The Three Wise Monkeys?

by Sistine

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/ass/sistine/monkeys.php
Summary: Can three members of SG-1 pass the test to save their friend?

Three-quarters of SG-1 knelt in the dirt, their hands bound behind their backs. A dozen men, dressed in differing styles of white robes, surrounded them. Jack surveyed the situation then commented, "I wonder where Teal'c is."

"From what I could work out, this world used to be dominated by the Goa'uld Morrigan," Daniel said quietly from Jack's left. "But the inhabitants overthrew her about a century ago."

"So they wouldn't like a Jaffa visiting their planet," Sam contributed from the other side of Daniel. "They've taken Teal'c because they think he's looking for hosts."

"Probably. I didn't get a chance to read everything." They had been exploring the temple when they had unexpectedly been zatted. When they had woken up in the wooden hut, they had been tied up and Teal'c was missing. Then they had been brought out to kneel in the middle of a stone circle to wait for the leader to show up and tell them what was going on. "Sorry, Jack."

"Not your fault," Jack shrugged it off. It had just been one of those things. "We were due to be captured by the locals anyway."

"From what I can make out," Daniel stated, "the inhabitants of this world are descended from the Celts. Their language has developed differently to what it did on Earth, so I can't be sure of some words."

"What's with the robes?" Jack asked, looking sideways at Daniel for a reply.

Daniel observed the silent men in white. "They're similar to the druids of Ancient Ireland."

"Ancient tree-huggers," Jack muttered, eyeing the men suspiciously.

"Violent?" Sam queried.

"Not generally."

"So what do they do with the Jaffa?" Jack wanted to know. After all, Teal'c was his responsibility.

Daniel didn't have a chance to answer that because there was a disturbance at the edge of the circle. Two of the men moved aside to let another step forward. The newcomer stopped in front of the trio of prisoners and asked a question.

"He wants to know what we're doing here," Daniel translated quietly. He then replied to the man as best he could. The man, whom Daniel identified as the High Priest, then jabbered something else while pointing to his forehead.

"What'd he say?" Jack questioned.

"He knows Teal'c is a Jaffa, and he doesn't believe that Teal'c is not a threat." That wasn't entirely a surprise - they had encountered that attitude on many former Goa'uld worlds. Daniel listened to the priest again. "However, he's going to give us a chance to prove what we say."

"What kind of chance?" Jack was suspicious; statements like that always boded ill for his team, especially Daniel.

"I don't know yet," Daniel stated, wishing that he had more information for Jack. It was his fault entirely that this had happened, despite what Jack said; if he hadn't wanted to explore the temple, then the locals might not have incapacitated them.

The High Priest motioned three men to come forward. Each man held a bowl - one blue, one red, one yellow. The priest spoke to Daniel again, this time at some length.

"We have to drink what is in these bowls. Once we have done that, we will have two days to rescue Teal'c. He's being held in a cave in that mountain over there." Daniel indicated the direction with his head. "If we can do that, we'll all go free." He didn't think he really needed to mention the consequences of failure.

Sam looked at the mountain, which wasn't more than fifteen miles away. "That's it? It's that easy?"

"Nothing is ever that easy," Jack said pessimistically. Then he grinned tightly at the man who had just stepped in front of him. "Hi. How're ya doing'?"

The High Priest motioned to someone behind the prisoners and soon SG-1 had their hands free. Deciding that they were at a disadvantage at this time, Jack took the blue bowl from the man in front of him. "What is this stuff?" He screwed up his nose at the smell.

"Just drink it, Jack," Daniel suggested, keeping a wary eye on the priest. He had a bad feeling about this. He accepted the red bowl but waited for Jack to make the first move. Beside him, Sam took the yellow bowl, holding it at arm's length because of the smell.

Cautiously, Jack took a mouthful of the foul-smelling liquid. It burnt all the way down his throat and tasted vile. He fought the impulse to throw up, and took another mouthful at the priest's urging. He placed the bowl on the ground and then closed his eyes, becoming dizzy; he couldn't drink any more and his eyes were watering.

Daniel drank from his bowl after Jack did, dreading what it was going to do to him. The liquid was hot and it irritated his throat, causing him to cough. A second mouthful only increased the coughing, and he had to put the bowl down before he spilt the remaining liquid.

Sam didn't like the whole situation but like her team-mates, she took a couple of mouthfuls of liquid from the yellow bowl. A rushing sound filled her ears and, after putting the bowl down, she placed her hands over them as they began to hurt.

When Jack opened his eyes, everything was black. He couldn't see a thing. He closed them and then opened them again but things still remained dark. What was going on? "Daniel? Carter?" he called to his companions.

Daniel opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out. He tried again but with no success. He couldn't speak! Panicking slightly, he turned to Jack to show him, but when he saw the blank stare, he realised that Jack was blind. Grabbing Jack's hand, he held it up to his lips to indicate that he couldn't reply.

