Territorial Imperative

by Cowardly Lion

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/asc/clion/territor.php
Summary: When SG-1 unwittingly tresspasses, it's not the Jaffa that attack
Info: Many thanks to my betas: Mare, Barb,and AnnO

Major Samantha Carter hurried back to camp, enjoying the spotty patches of sunlight breaking through the trees. The weather here resembled Autumn on Earth, with daytime temperatures warm in the sun, but cool in the shade and the night time temperatures chilly enough to need their jackets. When they had pitched their tents late this morning after the four hour hike up the mountain from the gate, Colonel O'Neill had set up a fire pit between the two tents. Sam was looking forward to the warmth of a fire tonight. She was not, however, looking forward to the evening meal.

"Hurry up, Teal'c." Slowing just enough to keep her footing on the rough path as she looked behind her, Sam waved one hand to urge him on. "If the colonel gets there first, we'll all be eating 'MRE Surprise' tonight."

Teal'c maintained his measured pace, head swiveling as he watched the thick forest around them alertly. "I do not believe that was his intent when O'Neil promised us a surprise at dinner."

"Remember that time he mixed packets of scrambled eggs and chipped beef into one big mess and called it breakfast surprise?"

"Vividly."

"Do you really want to chance it?"

There was a pause as Teal'c looked behind him first, then turned back to meet her eyes. "No. I do not. By all means, make haste. I shall be shortly behind you."

Seeing him so attentive to their surroundings made her uneasy. "Teal'c? Is everything okay?"

He nodded. "I see nothing amiss, yet I have what O'Neill would call a gut feeling."

"Ah. Gotcha." Sam didn't feel anything out of the ordinary, but one of the first things she had learned was to rely on their instincts. If Teal'c or Jack told you they had a feeling it was best to listen. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

"I do not believe that will be necessary." Teal'c hadn't shifted his staff weapon into firing position but was using it as a walking stick as he often did. However he had undone the safety strap on zat holstered to this thigh.

"Okay. See you in a couple of minutes."

Sam upped her pace, jogging along the path, her booted feet thudding faintly against the hard packed dirt. Thanks to Teal'c's warning, she was extra vigilant of the woods around her, but saw nothing. She dropped her pace back to a walk when the clearing that would be their home for the next two days came into sight. She could see their tents through the trees and Colonel O'Neill's voice drifted over to her. Oh heck. Was she too late to stop a culinary crime?

"I've got something for you in my pants."

That was such an odd thing for the colonel to say that it literally brought Sam to a halt. What was he talking about? Easing closer, she stayed out of sight behind the trunk of a large tree. She heard the whispery noises of moving cloth then Daniel replied.

"What the- ? It's furry!" Daniel sounded surprised.

"Yeah, it's furry. Quit being such a baby," scolded the Colonel. "Stick your hand in there and pull it out."

There were more whispery noises.

"Huh." That was the non-committal sound Daniel often made when presented with something unexpected. "Is, um, is it supposed to look like this?

"Oh, I guess it got tangled up on the trip here. Straighten that out. Good. Now, slide that in there."

Sam craned her head around the trunk of the tree and glimpsed silver hair next to brown. All she could see was the very tops of their heads, their bodies hidden by their tent. They must have been sitting in the open by the fire pit.

"The head doesn't fit." Daniel was either complaining or disconcerted, Sam couldn't be sure which it was without seeing which eyebrow movement had accompanied the comment.

"Sure it will." Colonel O'Neill sounded encouraging. "It might be a little tight but it'll fit. Just needs a good push."

Sam heard more rustling movements, grunts of effort, and the small sounds of two people trying to accomplish one task. One very long minute later, Daniel spoke.

"I think it's all the way in."

There was lull in the conversation. They couldn't have been doing what it sounded as though they were doing, could they? Especially if they were right out in the open like that, right?

"Well? What do you think?" the Colonel's tone was one shade shy of demanding.

"I have to admit," said Daniel, "that it has a kind of fuzzy charm."

"If you think you like it now," boasted the Colonel, "just wait'll you taste it."

Holy Hannah! Eyes wide, Sam slowly began to back away.

"Major Carter?"

Startled, Sam gasped and spun around, fists up ready to fight, even as she realized it was Teal'c who had come up behind her so quietly.

"Sorry." She could feel her cheeks blushing. She felt stupid for getting so distracted with eavesdropping that she hadn't heard her team mate approach.

"No apology required. Such readiness for combat is to be commended." Teal'c moved past her intent on entering the clearing.

"Wait!" Frantically, she grabbed at his sleeve. "Don't go there yet!" Whatever was going on between the colonel and Daniel, Sam wanted to give them plenty of warning that they were no longer alone.

"Sam? Is that you?" Daniel stood up, waving at them. "Look what Jack gave me!"

Walking into camp as though she hadn't been lurking on the edge of it, Sam was both relieved and vaguely disappointed to see that her team mates were fully dressed. Colonel O'Neill was sitting on a log next to the fire pit, tying his boots. An extra pair of BDU pants coated in mud, was heaped on the ground between him and Daniel, who was holding something small and fuzzy in one hand.

Sam and Teal'c crowded around for a good look.

"It's a little monkey!" Sam smiled. It was so small and funny looking that it was cute. "Oh, it's a key chain, too."

"It's a Pez dispenser. Don't worry - you and Teal'c get one, too." He ducked into the tent he shared with Daniel, talking all the while, his voice muffled by the tent. "I meant to give Daniel his earlier so I had it in my pants pocket. Nearly got it dirty when I fell in the mud coming back here and the plush covering came partway off of the dispenser underneath. It was harder to get back on than you'd think. Don't worry though - yours are still safe in my pack." There was the sound of zippers and rummaging then more zipping, then he came back out, smiling widely. "Here ya go. Carter. Teal'c."

The colonel dropped something into their upturned palms. A little tiger looked back up at Sam, while Teal'c had been gifted with an elephant. The tiger was adorable. She admired it for a moment, then showed Teal'c how the toy worked to dispense the candy.

Teal'c clarified, "We are to procure treats from the throat of each animal?"

"Yep."

He flicked the dispenser several times. "I find it amusing to do so."

"That's the general idea, T-man."

"Thank you, sir. This was very thoughtful of you." It really was cute. The clip of the key chain made it easy to attach to her belt. It wasn't exactly regulation, but it was fun and harmless.

"Think nothing of it, Carter." Colonel O'Neill beamed, pleased at how well his gifts had been received.

"I hope you got one for yourself, Jack."

"I did, Daniel." He held up a green animal. "See?"

Daniel squinted at it then guessed, "Iguana?"

"No."

"Dinosaur?"

"Nope." He grinned, obviously enjoying himself.

Daniel nodded decisively. "Alligator!"

"What took you so long?" he teased in good humor.

Daniel had an answering smile as he kept their exchange going. "Well, it's not like these are exact replicas, Jack. They've got strings for legs and big blobs for feet."

The friendly non-argument kept going while the team picked out MREs, using the water in their canteens to start the chemical heaters for the food. The dry branches in the fire pit would stay unlit until they retired for the night. Dinner was a lighthearted affair which Sam was very glad to see.

For months now, the colonel had been treating Daniel badly, alternating between biting sarcasm and outright contempt. When the android Reese and her replicator toys had run amok at the SGC, the two men had nearly come to blows. Sam didn't know what the problem was, but if Colonel O'Neill didn't get over it, he was going to drive Daniel away - away from him, away from SG-1 and possibly even away from the SGC all together.

Sam really did not want that to happen, not just because Daniel was important to the SGC, but because he was her friend. She didn't make friends easily so she valued the ones she had. Whatever was going on between him and the colonel seemed to be personal. She wished there was something she could do to help, but even if Sam could figure out what was wrong, her position as subordinate made it nearly impossible for her to say anything to the colonel. Supposing, that is, that she could think of anything to say in the first place.

She'd never quite gotten the knack of expressing herself when it came to personal issues. She'd arrange her thoughts into neat bullet points and summaries, everything clear, concise and logical. The minute she opened her mouth to speak they'd dissipate like smoke in the wind, leaving her tongue-tied and incoherent and absolutely certain that she hadn't made herself understood. It was always a relief to return to her lab and the immutable laws of science where everything made sense and she knew what to expect.

Putting put those depressing thoughts in the back of her mind, Sam returned her attention to her companions. Like her, they had finished eating and were busy cleaning up. Teal'c was telling the Colonel of the feeling he had had of being watched on the return to camp.

"Was it an 'imminent attack by hordes of Jaffa' kind of being watched?" Colonel O'Neill held a plastic bag, as his team mates tossed in their empty MRE wrappers. "Or was it more of a "gee, the squirrels can't take their eyes off of my cool outfit' kind of feeling?"

Teal'c gave the Colonel the raised eyebrow that meant you are nowhere near as humorous as you suppose, but I shall ignore you for now. "I am not certain. The feeling was faint and fleeting and has not returned."

"Uh-huh." The colonel considered the information as he tied off the end of the bag and stowed it next to his tent. Sitting back down on the log he had claimed earlier, he said, "The only thing thicker than the trees is the undergrowth."

"It would be extremely difficult to see the enemy," agreed Teal'c. "Yet that same foliage would give us cover from which to return fire."

"True, but trying to move through this kind of heavy brush is going to hamper our movements and make retreat more difficult. Make it easier to get separated, too." Colonel O'Neill looked off into the distance, mulling over the pros and cons of the situation, then slapped his palms on his knees as he came to a decision. "Okay, kids. We've got about three hours of daylight left. What say we work for two of those then come back to camp for the night?"

"But, sir - " Sam started to protest but Daniel beat her to it.

"We've worked well past dark time and again, Jack, and in less isolated circumstances, where the threat of attack was a great deal higher. I see no reason not to do the same here."

"There've been no sign of any inhabitants, either from the UAV or since we've arrived," added Sam.

"And there's no sign of any recent activity by the gate, so it's not like this place is frequently-visited, either," pointed out Daniel.

After that she and Daniel started talking over each other in their efforts to persuade the colonel. Although Sam knew it wasn't likely, she hoped Teal'c would join her and Daniel. As expected, he took no sides, but waited patiently for the outcome.

"Aht!" The colonel waved his hand, silencing them. "I'm going to have to go with Teal'c's gut on this one. Better safe than shot at and tossed into some dungeon when you're least expecting it, so the curfew stands. I'll grant you two and a half of those three hours, but that means that we all high tail it back here on the dot." He looked pointedly at Daniel, one finger raised as warning. "No begging. No pleading. No 'just five more minutes, Jack' or 'I'm almost done with this squiggly bit, Jack' or 'I'm going to pretend I can't hear you so I can sneak in five more minutes, Jack.' Understood?"

Clearly biting back a retort, Daniel rolled his eyes and nodded.

He looked at Sam. "Understood, Major?"

"Yes, sir. Two and a half hours exactly, sir."

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Colonel O'Neill smiled at them. "Better get a move on. Time's a wasting!"

Diving in different directions, Sam and Daniel gathered up their gear and headed out, their respective guardians trailing behind them.

For this mission, Daniel didn't have anything as imposing as a temple to study. This crumbling stone building was smaller than the gate room at the SGC. Inside, it was one large space with a few rough wooden benches facing a stone altar. The four windows were long narrow slits set high in the walls, each closed off with a single shutter. The sole entrance to the building had a set of thick wooden double doors. At one time, the shrine must have held valuables, because there was a heavy wooden bar to lock the doors. Despite being stripped of its ornamentation and ceremonial objects, this place could be important.

The small hole in the ceiling seemed to be a recent development since the elements hadn't had a chance to harm the intricate paintings on the walls. It was those paintings which held Daniel's interest. Interwoven through the many stories re-told here, was a thread, a message of sorts in the subtext. It was subtle, and would take more time to decode than the straight translation of the walls themselves, but it seemed to be hinting at some sort of secret location. Daniel couldn't tell yet what might be found there, or if that place was even on this world. Since deciphering the message would take longer than he had, he was currently recording everything in as much detail and in as many media as he could. The principal work would begin after the mission, back at his lab at the SGC.

As he stuffed the video camera into his back pack, Daniel checked his watch again. Two more minutes until the deadline. His notebook, his journal, his sketchpad, and various pens and pencils all followed the camcorder. A twist of the wrist brought his watch in view. One minute. Daniel hurried, determined not to do anything that might jeopardize Jack's good mood. Quickly, he rolled up the leather pouch with his tools and slid that into the pack. Zipping the pack shut as he rose with it, he slung it behind him, reaching up with his other hand to snap it to the tac vest.

"Oh, here." Jack stepped behind him. "I got it."

The weight of the pack left Daniel's hands. He heard the clicks and felt the weight pull at his shoulders. More clicks and the bottom of the pack was secured in place. Daniel was jostled as Jack pulled at the straps, adjusting and testing them. Two firm pats transmitted through the pack itself let Daniel know Jack was done.

Daniel checked his watch one last time and couldn't help smiling. He was exactly on time. Still smiling, he looked up as Jack came around to stand in front of him. Jack grinned back at him and ruffled his hair. There was a warmth between them that Daniel hadn't felt in a long time. He missed it. A lot. Just like he missed the feel of Jack's hands on him, even if it was just to adjust his gear or mess up his hair. If Daniel could just figure out why that had stopped, then maybe he could get it back. Of course, as much as he wanted a return of the status quo, deep down he hoped for more.

"Right on schedule." Jack squeezed Daniel's shoulder. "Let's see if we can beat the others back to camp."

