Sam woke, feeling uncomfortable. Her neck was stiff again, and she was lying awkwardly. She tried to push herself into a more upright position, but when she put her weight on her left hand, she heard a grunt. She froze, not wanting to wake him. Carefully she untangled herself from his arms and moved her leg off the table. She was about to get up to grab her crutches when he stirred.

"Where you goin?" He slurred his words, not quite awake, and still under the effects of alcohol.

"Bathroom." She whispered back to him.

He nodded and closed his eyes again, falling asleep immediately.

Once back in Daniel's spare room, Sam sank onto the bed relieved that Jack hadn't woken up fully. That would've been an awkward moment in the morning, waking up in each others arms. She changed for bed as quietly as she could, and climbed under the sheets. Closing her eyes, she remembered the warmth of him, holding her close, the feeling that it was right.

Daniel woke up early, and groped for his glasses. 6am. He knew he wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep, so he got up, and tiptoed into the kitchen, needing something solid in his stomach. As he passed the living room, he glanced towards the couch, and saw Jack's head on one end, and his feet hanging over the other. Daniel assumed that Sam was in her room, and wondered what had occurred. He hadn't heard anything, but that didn't mean much. He had been dead to the world, and nothing short of someone firing a gun right next to his head would've woken him up.

He turned on the stove light, so as not to disturb Jack, and started the coffee going. As he waited for the pot to fill, he sat down at the table, and dozed off.

Jack woke with a start when something smashed in the kitchen. He sat up, threw the blanket off himself, and stood up. The second he was vertical, he felt a dull throbbing behind his eyes, signaling how much he had drunk the night before. He walked towards the light in the kitchen to find Daniel picking up the remains of a cup.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Time?"

"730am."

"You're up early?"

"Well, I went to bed earlier than you, Jack."

"I guess."

"Coffee?"

"Aspirin?"

"Sure. I'll go grab you some."

Daniel grabbed the aspirin, while Jack pulled out two mugs and turned the coffee maker off.

"Here." Daniel passed the bottle to Jack, as Jack poured the coffee.

"Thanks."

"So, what you doing today?"

"First, shower. Then, I gotta go get my car."

"There's towels in the bathroom, and I'll take you to your car."

"Nah, don't worry about it. I want to get to the base."

"Why? They can call you if they need you."

"I didn't bring another change of clothes for today."

"Oh." Daniel didn't buy Jack's excuse, but didn't think he was going to get much more of an explanation.

"Plus, I've gotta check on how Siler's doing with the iris, then there's your reports to go over, and a few calls to make."

"Calls?"

"About the tapped dry mine."

"What about it?"

"There is the opinion out there, that the Jaffa are there for a reason, most likely the mine."

"They want us to go back?" Daniel wasn't too happy about that, and raised his voice.

"Sshhh."

"Why?"

"Sam's still sleeping. Don't want to wake her."

"Why not? I didn't realise we were discussing secrets here."

"We're not. I don't see the point of waking her."

Jack placed his cup by the sink, and left Daniel in the kitchen. Daniel heard the shower running and went to go get changed. If he was going to be driving Jack across town, he would rather not be in his pajamas.

Sam woke to a quiet house. She slid out of bed, grabbed her crutches and wandered into the living room. Daniels keys were gone, and she looked out the window. So was his car. She assumed that he had taken Jack back to his car, which had been left at the pool hall. She went into the kitchen, and started a new pot of coffee. She hadn't been sitting there long when she heard Daniel return.

"Hi."

"Morning Sam. How you feeling?"

"Like I had too much to drink last night. Coffee?"

"That's a dumb question. Hungry?"

"Yeah."

"I've got bread and eggs."

"Uh, just toast for me."

"Sounds good."

"So what time did you get up this morning?"

"The first, second or third time?"

"Not a good night?"

"I got up around four, then again at six. I fell asleep here at the table until seven."

"When did Jack get up?"

"Just after seven. I woke him up."

"Why?"

"I dropped a mug, and he woke up. He said he needed to get back to the base."

"Oh."

"Sam, did something happen last night after I crashed?"

"Not much. I fell asleep on the couch somewhere in the middle of the movie. I woke up uncomfortable and went to bed. Why?"

"No reason."

