A/N: It's my birthday, so I've decided to give myself a present and take time to post this latest chapter! Yay! Sorry for the delay on updating this. Those last marathon chapters of Learned by Heart, Kept in Mind sorta deflated all my creative urges for a few weeks. Happily, I'm now feeling refreshed and ready to roll.

Again, this is my first attempt at writing anything not purely centered on Sam-Jack ship. Please let me know what I can do to make Daniel more realistic or interesting, should you have any suggestions. (I'm having a hard time with him!) And, never fear, there will be plenty of S-J shippy goodness for all those who've been following the other two stories in my Ring trilogy.

By the way, voting is on at the Stargate Fan Awards site. Thanks to my awesome readers, both Reap and Learned were nominated this year (Reap in the Family-rated section, and Learned in Adult.) Please note, I'm not soliciting your vote. Vote for whoever you like. But, the site is a great place to find good Stargate fanfics of all genres. So check it out.

And with that, let's get back to the show!

Chapter 5

Teal'c stood silently in the corner of the cold, sterile room, looking as animated as a stone statue. Being a warrior, his ability to help the present situation was limited. Still, he found himself unable to leave the infirmary when his friend was so clearly distressed.

The door to the small room opened, revealing a familiar, if somewhat weary figure. Slowly, the figure stepped into the room, looking intently at the cheerless sight across the room.

Without moving, Teal'c spoke quietly. "He is asleep, O'Neill."

Jack jumped at the unexpected voice beside him. "Jeez, T. I didn't know you were in here." Then, looking across the room at the figure slouched over the hospital bed, he sighed softly. "How long has he been like that?"

Teal'c's face remained unchanged, though his voice spoke of his concern. "He has not left her side since you brought him in here yesterday. The doctor has attempted to remove him on three separate occasions, but he has made it clear he will not be moved without an act of force." Teal'c's eyes narrowed grimly. "I helped persuade the doctor that such an action would not be wise."

A small, bemused smile passed quickly over Jack's features. "You're a pretty scary guy when you want to be, Teal'c. I'm glad you're on our side." The Jaffa's eyebrow shot up at that remark, but Jack just shrugged it off. "Any change?"

Wordlessly, Teal'c shook his head.

Jack reached up and rubbed the back of his neck with another sigh of resignation. "Damn. This whole thing just gives me the creeps."

Teal'c tilted his head. "In what way?"

Quietly, Jack settled into one of the hard, plastic chairs pushed up against the far wall. "I really can't put my finger on it. Carter says I'm just weirded out from my whole 'dead on another planet' incident. And maybe she's right. I just can't help feeling like there's something else going on, though."

One side of Teal'c's mouth rose in an amused smile.

Jack blinked, clearly unable to see any humor in his words. "What?"

Teal'c stepped across the room and settled into the chair beside Jack's. "I was just wondering, O'Neill, if you will ever refer to your wife by her new name."

Jack speared the large warrior with a black look. "Seems pretty unlikely to me," he muttered. "See, T, there's an Earth expression that goes, 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks.'"

"And you, Jack, are definitely an old dog." The sound of Daniel's sleepy voice instantly had both men turning toward the bed.

"Hell, Daniel. I'm sorry. Didn't mean to wake you." Jack winced sympathetically as his friend straightened in his chair, clearly pained by the movement. "If you want, we'll get lost so you can get some more sleep."

Daniel waved absently. "Don't bother. I was barely dozing anyway."

Teal'c started to rise from his seat. "If there is anything you need-"

"I'm fine, really," he interrupted quickly, motioning for his friends to stay seated. "Besides, I'll want your support if Doc Brightman comes back in here and threatens to move me back to my own room."

Jack nodded. He didn't bother asking whether the doctor's orders were in his friend's best interest. He could see by the stubborn cast to Daniel's features that nothing short of four-point restraints was going to keep him from his wife's bedside.

Daniel saw the acceptance on his friends' faces and relaxed slightly. Then, recalling Jack's last few statements, his eyes sharpened thoughtfully. "So, you've got a weird feeling about all this?"

Jack's features momentarily clouded over with an odd, anxious expression. "Yeah. I do." He scratched his head, trying to put his thoughts into words. "I wish I could explain it, Danny. There's just something about this whole situation that I can't quite put my finger on." He gazed off into space. "It's like that feeling you get when you know you've forgotten something important, like turning off the oven or paying the phone bill, but you can't figure out exactly what you forgot." Then, shrugging, he focused back on his companions. "Either that, or it's gas."

Smiling, Daniel rolled his eyes. Knowing Jack, it probably was gas. Still, after considering Jack's words, he looked at his friend thoughtfully. "It very likely has something to do with all that Ancient knowledge you used to have in your head. Thor did say the transport device was probably Ancient in origin."

Jack nodded, though he didn't appear entirely convinced. "Yeah, I suppose so."