Jack went first, pausing in the doorway for a quick look around before stepping onto the overgrown pathway with Daniel taking up position just behind him. They had crossed the open grassy area surrounding the shrine and were under the trees when Daniel started to comment about the site. Jack immediately raised one hand to silence him, coming to a halt as he drew his P-90 into firing position. From behind him, Daniel couldn't see Jack's expression, but there was tension in the line of his shoulders and his head moved rapidly from side to side as he scanned the steadily darkening forest.

Daniel unsnapped the safety strap and pulled his Beretta from the holster. "Jack?" he whispered.

Never taking his eyes off of their surroundings, Jack replied, "You know that feeling Teal'c had? I've got it now. In spades."

Their voices were low, inaudible to anyone a few feet away yet sounded loud in the stillness. That's when Daniel realized that every other noise in the forest had stopped. No bird song. No buzz of insects. There was no wind, so there wasn't even the stirring of the leaves. Just their voices. Daniel could feel it then, like an itch between his shoulder blades. The hair on the back of his neck stood up.

They were being watched.

Like Jack, Daniel peered into the shadowy underbrush, weapon at the ready. He saw nothing. He had a feeling he would still have seen nothing, even if twilight hadn't been falling. Using hand motions, Jack indicated double time march. Daniel knew he didn't expect a formation march, but meant that they should hurry. The fact that Jack didn't even risk a whisper this time, but signaled instead made Daniel uneasy. His heart beat increased and a there was a knot in his stomach as they started off at a jog.

They had barely gotten underway when several large furry animals erupted from the bushes, hurtling straight toward them. The silence was ripped apart by a cacophony of snarls, growling, and the sharp retort of small arms fire. Jack's P-90 chattered in bursts, but Daniel didn't have time to check on Jack because two of the creatures had zeroed in on him.

Wolves. What the hell were wolves doing here? Even as some portion of his brain identified the animals, the rest of Daniel's mind was taken up with targeting and trajectory. Trying to hit a rapidly moving animal that had rushed out at nearly point blank range was almost impossible. Daniel squeezed the trigger as fast as he could but many of his shots went wide. A lucky shot caught one of the wolves bearing down on him square in the head and it dropped like a stone.

Turning to bring the weapon to bear on the second wolf, he saw Jack go down as a wolf bit him in the back of the leg. There was at least one animal already dead at Jack's feet and another circling him. There was no time to see more. The other wolf was almost on him and Daniel fired. Pulling the trigger three times got him two shots and a click as the chamber racked open. The clip was empty. At least one of those two bullets had hit the animal because Daniel could see blood on its chest. Then 150 pounds of hard-muscled fury hit him full force and Daniel went down too, slammed flat on his back against the hard earth, the contents of his back pack digging painfully into him.

Sharp teeth snapped in Daniel's face, the wolf's hot breath fogging his glasses. He managed to get both of his hands around its neck but it took all of his strength to push it far enough away that it couldn't bite him. He could feel the vibration of its throat as it growled. It pawed at him, its nails tearing at his clothes. He felt it growing weaker and hoped that he had wounded it more severely than it seemed. Hot saliva dripped on his face from its open jaws. Daniel wedged his knees between them, shoved, got both of his feet planted against its belly and pushed with all his might.

Even with the extra edge of the adrenaline coursing through his body, Daniel couldn't fling the heavy animal far, just a few feet. However, it hit a tree spine first and yelped in pain. It didn't come after him again but retreated about twenty feet away into the woods. Limping as it paced, the wolf kept its attention on Daniel who took advantage of the respite to rise to his feet, snatching up the gun he had dropped. In a matter of seconds he had his spare clip loaded.

With one last glance at the wounded animal, Daniel turned his attention to Jack, fearing what he might see. He gasped and a visceral fear chilled him to the bone. Jack was on his back down on the ground, a large wolf draped over him. Another wolf, blood streaked and hobbling on three legs, whined at him from a distance. For a heart stopping second, Daniel thought Jack was dead, his throat ripped out, until he saw that Jack was defending himself. Daniel automatically stepped into a firing stance, prepared to shoot the wolf attacking Jack when he realized it wasn't moving. With a grunt, Jack slid the body off of him where it lay next to the first wolf Jack had killed. There was a knife in Jack's hand and he was covered in blood. Daniel hoped all of it belonged to the wolf.

With a wary look at the wolves circling around them, Daniel grabbed Jack's hand and helped him up. A shiver ran down his spine when he heard crackling underbrush and dimly saw the shapes of yet more wolves waiting patiently in the background.

"Jesus fuck!" Jack spit blood onto the ground. "How big is this god damned pack?"

"I really don't want to find out." A cold knot of fear clenched in Daniel's stomach.

The implacable faces and shining eyes of the wolf pack holding them at bay scared Daniel far more than any platoon of Jaffa ever had. At least with the Jaffa there was a chance, however slim, that persuasive words on his part or a careless error on theirs would lead to escape for SG-1. There was no hope of that here.

The leg wound made Jack a little wobbly, so Daniel was the one who bent down to collect Jack's Beretta and his P-90. He started to hand Jack then P-90, then had a moment of disbelief when he saw tooth marks on the bent barrel. He handed Jack the 9 millimeter instead.

The thirty feet back to the shrine looked like thirty miles, but it was the only defensible position. Slowly, with Daniel watching the way to the building, and Jack watching the woods, they made it to the front doors. The wolf pack stayed just inside the tree line as the men slipped inside then shut the door and dropped the bar down to lock it. The interior was murky. What little light crept in around the edges and between the cracks of the doors and shutters was nearly spent. Daniel took his flashlight out of his cargo pants, flicked it on to supplement the natural light, then set it on the floor to free his hands.

One-handed, Jack unhooked his canteen from his utility belt, took a swig to rinse his mouth and spit it out. "Got a fucking mouthful of blood when I cut its damn throat." He rinsed once more then put the canteen away and slid slowly to the ground.

"Let me take a look at you, Jack." Daniel moved toward Jack, who waved him off.

"Warn Carter and Teal'c." Jack slumped against the wall of the shrine, wiping the blood off the blade of his knife on the knee of his pants, which was the only clean spot on his uniform. Between being soaked with blood and torn to pieces, his tac vest was a mess and his radio was gone.

Daniel fumbled for his own radio, which dangled several inches lower than it should have since it had nearly been ripped off in the attack. Looking at himself, he saw that several of the pockets on his tac vest showed similar damage. The bloody right leg of his BDU's had three parallel tears where the animal's claws had scored his thigh. He winced at how close the top of the marks had come to his groin. Now that the initial adrenaline rush was fading, Daniel could feel the pain from the gouges in his thigh and the left side of his face hurt. He put his fingers to his cheek, hissing at the spike of pain that caused. His fingertips came away bloody.

Ignoring his own condition, Daniel keyed the mic.

Sam tapped the stone one last time with the rock hammer, finally getting it to chip. Setting the hammer down, she plunked the chip into the specimen bottle and capped it. Before labeling the specimen bottle, she double checked the coding against the grid listing the geologists had provided, then set it with the other specimens.

Even though they were less than a mile from camp, the forest here was noticeably thinner, with fewer trees and much less underbrush. They were on a small rocky hill, with large boulders strewn about. Sam assumed the foliage was sparser because the topsoil was thinner and less rich. The boulders seemed to be some sort of granite with an unknown mineral interspersed in patches throughout. She and Teal'c had taken as many samples of both types of rock as they could.

"I believe that completes the requests from the Department of Geology." Teal'c verified that all the containers had been properly inserted in the foam lining then closed the lid on the small case. "It is now time to depart."

"Let's get the list from the botany department out of the way in the morning, then we can finish up with the field measurements."

Sam hated to admit it, but she was really looking forward to something as mundane as recording background radiation, magnetic fields and the like. At least that was in hailing distance of her specialty. The top brass at the Pentagon seemed to think that all scientists were interchangeable. It didn't matter that she was an astrophysicist - if a mission called for a botanist or geologist or any other scientific specialty, instead of adding one to the team for that mission, the duties ended up assigned to her. Heck, she'd even had to learn engineering to understand the devices they found. Sure, she sucked it up and did as ordered without complaint like the good little soldier she was, but that didn't mean she had to like it or even agree with it.

Supposedly, her military background gave her a better chance of survival in the unstable situations off-world than most of the civilian scientists. Whoever came up with that excuse was forgetting about Daniel. Like her, he was proof that one person could have both academic prowess and excellent combat skills.

Sam had a feeling that the "one scientist for all sciences" directive had come from some bean counter hunched in a cubicle under the Pentagon all day with no idea what was really involved but who had assigned arbitrary values to everything and decided this was just as efficient but cheaper. Someone who didn't understand that engineering, botany, geology and other scientific disciplines required widely different skill sets and knowledge. Someone who thought of scientists as identical drones in white lab coats. Someday, she'd like to meet that person in a back alley and beat him with an encyclopedia opened to the entry for astrophysics until he understood just how aggravating it was not to be able to do the job she loved the most.

Refolding the grid list and other information the geologists had provided, Sam tucked the papers in the cargo pocket of her pants. Teal'c picked up the sample case and they started back to camp. Unlike the area around the shrine, there were no remnants of pathways for them to use so they headed cross country. She checked her watch. Just a minute past time. Not bad. She started to say so, but Teal'c came to a stop on the path before her.

"Listen." He cocked his head, intently focused.

Now that the small sounds of their travel had stopped, Sam could hear something, some noise, far off. It had been her experience that sound tended to get lost in the woods, absorbed by the vegetation. What sounded far off, could have been as close as, say, the site where Daniel and the colonel were working.

Startled, she looked at Teal'c. "That sounded like small arms fire."

He nodded grimly. "It did indeed." He keyed the mic on his radio. "O'Neill. Daniel Jackson. Respond."

When there was no answer, they began to run as fast as they could over the uneven footing, leaping from boulder to boulder and jumping over fallen logs. The ground sloped gently downward toward their camp and Daniel's site. Sam had her right hand on the P-90, ready to rumble at a second's notice. Teal'c had his staff weapon pointed out in front of him, the bulk of it tucked under his right arm. In his left hand, the sample case swung with every stride.

After a few minutes, Sam said, "Teal'c, just drop the case. We'll come back later if we can."

She was breathing heavily from the run, her words punched out with each slap of her boots to the ground. Instead of just letting go of the case, as she had expected, Teal'c abruptly halted.

Setting the case at his feet, he held his staff weapon ready to fire.

"We are not alone, Major Carter."

Putting her back to him so that they could cover more area, she brought her P-90 up. "Jaffa?"

"I do not think so."

As they had descended the hill in the rush to help their team mates, the number of large rocks had dwindled and the foliage had increased. The sunlight had dimmed considerably as well.

Teal'c fired his staff weapon several times at something over one hundred yards away, too far for Sam to get more than a glimpse of it. On his third shot, there was a yelp. Put together with the silhouette she'd seen, Sam knew they were dealing with some sort of canine - and as far as she knew canines always traveled in packs. She wondered how many were out there right now, lurking in the woods, watching them. Teal'c pointed to a large tree nearby, one with thick branches radiating from it.

"I believe our best course of action is to take refuge aloft."

The backed warily over to the tree, keeping a close eye on the animals that followed at a distance. Sam climbed up first, jumping to grab hold of the lowest limb. Thank heavens her P-90 was strapped in place on its harness because she needed both hands. Teal'c fired twice, each time aiming closer to their position. Pulling herself up was difficult. She felt Teal'c's hand under the sole of her boot, giving her the extra lift she needed. Although she had to put one foot in front of the other, the branch was wide enough for her to stand if she leaned back against the trunk for balance. She brought the P-90 to bear on the ground around them.

"Okay, Teal'c. You're covered."

"My weapon."

Waiting until she glanced down for a second, Teal'c tossed the staff weapon up to her. Sam caught it left handed, then clamped it under her arm as she put her hand back on her P-90. She fired at a disturbance in the bushes several yards from the base of the tree. This time, despite the quickly fading light, she got a good look at the animal and identified it as a wolf. A large one. With the agility of a gymnast, Teal'c joined her on the branch, balancing with ease as he took back his staff weapon.

"I regret that I was unable to bring the samples." Although he spoke to her, Teal'c's attention was on the ground around them. Everything was in shades of grey, quickly darkening to black as the sun set.

"Don't worry about it, Teal'c. The case is closed, it's made of metal, and the specimens are cushioned in foam padding so they probably can't hurt it. Besides, it's full of minerals, no organics or food so there shouldn't be anything in there to entice the animals."

All around them, they could hear the rustling of leaves and the occasional crack of a twig as the wolves crept through the underbrush. Is this what the colonel and Daniel had been shooting at? Were these the same animals or a second pack? She put a hand to her radio, hoping that this time they would answer, but before she pressed the button to transmit, Daniel's voice came through the receiver. He sounded breathless, his voice a little shaky.

"Hey, guys. It's Daniel. Be careful. There are wolves out here and they're on the prowl. They went after me and Jack right after we left the shrine. We managed to hold them off, but had to retreat to the shrine. We're holed up there now."

"The wolves tried for us, too. We're okay though," replied Sam. "We heard your gunfire so Teal'c tried to radio you. Since you didn't reply, we knew something was up and were on our way to you. We were ready when we spotted them."

"Glad to hear you're okay, Sam." Daniel's relief was clearly audible. "Look, since this is the only building for miles around, you might be safer if you could get in here, but there are wolves outside still, so you'd have to get past them first, but -" His voice faded to half volume, as if he'd turned away from the mic. "What, Jack?"