Daniel handed Sam a plate of toast and pulled jam out of the fridge. If she felt like talking to him, she knew she could anytime, so he wasn't going to push it right now.

Sam was glad to be back at the SGC Monday morning. Sunday had gone by much slower than the usual day. Probably because she hadn't gone out. Both her and Daniel had stayed in, watching movies, cleaning up, laundry. The usual mundane Sunday tasks. She had a suspicion that Daniel had seen her and Jack on the couch the previous night. He hadn't said anything specific, and she was grateful for that. Had he mentioned whatever he had seen, Sam didn't know how she would've reacted.

She kicked herself again for allowing this to happen. It wasn't something she had planned on, and cursed herself for allowing old feelings to cloud her mind. What the hell had he been thinking? It wasn't that long ago they couldn't even be in the same room together, and now they were sleeping in each others arms. A shudder ran through her body as she remembered the hurt they had caused each other. She had put it behind her when she left the SGC. Even when she thought he was dead, she'd moved on. She forced herself to push any feelings for Jack, other than friendship away, as far as she could. They were friends, end of story, and nothing was going to ruin that again. If he brought it up, well, she'd just have to pass that sentiment over to him, and hope he felt the same.

"Teal'c, any luck?" Jack waited as Teal'c walked off the ramp towards them.

"The council was unable to determine the goa'uld for the symbol."

"Damn."

"However, several of them have seen this symbol before."

"Really? Where?" Daniel pushed in front of Jack to talk to Teal'c.

"The name is not known, but a goa'uld known as Qetesh once ruled there."

"Qetesh? Why does that sound familiar?"

"Jack, Vala was host to Qetesh." Daniel jumped up and ran out of the room, Jack and Teal'c following behind.

"Daniel. Wait."

"Jack, she's got to know something."

"Did you ask her yet?"

"No. I just got here when Teal'c arrived. Haven't had chance yet."

"Bring her up to the briefing room. It's a little roomier up there than in her personal room."

Daniel could see his point, and indicated to the guard to let him in. Jack and Teal'c went back the way they came.

Cam headed towards the briefing room after receiving a call from General O'Neill. He arrived and took a seat opposite Teal'c.

"So what's going on?"

"We're just waiting for Daniel and Vala to arrive. Where's Bosco?"

"He was in the gym the last time I saw him."

"I sent an airman to find him. I wanted you all here so we can try to figure out whose Jaffa were on that planet."

"Hey." Daniel arrived with Vala, followed by an airman. Jack dismissed the man as Vala and Daniel took seats next to Teal'c.

"I guess we're starting without Bosco." Cam commented.

"Why am I here?"

"Vala, we were captured by Jaffa bearing a symbol of a goa'uld we don't know or recognize. We're hoping you could help us." Daniel filled her in on what had happened as Cam slid a drawing of the symbol down towards her.

"This is the symbol of Neith."

"You know this for sure?" Jack hadn't thought Vala would be of much help. She had already surpassed his expectations.

"Yes."

"Neith? I know that name. Hang on." Daniel ran from the briefing room.

"I have not heard of a goa'uld by that name O'Neill."

"How do you know of this goa'uld, Vala?" Cam stared at her watching for signs she could be lying.

"As Qetesh, I knew Neith."

"You knew him?"

"Her."

"Did you know that her Jaffa were going to be on the planet we sent SG-1 to?" Jack demanded.

"How could I know? I'm not told anything around here. Even if you had told me, it's been a long time since I was in the loop."

"So you're saying you can't help us?"

"No, what I'm saying is, I might be able to help you. I just don't know what exactly I will remember."

"Vala, this isn't the time for games."

"Jack, can I call you Jack? After the Tok'ra removed Qetesh from me, I started loosing her memories."

"Can you remember anything?" Cam was still staring at her.

"Yes. I still remember some things." The expression on Vala's face turned to sadness, and Jack could only imagine some of the things she had seen.

"I've got it." Daniel ran back into the room out of breath, carrying a large book.

"Got what?"

"Neith. She was originally a god of war and the hunt, but later, she became the goddess of weaving."

"And this helps us how?" Jack was used to Daniel's ramblings, but he wanted to get to a point.

"Tanit was the goddess of fertility. In Ancient Egyptian, Tanit's name means, Land of Neith."

"So the two are related?"

