Sam stepped into the office of the Dean who offered his hand to greet her.
"Thank you for meeting with us, Dean Grant," Sam said as she shook his hand, "This is Dr Owens."
"Please take a seat," Grant motioned them to the chairs across from him, "What can I do for you?"
"It's about what happened to Dr Jordan," Sam explained, "More specifically what he and his team were working on."
Grant mused for a second and accessed his computer, "It was a collection that was on loan," he turned the screen around for them to see, "The explosion was in a lab where Dr Jordan was studying this."
Sam heard the slight intake of breath from Owens at her side and knew that this was something important.
"Is there a second jar?" Owens asked intently.
Grant nodded, "Yes."
"Is it still here?" she queried.
"Despite what happened, we still have the rest of the collection," Grant told them, "It is being returned next week."
Owens glanced at Sam before asking, "Is it possible for me to review the jar? There is a concern that these are not the genuine articles, and the explosion was a cover to switch them."
Worry covered Grant's face and Sam managed not to chuckle at how smoothly Owens lied.
"Of course," Grant told them, "I will get a member of the department here to guide you."
x
"What is it?" Sam asked softly as they followed the technician towards the building where the collection was being stored.
Owens frowned, "The jars had Goa'uld symbols. One named Osiris and the other Isis. I won't bore you with the details, but they are an Egyptian God and Goddess so I'm pretty sure the jar that blew up was connected to the Goa'uld."
Sam groaned, "Of course it is."
"Here you go," the technician said bringing their attention to her, "I have printed out the inventory for you. And if you have any questions, I'll be at the desk."
"Thank you," Sam nodded before following Owens.
They split the list between them and worked through each item, Sam noted anything she thought might be important so Owens could check them properly.
"Major," Owens called, "I'm missing two items, can you check for an amulet and tablet."
Sam looked around the room and frowned, "I can't see them either. Let me check with the technician."
Heading across the room, Sam said, "Excuse me…"
"Alice," she stated.
"Alice," Sam nodded, "We can't seem to find two of the items."
A frown crossed the other woman's face, "That can't be right. Let me see."
As Owen explained the ones she couldn't find, Sam found her eyes drawn to the photos on the wall. One showed Daniel standing with an older man, a man with dark hair just slightly older than him and a blonde woman.
"That was our dream team," Alica said sadly, "Dr Jordan was killed in the explosion that happened recently. Dr's Gardener and Rayner took his ashes to Egypt."
"And who is with them?" Sam asked guilelessly.
"Dr Daniel Jackson," Alice sighed sadly, "He used to work with them, but left several years ago."
Musing for a moment, Sam decided to see what she could find out, "Could he be responsible for the missing items?"
Alica stared at her in genuine shock, "Seriously. Never. There was some bad blood between them all before he left but Daniel would never steal anything."
"You're sure?" Sam pushed, "If there was bad blood."
"That was more their side than his," Alice shook her head, "He was so personable and, unlike some others I can mention, knew all the technical staff as well as all about their families. Nice guy."
Sam grimaced, "I'm sorry that I'm pushing this, but do you know why he left?"
"Daniel had some theories that the others didn't agree with," Alice explained, "Dr Jordan thought he was being ridiculous, Dr Rayner, well he was always jealous at how much smarter Daniel was than him."
"And Dr Gardener?" Sam asked.
Alice grimaced, "They were a couple for a while. What I know is she wasn't happy when he broke up with her choosing his work over her."
Sam knew her shock showed on her face at the revelation that the blonde in the picture was Daniel's ex.
"Trust me," Alice said, "It's unlikely he would come back here at all, and if he did would never steal anything."
"Look at this place," Steven muttered as they were marched into the palace, "It's incredible."
Daniel shrugged, he'd seen plenty of Gould palaces since he first stepped through the Stargate, "And hopefully big enough so we can find a way to lose the guards and get back to the Stargate."
"Where do we go once we do?" Steven asked, "If the one on Earth has a shield and we have no way to get them to open it."