Teal'c used his radio. "It would be highly inadvisable to move about in the darkness as the predators would have every advantage and would pick us off within minutes. Like you, Major Carter and I are safely out of their reach, though we are encircled at this time. I suggest we wait for daylight. If the animals have not gone, we will at least be able to see them. We can formulate a plan based on circumstances as they are at that time."

There was a pause before Daniel replied. "Um, yeah. That's pretty much what Jack just said."

"Daniel, are you guys okay?" asked Sam. "Did either of you get hurt?" She wished she could see them, that way if Daniel replied with his usual "fine" she'd know how close to true it was.

"Uh. A little banged up, Jack more than me. He was bitten in the right leg and the left forearm and I think the arm is broken." Jack murmured in the background and Daniel turned away from the mic again. "Because I can see how you're holding it with your other arm and you haven't moved the fingers at all. Besides you've got that squinty pinched look to your eyes that means you're being stoic."

Sam could hear the worry that fueled Daniel's sharp tone and tried to interrupt. "Hey, fellas."

There was another murmur then Daniel made a rude noise. "What are you always telling me about hiding injuries? 'Save that macho crap for after you're safe in the infirmary, Daniel' and 'your team leader needs good information to make good decisions, Daniel'. Any of that sound familiar, Jack?"

"Daniel Jackson!" interjected Teal'c.

"What? Oh, sorry guys. Got sidetracked. Where was...oh yeah. Other than that, we're okay. Both scratched up a bit. Those claws are sharper than you'd think."

Holy Hannah. Her friends must have been down on ground for them to get clawed at. Sam shivered with fear when she thought of how close the men had come to getting killed. Pinned down by wolves, wild animals tearing at their flesh. Somehow that fate was worse than being killed by Jaffa.

"Jack wants to know where you guys are and if you're okay."

"We're fine. Not even a scratch. We're in a tree somewhere east of you and south of camp."

"Okay. Jack says check in every two hours and...what? I'm not going to say...okay fine." Sam could envision the eye roll that usually went with Daniel's pissy tone. With a sigh, he relayed, "Jack says don't fall out of the tree."

Sam couldn't help smiling. That was so like the colonel to make a joke even in such a dire situation. Always trying to keep up morale. "Tell him not to worry, Daniel. We'll keep a tight grip." Her assurances were more for Daniel since the colonel's condition would mean more worry for Daniel.

By the time they signed off the radio, full darkness had fallen. Using her small flashlight, Sam examined the branches around them. About waist high as she stood there, the main trunk split in two, with multiple branches coming off. The diameter of the branches decreased the farther up the branches were, but they were still sufficient to support someone as large as Teal'c.

"I know wolves can't climb trees, but I'm not sure how high they can jump. It can't hurt to move up."

"Agreed. We are fortunate that we did not encounter animals similar to the bears on your world as those are proficient climbers."

"True. But then again, bears tend to be solitary. There's a lot to be said for only having to deal with one animal at a time." Sam highlighted a branch with her light and noted that Teal'c had his light out as well. "I'll head for that one. Once I'm settled, pass me your staff weapon and I'll hang onto it until you're in place.

"Very well." His light played over a branch on the opposite side of the tree. "I believe this one, in conjunction with your position, will maximize our visual field when the new day dawns."

As they put their plan into action, Sam thought about how uncomfortable it would be to spend the night in a tree. It suddenly occurred to her how extremely lucky she was that she had taken a rest room break right before they had finished collecting samples. She mentally crossed her fingers and hoped she wouldn't have to go again for a long time.

It was nearly pitch black in the shrine when Daniel signed off with Sam and Teal'c, making the glow of his flashlight seem stronger than it had a few minutes ago. He peeked again through the crack where the two doors didn't quite come together. The trees were a black silhouette against a charcoal sky. The barren ground between the trees and the building was a paler shade of grey populated with moving slate-colored shapes. The wolves were settling in for the night.

As the adrenaline had worn off during his conversation with their team mates, the pain of Daniel's injuries had blossomed. His face hurt, he had a wicked headache, and his body ached as though he had been beaten with a stick. It was a sad commentary on his life that the last item wasn't hyperbole. Thanks to P48-9JT, Daniel actually had a standard of comparison for being beaten with a stick. If he felt this bruised and battered, he could imagine how Jack must be feeling about now.

After checking the bar on the doors once more, Daniel shuffled over to stand in front of Jack. The welts in Daniel's thigh made bending his leg uncomfortable at best, so he let it drag a little behind him. Jack sat with his back to the wall, legs askew, as he hunched protectively over his injured arm. Carefully, Daniel eased himself down to sit in front of his friend. Like Jack, Daniel stretched his injured leg straight out. Daniel had wounds to his right leg and the left side of his face and chest. Jack's bite wounds were also to both sides of his body - the right calf and the left forearm.

"Sorry about that." Daniel unzipped his tac vest and shrugged it off, back pack and all.

It took Jack a moment to respond. "About what?" He sounded exhausted.

"I know that you hate it when I use your own words against you." Unzipping the pack, Daniel rummaged through it for anything useful.

"You kidding? I'm thrilled to know you've been paying attention." There was no lighthearted tone to go with the teasing comment. Jack's words were clipped, as though it was an effort to enunciate clearly, and he made no move to assist Daniel.

When the wolf had knocked Daniel to the ground, his back pack had taken the brunt of the landing. He could feel every sore spot from where the contents had jabbed into his spine and shoulder blades. Since he had brought only what he would need for site work, the bag wasn't very full. The things he wanted were in the bottom and as he emptied the bag, he did a quick inspection of the more delicate items, holding them up to the glow of the flashlight.

The video camera was intact, but the still camera had a jagged fracture across the back of the case. Luckily, both cameras were functional. Some of his pens were bent and two pencils had broken, but he didn't care about those. However, Daniel held his breath as he unrolled the leather pouch with his excavating tools. This set had been his mother's and was one of the few mementos that Daniel had of his parents. He sighed in relief when he saw the tools were intact.

Okay, that was it for the breakables. Now he could reach the things he needed to patch up Jack. Either one of his linguistics magazines would make a decent splint for Jack's broken forearm, but Daniel chose based on which one he had already read and set that one down on the stone floor next to his hip. His bandana, a handful of small packets of ibuprofen, and both his and Jack's canteen soon joined it. A quick check of the cargo pocket on Jack's pants yielded the yo-yo as expected plus a bonus in the form of a cloth handkerchief.

In the end, after a lot of swearing on Jack's part despite several stops to let Jack rest, Daniel felt he had done all that he could to dress his friend's injuries. After rinsing the punctures with water, his bandana was wrapped around the bite wound on Jack's calf while the bite on Jack's forearm had been bandaged with the handkerchief. The magazine was rolled up around the forearm and tied in place with yo-yo string. Daniel had sliced a strip from the bottom of both of their T-shirts, then tied the strips together to make a sling. The ibuprofen, which came two to a packet, had caused a brief argument, with Jack wanting two pills and Daniel trying to give him six. In the end they compromised at four.

Since the wooden benches were nothing more than a single plank with four legs and no back or sides, Daniel opted to stay by the wall. At least here, they could lean back. Daniel swallowed two pills, then sat on Jack's right hand side, away from his injured arm, but close enough for their bodies to touch from shoulder to elbow. He put his Beretta, safety off, on the floor for instant access.

It felt good to relax and let the wall hold him up for a bit. The stones of the wall and floor had soaked up the heat of the day and were now radiating it back. Daniel figured he and Jack would have several hours of warmth before the chill of the night came in. He glanced at his watch, surprised to see that it had already been over an hour since they had talked to Sam and Teal'c.

They had a long night ahead of them, so he turned off the flashlight to conserve the battery. The sudden darkness was disconcerting at first, but experience had taught Daniel that if he closed his eyes instead of straining to see through it, it wouldn't bother him as much. For the next half hour, Jack dozed while Daniel stayed on the cusp of sleep, his attention still on the area around them. At least Daniel had thought Jack was dozing, but there was no change to his breathing pattern before he spoke.

"Wolves don't attack people." Jack's voice was a weary murmur.

"Well, our wolves don't." Not bothering to open his eyes, Daniel also spoke quietly in case any of the animals lingering outside might hear. "We really don't know anything about these wolves."

"Either people have been gone for so long that the wolves don't see us a threat, but see us as any other large prey, or something's happened to their primary food source making them starving and desperate."

Daniel shook his head, even though Jack probably couldn't see it. "They're not starving. As far as I could tell, the ones that attacked us were in top condition. Or if they weren't, I'd hate to meet the ones that were."

"So, probably door number one, then."

"They also could see us as a threat and have made a deliberate choice to take us out. We have no way of knowing how their temperament coincides with the animals we have on Earth. Natural selection over thousands if not tens of thousands of years means we can't expect them to behave in the same manner as the ones we know."

Daniel finally opened his eyes and was surprised that he could see distinct shapes. There was moonlight filtering in through the fissures in the doors and shutters, and a patch of light on the floor under the hole in the ceiling. The interior was too murky to make out Jack's expression, but bright enough for Daniel to move safely around without running into a bench or the altar.

"True." Jack's shoulders didn't lift into the shrug that normally would have accompanied the comment.

Another option occurred to Daniel. "Or, they could have been altered by the Goa'uld to be more aggressive, perhaps intended for use in conjunction with Jaffa troops to suppress the human population."

"Call me old-fashioned, but I'd rather be attacked by vicious animals acting out of natural instinct than by animals that have been genetically altered to hate me." Jack flinched, grimacing as he gingerly flexed the foot on his bad leg. "Find anything about that on the walls here?"

Talking made the pain in Daniel's face flare up and his headache worse, but he didn't mind. If the conversation was distracting Jack, helping him cope, then Daniel would keep it going. He tried to find a more comfortable position for his leg, but ended up moving it back to where it had started. Beside him, he could feel Jack shifting restlessly as well.

"No, mostly it's stories about the Great Honker."

"Jimmy Durante?" Jack's voice had held the ghost of a joke, but Daniel didn't recognize the name.

"Uh, no. The Great Honker is Gengen Wer, one of the first Egyptian gods who has the form of a goose and carries the egg from which all life springs. Who's Jimmy Durante?"

"An actor famous for his big nose. 'Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.' No?" The fabric on the arm of Daniel's jacket moved as Jack shrugged. "He was popular in the 1940's, so it was before your time."

"If he was famous in the forties, then he was before your time, too."

Jack grunted. "Reruns, and the magic of television. There were only about five channels when I was a kid and there was this one UHF station out of -"

Whatever story Jack was about to tell fell by the wayside as the radio clicked twice paused and twice again. Sam and Teal'c were reporting in right on schedule. Daniel clicked back in the same pattern. Message acknowledged, all's well here, too.

The moment lost, Jack stayed quiet, his story untold. He seemed to have run out of steam. The scrape of a boot heel against the floor; the rustle of his hair as he slouched against the stone wall; the whisper of his jacket as he adjusted his grip on his bad arm; all this signaled Jack's unsuccessful attempts to find a more restful position. Sitting up straight and tall, Daniel scooted closer until his left side was firmly pushed up against Jack's right side.

"Hey," Daniel whispered. "Lean on me."

With great care for Jack's injured left arm, Daniel draped his left arm over Jack's shoulders, pulling the man toward him. Turning into Jack slightly, Daniel's right hand brushed the side of Jack's face as he settled Jack's head in the crook of his neck. Daniel propped his head on top of Jack's head, Jack's hair tickling his neck a little. Daniel moved his right arm parallel to Jack's right arm where it cradled the broken left arm. The twist in his lower back was a little uncomfortable, but Daniel could live with it. The important thing was easing Jack into sleep since the man needed all the rest he could get.

"Get some shut eye, Jack," he murmured. "I'll keep watch."

There was a gentle puff of breath against his throat as Jack replied, "Wake me when it's my turn."

Daniel smiled to himself. Jack meant it, but there was no way Daniel would hold him to that, so he settled in for a long night. During his years on SG-1 Daniel had been both the wounded person needing comfort and the person doing the comforting. From each perspective, he had learned that while minor injuries could be soothed with gentle rubs or pats to the back, or with fingers lightly carding through the hair, major damage such as Jack had suffered responded best to a static embrace.

Holding Jack securely, Daniel stayed as immobile as he could and tried desperately not to replay the image of Jack on the ground with the wolf at his throat. All Daniel could think was I never told him, I should have told him. With an effort, he cleared his mind, concentrating instead on the feel of Jack's body in his arms, warm and alive, the two of them stinking of fear-sweat, drying blood and the last lingering trace of shampoo and aftershave.

It was only a matter of minutes before Jack was asleep. He stayed asleep, too, through the next two check-ins from Sam and Teal'c. Jack had also slept through at least two bouts of stealthy reconnaissance from the wolves.

Each time the wolves approached, Daniel had woken from a light doze when he heard the soft padding of their paws as they came up to the door, snuffling through the cracks and scratching at the wood. Daniel stayed motionless except for his hand, which picked up his pistol. The first time, it sounded as though there were only one or two animals which didn't make any serious attempts to enter, but eventually retreated. However, during the second incident there were more wolves milling around the door. They were bolder, pushing harder against the door and making whuffling noises as they tried to poke their muzzles under it. He wondered if the scent of blood that lead from the site of the attack to the shrine was keeping the wolves aggression focused on them.

The second attempt left Daniel wide awake. He tried to remember how long the nights were here. How long the team would have to wait before daylight made escape easier. It was much cooler now and he shivered a little. The radiant heat of the stones had long since gone, leaving them as chilly as the air. Now the only place he was warm was where Jack leaned against him. Daniel's muscles were cramped and he really wanted to stretch but he was reluctant to disturb Jack. He was also aware of a growing need to pee. Daniel tried to distract himself by jiggling one ankle and biting the inside of his cheek, but it didn't work for long. Soon the matter became urgent.

