Hi everyone. I haven't forgotten this or my other stories. Sadly I had to go to Canada to see my mother who is very ill with cancer. She is doing better but I didn't have time to write. I'm trying to finish up this story and then get back to my others and finish them. I do promise not to leave you hanging on any of my stories. Thanks,

He took a deep breath, feeling rested and relaxed. In fact, he was feeling better than he had in a long, long time. The sleep had been good, what he'd needed after the craziness that was the last few days. Hell – the last few years. He laughed softly. Crazy yes it was true, but also amazing. He thought of the adventures he'd had, the things that he'd seen and experienced and the friendships he'd made. He had to admit that when he'd joined the Air Force the last thing he'd expected was to travel through space and meet aliens. Hell, not just meet them but get to know them and to call at least one of them a close friend.

He heard a noise and grinned. Another of his friends, although this was definitely from Earth, was sound asleep in the tent with him, snoring happily probably in some ancient ruin dreamland.

"Daniel", he called. He knew it was mean but he wanted to talk to him. He was feeling great this morning and he needed to share that with his friends. Not, of course that he'd tell them that. He did have a reputation to uphold, but still, he wanted to be happy with his someone else. He thought briefly of Teal'c but his alien friend was probably making sure their camp was secure. He then thought of Carter which made him frown slightly, although he didn't quite know why. He considered her a good friend too, although his relationship was different with her than with the men. Sadly it had to be. But still, it was as if there was something just out of reach about her. Oh well, he wasn't going to let it bother him, not now, not today.

"Daniel" he called, louder this time. "Wakey, wakey."

"Hrmph, mm'slp."

"Daniel, I don't know what the hell you just said, but it's time to wake up."

The younger man groaned and pulled his sleeping bag up over his face. A second later the snores resumed.

Jack shook his head. Daniel the teenage boy! "Daniel".

"What?"

"Time to wake up."

"Why?"

"Because it's morning."

"So. I'm tired."

"So", he answered right back. "You still have to wake up. Of course if you don't I could always come over there and -"

"Fine!" Daniel pulled down the sleeping bag and glared at Jack. "Why do I have to get up? We don't have any plans today and I spent the last two days waiting for you and Sam to come out of that alien shack. And you wouldn't tell me what was going on and Teal'c and I had to share watch last night, so I'm tired, okay? Now, why did you wake me up?"

Of course Jack instantly felt guilty. He'd forgotten that the two men had done the watch on their own in order to allow Sam and him to sleep. On top of that they had to have been worried about what was happening and yet had exercised real restraint in bugging him about answers.

"Sorry Danny", he sighed, flopping his head back down. "Just wanted to talk I guess."

There was silence in the tent and then Daniel moved. A moment later he was sitting up, looking over at his friend. "No, I'm sorry Jack. I'm just grumpy when I'm tired. So, what did you want to talk about?"

Jack almost laughed at the look of expectation on the other man's face. He so wanted to ask about what had happened in that room, but was trying to be good. This time Jack was reminded of a young Charlie, who used to get that exact expression when he was hoping his father was about to give him a treat, but he didn't want to jinx it by coming out and asking for it. He shook his head and allowed himself to chuckle. For that Jackson deserved something.

"Uh nothing in particular. Look Daniel, I'll tell you and Teal'c everything I can remember from the Ancient room, but I'd rather not tell it twice, so can you wait a bit?"

"Of course Jack." Suddenly Daniel's face changed, from serious and sincere friend, to impish child. "But you can't take too long because I'll explode."

"I'm sure you will" Jack laughed and pushed himself up. He had a moment's sense of confusion – that was way too easy. Nothing felt stiff or sore this morning, which isn't how he'd woken up for – hell, for years. He'd worn out his joints and back through years of missions and being wounded. Janet had warned him that he probably didn't have that much time left in the field although he'd laughed and told her he had a ways to go yet before he retired. Well today he felt like a kid of twenty. He better not get used to this, he figured. It had to be temporary.

"Everything okay?" Daniel asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, just fine. In fact I feel great. Uh Daniel, I am speaking English, right?"

"Uh huh. In fact, I haven't heard you use one Ancient word. It sounds like whatever was happening has sorted itself out now."

"I hope so. You hungry?"

"I guess so."

"Good, cause I'm starving." Jack pushed himself to his feet, amazed again at how limber he felt. He stretched. "God, that feels good."

