Sam hesitated outside Daniel's office. Usually, he was the one to seek her out, but he'd been conspicuously absent over the last few days, since they returned from the mission to Chulak.

"Hey," she said, walking in. "How's the arm?"

"Huh?" Daniel looked up from his notebook and blinked owlishly. "Oh. That." He looked down at his arm, hanging at his side in a sling. "It's … it's not that bad, really. Though I wouldn't recommend getting grazed by a staff blast as a recreational activity, or anything. What bugs me is the pain medications Doctor Frasier—Janet—insists I take. They make my head a bit muzzy, and it's taking me a lot longer to do my work than it should."

"Longer than it would be if you couldn't concentrate because you were in pain?"

"Well, not really," Daniel admitted. "It's, uh, it's still annoying, though."

"So, don't get shot next time," Sam said with a smile.

"I'll try not to."

Sam watched him for a few seconds, waiting for him to talk. Now, she'd only known Daniel a few months, but she knew him well enough to know that the problem was usually getting him to be quiet, rather than the other way around. "So, other than the arm, how was the mission?"

Daniel shrugged. "Okay. Not too exciting, anyway. We met Teal'c's family, and his mentor Master Bra'tac, who doesn't believe in the Goa'uld any more than Teal'c does." He hesitated. "Jack and I went to get a symbiote while Bra'tac and Teal'c went to stop the ceremony. There was a tank full of prim'tah—that's what they call immature symbiotes, like the Jaffa use in their pouches—unguarded. We got the two into the flask, and then I shot the tank, so the water and symbiotes all spilled out."

"Oh," Sam said, surprised that the mild-mannered archaeologist would attack such a defenseless enemy. "But they're just babies, really. I mean," she flushed as she realized how … girlish that sounded. "They're not fully developed. And they've never had the opportunity to prove themselves either good or evil—for all we know, some of them would have grown up to be good." She frowned, trying to imagine a good goa'uld. "Well, at least better than Apophis."

"I know all that, Sam," Daniel said softly. "But the thing is, I wouldn't do it any differently if I had the choice. A year ago, six months ago … that would have been different." He shook his head. "Actually, I think the strangest thing is having you lecture me about the morality of the whole thing."

"Why is that?" Sam asked, stung.

"Well, for one thing, you're in the military."

"What's that supposed to mean? That anyone in the military is automatically less ethical than someone who isn't? Thanks for the high opinion you have of me and my chosen profession, Daniel."

"That isn't what I meant," Daniel said, putting a placating hand on her arm as she stood to leave. "I'm sorry."

"Then what did you mean?" she asked, not mollified at all.

"It's just … in my experience with the military, ethics rank lower in the priorities list than tactics and paranoia."

"And you have a lot of experience with the military, right?" Sam shot back. "In the time you've been with the SGC, when have we ever put paranoia over ethics? The job of any military is to protect its country. That means being practical and facing up to reality—like the fact that there really are people out there who want to hurt us—and figuring out ways to make sure they don't succeed. But that doesn't mean we sacrifice our principles in the process. If we do, we're no better than our enemies. Military personnel are well aware of that, Daniel. That's why ethics classes are required at all of the service academies."

"Then why did General West send a nuclear bomb through the Stargate on the first mission to Abydos in the care of a suicidal man?" Daniel's voice had risen to match hers.

"He what?"

"He sent a nuclear bomb on the first mission to Abydos, among the baggage. Jack was supposed to use it in case there was any kind of a threat. He almost did end up using it on the planet's surface, despite knowing that he would have been blowing up his team and the people of Abydos along with Ra. And he wasn't planning on leaving before it went off. He was pretty messed up from … Charlie's death."

"You're kidding," Sam said. "I can see having a nuke ready to go on our end, so they could send it through in case of a threat. But releasing that powerful a weapon to a commander with no way of checking back with headquarters—I don't know how they justified that. Especially if Jack was," she shook her head, unable to picture Jack as being that depressed, "was unstable."

Daniel shrugged. "You'd think so. Though, come to think of it, I don't think either Kawalsky or Ferretti knew about it until I told them about it, after Ra had captured it and was going to send it back to Earth with a bunch of Naquadah—that mineral they mine on Abydos—around it to enhance the explosion." He gave her a half smile. "Anyway, it doesn't matter now. Except that I'm very glad that it's Hammond and not West in command of the SGC."

"Yeah," Sam said.

Jack flipped the steaks over on the stove, taking a sip of his beer as he did so. He glanced around the kitchen, checking that everything else was ready or in the oven. "Hey, Teal'c," he said to the big man, watching from the door. "Can I get you anything? Juice, maybe? Dinner'll be ready in a few minutes."

"I have no thirst at this time."

"Okay," Jack said, leaning against the counter next to him. He eyed Teal'c for a few minutes. "Something on your mind?"

Teal'c cocked his head, considering. "On Chulak, only women cook," he said.

Jack snorted. "Used to be here on Earth, too. But I dare you to talk about 'women's work' in front of either Sam or Doc Frasier. I'd be kinda interested in watching the fireworks … from a safe distance." He prodded the steaks. "Besides, grilling meat is a … manly way of cooking."

A raised eyebrow was his only answer. Jack would have left it there, but Daniel had been after him to see how the Jaffa was doing after his visit home. "So, how's it going, being back on Earth?"

Teal'c looked out the window. "I knew before I betrayed Apophis that I could never go home again. It would be too dangerous to my wife and son. I am grateful that my exile serves the cause of freedom."

Jack nodded, hearing all the things Teal'c didn't say. "Yeah."