AN: As a reminder, all original characters are made up and it is a coincidence if they happen to mirror any real or other fictional character. Also, information about the members and purpose of various SG teams is from Stargate Wikia. This one is a little more transitional than most. Need to get folks into a certain emotional place for later. :) Language and situational warnings apply.

***SG1***SG1***

Tipping the beer, Jack emptied it before looking around the bar. Catching site of the waitress, he raised it to indicate he needed another. Casually following the sandy blond woman's progress towards the bar, he watched her being stopped by another patron. A frown crossed his face as he watched her try to maneuver away from the man who was invading her personal space.

Feeling the change in O'Neill's demeanor, Daniel looked over his shoulder to determine what had caught Jack's attention. Glancing back at both men at the table, he casually threw out, "Looks like Becky has her hands full tonight."

A grunt from Jack and an "indeed" from Teal'c met the comment.

"Asshole," Jack commented softly to no one in particular before refocusing his attention back to the food in front of him.

The other two men raised an eyebrow at each other in surprise at the comment. Before either said anything, the beleaguered server appeared at the table.

"Here you go, Jack," she said, setting the beer in front of him and picking up the empty. "You two need anything?"

Glancing at Teal'c, Daniel replied, "We're good. Thanks Becky."

"That guy giving you problems?" Jack asked, gesturing to the other side of the room.

A tight uncomfortable smile passed across her face. "He's what we refer to as a hands on type of customer," she said, forced levity in her tone, a slight shiver of revulsion running through her. "Never sorry to see them call it a night," she added dryly.

Jack raised an eyebrow at her before his gaze drifted back the patron in question. "He come in often?"

"Him?" Becky asked, glancing back. "No. First time I've seen him. Why?" She added curious.

A slight shrug passed through Jack. "Just don't want riff raff coming in a messin' up the quiet," he threw out. "Let us know if you want him gone."

A genuine smile graced her face. "You guys are sweet, but I been doing this for a long time. He's not the first customer to try to get a little too friendly and he unfortunately won't be the last," she said dryly. "I'll be okay. You guys just worry about having a good time. Let me know if you need anything else," she added before moving to the next table.

Sharing a glance at Jack's unusual attention with someone who was not posing them any threat or inconvenience, Daniel read Teal'c's confirmation that his behavior was unusual. Clearing his throat, he tried to divert Jack. "Heard from Sam earlier," he threw out. "Said they have her scheduled for three sessions a day and have started some PT to help her heal."

A loud barrage of laughter and hoots echoed across the room drew the men's attention toward the table where the guy Jack had deemed to be an asshole sat. Watching, they saw the others at the table obviously razzing the guy as Becky moved quickly away.

A frown flickered again across Jack's features as the group turned collectively and watched her leave, nudging and gesturing to each other. A memory of another group taunting and making crude sexual comments to a blond haired woman passed through his mind. The image made him shift in his chair, his fingers curling into the palm of his hand.

"Jack?" Wide brown eyes darted toward the speaker. "You okay?" Daniel added, unsure of what he was reading in the older man's face.

"Yeah," Jack said, his voice rough and echoing forced lightness. "Bathroom," he grunted out, quickly gaining his feet and moving away.

Pushing in the door, Jack glanced around to confirm he was the only one in the small bathroom. Letting out a breath he leaned on the sink, hoping the coolness of the porcelain through his palms would give him something else to focus on rather than the memories tumbling through his mind.

Images of Sam tied down, the sounds of the men's taunts, her screams, cries.

"Shit," Jack bit out, jerking on the faucet knobs to splash water on his face. Snatching a paper towel from the dispenser, he blotted the water from his face, ignoring the spots darkening the front of his shirt that looked way too much like blood splatters.

The sound of a nearby door opening reminded him that someone could walk in at anytime and had him steeling his features, the paper towel now being used to dry his hands. Opening the door of the men's room, the site on the other side had him moving without thought or concern of the consequence.

Yanking the man holding Becky against the wall, he drove him to another wall and pressed his forearm across the guy's throat. Calls of 'JACK, NO! O'NEILL!' Permeated the fog in his head and had his eyes snapping toward the speakers. Feeling Teal'c pulling on his arms and seeing Daniel's concerned face, awareness came back to Jack. Realizing the man being pressed against the wall was coughing, he pulled his arm from his throat and took several steps back.

