Daniel picked up the length of tanned animal hide and ran it through his hands. It was soft, supple, exquisitely made and as far as he was concerned there just wasn't enough of it. He looked at Ka'eo over the rim of his glasses. His eyes were all wide and innocent, eyebrows raised in a way that was almost childlike, a way that most people wouldn't – or possibly couldn't – argue with. He exuded an innate quality of good that drew people to him. Jack had watched Daniel off world for seven years. Dragged him around with that innocent face and a mouth that could use words like a stiletto; watched him piss off half the people they met and make the other half want to take him home and sometimes there was an overlap in that Venn diagram.

"No," Daniel said, as calmly and politely as he could manage. There was an edge of iron-willed stubbornness in the voice that Jack recognized.

"No?" Jack repeated, looking stunned, "You're our word guy and the best you can come up with is 'no'?"

Daniel turned that innocent look on Jack. "What were you going to say?" he asked.

"I was going to say 'Oh hell no'." Jack answered emphatically. He hadn't gotten within spitting distance of the folded pieces of suede. He was in fact eyeing them as if it was possible the animal they had come from would suddenly rise up and attack. Not much chance of that, Daniel knew. These had come from the local equivalent of domesticated cattle.

"I do not understand your objections, O'Neill," Teal'c said.

Jack turned to him with the stunned expression permanently fixed on his face. "You wouldn't," he admitted, "Since a loincloth was basically part of your armor for a hundred years."

Jack swore he saw a wicked twinkle in the Jaffa's dark eyes before Teal'c looked away, choosing a length of suede and wrapping it around his waist to check for length. It ended just above his knee.

Teal'c had arrived two days earlier, summoned by Jack to help root out the dissenting group and bring them to justice. He had come with Ishta, in sufficient warrior dress and attitude to impress the Mau Lo'ans about Earth's other allies. Conversely Jack had been impressed by the Mau Lo'ans information gathering agencies and how much they learned about the dissident group and how quickly they learned it. They had either been willing to share this information with the Tau'ri because of the recent attacks – or been very much convinced of the wisdom of doing so by the presence of the very large and very imposing Jaffa scowling at them over Jack's shoulder.

The raids on the various 'safe' houses and hiding places had gone off simultaneously and without a hitch, with SG1 – all of SG1 as it had been at the start – right in the middle of taking down the leadership. It felt good to Jack. It felt right.

With the dissidents in custody the Treaty had gone forward. The signing was set for the following morning to be followed by a three day celebration feast –

Which brought them to this moment. Their guide had rather delightedly come to their palatial quarters with the garb that was traditional feast wear. The men were aghast. The women were happily picking through the outfits trying to decide what color they liked, even Ishta.

At Daniel's firm and polite no and Jack's even more firm pronouncement, Ka'eo had looked at first confused and then concerned.

"It is our tradition. To return to the early days….."

"Ka'eo," Jillian interrupted, "Could you leave us alone with the men for a moment?"

Ka'eo hesitated, then nodded and left the common room, quietly shutting the door.

Jillian looked at Daniel. "Do you have any idea how hot you'd look in that?"

"Do you have any idea how cold I'd be in that?" he countered.

"Daniel, it's eighty-two degrees at midnight here," she answered.

"Jill," he sounded a little desperate, like a man who knew he was about to lose an argument with his wife. "It's a loincloth."

"I think you're supposed to wear the shell necklaces too," Sam pointed out, helpfully, "Oh and the belt with the shells and feathers."

"Right," Daniel said, "because that will make it so much warmer."

"I don't know, I think this could be fun," Sam commented. She was holding a strip of fuchsia cloth that was the sole upper body covering. Jillian had one in a lovely shade of coral.

Daniel and Jack both eyed the slender pieces of material.

"Yeah," Jack said, "It could come in handy if we need to floss."

"It's not that small," Sam said, shaking her head at him.

"It's not that big either," Daniel said. He sighed and indicated the loincloths. "And neither are these."

"Come on, Daniel, whatever happened to 'anthropologists do it all the time. They dress and live as the people they're studying'," Sam asked.

Daniel sighed heavily. "I'm never going to hear the end of that am I?"

"Nope," Sam said, congenially. She picked up a saucy skirt made of woven grass dyed red and held them up in front of her, "I like the pink one but what do you think of the red one or the black?"

"I think Annie should wear the red one," Jillian said," and Ishta would look stunning in the black."

"Indeed." Teal'c agreed.

"Really?" Ishta asked, picking up and holding the waistband of the skirt against her hips experimentally.

Exasperated to his breaking point, Jack said, "I think no one is wearing anything but their own clothes!"

"I think Sam has a point," Jillian said.

"I do?"

"Yes. From a cultural standpoint this is important to our new allies and we should show a willingness to live and dress as they do. Ka 'eo made it sound as if this was important."

"Actually that was Daniel's point, not mine," Sam said.

"And I'm not an anthropologist!" Jack said.

Sam gave him a wicked look and said, "Today you are." Then she turned back to the mirror as she and Ishta held up the fuchsia and black garb for a close scrutiny.

Jack glared at Sam's turned back, caught Daniel's eye and mouthed, 'today you are' with an aggravated smart-ass eye roll.

Daniel looked past him at Jillian. "C'est comme si ils sont déjà maries."

She nodded. "Oui, j'ai remarqué que."

"Something you two want to share with the class?" Jack demanded.

"No," Daniel answered, bluntly, "You?"

Jack managed to give him an innocent look that was not quite as convincing as Daniel's own.

"Daniel," Jillian said. There was warning in her voice.

During the recent trip SG1 had taken to Jack's Minnesota cabin, Sam had broken down and admitted to Jillian that she and Jack were finally together. Daniel had then guessed. Jillian had sworn him to secrecy but Daniel had been baiting Jack ever since they had returned; and Jillian was getting tired of it.

A muscle in Daniel's jaw twitched. He liked baiting Jack. He could do it in his sleep and he hated secrets and lies.

The girls went back to trying on bandeau tops and grass skirts over their BDUs, chattering happily and exchanging colors. The men remained silent for a few minutes until Jack said, "We're going to wind up wearing these things aren't we?"

Daniel sighed. "Oh yeah, we are."

(0)

C'est comme si ils sont déjà maries – it's as if they are already married.

Oui, j'ai remarqué que – Yes, I noticed that

Bonus points to anyone who can name the episode Sam is referencing.