Daniel sighed, "I remember a few safe addresses, one in particular that should not only be safe, but the Jaffa won't be able to follow us."
Steven nodded but before he could say anything else, the Jaffa stopped. They were in the throne room, and they watched Osiris stride up to the throne before settling upon it.
"Well, this will do for now," Osiris mused.
"My Lord," a new voice came making them turn to see a man standing there. Daniel estimated him to be in his early sixties, bald and dressed as a courtier, "I am Selmak."
He bowed then his eyes flashed confirming him to be a Goa'uld as well. "Apophis charged me to oversee Chulak while he was away," he continued.
Osiris stood and asked, "So?"
"So," Selmak continued, "If you permit me, I shall ensure a smooth transition to your rule now that you have come to take your rightful place."
"Excellent," Osiris stated, "Although, know that if you betray me, I shall execute you."
"You are Osiris," Selmak stated, "You are now the ruler of Chulak and all planets within the realm that once belonged to Apophis."
A smile touched Osiris' face, "Then you can take care of my new servants. Show them where they will be staying, put them to work, and ensure they are aware of the consequences of any attempts to escape or if they do not follow my commands."
Selmak bowed again, pulling out a zat he motioned Steven and Daniel towards the door he had come through.
"Do not kill either," Osiris stated before adding with an amused smirk, "At least not until I have retrieved a sarcophagus. I have plans for them."
x
Daniel kept Steven slightly in front of him as Selmak walked behind them, wondering if he could get the zat before the Gould realised. He wasn't prepared for Selmak to suddenly push them into a room, close the door and pull out what looked like a communicator.
"Be ready," he said to someone, "As soon as I tell you bring us onboard."
Steven glanced at Daniel confused, "What's going on?"
"I'm not sure," Daniel replied, as he looked around the room for a weapon.
Selmak turned to them, "It's nice to finally meet you in person, Dr Jackson. Sam has told me a lot about you."
"Sam?" Daniel asked warily.
He nodded, "I'm Jacob Carter, Sam is my daughter. And you don't have to worry, I'm a member of the Tok'ra."
"Against Ra, resistance," Steven murmured from his side.
Daniel licked his lips nervously, "Like Jolinar."
Jacob/Selmak nodded, "Exactly. Thanks to the memories left in Sam's head by Jolinar, Earth was able to make contact with the Tok'ra."
Daniel could see Steven looking very confused, but he stayed silent allowing Daniel to take the lead.
"If you're Sam's father then how did you end up with one of those things inside your head?" Daniel demanded harshly.
He sighed, "Selmak saved my life. I had cancer and by joining with her, it means I'm still here."
"Under its control," Daniel replied.
Jacob/Selmak shook his head, "No, as partners. I'm Jacob," his head dipped before coming back up and his eyes flashing, "I am Selmak."
"Don't see a difference," Daniel stated coldly.
He shook his head, "And I don't have the luxury to try to persuade you, but George Hammond contacted us when you disappeared. I have a ship in orbit to get you both out of here and back to Earth."
Steven let out a gasp.
"We can't leave Sarah," Daniel stated.
"Sarah?"
Steven grimaced and clarified, "Osiris."
"We can't try to retrieve the host," Jacob/Selmak told them apolgetically, "My priority is to get you and Dr Rayner out of here. If you try to go after Osiris, you might not survive."
"What makes you think I want to survive?" Daniel asked emotionlessly.
"Daniel!" Steven cried.
"My priority is to get Steven out of here and to save Sarah," Daniel continued, "I am not letting another person I care about be destroyed by those damn snakes. I will not…"
He was cut off as pain reverberated through his body, and Daniel fell to the ground into unconsciousness.
x
Steven stared at the man who had just shot some kind of laser beam thing at Daniel, "What did you do?"
Jacob/Selmak sighed, "We don't have time to argue anymore. He's just unconscious, I promise. Help me with him."