"Son of a bitch," he breathed out, the potential consequences of his actions hitting him.

"Shit man," the unknown man sputtered. "If she was yours all you had to do was say so," he rasped out between coughs, rubbing his throat.

His words irked Jack. "She," he stressed, "is not anyone's possession asshole," starting to move closer only to encounter Daniel and feel Teal'c tighten his grip.

Making sure Teal'c had him, Daniel turned. Glancing at the crowd they were drawing, he held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Look, how about we pick up the tab for you and your friends', we call this a misunderstanding, and we all go home?" Seeing hesitation, he pressed, "Otherwise, the cops get called, we all spend a lot of time getting hauled to the precinct to explain things, you get arrested, and he goes free for defending the lady," Daniel trailed off hoping it worked.

Getting a jerky nod, the guy stumbled to the outer room, grabbed his jacket and said something to cause the rest of the group to follow. Refocusing his gaze, he watched as the bystanders moved away before turning back. "Becky? You okay?" He asked softly nodding to the woman standing in shock behind Jack and Teal'c.

Slowly, she nodded, not sure what to say or do. It had all happened so fast. One moment she had been coming out of the bathroom, the next she had been slammed into the wall, a man groping her and shoving his tongue into her mouth, and then he was suddenly being yanked away.

"Do you want to press charges against him?" Jack asked turning to the woman. "Guess we should have asked that before we let him go."

"If I do," she swallowed, "will you get in trouble for helping me?"

"Not from the cops," Daniel said, glancing at the others before looking back at her.

Reading the silent shifting of the men that told her there may be other consequences, she made up her mind. "No," she breathed out.

A silent nod met her reply.

Clearing her throat, she gestured to the bar room. "I, uh, need to get back," she said moving away.

Daniel turned his gaze to Jack but waited until she was gone before he spoke. "You've got to stop this," he said roughly.

Jack snapped his gaze away from his friend before turning back, his gaze hard and challenging. "You tell me, Daniel, how the hell to do that; how to take all this shit out of my head. How to stop the images, sounds," Jack stopped and closed his eyes, swallowing hard. Forcing them back open, he pinned the younger man. "You tell me how and I'll be more than happy to stop killing people." Yanking free of Teal'c, he pushed his way past Daniel.

***SG1***SG1***

"Aren't you suppose to be someplace else?"

Doctor Rogers smiled at the question. They both knew she was heading back to Bethesda. "Daniel called me. He's concerned."

"Ah," Jack nodded, gesturing for her to come in. "Have a seat," he offered, waiting until she sat before lowering himself into a chair. "Going commercial?"

"Military transport," she offered in response, knowing he would understand the implicit noise and discomfort that came with flying in a large cargo plane.

"Nothing but the best," Jack drawled out, leaning back, biding time.

Running eyes over him, Tiffany noted that the bruises were healing and his ribs were evidently not causing him many problems. Trailing her eyes back to his face, she saw it gave nothing away. A small smile settled on her lips. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," Jack replied quickly. "Healing," he added raising his hands. "Ready to go back to work."

Acknowledging his statement, she said, "So tell me about last night."

"What? The bar?" Jack waved his hand to dismiss it. "Came out of the bathroom, saw a guy being a jerk, pulled him off." A slight shrug told her end of story.

"I know that part," she chided gently. "You did what anyone would do in that situation. I'm talking about before that happened. Daniel said you went chalk white and hissed out Sam's name."

A little bit of surprise shifted across his face. "Did I? Don't remember doing that." He shook his head. "When?"

"Before you went to the bathroom."

"Ah," he said, running fingers over the edge of the chair.

Waiting, she watched him. After a time she nudged him. "Flashback?" Seeing a slight movement of his hand in acknowledgment that she was correct, she nodded. "You know it's not unusual for that to happen."

A tight smile was turned towards her. "Heard it before. Got the certificate of completion."

"I know." The simple words were spoken softly. "And you did the right thing to deal with it. You moved out of the situation, took a break, grounded yourself."

"So what's the problem then? Why the visit?" Jack pressed, tilting his head at her.

Looking down, she raised her eyes back at him. "Do you think what you did was wrong?" Seeing a crease of confusion on his forehead, she added, "On the planet."

