Chapter 10

Carter smiled at a passing soldier and then turned into Daniel's office. She stopped, watching him. He sat at the table in the middle of the room, a table loaded with books, manuscripts, rubbings, and other paraphernalia she didn't have a name for. But he was staring at something in his hand with the strangest expression. It was like he'd suddenly come to a realization, but it wasn't the realization he wanted.

"Everything all right?"

He looked at her. "What?"

"You okay?"

"Yes."

"You sure? Because you look like--"

"I'm fine. Did you need something?"

Carter walked over to the stool across from him and sat down. "Back on the Jakisau planet, Daniel, there were a few times that it sounded like..." She twisted her lips a moment, trying to figure out how to explain this. "Like... You and Frank were talking at the same time. It was strange."

He smiled, shaking his head. "Isha mentioned that, but really, it was nothing."

"How do you know?"

"We were scared and frustrated and exhausted Sam. I was hearing all kinds of things, especially after the river."

She stared at him, unconvinced. "Daniel, you wouldn't hide something like this from me, would you? I mean... You've changed since you and Frank blended, and there's times anymore that... I don't know you."

Daniel dropped his hands to his lap, staring at whatever was in them. He looked hurt by her comment but she was standing by it. She was sure she hadn't been hearing things.

"It was inevitable that I would change."

"Perhaps, but--"

"Let me finish." He looked up at her, smiling. It was an old smile. One she'd seen years ago when they'd first started exploring the universe together. It was full of uncertainty and maybe even a little fear.

'No. Don't tell her about--'

She nodded.

"You know, Sam, there's times, when Frank's in control, that I fear he won't ever let me have control. After we found Aina, I was fighting that fear a lot, because you saw how good he was with her and I wasn't, he had to stay in control to keep her quiet." Daniel looked around the office. "But then, he always gives it back. And when he sleeps, his dreams... They don't make any sense."

'Danny, stop. Stop while you can.'

"Like what?"

"I see images of him in battles, some historical ones even, in bodies that I feel like there's a human in them. I ask him about the feeling and he never gives me a complete answer. I feel like he's hiding something from me, Sam, and I don't know what. Even now he's keeping quiet."

"How could he? You two are one in the same."

Daniel sat what was in his hand aside, leaning on the table. "How much do we really know about a goa'uld and host, Sam?"

She didn't answer, already seeing his point.

"That's right. Nothing. We've met them, we've seen them work together, but we don't know the first thing about them. When they're sharing a body like Frank and I are, what becomes of them? And what if Frank can hide things from me?"

"Then you'd have a right to be leery of him."

"A little distrustful, maybe."

"And you're still going to say I didn't hear the both of you talking?"

Daniel sighed, shaking his head. "We were exhausted, frustrated and scared, Sam. For all we know, that's normal for a host and symbiont when they get like that. That's the point I was trying to make.

"Does he think the same?"

Slowly Daniel answered, "I don't know. He's silent right now."

"Well, if it happens again, I'm ordering you to tell Doctor Lam."

Daniel nodded. "Okay."

"So what are you working on that's got you so frustrated?"

Daniel sat back, shaking his head. "I've got these cartouche that just have me stumped."

"Can't help you there."

"If you find another expert linguist somewhere, let me know."

"Will do. Are we having lunch today?"

"No. I'm going to keep working on this. I'll see you later, okay?"

She nodded, walking out of the room.

Daniel's smile disappeared. He picked up a mini-tape recorder. With a shaking hand he hit the rewind button and stopped it after a few seconds. He stared at it.

'Play it,' Frank urged. 'We had to have heard that wrong. Play it.'

Daniel didn't want to. What if they hadn't heard it wrong?

'God damn it, Jackson, play the damn tape!'

Daniel looked at a book. He felt Frank's fear and it made his own difficult to deal with.

Quieter Frank told him, 'We have to make sure, Danny. Please, please, play the tape.'

"I don't want to make sure," Daniel told him.

'We have to. Play it.'

"Are you sure you don't know anything about this, Frank?"

'Trust me, I'm sure. This... This isn't something I've never heard of before. But I want to hear it again. Maybe our ears are playing tricks on us.'

Daniel looked at the recorder and slowly depressed the play button. The tape whirred and from the small speaker his voice played back, reciting his findings of the translation he was working on. He recalled the conversation as it played. He and Frank had been working on this translation for weeks. There was nothing abnormal about the recording as he talked about identifying a cartouche after weeks of study. Then they both came to the realization of what one of the cartouche meant at the same time and together they told each other, "It's their symbol for fertility, for plants."

On the recording, Daniel and Frank heard themselves speak at the same time: Frank's resonating voice hidden under Daniel's. It had happened ten minutes and and at the time they weren't exhausted, they weren't frustrated, they weren't scared.

Daniel hit the stop button, staring at the device. But they were scared now.

--THE END--