Daniel appeared intrigued by Jack's reluctance to accept the idea. "What else could it be?" he asked, sounding genuinely puzzled. "Besides gas," he added quickly, cutting off the glib reply before Jack had a chance to utter it.

Teal'c smirked at Daniel's statement. "Perhaps it is O'Neill's lack of sleep that is hampering his understanding of the situation," he interjected, adding his own dry humor to the exchange.

Jack groaned and rubbed his eyes. "That's entirely possible," he muttered.

Daniel smiled sympathetically. "So, I take it the twins aren't sleeping through the night yet?"

O'Neill grimaced. "Jonathan is. He's just like his daddy. I'd bet he'd sleep through the end of the world if it happened during naptime." All three of them smiled at that. While Jack hadn't actually slept through an apocalyptic crisis, none of them doubted that he could. "But Janelle is a whole other story. She's up every three hours, like clockwork." He shook his head. "When I thought I'd be losing sleep on my honeymoon, this isn't exactly what I had in mind."

Daniel held up a hand. "Okay, enough on that subject. Besides the mountain of guilt I feel for tearing you and Sam away from your vacation, I still can't quite get past the mental images of everything else you're implying." He suppressed a shudder. "You know I'm really happy for you guys, but the details are still a little creepy if I think about them too hard."

Jack just smiled. "That's okay Daniel. I think about the details enough for the both of us."

Grimacing, the archaeologist cleared his throat and deliberately changed the subject. "Yeah. Uh… Anyway, I've been thinking about this stone circle, and I've got an idea."

At that, Teal'c inclined his head in a gesture of interest. "We are always interested in contemplating your ideas," he said earnestly. Then, glancing at Jack, the ghost of a smile touched his features. "Or, perhaps I should say that I am always interested."

Jack shrugged. No point in arguing there. Still, this case, for some reason, was different. "Go ahead, Daniel. Lay it on us. I'm even listening this time."

Daniel settled back into his chair, sensing his friends' genuine interest. "Well, I did a lot of research on ancient Mesopotamia last year when we found the device on P3X-812. And I decided then that it must be the key to something really important."

Uncomfortably, Jack shifted in his seat. "You mean that metal thing which zapped me into oblivion, right?"

Impressed that his friend was actually paying attention, Daniel nodded. "Exactly. I think, if we want to get to the bottom of what's happened here," he said, gently caressing Sha're's pale face, "we need to get our hands on that thing again."

O'Neill snorted. "Yeah, 'cause they haven't been trying to do that for, oh, four months now…"

Teal'c seemed inclined to agree with Jack. "Indeed, Daniel Jackson. There have been many scientists at the excavation site on P3X-812 since O'Neill's accident. They have been entirely unsuccessful in extricating the device of which you speak."

At this, Daniel bit his lip and looked hesitantly off into the distance. "Yeah, I know. But I think we're going about it the wrong way." Once again turning to his friends, there was clear reluctance in his blue eyes as he spoke. "It wasn't random chance that put the key into that stone circle."

Jack shuddered. "Tell me something I don't know, Danny. The autopilot in my brain managed to get that damn cylinder in just the right place to…" He trailed off, a look of comprehension dawning on his features. Exhaling sharply, his next words were a statement, not a question. "You want me to go back there."

Daniel said nothing as he met Jack's startled gaze head on. Still brushing his fingertips along his wife's cheek, he simply shrugged.

Teal'c absorbed the exchange wordlessly, taking in the uncharacteristic range of emotions flickering in both his friends' eyes. Then, taking a deep breath, the large warrior broke the silence in the room. "I agree with Daniel Jackson in that it is likely the only way to remove the device from the stones. But I fear that, even if O'Neill agreed to return to the planet, there is one obstacle you've both neglected to consider."

Jack blinked at his friend for a moment, still trying to get past the shock of what he was considering. Then, as Teal'c's words sank in, he suddenly felt as though someone had punched him in the gut. With a painful breath, he uttered a single word that made all three of them wince. "Sam."

Daniel met the agonized look in Jack's eyes with a similar, if more desperate one of his own. Unspoken communication passed between the two friends in a way it never had before. Jack, for the first time in his life, really understood just what it was that Daniel was asking for – the chance to be content, happy and whole. As a member of SG-1, he'd had the fate of the world rest on his shoulders on more than one occasion. Yet, in spite of that, he couldn't ever recall feeling quite so needed before.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Jack nodded. "I'll talk to her."

Daniel and Teal'c exchanged a look of apprehension and, at least from Daniel's side, guilt. They'd both borne witness to the aftermath of Jack's last visit to the ring planet, and it hadn't been pretty. "Jack," Daniel said earnestly, "Thank you."

At that, Jack shook his head. "Don't thank me yet, Danny-boy. Carter isn't going to be easy to convince."

Daniel looked at his friend intently. "Probably not," he said. Then, with an amused smile, he added, "Especially if you keep calling her 'Carter.'"