Slowly, Daniel disentangled himself from Jack, pushing the sleeping man to an upright position against the wall as he slid out from beside him. Between the stiff muscles and the pain of moving his injured leg, it took Daniel a few minutes to stand. His muscles loosened up as he walked through the wooden benches scattered around the interior to the back of the shrine. He went first to one corner, then the other then back to the first. He had to pee so badly that his back hurt but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

His reluctance had nothing to do with Jack being present, though. SG-1 had spent so much time locked in cells and dungeons, suffering various indignities at the hands of their captors, that body modesty among the four of them had soon flown out the window. Daniel hesitated, transferring his weight from the ball of one foot to the other. In his head he clearly heard his father's endless lectures about site preservation, desecration of antiquities, and the horrors of accidental contamination of the findings. The fact that the first lecture his father gave him was a direct result of four year old Daniel relieving himself in a dark corner of an Egyptian temple, made the inhibition that much stronger.

"What's wrong?"

Startled, Daniel flinched at Jack's tired whisper. "Nothing," he said. Squeezing his knees together, he pressed the heel of hand against his crotch as he tried to convince himself he was being irrational. There was no point fretting over something that couldn't be avoided but respect for the site had been ingrained from before he could talk.

"Well it looks like something from here. What is it?" There was a scraping sound and a muttered curse from Jack. "Don't make me come over there, Daniel."

"I have to pee, okay?" snapped Daniel.

"That's why you're dancing over there? Because you don't want to wizz on a stone floor?" Jack sighed. "Daniel. It's stone. You're not going to hurt it. It's not like you piss acid or something."

"Healthy urine is close to neutral actually, though certain health conditions can make it either more acidic or more alkaline." Daniel knew he was babbling, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. "Either way the liquid content is just as damaging since moisture can hasten the degradation of the -

"How do you know these things?" interrupted Jack, his voice faint. "Aht! Don't tell me. You'll shatter my illusions." Jack's good hand twitched slightly in an echo of his usual raised finger.

"Fine." Daniel fidgeted, trying to psych himself up to urinate in an ancient shrine.

Jack waited all of minute then said, "You're not going to last the night, you know." Jack paused as though waiting for Daniel to reply, or maybe he was gathering the energy to continue since his voice was stronger at first when he spoke again, but quickly faded. "You might as well get it over with. It's not like this place is pristine, you know. It's been abandoned for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Judging by the condition of that corner you're contemplating, I'm willing to bet good money that this place has been home to many a generation of incontinent raccoons with faulty digestion."

Apparently that was the trigger that Daniel needed. Unbuttoning his fly as he hurried over to the corner, he felt much better after a minute. No sooner had he finished putting himself back together when the wolves assailed the shrine in earnest.

The doors thumped and banged, shaking in the hinges, as the wolves flung themselves against the wood again and again. The bar rattled and jumped under the assault, but held. Daniel automatically grabbed at his holster, but came up empty. Shit. He had left his weapon on the floor by Jack who already had his own weapon pointed at the door just a few feet away. Kicking himself for his lack of foresight in leaving Jack so close to the entrance, Daniel took two hasty steps toward Jack before he heard a loud crack, then the shutter of the window nearest him slammed open.

Daniel stared up in disbelief at the silhouette of a wolf clinging to the window frame. He could hear its back paws scrabbling at the stone outside, trying to find enough purchase to propel itself all the way in. The bottom of the window frame was at least seven feet off of the ground. It seemed wolves could jump much higher than dogs. Quickly, Daniel picked up one of the benches. It was heavy and awkward to handle, but he lifted it over his head. Moving as fast as he could, he used his momentum and the bench's weight to hit the wolf with all his might.

With a yelp and a snarl, the animal fell out of sight. Dropping the bench to clatter on the stone floor, Daniel swung the shutter shut. Part of the frame was splintered. Daniel tore the chunk of wood all the way off and jammed it between the shutter and the frame, sealing it shut. Hurrying to the doors, he wedged three of the benches against the doors, reinforcing them against the attack. After a few minutes, the wolves retreated again.

"Well, that was fun." Jack's voice was thready, his hand shaking as he put down the Beretta.

Daniel sat back down next to him. "Not long until dawn. We'll have a better chance once the sun comes up."

Jack nodded. Side by side, they sat in silence, watching intently for sunrise.

Sam shivered and nibbled at the candy, the fuzzy little tiger warm in her hand. Breakfast of champions. Well, breakfast of champions who had been unexpectedly treed without supplies. Last one. She put it in her mouth, letting it dissolve on her tongue like the others, trying to make it last as long as possible. She curled her lower back, trying to stretch away the stiffness without losing her balance. Her tail bone ached after hours in essentially the same position since being stuck on a tree limb severely limited her options. Maybe when the mission was over, she would take up Janet's invitation to join her at that new yoga class at the gym Saturday mornings. A little more flexibility wouldn't hurt.

Sighing, she wrapped her fist around the empty candy dispenser and tucked her hands under her armpits. With slow cautious movements, Sam placed her heels closer to her butt on the branch, drawing her knees up as she hunched toward them. Resting her forehead on her knees, she did her best to turn into a heat conserving ball. Years of missions had taught her how to sleep deeply enough to get much-needed rest, yet lightly enough to be alert for any danger - such as falling out of the darn tree. Sam had put that talent to good use through the long night as she and Teal'c had taken turns on watch.

During her times as sentry, Sam kept a wary eye on the pitch black ground below the tree, her brain working furiously for solutions. She thought she had one, but had been waiting for daylight to put it into action. While it wasn't exactly sunrise yet, the darkness seemed less oppressive and the moon had nearly set. Cold hands make for clumsy work and she couldn't afford to drop anything. Now that she could feel her fingers, and dawn was imminent, she felt confident enough to start.

With a firm grip and deliberate motions, she emptied her pack and various pockets of the items she would need and set them in her lap. Her radio was first. Next up were the two hand held devices which the colonel had nicknamed the gizmo and the tricorder. The only tools Sam could round up were a small screwdriver and pair of pliers. Nail clippers were a pleasant surprise since now she had a way to snip any tiny wires inside the equipment. Turning her penlight on, she held it between her teeth to free her hands and went to work.

Gizmo was a sophisticated weather station which took readings such as temperature, wind speed and barometric pressure. Among other things, the tricorder, developed at Area 51, used powerful subsonic bursts to generate the seismic waves needed to determine subsurface geologic structure and identify rock types. Both machines had formal designations, but once Colonel O'Neill slapped a nickname on something that name always stuck. In fact, it was thanks to him that the remote code transmitters, which off-world teams used to send the signal needed to open the iris, would forever be known as GDO's - Garage Door Openers.

Sam was counting on these animals having the same range and acuity of hearing as wolves from Earth. Methodically gutting the equipment and reassembling them into one case, she hoped to make a device that would emit ultrasonic waves powerful enough to discomfort the wolves without hurting her team's hearing. Hopefully, the noise would be enough to discourage the wolves, either chasing them off or at least keeping them at a distance. Being forced to work out of a jumbled mess of parts held her in lap slowed her down considerably, but she finally finished. She held up the modified tricorder, inspecting it for sturdiness.

"Does it meet with your satisfaction?" The rumble of Teal'c's low whisper startled her out of the intensity of her focus.

Looking up, Sam saw Teal'c peering around the trunk of the tree at her. Through the trees behind him, she could see pale grey sky, tinged with rose gold where the sun was rising through distant clouds. Dawn had broken.

"The whole thing is jury-rigged, but I think it will hold up long enough. I wish I had a soldering iron, or at least some duct tape, but I think it will do."

"What is its intended purpose?"

As she explained, Sam checked the ground around their refuge. Periodically throughout the night, she had heard rustling, smalls sounds not related to the wind. Now, in the growing light she spied the outline of an ear here, the glint of eyes there. Lurking well hidden in the bushes, the wolves were still there. Time to test her theory.

"Here goes, Teal'c"

With the press of a button, Sam had instantaneous results. The frequency she had chosen was well beyond the upper range for humans so she heard nothing. However, the bushes shook, twigs snapping, as half a dozen wolves scattered, their paws thudding against the damp earth as they ran. Several yipped and one howled. Unfortunately, they didn't leave entirely but merely retreated a few hundred feet away, muzzles pointed at their prey as their sharp gazes narrowed on her and Teal'c. She pressed the button again. Agitated, the wolves trotted an invisible perimeter. So, she couldn't chase them off, but she could keep them back. It would have to do. Now, if only the power supply held up.

Sam had cobbled together three very different power packs and couldn't be certain how efficiently they worked in tandem. There could be a lot of bleed off, wasting precious battery life. Also, she didn't know the precise amount of power each burst of sound would use. There were so many variables and no way to measure any of them. She had made her best guesses, but without any way to monitor, how close her estimates were to actual conditions was a mystery. Mystery made her uncomfortable.

With one eye on the animals, Sam and Teal'c descended the tree. One at a time, they each took a moment to attend to some pressing private business. Once done, they had to decide the best course of action. Sam visualized the local map. Although the camp was between them and the shrine, it was also about a half mile off to one side, meaning it would take longer for them to get to their team mates.

"Given the extent of the colonel's injuries, maybe we should head straight to the shrine," suggested Sam. Stamping her feet, she tugged the cuffs of her jacket sleeves as far down over her hands as she could. Hopefully the sun would chase away the chill in short order.

"I believe it prudent to visit the campsite first. It is my hope that all will be untouched. However, if the animals have scavenged the area, we will salvage what we can including food and medical supplies. We will also need materials with which to construct a pallet for O'Neill."

"It will take us that much longer to get him back to the infirmary," she said doubtfully. "Don't you think time is of the essence?"

Teal'c shook his head. "In this instance, I do not. O'Neill's condition is stable, yet it is highly unlikely that he will be ambulatory. Before we begin our journey back to the Stargate, we must first devise a method of transport."

His calm assurance and air of certainty served to remind her that Teal'c was not just any Jaffa, but a First Prime, more like a four-star general than the foot soldier he had willingly become. In times like this, Sam was glad to have those decades of experience to rely on. Obstinate as ever, he picked up the sample case from the base of the tree. Unbuckling his belt, he threaded it through the handle of the case so that he could carry it yet leave his hands free.

Keying her mic as they set out, she contacted their team mates. During the night, they had used the click system in case their voices incited the wolves to further aggression. Now, in daylight and armed with a new weapon, it was safer to speak so she quickly apprised the colonel and Daniel of their plan. As expected, the colonel fussed about being carried out, but Daniel immediately hushed him.

The wolves followed, maintaining a ring around them as they hiked. Several times a wolf darted in at them, testing their defenses. Each time it was a different animal coming in from a different direction. Sam was reluctant to use the emitter, painfully aware that each use drained the battery and brought the device that much closer to being non-functional so the sorties were repelled by weapons fire for the most part. However one animal rushed in from so close that she had to use the ultrasound emitter to force back the attacker.

Flushed with exertion, Sam felt warm for the first time since dinner the night before. The sun had risen above the horizon, infusing the woods with a golden glow that seemed to come from everywhere at once. The terrain really was beautiful and the temperatures not too extreme. If not for the wolves, this planet would have made it onto her top ten list of wilderness sites.

As Sam and Teal'c approached the campsite, it was obvious that the wolves had visited. Both tents were intact, but sleeping bags and jumbled bits of clothing spilled out of the tent openings and a deck of cards was scattered over everything. Not only had the wolves ripped open the garbage bag, but they had gotten into the food supplies. Shredded MRE wrappers littered the ground like oversize confetti. Standard procedure was to carry out everything they brought in, but that wouldn't be possible this time.

Teal'c frowned at the destruction, clearly displeased. "I shall stand guard if you will collect what is essential for the journey. I would suggest we use the fabric from one of the tents for the stretcher."

"Good idea. It's lightweight but sturdy," agreed Sam as she combed through the wreckage. Thank heavens the med kit was untouched. "Now, if I can find my duct tape - Ah! There it is!"

Pushing aside a t-shirt and someone's utensil set, she grabbed the tape. Immediately tearing off a strip, she wrapped it around the emitter's housing. There. At least now she wouldn't have to worry about their best line of defense falling apart in her hands.

The colonel and Teal'c had left their backpacks in camp. Both had been dumped out and dragged around the camp. She stuffed the shell of a hastily disassembled tent into one and salvaged items into the other. She felt a brief moment of triumph when she found one MRE intact, but that feeling was overwhelmed by the oddness brought on by scavenging their own campsite.

She cast her glance around the area once more. "I think that's it, Teal'c."

"We must increase our vigilance." He held his free hand out for the heavier bag. Not even he could clip it to the back of his own vest one handed, so he settled for using the shoulder strap and slung it over one shoulder. "The wolves which have followed us will soon be joining those that have besieged our friends. As their numbers increase, so may their boldness."

At least here they had the faint remnants of pathways to tread, though the denser forest had deeper shadows to hide the wolves. Sam was completely on edge, aware of every whisper of sound, every leaf that stirred. Time stretched out with seconds turning to minutes as she anticipated an imminent attack which made the short hike to the shrine draining.

Up ahead, through the tunnel of trees that covered the path, she could see the shrine, brightly lit in its clearing. Another few steps and the lumps that she had taken to be rocks in the pathway resolved into the carcasses of wolves. The bodies were covered in blood, the ground around them churned into red mud. Stepping carefully around them, she felt sick at the sight, imagining what it must have been like for the colonel and Daniel.