"You're looking great too", his friend told him as he too got to his feet. "Better than I've seen you in a while." There was a brief pause while Daniel considered something. "Do you think it had anything to do with whatever happened in that room?"

Jack considered that for a moment. He tried thinking back to before entering and then nodded. "Yeah, possibly. Maybe it had some kind of healing properties. I bet that's why I'm not talking Ancient at all any more. It healed whatever was wrong with my brain."

Daniel looked doubtful but didn't say any more. He finished putting on his boots and then lifted the tent flap. "I smell coffee", he murmured with pleasure. "Teal'c must have prepared it."

"Or Carter", Jack nodded. "Let's go eat."

The two men made there way over to the small fire pit, to see Teal'c sitting there by himself. So it wasn't Carter, Jack thought, and was surprised at the swift stab of disappointment. Come on, he told himself. She's here and she'll be out shortly. What the hell is your problem O'Neill?

"O'Neill", Teal'c nodded, welcoming him to the breakfast fire "You are looking well."

"I'm feeling great Teal'c. Uh, can I have a – oh thanks", he said when Teal'c handed him the cup. He took a sip and closed his eyes. That was exactly what he'd needed. "Mmm great coffee."

The former Jaffa raised a brow in surprise. "It is our usual coffee O'Neill. You mentioned on more than one occasion that it tastes like – I believe you said brake fluid."

"Yeah, well I guess I had a craving for brake fluid this morning." He took another drink. "Yup, just what I wanted. What's to eat?"

"MRE's", Daniel told him with a grimace.

"Good – we have the scrambled eggs and bacon one?"

Daniel rummaged through his pack and then tossed one to the older man. "Here. I wonder if we can get some food off the natives?"

Jack quickly heated the package and soon was wolfing down the food. "Mmm", he murmured. "Delicious. That hits the spot."

"An MRE?" Daniel asked in surprise. "I mean, I know they're better than starving, but you've never called them delicious before."

"Hey, I'm hungry. Anything tastes good when you're hungry."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow but didn't speak. The three men sat quietly, each of them drinking their coffee and finishing breakfast. It was Jack who broke the silence.

"So – where's Carter?"

"Sleeping still I guess", Daniel took another sip of coffee. "You want me to wake her up?"

"Nah. She's probably tired. I just wondered." After a few seconds though he began to worry. What if something was wrong? What if she'd been affected by her time with him? What if she was sick – "Where are you going?" Jack's thoughts were interrupted when Daniel stood up.

"I'm gonna check on Sam", he said, putting down his cup.

"Why?" Jack frowned. Now he was really worried.

Daniel grinned. "Because you're looking at her tent like you think she's been abducted or something. I just want to show you she's fine."

"Oh." Jack looked down at his cup, feeling slightly embarrassed. He hadn't thought he was that obvious. "I guess it's just – after yesterday – I want to make sure she wasn't harmed by the Ancient stuff."

"She was fine when I looked in on her earlier O'Neill", Teal'c told him calmly. Although the fact that their teammate had checked showed he wasn't the only one who worried. "I made sure you were fine as well."

At that Jack raised his brow. "Really? Uh, thanks."

By this time Daniel was carefully lifting the flap on Sam's tent. "Sam?" he called softly. They heard a murmur in reply and the next second Daniel had disappeared inside.

Jack tried to listen to what was being said, but they two were speaking too softly. For some unknown reason he felt a swift pang that had to have been indigestion from eating the MRE too quickly. It certainly was not jealousy that Daniel could enter her tent without anyone thinking anything of it.

A few seconds later Daniel exited from the tent. "She's fine, great, in fact. She just slept in a bit." He grinned widely. "Now she feels guilty so I expect we'll see her soon."

"Of course she does", Jack snorted. "Carter is nothing if not overly hard on herself."

"And a soldier." Daniel settled himself at the fire again.

"What does that mean?" Jack asked mildly, knowing his friend didn't mean anything negative – or at least not too negative by his comment."

"Oh, just that duty, etc. is always her first thought. I think she feels that sleeping in means she's falling down on her job."

Jack nodded. Yeah, he was sure that was exactly what it was. He'd have to work on getting her to relax a bit more – at least when they weren't on a mission.

That thought caused him to scowl. They were on a mission. It might not be a sanctioned one, but certainly none of them should be letting their guard down. So why was he so relaxed? He glanced around and decided it must be a combination of this place and the fact that he was feeling so good – and that the Ancient – whatever -had seemed to disappear.