Warily, Steven took one of Daniel's arms and put it over his shoulder while Jacob/Selmak took the other arm. They moved him to the centre of a circle and the other man pulled out the strange communicator thing he had, hitting the button.
"Aldwyn, bring us up."
Steven winced as the same rings that had grabbed them in Egypt surrounded them, bright light filled his vision once more and for the second time, he ended up on a ship.
"Rest him here," Jacob/Selmak said bringing Steven out of his thoughts.
Together they moved Daniel to a raised platform and laid him on it. The other man pulled a blanket and pillow from a hidden cupboard before sliding the pillow under Daniel's head then laying the blanket over him.
"Jacob… eh...Selmak," Steven started.
"Jacob is fine."
Steven nodded, "Jacob, where are we now?"
"A ship," Jacob told him, walking towards the door as Steven followed him, "This will take us to another planet with a Stargate so we can return you both to Earth. It's the faster option than taking the ship to Earth."
Shaking his head Steven realised that he still had no choice on anything that was happening.
"Aldwyn," Jacob called as they entered the cockpit where another man was sitting flying the ship, "How long till the nearest safe Stargate?"
"About six hours," the man, Aldwyn, told them.
Steven had no idea whether or not he could trust these people so said, "I'm going to stay with Daniel."
Jacob nodded, "When he wakes up, tell him I'm sorry for shooting him but I couldn't let him try to save your friend." He winced, "Getting the two of you was my priority."
"Actually," Steven said, "I'm guessing getting him out was your priority. Because from what little he's told me, Daniel knows a lot about these Goa'uld."
Before Jacob could reply Steven headed back to the room where his former friend was laying and sat on the floor against the wall.
The past few weeks had been crazy since the explosion and now this. He glanced at the unconscious man and wondered what Daniel had really been doing since he'd left Chicago.
"Sir," Jack said as he stepped into the office having just arrived back from Egypt.
"Jacob has him," Hammond stated before Jack could say another word.
Jack frowned, "What?"
"I contacted the Tok'ra to keep an eye out for Dr Jackson," Hammond explained, "And they just called to let us know that Jacob and Aldwyn found him. They're on their way to a safe planet and will bring him home."
Relief slid through Jack, and he sat down, "Is he okay?"
"Alive was all I was told," Hammond told him, "They should be here soon."
"Sir," Carter's voice made them turn to see her walk into the office, "We found some interesting and concerning things in Chicago."
Hammond frowned.
"Dr Owens is reviewing everything," Sam continued.
"Well, Daniel is on his way home," Jack told her, seeing the same relief he felt cover her face.
Before anything else could be said, the alarms sounded.
"Incoming Activation," the call came as the three of them entered the control room.
Sam slid into the empty seat as the Stargate spun, each chevron locking in place.
"GDO incoming," Sam said before smiling, "It's the Tok'ra."
"Open the Iris," Hammond noted.
As the Iris retracted, there was a moment where nothing happened before the surface rippled and three men stepped onto the ramp.
"Daniel," Sam breathed in relief as they watched him walk down the ramp, with her father and the other man they recognised as Steven Rayner.
"Welcome back, Dr Jackson," Hammond said softly before turning, "Jacob, and I presume you are Dr Rayner."
"Steven," Daniel said suddenly, his voice a monotone, "This is General Hammond, Captain Carter and Colonel O'Neill."
The other man gave them a soft hello as Jack grimaced inwardly. It wasn't good if Daniel hadn't used their first names.
"Dr Jackson," Hammond stated, "You know the routine. Dr Fraiser is waiting for you both."
Daniel gave a nod, before he walked out of the Gateroom.
"Come on," Jack motioned to Rayner, "You need to be checked out to make sure you're healthy."
The other man nodded and followed Jack as he started towards the infirmary.
Final Author's Note - For those who noticed:
Sam is called Major in one part as she is a Major, but as Daniel wasn't there in this universe for her promotion then he still thinks she's Captain Carter.