"Wrong?" Jack snorted. "Getting all morally philosophical on me, Doc?"

A tight smile pulled on her face at his attempt to divert her. "Exactly. Answer the question please."

Jack shifted in his chair and looked out the window. Licking his lips, he looked back at her. "Going to hell for doing a lot of things in my life, Doc. That just added to the reasons."

"For defending her or how you did it?"

"Does it matter?" Jack asked dryly.

"Actually, yes it does," Rogers pressed.

He shrugged. "Can't stand to see a bully win," he threw out. Seeing the seriousness on her face, he sobered. "I have a duty to cover their sixes and I'll do whatever I have to do to get them home," he said without hesitation.

"Even if that means killing someone else?"

Drawing in a breath and holding it to bide his time, he puffed it out. "Yes, though I prefer to avoid it if possible," he finally said.

Nodding, Tiffany let out a breath. That's what she was looking for. "And you know you can do that?" Rogers asked. "You understand that while you have killed, you don't do it indiscriminately? That it doesn't define who you are?"

Confusion at her questions passed across his face. "Pretty fine line there, Doc."

Nodding slowly, she locked eyes with him. "But an important one."

***SG1***SG1***

Nodding in thanks to the nurse who escorted her to the meeting room, Sam paused as the door closed behind her and assessed the room, her breath becoming shallower and picking up. Couches and chairs were in an informal circle on one side. On the other, several individuals milled around, some talking softly, while others appeared as nervous as she felt.

The door opening behind her urged her to take a few more steps in, spinning to glance warily at the man and woman entering. Recognition that they were the counselors she had met early did little to stop the butterflies that were dancing in her stomach.

"Major," the man said softly, stopping several steps from her. "Ready for your first group?" He asked, running his eyes over her pallid face.

A jerky nod answered him.

"Good," he smiled, taking a few more steps into the room, calls of 'hey Matt' greeting him.

Sam's eyes drifted back toward the woman who seemed to be holding her ground between Sam and the door.

"You're safe here Sam," the woman said, watching Sam assess her. Noticing that Sam's eyes kept darting between her and the door behind her, she took a step back and turned the knob. "It's not locked. If you need to leave at anytime, just tell me or Matt," she said, leaving it partially open and moving away from it before saying with a touch of humor in her tone, "And trust me, Major. My hand to hand capabilities wouldn't last more than two seconds against you."

Moving closer to the sitting area to give Sam more space, Nikki turned so she could greet the other room occupants but still watch Sam. Noting that her hands had begun to relax, she raised her voice slightly. "If everyone can take a seat, we can get started."

Settling into a chair, Nikki smiled as Sam positioned herself where she could keep on eye on the door. When Sam looked her way, she nodded encouragingly before glancing at the four women and three men who would be participating. "Okay, let's take a little bit to get to know each other and talk what's going to happen over the next several sessions, shall we?"

***SG1***SG1***

"Gentlemen, three days ago, SG-3, accompanied by Colonels Nelson and French from the Pentagon, left for a routine reconnaissance mission on P4X-774. When they missed their check in yesterday, we attempted to contact them. This is what we found out," Hammond said, nodding to the airman at the nearby computer to replay the recording of the radio contact.

"Nothing since then, Sir?" Major Altman asked, concern evident in his features.

Shaking his head, Hammond pursed his lips. "We sent an aerial reconnaissance plane through but all it could tell us before it was shot down was that the gate was being guarded by at least six Jaffa."

"So we have no way of knowing how many more may be on the planet or where SG-3 might be."

"None. Our only chance is if we can secure the gate and send another UAV through and hope we'll be able to contact them on the radio or find some indication they are alive. I won't authorize a rescue mission unless I know there is someone to rescue," Hammond said solemnly. "Your mission is to secure the gate so we can determine that. Once you know if a rescue mission is warranted, I'll send through more teams to assist. If you don't make contact within three hours or or at any time you don't believe you can safely hold the gate, I want you back here."

"I understand," Altman responded, glancing at his team to ensure they were clear. "We'll find them, Sir."

"I hope so, son," he said softly, nodding to each in gratitude. "SG-5, you leave in an hour. Dismissed."

***SG1***SG1***