It was only a couple of minutes later that Carter appeared, her hair combed and her clothes looking fresh and clean. She'd obviously taken those few minutes to get herself ready for the day. He glanced down at himself and grimaced. He was pretty sure he looked like he'd just gotten out of bed – which of course, he had.

"Mornin' Carter", he smiled. For some reason he'd been feeling great since he'd gotten up. Now, he was feeling beyond great. There was no way he was going to admit that it had anything at all to do seeing his 2IC – nope! But he was sure going to enjoy it.

"Morning Sir." Her smile practically blinded the three men looking at her. "Sorry about sleeping in."

"No need to apologize Major", he waved her off. "You deserved it." He looked closely at her and frowned. She was looking – fantastic. "Uh, you're looking – rested this morning Carter." There, 'rested' couldn't be misconstrued. What he really wanted to tell her was that she was looking gorgeous.

"You do indeed look well Major Carter", Teal'c told her, almost sounding surprised, which Jack thought was a strange.

Daniel – of course – was a bit more blunt. "God Sam, that was some sleep. You're looking – amazing this morning."

Carter's face immediately turned bright red, and she quickly accepted the coffee that Daniel was holding out for her. "Thanks", she murmured into her cup. "I guess I was tired."

The four friends and teammates sat quietly, relishing the peace of a beautiful morning. It was Teal'c who, uncharacteristically, broke the silence.

"Will you tell us what occurred O'Neill?" the big man asked quietly. "Daniel Jackson is ready to explode with curiosity."

"Hah! It's not just me Teal'c. Admit it, you're every bit as curious as me."

Teal'c gave a stately bow of his head. "Indeed." He stretched his long legs in front of him and folded his arms, calmly regarding his friend and brother.

Jack sighed and set down his cup. He had been enjoying not thinking about anything in particular, except how wonderful the day was and how beautiful Carter was. He didn't want to concentrate on anything serious, not right now.

"Okay", he finally sighed. "Carter, you jump in if I forget something, okay?"

"Yes Sir." Her voice quavered slightly, as if she was fearful of what was about to be revealed. Jack's eyes tracked her face carefully, suddenly concerned. Had he missed something? His mind flipped back to that moment in the alien room. It had been a dream, hadn't it? Of course it had and it wasn't something he was about to reveal anyway. He continued to study the woman opposite him, his concern growing as she avoided his eyes.

"Jack?" It was Daniel's voice that brought him back. His breath hissed in and he blinked.

"Sorry. Uh so – we discovered the entrance to an underground room …" He continued the story, trying to remember details that seemed to already be slipping out of his grasp. He could clearly remember the impressions, the feelings he'd had while there, it was harder to remember what had actually happened.

"Wow! What do you think it meant?" Daniel asked, when both he and Sam tried to describe the incredible sights and storm they'd experienced. "Was it real?"

"I have no idea", Jack said shortly. For some reason he didn't want to try and explain it. It had happened, they'd lived through it, and it had changed them. That's all he knew, all he wanted to know. He scanned Carter's face, expecting her to pull out her usual analytical, science persona, but she too seemed to be unwilling, or maybe it was unable, to explain things further.

"Sam? What do you think it was?" See, there was Daniel, turning to his buddy in geekish crime, also expecting her to do her usual thing and try to analyze what had happened.

"I have no idea either Daniel", she repeated. "All I know is that it was – incredible." Her eyes moved over to the Colonel's and she couldn't help the small quirk of her lips. "I don't think either of us can explain it."

"But – what does it mean?" Daniel was eaten up with curiosity and if there was anything he hated, it was an unsolved mystery. "And what if it hurt you? I mean, Janet isn't here to check you out and it could have done something to you."

"I believe they are well Daniel Jackson", Teal'c defended. "They will tell us if something is the matter. Can you tell us what happened next?" he aimed his question to both O'Neill and Major Carter.

Jack went on to tell about the Ancient library, although he quickly downplayed what had actually happened. It wasn't that he was trying to hide it from his friends, he was, in fact, hiding it equally from himself.

Somewhere in the back of his brain things were floating around, lots and lots and lots of things. Facts, knowledge, understanding of the way the universe worked, of concepts not understood yet by humanity, of places and peoples as yet undiscovered. Part of him was excited by the glimpses he'd received, but most of him was terrified.