A bit of green under the paw of one body caught her eye. It was the colonel's little alligator candy dispenser, coated in viscous mud, its silly grin now a macabre vision in the midst of the carnage. On impulse, she picked the alligator up, wrinkling her nose in distaste as she avoided contact with the dead paw that held it in place. Teal'c raised an eyebrow at her actions, but said nothing. She tucked it in her pocket and moved on.

Following the spattered trail of blood, they entered the grassy swath that circled the shrine. there was a rattle-thunk from the entrance, then the door with the bloody hand prints around the handle swung open. Daniel stood there, Beretta in hand. He was filthy, his ragged uniform splotched with blood. Dark bags under his eyes showed starkly against pale skin and one cheek was scored and crusted with blood. It was obvious that he hadn't slept much, if at all.

"Hey guys, glad you could stop by." A wan smile and flat tone belied Daniel's jaunty comment.

"We were, in fact, in the neighborhood, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c greeted his team mate then turned to watch the forest. He backed toward them, his staff weapon guarding them from any last attempts by the wolves.

Once inside the shrine, Sam helped Daniel replace the wooden bar in its cradle then looked around for Jack. The hole in the ceiling let in plenty of morning light and it took her eyes only a moment to adjust.

"Nice day for a walk?"

Colonel O'Neill's thin whisper drifted up from the floor near her and Sam gasped when she saw him. If Daniel looked haggard, then the colonel looked like death warmed over. His BDU's were ripped up and had been saturated with blood, stiffening the cloth as it dried. Daniel had tried to clean the colonel's face, but streaks of blood had dried on his forehead and now were flaking off. The dark red smears stood out in stark relief against pallid skin. Eyes half-closed, he held one arm protectively and seemed moments away from collapse. Slowly, as though every muscle hurt, Daniel sat next to the colonel, who immediately leaned on him and closed his eyes.

"It is a lovely day, indeed, as you shall soon see for yourself." Teal'c propped his staff weapon against the wall and swung the pack off his shoulder. Setting it at his feet, he rummaged through it then pulled out the medkit. He handed it to Sam, then took up position by the doors, peering out through the space between them.

A quick assessment of Colonel O'Neill showed that Daniel had done a great job with limited supplies. The splint, while creative, was also very well constructed. Sam settled for giving the injured man doses of pain reliever and the general antibiotic that each med kit carried, and slathering antibiotic ointment over his bite wounds and scratches. She did the same for Daniel, wishing they had one more bandana so she could clean his wounds first. Well, this would have to do.

As Sam put the medkit back in the bag, her fingers ran across the slick plastic of the MRE. Smiling she held it up.

"Turkey tetrazzini!" she announced. "I thought this might come in handy"

"As what?" muttered the colonel. "Spackle?"

"I know it's not your favorite, sir -"

Twin grunts from Daniel and Teal'c made Sam amend her statement.

"Okay, it's nobody's favorite including me and split four ways it won't be much but it's the only food we've got, guys." It was difficult to contain her irritation, even though she knew it was a result of being hungry and sleep deprived. Low blood sugar was not her friend.

Sam activated the flameless heater to warm first the turkey pouch then the noodle pouch.

"Which dessert?" asked Daniel. He craned around Colonel O'Neill's head which rested on his shoulder, trying to read the labels.

"Marble cake. And the snack is the nut and raisin mix with M&M's." She turned the packets over to find the printing. "Raspberry drink, and it looks like the condiment pack has jelly as well as the makings for coffee."

Far too quickly, their meager meal was ready, though it did little more than take the edge off the hunger that dogged them all. Once breakfast was over, Teal'c directed them in constructing a stretcher. Teal'c used his knife to remove the decorative wooden edging from the long sides of the altar for use as poles. For a moment, Sam thought Daniel would argue against it, but he clamped his lips together and drew his own knife to help Teal'c.

Teal'c's stretcher design included a loop of cloth attached to the ends of each pole. Like a yoke, the loop went over the shoulders of the person holding that end of the stretcher and took most of the weight off of the carrier's hands. As expected, the colonel refused at first, dredging up the last of his energy to gripe about being babied and being a burden to the rest of the team. Pain always made him cranky and ill tempered.

"Just help me up, dammit, and I'll walk out on my own," he demanded, putting out his good hand.

Daniel took the colonel's hand, but instead of pulling him to his feet, Daniel knelt down next to him. Pressing the back of Colonel O'Neill's hand to his chest, Daniel wrapped his other hand around the back of the colonel's neck and looked him steadily in the eye. When he spoke, Daniel sounded exasperated.

"Jack, will you just - " Breaking off, Daniel sighed, then continued in a gentler tone. "Please. For me."

Colonel O'Neill looked at Daniel for a moment, then dropped his gaze and nodded.

After that it was simply a matter of getting the colonel situated with as little pain as possible. He still cussed a blue streak, but at least he was cooperating with them. Once they had the colonel in his place of honor, Teal'c took the head end of the stretcher while Daniel took the feet. Sam held the emitter in her left hand and kept her right on the trigger of her P-90. Now, all they had to do was walk to the gate.

Twice, the wolves rushed them but never more than a handful of animals at a time. Sam used her weapon in concert with the ultrasound emitter and she was sure she had wounded some of the wolves. After a couple of miles, the wolves stopped. They didn't turn around or leave, but stayed where they were and watched SG-1 walk away, as though they had reached some invisible boundary. Not trusting their stillness, Sam didn't let down her guard.

Finally, after one of the most grueling hikes they had ever undergone, the team reached the gate. She dialed home and entered the iris code in her GDO. As she radioed the medical emergency, Sam couldn't decide which she wanted more - food or sleep. Either way, this was one mission she was glad to see end.

By the time Daniel staggered to the bottom of the ramp, Doctor Janet Fraiser and her crew were bustling in the through the blast doors, wheeling two gurneys. Sam must have radioed for medical assistance when she dialed the gate. Hard on the heels of that realization, Daniel had another - he must be more tired than he thought not to have heard Sam say it.

Teal'c's baritone rang out over the rattle of metal wheels on concrete. "O'Neill's injuries are the more severe."

Two medics brushed past Daniel in a beeline for an unconscious Jack. As Daniel and Teal'c brought the stretcher alongside one of the waiting gurneys, the medics efficiently transferred Jack, laying him gently on the crisp white linen. Stethoscope at the ready, Janet started examining O'Neill mid-transfer, calling out orders that started a new wave of activity.

As he stood there holding one end of the empty stretcher, Daniel wondered why Teal'c had thought it necessary to tell Janet that it was Jack who was hurt. Surely she would know that the moment she saw him being carried? The stretcher poles slid in his grasp, and Daniel automatically tightened his grip, fearful of dropping Jack.

"Daniel, it's okay." Sam's soft voice was right in Daniel's ear, and it startled him to see how close she was. "The Colonel's on his way to the infirmary. You can let go now."

Sam's hand covered his, peeling his fingers from the wooden poles as Teal'c took the stretcher and propped it against the railing of the gate ramp. Oh, right - Jack wasn't on the makeshift stretcher anymore. Daniel had forgotten. Teal'c pulled the second gurney next to Daniel. It was so hard to concentrate. Daniel hoped the briefing with General Hammond wouldn't take long. He tried to step around the gurney, but found the way blocked by his team mates.

"I must insist that you rest yourself, Daniel Jackson."

One steely-eyed glare from Teal'c quashed the automatic "I'm fine" before it could leave his throat. Nodding his compliance, Daniel laid down on the gurney as Teal'c held it steady. Someone had turned up the gravity, making Daniel heavy and clumsy. Even with Sam's help, getting settled on the wheeled table was like swimming through molasses.

In truth, Daniel wasn't sure if he could have taken one more step. His muscles were trembling from fatigue and his bones ached. Hell, his whole body ached, except for the claw marks on his thigh and cheek which burned and itched. He saw Janet heading for him, penlight in hand, but for some reason she appeared to be getting smaller and farther away. The gate room disappeared into shadow, leaving her the only object in a black tunnel. He heard her voice, faint and far off, then darkness swallowed him.

Hands. Hands drew Daniel from the depths of unconsciousness. Unwanted hands, pawing at him, touching his skin, tugging at his clothes.

Murmured voices told him there were multiple attackers. He lashed out with feet and fists, kicking and flailing. There was a clamor from his assailants as they shouted at him and each other.

Daniel's heel smacked into someone's doughy abdomen and he heard a grunt of pain. The impact didn't have the force it should have though. As soon as his foot connected he knew his feet were bare. The bastards had already stripped off his boots and were going for his clothes. Strengthened by a fresh burst of adrenaline, he punched the air around him, and tried to shake off the grogginess that dragged at him.

"Daniel! Calm down!"

The stern command seemed familiar to Daniel. It took an effort, but he finally opened heavy lidded eyes.

"You're safe. You're in the infirmary at the SGC. Let us help you."

Janet. That was Janet. Fully aware now, Daniel slumped back onto the gurney, to find the petite doctor and a medic standing out of striking distance to his left. The medic was rubbing his stomach and grimacing. Oh. Right. SG-1 had been greeted by Janet and her med team on their return from Wolf Central. Daniel must have passed out in the gate room.

"Jack. Where's Jack?"

Too tired to sit up, Daniel rolled his head on the pillow, looking for Jack. Two beds over, there was a hive of activity. All Daniel could see were medical personnel bustling around the bed or dragging equipment over to it. As he focused on the activity he heard the beep of a heart monitor and felt relieved. Jack was alive. Daniel couldn't see him through the press of bodies surrounding Jack, but he knew with absolute certainty that Jack was the focus of their efforts.

Muttering, "I've got to check on Jack," Daniel tried to lever himself up on his elbows, but it was like dragging lead weights through sand.

"Daniel!"

He collapsed back on to the bed, staying on his back even though he desperately wanted to curl up on his side and go to sleep. His head was too heavy to lift so he rolled his head back to look at Janet.

"Colonel O'Neill is unconscious, but his vital signs aren't too far out of range. We're transfusing him now." Janet stepped up to the gurney as she spoke. "Due to the amount of tissue damage and the depth of the punctures from the animal bites, we'll need to debride his wounds under general anesthetic. If the X-ray results are what I think they'll be, then I'll set his forearm at the same time."

Thirsty, Daniel couldn't help licking his lips even though he knew it would make the chapping worse. "It is broken, then? His arm?"

Janet nodded. "Both the the radius and ulna, just above the wrist where the bite is. I think it's a clean break but won't know for certain until that X-ray is developed. Other than that, and some bruises and minor lacerations, Colonel O'Neill is fine."

Jack was going to live and there was no permanent damage. Daniel hadn't known how tense he was until his muscles all relaxed at once. Jack had been bounced around, bitten, and banged up, but he has going to be fine. The acid in Daniel's stomach had been churning since the attack. The image of Jack at the moment Daniel thought him dead, covered in mud and gore, pinned down by the wolf, kept replaying in Daniel's mind. It had been close out there. Too damn close. If this incident didn't prompt Daniel to speak up, nothing would.

The panic at losing Jack rose up again, so Daniel suppressed the image and reminded himself that Jack was going to be fine. Never the best patient, convalescence got on Jack's nerves making him difficult to deal with. He was sure to be bitching about it in a day or two. The sound would be like music to Daniel's ears at first since it meant Jack was well enough to complain. In the meantime, Daniel had translations to work on and a mission report to file.

Damn. The translations. Where was his backpack with his notes and the video camera? Ignoring the pain that flashed through overtaxed muscles, Daniel sat up, hands casting about for the backpack. He did bring it through the gate with him, didn't he? Intending to go look for the bag, he swung his legs over the side of the gurney, but his motor skills were on the wobbly side and he nearly pitched himself off of the gurney.

"Whoa!"

Janet hastily stepped forward and planted her hands against his chest, blocking his fall. He was surprised at the strength with which she pushed at him until he was sitting upright, legs dangling over the side of the gurney. Her hands were warm on his chest- warmer than he would have expected.

Glancing down, he saw his chest was bare. Someone had already removed his BDU jacket and T-shirt. The legs of his pants were flapping open to the knee. The medic behind Janet, who Daniel now recognized as Sergeant Clarke, was holding the scissors used to cut the clothing from unconscious patients.

"Now that I'm awake, I can get changed on my own." Daniel tried to project an air of alertness, hoping Janet would discharge him on the spot. "Do you know if my backpack made it to the SGC? I've got to - "

"You've got to sit right here until I tell you otherwise." Janet's hands softened, changing from supporting his weight to a comforting squeeze. She knew of his aversion to the infirmary but although she might sympathize, she wouldn't let it influence his treatment. "Sam gave your backpack to Nyan, so whatever you brought back is in good hands. She and Teal'c gave General Hammond the short version of what happened and are off getting showered and changed. Mission reports and a debriefing will be due later, but no deadline has been set for either at this point."

Once he knew that nothing was expected of him immediately, Daniel felt the fatigue returning, creeping up his limbs from his hands and feet, and settling in his joints. The burning pain in his thigh and face made itself known again as well and he had to fight to keep his eyes open. He still needed to get changed and drag himself home. An errant breeze from the air conditioning system brought a whiff of something fresh, sweet and clean from Janet, reminding Daniel how very badly he stank. The need to sleep receded slightly under the new impulse to shower thoroughly. His nose wrinkled in disgust as his own stench wafted up it. Make that, shower very thoroughly.

"I'll just go-"

Janet ignored him. "Sergeant Clarke will debride your lacerations." There was kindness in her eyes, but steel in her tone.

