was so dark I couldn't see. I tried to find the flashlight, but I must have lost it somewhere along the way."

"Let's take a look and see. The bandages need to be changed anyway." I help Daniel roll Sam onto her stomach, while Colonel O'Neill takes out his flashlight and positions himself so that the light won't be seen by anyone else. Carefully they begin to undo the bandages. As the full extent of the damage is revealed I have to turn my head away. The sound of gasps and curses tell me it's bad. The numerous cuts and gashes on her back have been joined by vicious red streaks. Infection, and what looks like a bad one. After a few minutes I was able to turn my head back to the people in front of me. They were still cursing and they looked pale, but they were already cleaning her back up. They must have iron stomachs. After they finished cleaning out the wounds, they reached for the disinfectant and applied it over the wounds. Finally they started bandaging her up again and gently got her settled in the same position she was in to begin with. About that time we heard rustling up by the bushes. I froze while dad and Colonel O'Neill grabbed their weapons. I wasn't the only one to breathe a sigh of relief when Teal'c came into view.

"Glad you could make it Teal'c."

"It is indeed nice to see you again Daniel Jackson."

"Any news Teal'c?" Teal'c turned in the direction of Colonel O'Neill.

"I was unable to find SG-2, but I was able to locate the Jaffa camp. They are approximately a mile away."

"What are they up to?"

"Nothing. Another storm appears to be heading in this direction. It appears that the Jaffa are 'sitting this one out.'"

"Then I think we should do the same thing. Daniel, how much protection did this little hiding place of yours give you the last time?"

"It's pretty good Jack. Kept out most of the rain and wind, but it does get cold."

"Sounds like a good place to stay the night. If they're camped close we can't risk a fire though. Let's buddy up for the night. Teal'c, you take first watch, Daniel you get second watch and I'll take third watch." Everyone murmurs in agreement. Jack and Daniel grab some blankets and lay down by the side of the rock. Teal'c made his way back to the entrance of our little hideaway. Dad was already under the blankets with Sam, mimicking the position Daniel had, looking at me expectantly. I started to move when I realized I had no one to buddy up with. Dad must have seen my confusion because he quickly spoke to me.

"Mark. Why don't you come lay down on the other side of your sister. She's still weak and needs all the warmth we can give her." I start to head over there, and I climb under the blankets with my family. I'm on the other side of Sam, and I'm lying so that I'm facing her. Not quite sure what to do with my arms I try several different positions until dad sighs and reaches over, grabs them, and puts them across Sam.

"It's okay Mark. I remember the first time I had to share body heat with someone. It was so awkward, I remember thinking how I would never be able to talk to him again. Then after we got home he mentioned that he felt the same way. After it was out in the open it became a big joke for us, and now he's one of my best friends."

"Really dad? Who was it?"

"The then Lieutenant and now General George Hammond."

"Hammond, why does that name sound familiar."

"I still talk about him a lot. You probably heard me rambling on about him."

"Does he know about all this stuff you do?"

"Yeah, he does."

"Dad! How can you tell your friend about this but not your own son?" He gave a quick little laugh before answering.

"You don't understand Mark. Who do you think told me about all this stuff?"

"He did? I guess I thought Sam did."

"Well I guess technically speaking she did, but he was there too, and he was the one who authorized me to hear it all. George is currently the C.O. down at the Cheyenne Mountain Base, sound familiar?"

"That's were Sam works isn't it?"

"Got it in one, kid. Now Mark, I love playing twenty questions with you, but don't you think we should get some rest?"

"Actually dad, I just woke up. I got a couple hours before you guys got here. Do you mind if we just talk for awhile?"

"Sure son. What shall we talk about?" And with that we had the first real father-son talk since mom died. The one we should have had all those many years ago. We talked about everything, my life, his life, this whole Stargate thing and what exactly has been happening with the Goa'uld. And for the first time we actually started talking about mom. Not yelling, not fighting, but having a calm discussion about the one topic we would never venture into. And for the first time in my life, I actually found that I could forgive him. I slowly drifted off to sleep with the comforting sound of my father's voice echoing above me.