He didn't want to be the bearer of such knowledge. He didn't know what to do with it or how to handle it. He was mortally afraid that if he let it out it would consume him, not like the previous Ancient download, but instead it would change who he was, what his purpose was in life. And he wasn't ready for that.

"So, you got to read all the materials in this Ancient library", Daniel frowned. "How much of it do you remember? And you're sure it's not like before?"

"I'm sure", he answered Daniel's second question first. "It's not taking over my brain. It's more like I went on a speed reading course. As for how much I remember – I don't know. Right now, not much. I just have a few little facts running around in my brain, but nothing that's very useful."

"Facts? Like what?" the insatiable man asked.

"Oh – let's see." He thought for a moment. "Did you know that the male Krepler bird from the planet Orius turns bright pink during mating season, but afterward loses it's feathers and goes completely bald?"

Silence met his piece of trivia, the only movement being Teal'c's Spockish brow. Daniel took a deep breath. "Uh, that's -"

"Interesting Sir", Sam finished. "What other things did you learn?"

He turned to her and grinned, knowing exactly what she was doing. He could always count on Carter to cover for him.

"Well, on Tursa Minor it's illegal for traders to have pockets in their clothing. And on Mardana you can only eat troshlic on a day with a full moon, otherwise you have to pay a fine."

"Jack, what do these things mean?" Daniel asked in frustration. "And where are these places? I've never heard of them."

"I have no idea", Jack shrugged. "I told you, I just have some facts running around in my brain. I don't think they're very important."

"You mean to tell me we went through all that and the Senecksi have waited for years for you – and all you found out was some stupid customs on various planets?"

"Daniel", Jack said, sounding vaguely shocked. "Did I just hear you say stupid customs? That's – not like you."

"What is troshlic, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked calmly.

Carter choked, trying to hold back her laughter. O'Neill turned to face his friend, his expression serious. "I have absolutely no idea Teal'c, but it sounds disgusting."

Teal'c nodded. "So, now we must worry about what is happening on Earth and what we are to do."

"Yeah", Jack sighed, once again becoming serious. He knew that Daniel wasn't going to leave his 'knowledge' alone, he'd want to know more. For now though, Jack figured he had successfully sidetracked his companions. He knew a lot more than he'd suggested, but how much more he was still frightened to find out.

"Maybe we should just go back to Earth", Daniel said. "I mean, if the Ancient is gone, there's no reason for the NID to take you."

"Right. I'll just tell them it was all a mistake and they'll leave me alone", Jack answered sarcastically.

"Well, what if we get Thor to vouch for you. They'll believe him."

"Maybe", Jack scowled, "although I wouldn't bet on it. I do think it's a good idea to contact Thor though. Who has the communicator? We should signal him again and hope he gets our message."

"What about the Senecksi Sir?" Carter asked. "They still believe you are The One and probably want to see you again."

"Yeah, I know." Jack sighed and slowly stood. "I say we rest here for today and then tomorrow head back to town. I need a bit of a break from the Senecksi and from all of this. I declare today a day off!"

Daniel appeared to be the only one who didn't appreciate the idea of a day relaxing. Still, he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere, at least right now, so he decided to hold off. In the meantime, he too could rest

Jack stood and eyed the pool of water. There was something about it that beckoned to him. He felt hot and sticky after yesterday and relished the idea of a swim. He didn't exactly have a suit, but his boxers would probably do. He glanced at Sam, who was looking away from him, still avoiding looking directly at him his. He briefly had a vision of her skinny dipping in the pool and had to quickly reign in his thoughts.

"So Carter – you up for a swim?" he asked, once his heart and his libido had slowed down.

Her head whipped around, startled. "Uh – I don't have a suit Sir", she told him, echoing his thoughts.

Now was not the time to make an inappropriate quip. "Well, I'm gonna improvise Carter", he grinned. "You might want to do the same. You only live once!

"A cliché Sir?" she finally grinned.

Jack sighed dramatically. "I couldn't help myself. It must be having a day off, or maybe being in paradise weakened my resolve."

She laughed softly and watched as he turned. Her eyes became gentle as she regarded her friend and her commander. He was right, a swim did sound good and she could improvise. With a light step she turned to head back to her tent. She was going to go swimming.

He was whistling as he entered the tent. For some reason the day had just gotten even better. Aliens be-damned. His friends were here, he had a day off and he damn well was going to fantasize about nude Carter. He deserved it. With that he began to pull off his clothes. He was going swimming.