Daniel sighed. He hated feeling the cold metal of the scissors sliding along his skin, especially when they were cutting near his groin. "Let me take off my pants myself."

"Sorry, Daniel. Part of the fabric of your pants is adhering to the wounds. We'll cut off as much as we can, but some of the cloth will remain. The Sergeant will remove it as part of the debridement."

Daniel slouched in disappointment. Debride. A word ultimately derived from the Middle High German by way of Old French meaning to unbridle. See also, a word used by the medical profession meaning the manual removal of foreign matter, contaminated, and dead tissues from a wound. It was a word Daniel had learned to dread.

"Don't worry, Daniel. Your lacerations aren't as bad as the Colonel's." Janet patted his shoulder. "All you need is a local anesthetic, though since you seem a little agitated from the mission, Sergeant Clarke can get you a sedative if you feel you need it. Afterward, I want you here for rest and observation for the next twelve to twenty-four hours."

"Doctor Fraiser?" One of the nurses crowded around Jack's bed called out. "Colonel O'Neill is prepped and ready for surgery, ma'am."

Janet raised her voice in reply. "I'll be right there." Reverting to a normal speaking voice, she rubbed Daniel's shoulder once more and gave him a fond smile. "I bet that when I check on you after I'm done with the Colonel, you'll be out like a light."

Frowning, Daniel didn't reply. He wanted to sleep now, dammit. Of course he also wanted to be clean right now, and get his things from Nyan. Exhaustion made him irritable so he didn't dare open his mouth. The last thing he wanted to do was bite everyone's head off saying things he didn't really mean. He settled for displaying his acquiescence by lying back down on the bed, resigned to the discomfort ahead.

Sometimes, Daniel hated his job.

Sam rubbed one fingertip over the fuzzy snout of the little alligator. She knew it was her imagination, but its smile seemed brighter as though it was happy to be clean again. Despite handling it as delicately as she could, the fabric head had detached from the plastic dispenser. As she had struggled to slip the head back in place, she had understood the Colonel and Daniel's difficulty back on the planet. Now, she laid the toy on her lab table, checking it for the slightest hint of dirt or stains and finding none. She couldn't wait to see the Colonel's face when she gave it to him first thing this morning.

"I take it you are pleased with the results of your labors." Teal'c stood at ease in the doorway to her lab, his hands clasped behind his back and a look of amusement on his face.

"Oh, hi." Sam smiled at him then looked back down at the toy. "Actually, I am. Very pleased."

Teal'c came over to see for himself. Side by side, they stared down at the whimsical toy.

"The mud stains turned out to be more difficult to rid of than the blood."

"As I recall, the soil in that area was particularly dark." Teal'c re-arranged the alligator's spread-eagled limbs, tucking them close to its body.

As their friendship had deepened over the years, Sam had learned to rely on Teal'c's advice for practically any situation. Decisions ranging from which avenue to explore first on alien technology, to which motorcycle to buy, to what to wear to the annual SGC picnic, to whether she should continue to rent or to buy a house - she had sought his input on all these and more. She trusted him to tell her the truth even if it hurt and to guard her secrets faithfully. Thinking about it now, it occurred to Sam that she had never opened up so fully to anyone else before. Yet, despite their closeness, there were still a few things she had kept to herself. On impulse, Sam confided in him now.

"I'm going to give this to the Colonel when he's alone in the infirmary." Bumping her shoulder into his, she whispered hesitantly, "I'm thinking about asking him out on a date."

Teal'c turned his head sharply to look at her. "You wish to invite him on a social engagement exclusive to the two of you?"

Sam made sure her voice was too low to carry to the open door. "Ever since he said he cared for me more than he should, I thought that maybe we'd get together someday. It's just that up until now I've always put duty first." She picked up the toy, letting it rest in her open palm. "This mission reminded me how uncertain our lives are. Either one of us could die while I'm waiting for 'someday' to come. I don't want that to happen."

"I see." Teal'c folded his hands behind his back and gazed over her with an assessing look that Sam was well familiar with. It meant that he was considering the issue from all angles. "It is, then, your contention that O'Neill harbors feelings of a romantic nature toward you?"

"Remember when Anise brought the Atenik armbands and we all infiltrated that Goa'uld mothership and nearly got blown up with it? The Colonel stayed behind with me when my armband fell off and I was trapped in the ship." Sam rested a hand on Teal'c's bicep and looked him in the eyes, stressing the importance of her words. "He stayed with me, even though he could have saved himself.

"Later, during the Zatarc incident, the Colonel admitted he stayed because he cares about me more than he should. We promised each other that we'd 'leave it in the room' and not talk about it, but it's there. I thought maybe it was time we acted on it."

Sam curled her fingers around the toy in her hand. "I mean, let's face it, Teal'c, I'm not old by any means, but I'm not getting any younger, either. If I'm going to get married and have children I need to do it soon."

Teal'c looked thoughtful. "It was my impression that your participation in the Stargate program was satisfying to you on both a personal and a professional level. Are you, then, prepared to give up gate travel in favor of staying home to raise children?"

Teal'c was right - Sam did love her job. She loved the excitement of going through the gate, learning about different stars and planets, and finding new technology. It was fascinating work, even if it was dangerous, but even the danger had a kind of appeal. There was no way she would give that up for good, but Sam had already thought of the perfect solution.

"The Colonel has already retired once. I thought maybe he could retire again, become a consultant to the SGC. He could be based on-world so he'd be able to watch the kids when I was off-world. Plus, without the pressure of leading SG-1, the Colonel wouldn't be so mad at Daniel all the time. Everyone will be happy. It'll be perfect." She couldn't help sounding a little wistful.

Teal'c slid his hand under hers, following the arc of her fingers as they cradled the toy. "I understand the appeal since such a scenario has much to recommend it. However, I fear your vision has little in common with reality."

Sam frowned. "The Colonel actually said that he cared about me. I'm not making that up."

"I have no doubt that he said that. However, consider this. Had it been I who was trapped on that ship, would O'Neill would have abandoned me to my fate?"

Sam's automatic response was we don't leave our people behind, but the cold truth was that sometimes it was unavoidable. The Colonel knew that from personal experience, when he had been on the wrong side of that question. Yet it was that experience which made him so determined not to let it happen to anyone else. Then again, of all of them, Teal'c was the most likely to be able to survive on his own, but still, she couldn't picture the Colonel walking away.

"Well, no. I don't think he would have," she admitted.

"Although we could have been completely clear of the ship and out of range of the explosion, neither Daniel Jackson nor myself left the ship, nor would we leave as long as you and O'Neill were on it. Does this then mean that both Daniel Jackson and myself have feelings of a romantic nature for you?"

"I know that you guys don't." Sam chewed on her bottom lip. "When you put it like that, then no, I don't think Colonel O'Neill does either."

"But it would be fair to say that as team members, we are more emotionally attached to each other than your military normally allows? That we do, in fact, care for each other more than we should?"

Now that Teal'c had pointed it out, Sam realized that she had been so focused on the Colonel's confession during the Zatarc incident that she never considered the implications. She had never extrapolated from the incident with the two of them to the team in general.

"Huh. I see what you mean." Sam stared down at Teal'c's large hand enveloping hers. "We are more personally involved as a team than is normally allowed. But the nature of the work we do, this closeness works for us rather than against us, I think."

"As do I. Tell me, do you really think this future you have envisioned could truly occur? And if it did, would you truly be content?"

Sam mulled it over. Long nights in her lab working under nearly impossible deadlines; long hours and days held captive in various off-world prisons; taking shower after shower to get every bit of smelly off-world mud out of her pores. These were the times she thought of the Colonel's admission, gave it more weight than she knew it deserved, and let her thoughts run freely. Home. Family. Friends. All the research she wanted with no pressure. Everyone around her content. It was peaceful. Calm. Soothing. Full of warmth and friendship. Pretty much the exact opposite of whatever was going on when her mind drifted into her musings.

Sam sighed. Pulling her hand from Teal'c's, she held the alligator up, twirling it from side to side. Part of her really wanted the kind of life represented by her reveries. The larger part of her, the part that really mattered, was happy right where she was - in the thick of the action and at the forefront of discovery.

"I guess I haven't been planning ahead so much as day dreaming."

"What the Taur'i call daydreams, we call chukash tel mekt - wandering among the clouds. Such pastimes are looked upon with scorn by the Goa'uld as they are considered to be wasteful of time and energy.

"So, I've been squandering my time?"

"Not at all. The scholars among you have said that daydreams serve many functions. Unimpeded thoughts can solve puzzles, create new works, and allow us to explore alternate reactions to specific events. Daydreams can have emotional benefits as well."

Sam couldn't help smiling at him. "Was that from Oprah?"

"The Learning Channel." Teal'c suppressed a smile, but there was an amused gleam in his eyes. "And Oprah." As he continued, he became serious again.

"In my time of servitude under Apophis, it was cloud wandering which gave me strength, gave me hope, as I imagined a world where my son and his son and his sons thereafter could all live freely. I imagined a world where one could marry for love, not duty, and in my mind I escaped to a life where I could choose Shau'nac as the bride of my heart. I built that world piece by piece, down to the smallest of details.

"As much as I dearly desired for those dreams to become real, I knew they would not. I knew the dream for what it was. A fantasy. Nothing more. Yet that world was my refuge and a balm to my soul." Teal'c stared off into the distance as he recalled his time as a slave to the Goa'uld.

There was silence for a bit as they each processed the conversation. Sam leaned a hip against the edge of her desk as she thought about the difference between her day dreams and Teal'c's. He used his to give him hope for the future whereas hers were a type of stress relief. Somewhere along the way, she had let the line blur between reality and the fantasy. It was a good thing she had confided her intentions to Teal'c.

If she was truly honest with herself, she knew that despite how she felt about the Colonel - and despite the considerable physical chemistry that existed between them - she could only take him in small doses. If he was always around underfoot, they would soon drive each other crazy. Plus his idea of a fun way to spend time off didn't match hers in the slightest. Oh yeah. They would have been doomed from the start.

"Okay, I concede the point. I let my fantasy life run away with me. But Teal'c, the part about wanting the Colonel and Daniel to get along again is very real. It hurts me to see how he talks to Daniel sometimes. And Daniel isn't always very nice, either. Sometimes I just want to shake some sense into both of them. Whatever is going on between them, they haven't been able to sort it out. I'm afraid we may have to step in, but I don't know what to do. I don't even know what's wrong."

Beside her she felt Teal'c take a deep breath. His hand tightened on her shoulder and his lips were pressed tightly together.

"Samantha." Teal'c paused as if gathering his thoughts. "We have established that O'Neill would not leave you behind if it was at all avoidable, nor would he abandon me. Is that correct?"

"Yes." She wondered where he was going with this.

"Can you, then, picture him leaving Daniel Jackson?"

"Oh, lord no!" There was no question in her mind. "The Colonel would move heaven and earth for Daniel if he had to."

"And of his team mates, which one does O'Neill most closely attend?"

"That's easy - Daniel. The Colonel is always watching out for him, adjusting his gear, worrying over him. What's funny is that Daniel watches the Colonel right back. I mean, here's the Colonel, a career military officer with special ops skills, and the civilian is worried about him." Sam smiled fondly as she thought of it.

"And whose opinion does each value most?"

"Each others. It's funny when you think about it, really. No one matters more to the Colonel than Daniel and vice versa. It's like they take everything about each other personally. I swear, listening to the two of them go at it sometimes reminds me of my grandparents harping at each other. Gran and Granddad constantly bickered like that but underneath the words I could always hear the love--"

Dumbstruck, Sam stopped mid-sentence. Had she really just compared Daniel and the Colonel to an old married couple? Frantically, she recalled incident after incident, going back to the beginning of the program, comparing each event to her grandparents' paradigm of affectionate squabbling and lifelong commitment. The model fit the men's actions. Every. Single. Time.

"Oh my God. The Colonel? And Daniel?" Sam had been so wrapped up in her own worries that she hadn't noticed. "Are you saying that they're-they're..." She couldn't finish the sentence. Holy Hannah - how had she missed that?

"I do not believe that they have embarked upon a relationship as yet. I fear that O'Neill's attempts to deny his feelings are the cause of the enmity he has displayed toward Daniel Jackson."

Now, Sam really wanted to shake some sense into the Colonel. She could understand the man having difficulty coming to grips with his feelings, but taking out his distress on Daniel was especially wrong. It was as though he was punishing Daniel for causing the feelings. She would have expected better of him than that.

"Teal'c, as much as I love them both and want them to be happy, there is no way that I want to be the one to say anything to either of them about something so very personal."

"Nor do I which is why I have held my tongue thus far. However, I feel that action may need to be taken soon. If so, I think we should approach the problem together."

"Oh, boy. I really hope they work it out." After this, some of Sam's daydreams would probably be the puzzle solving kind that Teal'c had mentioned, centered around what tactics she and Teal'c should use if they ever had to approach the Colonel or Daniel about the problem.

"Such has been my fervent hope for some time now. Time, and my patience, both wear thin." Teal'c put his palm on her shoulder, his fingertips resting against the base of her neck. "I understand that a relationship between Daniel Jackson and O'Neill contravenes the rules of your military and indeed, much of your society. Will your knowledge of it preclude your abilities to work with either man?

"No." Sam shook her head. "No it won't. I have no problem with people loving whoever they want to."

While she understood the regulations against fraternizing, the rules against homosexuality had never made any sense to Sam at all. Both at the academy and later in her career, she had turned a blind eye when needed and did her best to protect good men and women who served their country well and didn't deserve to be drummed out of the service.