"I really hope that's you, Daniel," Jack commented when he felt his hand being pressed against a pair of lips. "Daniel?" he asked again when there was no answer.

The linguist nodded and squeezed Jack's hand in confirmation. He then put Jack's hand on his throat and silently said, "I can't talk."

Putting the clues together, Jack stared at where he thought Daniel was and said, "You can't talk?" The hand was lifted and he felt the younger man nod his head. Oh God, Daniel couldn't speak! He sincerely hoped that the effects weren't permanent; the thought of never hearing Daniel's voice again was frightening. Then he realised that he hadn't heard anything from his 2IC. "Carter?"

Daniel looked at Sam, who was gazing around, her face scrunched up in concentration. He waved a hand at her to try and get her attention. When she looked at him, he pointed to his mouth, then at Jack and then to his eyes. Then he pointed at her.

Sam frowned for a few seconds while she tried to work out what Daniel was trying to tell her. When Daniel pointed to his mouth again, she realised that he couldn't talk. That meant, if she followed Daniel's signals correctly, that the colonel was blind. And she was deaf. The old parable about the three wise monkeys came to mind: hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Perhaps, because the locals thought that Teal'c was evil, that was why they had taken away those senses from them. Sam motioned to her ears and Daniel nodded his understanding. For the colonel's benefit, she said in what she hoped was a reasonably normal voice, "I can't hear anything, sir."

Jack nodded, wincing; that had been a little too loud for his ears. So the locals had decided to test them out by giving them disabilities; he just knew that rescuing Teal'c had been too easy. This was not going to be fun. He was feeling quite disorientated, being unable to see anything, but he was anchored by the fact that Daniel still had hold of his hand. "Is everyone still watching us?"

Daniel gestured to the white-clad men so that Sam would know what Jack was asking.

"No-one has left yet, sir," Sam vocalised the answer. She hated not being able to hear anything and she imagined the two men were feeling the same about their inflicted disabilities. She moved closer to Daniel and held his free hand with one of hers, receiving a small smile in return. They could get through this.

The High Priest approached them again, a satisfied look on his face. He observed each one of them in turn, noting the joined hands. Then he repeated his instructions, and ordered his men to take them to the right path.

Jack was immediately anxious when he was hauled to his feet, the movement separating him from the linguist. "Daniel!"

"We're still here," Sam said when she saw the colonel look around blindly. "I think we're being taken somewhere." She was forced to let go of Daniel as they were escorted roughly out of the stone circle and through the camp.

After a few minutes of walking, SG-1 was left alone in the forest. Daniel immediately went over to Jack and placed a hand on his arm, wincing when Jack jumped. He knew it would be difficult for Jack to be in the dark, not knowing who was nearby. Daniel decided that he might not be able to use words to provide reassurance but he could use touch. He felt Jack's hand over his and knew that the touch was welcome.

"Daniel, what did the leader say?" Sam asked in a loud voice. She noticed the interaction between the two men and felt a little bit left out; she needed some reassurance too. She moved closer as Daniel crouched down without letting go of O'Neill. "Same as before?" she read out loud as Daniel wrote in the dirt. When he nodded, Sam told the colonel, "Just the same as before, sir."

"I heard," Jack said, even though he knew Carter couldn't hear him. They'd had worse missions than this. "It'll be a piece of cake."

Daniel smiled. When Sam looked quizzically at him, he gave a thumbs-up, making her smile as well. It was good to see that Jack was still going to be his usual positive self. Daniel tapped his watch then made a walking motion with his fingers.

"We should probably get going, cover as much ground as possible before dark," Jack stated, surprising the younger man. "Daniel, tell Carter to take point."

Daniel nodded - although there was no need - then stood up and faced Sam. He pointed to her then made the hand signal for her to go first.

"Okay." She could see the logic in that - she could see the dangers and vocalise them whereas the men couldn't. Taking a deep breath, she headed down the overgrown path.

Daniel decided that the best way to guide Jack was to put one arm across his back while maintaining a hold on his arm as well. As soon as he did that, Jack protested.

"I'm fine, Daniel. I don't need that much help." A smack to the back of his head told him what Daniel thought about that. "Hey!" If he was truthful with himself though, he didn't mind the linguist helping him because it meant that they were close together. It was going to be when Daniel let go that Jack was going to worry.

The linguist just smiled at Jack's indignant look. He knew that the older man hated his current limitation and that some of his bravado was for show. Well, Jack was just going to have to put up with being helped.

The path that they were travelling on had many ups and downs, and the going was slow because of Jack. Sam had to clear away branches and scrub from the path, resulting in scratched hands. And because Daniel was focusing on where Jack was stepping, he wasn't watching where he was going and twisted his ankle badly after stepping in a hole. He limped along for a little while before Sam called a halt. She examined his ankle, retrieved the bandage from the pocket of her BDU's, and bandaged the ankle despite Daniel's silent protests. Then they all started trudging along again.