"In a way, yes. According to mythology, Tanit was the consort of Ba'al, as was Qetesh." Jack cringed as Vala looked down at the table, embarrassed.

"So you did know her."

"Yes. I did. Along with Tanit, and Athena, we plotted against Ba'al, and failed before we started."

"Athena?"

"Yes. Qetesh knew Athena better than the others, but Qetesh betrayed her."

"How?"

"Athena told Qetesh about an unimaginable amount of treasure, supposedly left behind by the ancients. Qetesh betrayed her, and kept the information to herself."

"Did you find the treasure?" Daniel was curious. He had never heard this much of Vala's past.

"No. Qetesh was removed from me by the Tok'ra before I was able to look for it."

"Do you have any memory of the information?"

"No. Nothing." Daniel looked closely at Vala. She was upset, and for some reason, it bothered him. He had never seen her like this before.

"So why haven't any of us heard of this Neith before?"

"It is possible O'Neill, that there were many minor goa'uld that have kept quiet for many years."

"But Teal'c, they're goa'ulds. How can they lay low?"

"When Ra was killed, the infighting between the system lords reached a new level. Many minor goa'uld stayed away and left for their own worlds. They stayed there, ruling their people, waiting for the others to kill each other off. It is believed that many of them were allied with each other, yet we have found little proof of this."

"Teal'c, if all these minor goa'ulds are out there, why haven't they emerged before now? Anubis has been gone for years, and many of the other system lords were killed around the same time."

"Daniel's got a point. They should be crawling out the woodwork by now."

"Sir, what if they didn't know about the defeat of Anubis?" Cam was on the edge of his seat.

"Exactly."

"Vala?"

"Many of those that Qetesh knew about, had not been in contact with anyone for hundreds of years. They buried their stargates, and only kept a few ships capable of interplanetary travel. Tanit was one, until she somehow found out that Athena was in Ba'al's good graces. She contacted Qetesh, and we paid a visit to Ba'al."

"When was this?"

"Not long before the Tok'ra removed Qetesh from me."

"So, what happened to these other goa'uld?" Jack was getting lost with all the names, and wanted to bring this to an end.

"I don't know. I went back to my homeworld shortly after Athena told me about the treasure. They could still be with Ba'al."

"All three of them?"

"Athena, definitely. She always allied herself with those that were in power at the moment. The other two, who knows."

"Teal'c, you ever heard of any of this?"

"I have heard of Athena, but none of the others. It is possible that they are with Ba'al."

"Could one of them have been behind the explosion at Sam's old lab?"

"If Ba'al is still on Earth, they could be here with him, and likely working together."

"Sir, have we had any leads on Ba'al?"

"No. He's keeping a very low profile, or he's headed elsewhere in the galaxy."

"So where does that leave us?"

"Teal'c, can you head back to Dakara and find out if anyone knows anything about the whereabouts of any of these goa'uld, including Ba'al."

"As you wish O'Neill." Teal'c bowed his head, and walked out of the room.

"Daniel, we need to find out if any of these goa'uld are on Earth. Go back to the company that Ba'al associated himself with, see if you can dig up anything."

"And me? Do I get to do anything?" Vala had a hopeful look on her face and pouted at Daniel.

"Jack, she could be helpful."

"What about going back to some of the planets Qetesh ruled, Sir? We might find something there that could help us." Cam was raring to go.

"Do any of them have a gate?"

"Yes."

"Cam, you, Bosco and SG-3 get ready. We'll send through a UAV and if it's okay to do so, go check it out. When you find Bosco, I want to see him before you head off-world."

"Yes Sir." Cam left to ready the team.

"What about me? I should go with them."

"Vala, perhaps that's not the best idea."

"Daniel, don't be silly. These people know me. They're less likely to shoot at you if I'm there to tell them not to."

"She's got a point Daniel."

"Yes, Daniel. I've got a point." Vala was once again smiling ear to ear.

"Vala, I'm sending you with SG-1. They will have orders to shoot you if you do anything that endangers them. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Daniel, take her to get some gear, then I want you and Carter to find Ba'al, if he's on Earth."

"What are you going to do?"

"A lot of phone calls."

Jack grinned as Daniel and Vala left the briefing room.

AN: Hope everyone had a great New Years. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed the last few chapters. Hopefully the PM's will be up and running soon, as I did send a few.