Still, it would take some time to process the new information and the resultant shift in her perception of inter-team dynamics. The fact that her primary emotional response involved foolishness and embarrassment instead of a broken heart, proved Teal'c's point for him.

Reluctant as she was to admit it, Sam's ego was bruised. All the flirting she had done with the Colonel, harmless as it had seemed, made her feel ridiculous now. However, she had no doubt that she would be able to adjust. Lord knows, she had gone through worse things in her life than this.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Sam gave Teal'c a crooked smile. "I think I'll hold onto this a bit. I should probably recheck the schematics I drew up for the sonic device I made on the planet. I'll give this to the Colonel later this afternoon, or maybe tomorrow." She set the alligator on the corner of her desk.

"Should you need to speak, you have but to let me know."

Teal'c's big hand slid from her shoulder and Sam immediately missed the warmth of it.

"Thank you, Teal'c. You're a good friend."

Smiling in return, he bowed his thanks and left her alone with her thoughts.

Daniel re-arranged the books and papers on his desk into marginally less untidy piles and glanced at the clock again. It had been a whole two minutes since he had last checked it, which had been five minutes since the time before which had been three minutes since the time before that. Apparently Daniel was making a new career out of clock watching.

Sighing, he gave up pretending to work. Daniel shut down his computer, turned off the lights in his office and headed into the corridor. So he'd be a little early. Compulsively, Daniel checked his watch yet again. Okay, make that a lot early. Janet wouldn't mind and after three days in the infirmary, Jack was probably chomping at the bit already to get discharged.

In fact, depending on just how eager Jack was to leave, Janet might be glad to get rid of him early. The only time Jack was easy to care for was when he was asleep or unconscious. Awake, he was restless, prone to expressing his boredom and pain through irritation, snapping at anyone within earshot.

Daniel moved on auto-pilot. He was dimly aware of passing people in the hall and swiping his card for the elevator. His feet took him first to the locker room to change into civilian clothes, then to the infirmary while his mind was completely engaged with revealing himself to Jack.

By the time he reached his destination, he had worked himself up into a state of nervous anticipation. Quelling the butterflies as best he could, he tried to adopt a casual saunter as he walked into the infirmary.

"Daniel? Is your leg wound bothering you?"

Daniel had been so wrapped up in his inner debate that he hadn't even noticed Janet. She was standing with Nurse Evans at the nurses' station inside the door. Evans held a chart about which they had apparently been conferring . Janet cast a critical eye over him while Nurse Evans gave Daniel a funny look.

"Oh, um, hi, Janet. Hi, Kathy." Inwardly, Daniel winced. So much for projecting an air of unconcern. He gave up trying to saunter and walked normally. "No. It's fine. I was just, um..." He let the words trail off, unable to think of anything reasonable.

Janet seemed doubtful. She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Jack yelled Daniel's name from the back of the infirmary. Kathy rolled her eyes as Janet gracefully waved Daniel past her. As he neared the back of the room he was greeted with the strident bellow of a cranky Jack.

"It's about time you got here."

Jack's face was all lowered brows and angled frowns as he sat on his bed. Like Daniel, he was dressed in civvies, though Jack was sporting the latest style in casts. His sleeve was rolled up to accommodate the cast that went from his elbow down his palm to the base of his fingers, leaving his thumb sticking out like a tree branch. Daniel knew Jack's calf was wrapped up, but the bandage wasn't bulky enough to be obvious under his pant leg.

Daniel made a show of looking at his watch. "Actually, I'm almost an hour early."

"I was ready before you got here, so that makes you late," countered Jack.

Daniel wasn't sure if Jack was joking with him, or if he'd run into a spate of Jack-logic, the rules of which were known only to Jack himself and which apparently derived from a dimension that existed perpendicular to all other known types of reasonable thinking.

Trying to counter Jack-logic directly was like wrestling a greased octopus whose slippery tentacles always slithered from his grasp only to latch onto every well-constructed rebuttal and twist it beyond recognition. It was amazing how much time could be lost when mired in arguments that weren't just circular, but spherical. Daniel had found that the best way to deal with it was selective deafness.

Searching for a new topic, Daniel noted a bit of green on the bed next to Jack and pointed. "I see you still have your alligator candy thing."

Jack's frown vanished. "Yeah. I thought I'd lost it but Carter saw it and snagged it on the way home. She cleaned it all up and gave it to me a little bit ago." He picked it up in his good hand, displaying it on his palm.

"That was really nice of her." Sam's thoughtful gesture put Daniel in mind of the times she had brought him home made cookies when he was stuck in the infirmary. It was the personal touches such as that among them which had turned their team into a surrogate family.

"You know Carter - always doing that little bit extra. Do you still have the one I gave you?"

Daniel reached into his pants pocket then held up the little monkey as he shared a grin with Jack, who waggled his toy and made growling noises. Daniel had to stifle an indulgent smile as Jack gave his inner eight-year-old free rein.

Daniel knew pedantry was not one of his finer traits, but he couldn't help pointing out, "Alligators don't growl."

"Easy for you to criticize. Anyone can make monkey noises." Jack demonstrated by hooting and scratching his side with his good arm, his elbow jutting out and raised high.

"That's a chimpanzee not a monkey," protested Daniel.

Jack made a dismissive face. "Same thing."

"Is not. Chimpanzees are the smallest of the Great Apes which are completely different - "

"Fine, Doctor Know It All," interrupted Jack. "If you're so smart, make me some monkey noises."

"Old World or New?"

"What the hell - "

"Sorry to interrupt such serious business, gentlemen." Janet stood behind Daniel, one hand on a wheelchair. She looked amused. "Colonel, your ride is here."

"Yes!" Jack did a one-armed victory punch and stood up. He listed to one side, putting just enough weight on his bad leg to keep him balanced.

Daniel had anticipated an argument about the wheelchair, but apparently Jack didn't care how he left as long as he got to leave. Or maybe, his leg hurt enough that Jack knew he couldn't have made it all the way through the facility and into the parking lot under his own steam. Whatever the case, Daniel was glad to avoid any discord, especially now that Jack was in a pleasant mood.

Janet handed Jack a bulky manila envelope, held closed only by its metal clasp. "Your prescriptions are in here, along with topical ointment for your leg and some extra bandages."

"What, no bag?" teased Jack. "What kind of service is this?"

Janet smiled and played along. "The best kind - personal and free. If you want a bag, you can go to the store and pay for your medicine."

"And what a lovely envelope it is!" Jack patted the envelope in an exaggerated manner.

"I thought you might say that." Janet's eyes twinkled with amusement, then she turned serious again. "You've already got your instructions about the wound on your leg. Any questions about that?"

She waited for Jack to shake his head, then continued.

"This next part I can't stress enough so I'm going to repeat it all over again. Remember what I said about inspecting your cast twice a day. If you see any signs of it softening over the area where the bite wound is, come in right away. That could be a sign that the wound is infected or oozing or just not healing properly. Got it?"

Jack nodded.

"Okay, then, Colonel. I want to see you back here in one week for a checkup, but other than that, you are officially discharged." Janet shooed them with her hands. "Now out of here, both of you."

Jack settled back in the wheelchair and waved one hand imperiously. "Home, James!"

Daniel grabbed the handles and started for the door. "Wow, you must really be ill to forget my name. Maybe you should stay at least another day."
Jack blew a raspberry and made a rude gesture in response, then both men laughed. They lapsed into a comfortable silence that lasted all the way up to the surface and through the trip to Jack's house.

The companionable mood faltered a bit as Jack made his slow, painful way inside. Soon, he was ensconced in his recliner in the den, with pillows propped under the knee of his bad leg and under his cast. Daniel put the envelope of medicine and supplies in the bathroom adjoining Jack's bedroom. He took the liberty of opening it and checking Janet's list for dosages and instructions. Okay, a couple of analgesics now, but no antibiotic until later tonight, and the dressing on the calf wound was fine until tomorrow. Daniel returned to the den with two pills and a cup of water. As his discomfort eased, Jack became more pleasant again. There was a verbal skirmish over who would get possession of the TV remote. Daniel let Jack win, then headed to the kitchen to fix dinner.

Planning ahead, Daniel had stopped by Jack's house after work the day before to drop off fresh groceries and a few days worth of his own clothes. Even though the cast left Jack's fingers free, Daniel had tried to pick food that would be easy to eat one-handed. He filled two bowls with canned beef stew and nuked them in the microwave then stuck a spoon into each. Tucking the roll of paper towels under one arm, he carried the bowls back to the den.

The television was tuned to some action movie that had been a big hit years before and was replayed frequently on TV. Jack was leaning back in the recliner, his hand resting loosely on the remote in his lap. In the split second before he saw Daniel, Jack's face looked drawn and tired. Daniel wasn't sure if his presence really did perk Jack up, or if Jack was trying to hide his exhaustion. Daniel didn't comment, but made a note to pay close attention to Jack's energy levels.

Daniel set everything down on the coffee table, then pulled out the folding tray tables from the back corner of the den. He set up one for Jack at the recliner and one for himself at the couch then headed back to the kitchen for drinks. In deference to Janet's directions, he bypassed the beer and got water for each of them and grabbed a sleeve of crackers. Once the men were situated with their meal in front of them, they sat quietly watching the TV. They didn't comment on the movie or the commercials the way they normally did, though. The only sound during dinner was the clink of a spoon against the crockery.

Daniel was being quiet because he was mulling everything over yet again. He stood to lose so much if his revelation wasn't welcome. Did he really want to risk a solid friendship for a possible relationship? If he didn't know better, he would think Jack was pensive, too. Come to think of it, Jack's murmured thanks when Daniel cleared up after dinner was the only conversation all evening. Daniel put Jack's silence down to fatigue.

Despite spending most of the evening thinking, Daniel couldn't decide the best way to broach the subject much less when he should do so. By the time the movie was over, he had an incipient headache. Unlike Jack, Daniel wasn't on medical leave and had to report to work in the morning so maybe an early night was best for both of them. Jack seemed to be on the same wavelength since he clicked off the television set.

"Well, I'm for bed." Jack pushed the footrest ineffectively with his good leg.

"Here, let me help."

Daniel carefully removed the pillows from under Jack's leg and arm. He pushed against the foot rest with his hand to fold it back down as he helped Jack to his feet. Inactivity had stiffened Jack's muscles so he moved slowly at first, favoring his bad leg considerably. Daniel offered his arm, but Jack waved him off.

"I'll loosen up in a sec. You coming with?"

"I was planning on the spare room, but if you'd rather bunk together, that's fine."

"Yeah, if you don't mind. Don't tell Janet, but I keep...dreaming." Jacks' lips flattened and his shoulders tensed. "In my dreams, the wolves...they all...I hear my bones -"

Daniel palmed the nape of Jack's neck, rubbed lightly until he felt the tension ease from the muscles under his hand. Many times over the years they had slept in each other's beds. During missions, of course, they often bunked together due to limitations of space. At home, it was a different matter. Staving off nightmares from missions gone FUBAR. Convenience when nursing severe injuries. General care and comfort for those times when it all seemed like too much for one person to handle alone. They rarely spoke of it amongst themselves and never mentioned it outside of the team. No one else could understand because no one else, except possibly other teams, had ever been where they were.

Daniel truly believed he would never have gotten over his sarcophagus addiction if Jack hadn't anchored him to reality, his big arms wrapped around Daniel, holding and soothing him through long nights of tears and pain. Daniel had done the same for Sam from time to time. After the fiasco with Jolinar, he had stayed with her every night for almost a month as centuries worth of someone else's horrors had paraded through her dreams, feeling as real to Sam as the moment that Jolinar or one of her many hosts had experienced it. Waking to her cries, holding her as she trembled, Daniel thought he would rather suffer sarc addiction than go through what Sam did.

"It's okay. I'll be there." Daniel gave a last squeeze to Jack's neck then let go. "I'll get changed and get something to read, then I'll be in. You need help changing?"

"Nah, I'm just gonna strip down to boxers. The pants of the scrubs I wore in the infirmary kept twisting when I slept, pulling tight against the leg wound."

"Ow."

"Yeah."

"Okay. Meet you there."

"Consider me the tortoise to your hare."

They shared a grin then Daniel left to get ready to settle in for the night. He had already put his things in the spare room so he headed there first to change and grab the magazine he hadn't had a chance to read during the mission. The other magazine from the mission had been ruined when it was converted into a splint and Daniel hadn't had a chance to get a new copy. Reading material in one hand, the pillows from the spare bed gripped under one arm, he went to Jack's bedroom.

The overhead light was off, but the lamps on the nightstands on each side of the bed were lit. Jack was slouched down in bed with two pillows propped under his head and shoulders. The covers were pulled up to his waist, his bare chest on display, and he flipped through a Mad Magazine. Jack had turned down the covers on Daniel's side of the bed. Daniel put his pillows against the headboard, set the magazine down on the bed.

"Pills?"

"Already got 'em."

Daniel grunted in reply then slid under the covers. He took a minute to plump and position the pillows just right for sitting up. He leaned back, legs straight out with the right ankle crossed over the left. His right thigh ached just enough to feel it. It itched too, as did the scratches on his face. Janet had reminded him that the feeling was part of the natural process of scabbing over and healing, but that didn't make it any easier not to scratch.

The pages of the Journal of Applied Linguistics slid through Daniel's fingers, but the words went unread. He had the urge to declare himself to Jack right now, right this minute, finally get it out in the open. But the setting was too intimate, too personal, with both of them in Jack's bed, nearly naked, and nearly touching.

