A/N: Thanks again for reading my story. Sorry it took so long to post this - I couldn't log into the site for a couple of days. I like the idea of someone picking up Jack's radio transmission and have been trying to think of a way to do it, but a ship would have to be >really close to pick something up from one of their hand radios, and I'm just not ready for them to be rescued just yet. Janissima - I had to laugh when I read your review, you're right of course, Rover is acting like a Teal'c substitute, but I just got this picture in my head of him flying up to Jack and saying in Teal'c's voice 'O'Neill, come quickly, ColonelCarter has been injured and requires your assistance.'


Chapter 23 – Of Dragons and Aliens

Jack woke up early the next morning, momentarily disoriented before opening his eyes, wondering what goa'uld prison cell he was in, to have fallen asleep sitting on a rock floor with his back against a hard rock wall. Then he realized there was a warm weight across his lap and chest and remembered dozing off with the beautiful woman in his arms. He opened his eyes and looked down at the messy blond hair covering the head, seemingly attached to his neck. Her left hand was tangled in his tee shirt which she had apparently grabbed hold of at some point while she slept. She was snoring lightly.

He looked over to the cave opening, noting that Rover was still there. As if he sensed Jack watching him, the young dragon turned his head to look at the pair. He looked at Sam and then up to Jack. Then Jack could have sworn he blinked at him and nodded his head before standing and trotting away. Well, a nod is usually down then back up. He kinda just went down.

Jack sat there for a while, just holding Sam, waiting for her to wake up on her own. He knew she'd need extra sleep with her injuries and didn't want to disturb her. After about half an hour she woke up, noticed her hand and released his shirt and smoothed it back down. When she felt a soft kiss on the top of her head she looked up with a smile on her face. "Good Morning."

"Yes, it is." He smiled back at her. "Ready for some breakfast?"

"Famished."

He moved her back over to her sleeping bag. "Alright, you stay here for now, I'll take care of it." He stood up slowly and rubbed his back, groaning slightly. "Tonight let's make sure we're lying down when we sleep, ok?"

She grinned sheepishly at him. "Promise. But only if you still hold me while we sleep."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." He waggled his eyebrows at her and started preparing their breakfast. "Hey, Ms. Genius? I have a question for you."

She raised her eyebrow at the term and answered. "What about?"

"How much do you know about dragon myths?" They hadn't discussed the fact that Rover had come to get him and led him to Sam when she was hurt.

"Well, dragon myths have found their way into many vastly distant cultures on Earth and their traits vary on which culture's myths you look at. The western dragon, which is what Rover looks like, was supposed to be an evil, bloodthirsty animal. Asian dragons resembled more of a serpent like creature, made up of various parts of other animals, the body of a snake, scales of a fish, horns of a stag, etc. They were supposed to be intelligent and kind. Some breeds were supposed to have chameleon properties, some were shape changers. They could be different colors. Some could supposedly communicate telepathically with each other. The western ones valued treasure and villages sacrificed virgin maidens to them. Eating parts of them were supposed to give you certain powers."

Jack was nodding the whole time at her explanation, seeming to listen to her go on for a change, so she continued. "There was Quetzalcoatl, the winged serpent god in Mexican history. Then there's the Ouroboros, the symbol of eternity because he holds the end of his tail in his mouth. But you might also want to ask Thor about them the next time you see him."

Jack looked at her surprised. "Thor? You think our little gray alien friend knows about dragons?"

She chuckled a little. "Yeah. After we first went to Cimmeria and found out that the Asgard were impersonating friendly Norse gods, I read up on Norse mythology. Jormungand was the Midgard serpent, he was the son of Loki."

"Oi, not him." Jack remembered the 'god of mischief' only too well.

She flashed her megawatt smile at him and laughed. "Yeah, him. On the Day of the Last Battle, he fought Thor, since Thor was the only being who would be a worthy challenge to him."

Jack laughed. "Thor? The four foot tall, skinny, little, naked guy a challenge to a dragon? Well I guess if he had his doohickeys with him. He can be kind of intimidating at times."

"Yeah, well, Thor supposedly killed Jormungand with his hammer. But then the venomous breath of the dragon suffocated Thor and he died as well." She shrugged her shoulders slightly, instantly regretting the action when pain spread out from her injury.

"So. They're supposed to be really smart, possibly telepathic and fond of beautiful women? That explains some things." Jack was pondering the information with regards to their little friend's recent behavior. After eight years of stepping through the stargate and seeing some really weird stuff, he realized this really wasn't any different. They'd met smart creatures before, and that Eggar guy Nirrti futzed with was telepathic. It might explain how the dragon found him in the middle of the woods so far from the cave when Sam needed him.

"After I change your dressings, I'd like you to stay here and rest, ok? I'm going to go see if I can find that cargo ship and see if we can fly it out of here." It was an indication of how much her shoulder hurt that she didn't protest his decision.

After examining her wounds and changing her dressings, Jack gave Sam some antibiotics along with the painkillers. He then stepped out of the cave and stood for a second, deciding on if he should risk looking like an idiot in front of the woman he loved. It was for her own good and his peace of mind if it worked, so he went ahead and whistled loudly, yelling out "Rover!" After a minute, he turned to Sam and shrugged. "It was worth a shot."

When he turned to finally leave, he found the dragon bounding up the trail towards the cave. He turned his back on Sam, hoping she wouldn't notice him talk to the animal staring up at him. He bent over slightly and whispered. "I don't know if you understand me, but I have to go check something out. Keep an eye on Sam, ok?" He straightened up, thinking, 'I can't believe I just talked to an animal. I must be losing it.'

When the beast trotted over to the cave entrance, looked in at Sam and then lay down watching the surrounding area again, Jack wasn't surprised, and that fact surprised him.