To declare himself under these circumstances, when he wasn't sure of his reception felt too much like forcing himself on the man. If Daniel's love was unrequited, Jack might feel uncomfortable with Daniel already in the bed, even though Daniel had proven time and again that he could share Jack's bed on a platonic level. The last thing Daniel wanted to do was to make Jack choose between accepting the bed-company he needed right now and sleeping alone to gently show Daniel that he wasn't wanted.

Daniel cursed himself for not taking the initiative earlier when they were in the den. Tomorrow was Thursday. Surely he could contain himself until the weekend, especially since he would be at the SGC during the day while Jack rested at home. Maybe Friday evening, if the timing seemed right, but absolutely no later than Saturday, Daniel would finally speak up. Decision made, Daniel closed the journal and tossed it only the nightstand next to him.

He turned to say good night to Jack, but smiled instead. Jack was already asleep, mouth open, magazine flapped open over his chest. Careful not to disturb him, Daniel put the magazine on the nightstand on Jack's side of the bed and shut off that lamp, then shut off the lamp next to himself. He was still smiling as he slid all the way down, head on one pillow, arms around the other, and went to sleep.

Daniel didn't cover his mouth when he yawned, preferring to leave both hands on the steering wheel. Jack had woken him with nightmares twice the first night and once last night. At least it was Friday night and he was planning to sleep in tomorrow morning. In the meantime, his mouth was watering from the smell of the takeout from Jasmine Gardens. Normally, Jack ate Chinese food with chop sticks, but he would have to make do with a fork this time around. At least he wouldn't need a knife and everything should be easy to fork up.

So far, the twice-daily cast inspections hadn't shown any signs of the softness that Janet had warned about. Even though the cast would be in place for a long while, at least the bite wound to the leg was healing quickly. Jack was able to put much more weight on it and his walking had improved quite a bit.

Daniel pulled into the driveway, gathered his briefcase and the bag of takeout and headed up the walk. The door opened as he came up the steps. Jack held his hand out and Daniel automatically gave him the takeout. Daniel put his briefcase in the spare room then joined Jack in the den. The tray tables were already up and set with plates, utensils and napkins. Instead of water, Jack had made iced tea.

Over dinner, they watched the news and Daniel filled Jack in on the latest from the SGC - both the essential work-related items and the latest gossip. After dinner, they shared they clean up duties, refilled their glasses of tea and settled back in the den. Tonight was horror movie night and again it was a film that both had seen many times.

They spent a few minutes amiably bickering over whether something filmed in 1981 could possibly qualify as a classic yet, whether the comedic bits detracted from or enhanced the horror elements, and whether the two main characters brought their fate on themselves by ignoring the cryptic warnings from the locals.

"If the people in the pub really wanted to warn them," insisted Daniel, "they should have stated so in a clear and concise manner. Giving them a garbled, incomprehensible warning was totally useless. It's almost as bad as giving them none at all."

"Not everyone gets a warning. Take us for instance. No kindly, gibberish-spouting villagers warned us about the wolves." Jack grinned. "Who knows what will happen to those of us who have been bitten?"

Daniel chuckled. "Thought you didn't believe in myths, lies, and fairy tales?"

"Just wait until the next full moon when I get hairy and start howling." Jack wiggled his eyebrows comically.
"You're already hairy."

"Pfft! compared to you, who isn't?" Jack sipped his tea, then waved the glass for emphasis. "Besides, you wax. That's cheating."

"You noticed?" Daniel felt his neck and face flush and hoped it wasn't visible. Their conversations often took sharp right turns or bolted off on unpredictable tangents, but this was more unexpected than usual.

"Oh come on. When you first came here, you were as fuzzy as the next guy - me."

Daniel was too flummoxed to reply, but since Jack kept going, it didn't matter.

"You had hair on the backs of your hands not just on your arms and you had the uni-brow starter kit going on over your nose. Then one day you show up all pink and shiny all over and think I'm not going to notice?"

"Not-not-not all over," stammered Daniel. He couldn't believe he was discussing his personal - VERY personal - grooming habits with Jack. "Besides, just because I choose not to go the natural route with the hairy look like you is no reason to - Hey! Uni-brow starter kit?" Daniel took umbrage with that phrase.

"I'm just saying." Jack shrugged, raising his hands palm up. "There's nothing wrong with being a little hairy like me, is there? It's not like I've got a man-sweater going on, here."

Daniel's eyebrows hiked up as he repeated, "Man sweater?"

"Yeah, you know - those guys who are so hairy they look like bears that wear clothes."

Daniel instantly thought of the joint mission they had once done with SG-3. That had been a long dusty four days and both teams headed straight for the showers when it was over. Daniel wasn't in the habit of checking out the other guys, but there was no way to miss Ed Spaulding in nothing but a towel. Even the Sergeant's bar of soap had needed a shave. Daniel shuddered.

"Sergeant Spaulding."

"Exactly!" Jack glanced over Daniel. "Maybe you should give him the name of your waxer."

"Aesthetician" Daniel replied absently. Of all the off-beat unusual conversations he had ever had with Jack, this was by far the most surreal. "Did Janet sneak over and give you some morphine during the day?" he asked jokingly.

"Nope. Apparently massive doses of ibuprofen and Tylenol are just the thing for bone pain." A one-shouldered shrug and a tilt of the head underscored the didn't you know? attitude.

"You're something else, Jack." Shaking his head, Daniel laughed softly. "Talking to you is always an adventure."

Since they were already on a personal subject, perhaps it was a good time to go that little bit further. Daniel took a minute to marshal his thoughts, laying them out point by point as if in a debate. Evidently he took too long, as Jack spoke before he was ready.

"Do you really think I'm too hairy?" Jack frowned down at his hand, which was picking at the fabric of the recliner. He sounded uncertain as he asked, "I mean, excessively?"

Daniel's mind raced. Jack had seemed pensive since he had been released from the infirmary. Daniel had caught Jack casting glances his way when he thought Daniel wasn't looking. And now, he had brought up an intimate subject and was specifically asking Daniel for a personal opinion of Jack's physical form. Could it be that Jack had been having the same internal debate that Daniel had? Desperately hoping he wasn't adding two plus two and getting five, Daniel flung caution to the wind and answered candidly.

"I, um, I think you've got just the right amount of hair." Daniel's heart was beating a mile a minute. He could feel it pounding in his chest. The flush on his neck and face strengthened and he knew he was blushing, but he couldn't help it. He took a deep breath and said, "I think it looks sexy."

Jack froze for a moment, brought to utter stillness by Daniel's words. His eyes darted up to Daniel's then glanced away, as his tongue flicked out to moisten his lips. Clearing his throat, he said, "You mean it's sexy in general? Or you think I'm sexy specifically?"

In the fraction of a second that Jack's eyes had met his, Daniel had seen the hope in them. Combined with the vein at the base of Jack's neck visibly pulsing to the beat of his racing heart, and Daniel suddenly found solid footing because he knew, knew, that Jack was on the same page as he was. Jack was trying to have the same conversation that Daniel wanted. Daniel's heart slowed as confidence overtook him. He knew with absolute conviction that Jack returned the feelings.

"You." Smiling encouragingly, Daniel slid down the sofa so that he was sitting at the end by the recliner, as close to Jack as he could get. "You look sexy like that."

"You talking in the abstract or-"

Daniel reached over, placed his hand on top of Jack's. "Mostly I'm talking 'or'. As in, I think you, Jack O'Neill, are sexy and I would love to run my hands over your just-the-right-amount-of-hairy chest."

Jack let out a long breath as though he'd been holding it for ages. He flipped the hand under Daniel's palm up and intertwined their fingers, smiling down at the sight. He looked up then, and the joy in his eyes took Daniel's breath away.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to say something, but I was so unsure." There was the faintest of tremors to Jack's voice.

"Same here, Jack."

"So many times I wanted to tell you, but I never knew how you felt. And you're such chick magnet, I figured there was no way you could be interested in guys, too."

"I've always been bi, it's just the last few years that I haven't - Wait. Chick magnet? What?"

"Everywhere we go, all you have to do is bat your eyelashes and hordes of women come out of the woodwork to fling themselves at you while you soak up the attention."

"What?" What twisted version of reality was Jack living in? "First of all I do not bat my eyelashes and what do you by hordes? Name just one woman who you think was flaunting herself at me."

"Tuplo's daughter Melosha; the washer woman on P93-T87; all fifteen daughters of the warlord on the planet with the pink birds; Kira the forgetful destroyer of worlds and I'm pretty sure her fifty year old counterpart Linnea had the hots for you, too; the wife of the chieftain on P48-HG2; Shyla the spoiled-rotten princess; that Queen on - "

"Okay, that's enough." Daniel jerked his hand from Jack's grasp.

"They're not all human either." Jack was ticked and on a roll. "Reese the android. Freya the Tok'ra had the hots for you."

"You make me sound like some kind of lothario, screwing my way throughoutt the galaxy when nothing could be farther from the truth." Daniel's heart rate was going up again, but this time it was anger, not nerves. What the hell was Jack thinking? Why was he bringing this up? "And what you, Jack. You talk about Freya, but the host, Anise had the hots for you not me. And what about Kynthia? And Laira?"

"Hey! I turned down Anise, I was drugged for Kynthia, and I thought I would never see you again with Laira." Jack's face was tight, his finger stabbing at Daniel with every name. " I mean- home. I thought I would never see home again."

"No, you said me. You'd never see me again." Daniel blinked rapidly as he processed that. "Not seeing me again was worse than never coming home?"

Sighing, Jack slumped back into the recliner.

"Jack? You put me over home in order of importance?" Daniel couldn't conceive of any list that had him first. If that was true, it would be absolutely astounding.

Jack nodded once, a short, sharp dip of his chin. He refused to look at Daniel.

Daniel spoke slowly, trying to understand the concept at the same time that he outlined it. "So, if I'm that important to you, more important to a stranded man than coming home, then that means that when you saw what you took to be flirting on my part, you felt...upset?"

"Upset at you for flirting and at them for making you flirt." Jack's voice was just above a whisper. "I hated it. I hated that they could flirt with you openly like that when I couldn't. I was afraid that one day, you'd leave me, leave the SGC and go off with one of your women."

"They're not my women, Jack."

"I know that," snapped Jack. "Kinda. Yet at the same time, they had more right to you than I did. I wanted to tell them to back off. Tell them you belonged with me. But I couldn't because you don't and I was afraid you never would."

Daniel laughed at the absurdity of it all.

Jack gave Daniel a hurt look from under lowered brows. "Thanks, Daniel," he said sarcastically. "I open up to you, and you laugh at me?"

Stifling the laughter, Daniel shook his head. "I'm sorry, Jack it's just..." While searching for the right words, Daniel took Jack's hand in his, holding tighter when Jack tried to pull away. The angle was awkward, so Daniel stood in order to put his other hand on Jack's face. "For years now, I've belonged to you more than I've belonged to anyone else ever in my life."

Leaning over the recliner, he kissed Jack. It was a brief press of closed lips, but it sent an electric charge though Daniel. Jack's hand clenched on his, and Jack made a noise in his throat. Daniel kissed Jack on the forehead then pulled away to kneel beside the chair. He pressed their clasped hands to his chest.

"I love you, Jack." He kissed the back of Jack's hand.

The fingers protruding from the cast twitched and Jack flinched. "Give me my hand back."

Daniel hoped that didn't mean that Jack was rejecting him, wanting his hand free so that he could leave the room. Leave Daniel physically as well as metaphorically. Doing as he was asked, Daniel let go, but couldn't help asking, "Why?"
Jack smiled. "So that I can do this."

Jack gripped the back of Daniel's neck, then slid his hand up through Daniel's hair, simultaneously ruffling and caressing.

"I wish I had two good hands," Jack murmured, "to hold you with."

Relief washed through Daniel and he knelt up to wrap his arms around Jack as best he could. They kissed again, small sweet kisses with just a hint of tongue. The arm of the chair was digging into Daniel's sternum and his knees hurt from kneeling on the carpet, so he broke off sooner than he would have liked.

Jack cupped Daniel's cheek in his palm. "By the way, I love you too."

At the words, Daniel felt warmth radiate through him as though the sun was rising inside of him. He knew he was grinning like an idiot but he couldn't help himself.

"Ummm...I..." Jack hesitated, licked his lips then started again. "I'm not sure how, ah, physical I'll be able to get considering..." He waved the arm with the cast then used it to point to his injured leg.

"That's okay, Jack. We'll just take things slowly and see how it goes. Besides we need to talk."

"I thought we just did."

"Yes, but we barely scratched the surface. I want to clear the air completely. Make sure we start from as solid a base as we can with no misunderstandings or leftover hurt feelings to trip us up farther down the road."

Jack groaned then made some fairly authentic gagging noises.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Hey, it's not my cup of tea, either, but if I can do it, so can you. Besides, we might as well do this right or not at all. Agreed?"

Jack sighed. "Agreed." He put his hand out and they shook on it. "But for now let's take a break. How about some ginger ice cream?"

"Sounds good. You stay put and I'll go get it."

There was a spring in Daniel's step as he went to the kitchen. The next few days would be interesting to say the least as old grievances were aired on both sides, and issues were brought to light and discussed, but for Daniel it would be worth it. Jack was it for him. The only future Daniel wanted was one with Jack in it, as they grew old together and lived as close to happily ever after as anyone ever could.

Finis.

Author's Note: I really appreciate feedback. Also, check out my J/D friendship fic under Catsmeow at The Alphagate http://www.thealphagate.com/viewuser.php?uid=381