By the time night fell, they had covered most of the distance to the mountain. Sam called a halt in a little clearing; there wasn't any point in risking another injury by travelling in the dark.

Daniel slumped to the ground, his left ankle throbbing slightly. It had been difficult to walk on it but there had been no alternative. He tugged on Jack's arm, indicating that he should sit down.

Jack obeyed, sitting down so that he was right next to Daniel. "How far to the mountain?" he asked. He felt Daniel trace something onto the palm of his hand. "N-o-t-f-a-r. Not far?" Strong fingers squeezed his in confirmation. We must have made good time then, Jack thought. Tomorrow morning they would be able to get into the cave, grab Teal'c, and get back out quickly.

"Sir, we'll have about an hour's travel tomorrow before we reach the cave," Sam reported, guessing at what the colonel would want to know. "It's mainly uphill."

"Great," Jack muttered. He was going to be a liability for that part of the trip; in fact, his disability was a major problem overall. If Carter and Daniel didn't have to wait for him, they might have been at the cave already. He didn't realise that his thoughts were showing on his face until a hand hit the back of his head again. "Hey! Cut that out, Daniel!"

The linguist just grinned. He could have a lot of fun with a blind Jack. But he was definitely praying that the blindness was not going to be permanent; so much of their conversations were through facial expressions. And none of them - himself, Jack or Sam - would be able to work on SG-1, and Daniel imagined that Jack would probably end up retiring because there was little a blind colonel could do that Jack would consider useful. And a mute linguist - forget it! Not that it would matter if they failed because then they would all die... Daniel shivered at the thought.

Sam saw the shiver. "Daniel? You cold?" She received a nod in return, as well as a thumb and forefinger held a little apart, meaning he was only a little cold. "Colonel?"

Now that Jack thought about it, the temperature was dropping. He nodded. "We should get some rest," he said, accompanying his words with gestures so that Carter would understand. "I'll take first watch, then Daniel, then Carter."

Daniel shook his head. He covered Jack's eyes with one hand, causing the older man to flinch back.

"I think he's trying to tell you that's a bad idea," Sam stated, agreeing with the linguist. None of them could effectively take watch except maybe for Daniel, and there was no way that he could sit watch for the entire night. "You can't see the dangers and I can't hear them."

"Well, Daniel can't do it on his own," Jack said. He thought about doing it in pairs but that would still require Daniel to stay awake all night. "Anyone seen or heard any signs of animals?"

Daniel translated the question for Sam, then shook his head in answer.

"No, sir," Sam replied for both of them.

"We'll have to risk it then. We'll all sleep now and hope that there's nothing out there to get us. And since it's going to get cold, we're gonna have to all huddle together."

Daniel looked wide-eyed at him. How were the three of them going to work that?

"What did he say, Daniel?" Sam asked when she saw the expression.

Taking a few seconds to work out how he was going to sign it, Daniel did a looping gesture that included all three of them, then hugged himself, then indicated sleep.

Sam nodded her understanding and immediately tried to figure out the arrangement. Much as she might want to sleep next to the colonel, it wouldn't really be a good idea. So it would probably be best if Daniel went in the middle.

After the three of them had relieved themselves, Sam told Daniel to lie down facing the colonel. The linguist did so, helping Jack to lie down at the same time. He couldn't help a small smile from forming as he did so; here he was, on SGC time, about to sleep with Jack. Unfortunately, it was only to sleep but hey, he would take what he could get. Daniel felt Sam spoon in behind him and he turned his head to grin at her.

She grinned back, commenting, "Always wanted to do this," as she snuggled in closer.

If Daniel could have laughed, he would have. His relationship with Sam had always been a platonic one, so he knew she was only joking. His relationship with Jack, on the other hand... not so platonic anymore.

Jack, however, wasn't sure if Carter was joking or not, and he felt a stab of jealousy at the comment. Moving closer, he slid his hand up Daniel's side, patted his face, then moved it back to rest on his hip. He could feel Daniel's breath ghosting against his face, a comfort in his world of darkness. "Night, Daniel." His voice was full of love.

The younger man rested his hand on Jack's shoulder and squeezed it in response. He was used to sleeping in the same tent as Jack but they hadn't yet shared a bed. It was... disconcerting to be pressed full-length against Jack, especially with Sam behind him. He stayed awake for a long time, staring at Jack's face and wondering if the older man would ever see again. He was no closer to an answer when he drifted off to sleep.

When he was certain they were all asleep, a young man crept in close to study the trio. He had been detailed to track them through the forest and to gather information on them. So far he had observed that all three were very close but that there was a special bond between the two men. And the younger male was protected by his two companions. This was something that could be used against them if necessary. His job done, he turned and faded into the night.

~~~

Daniel awoke to a nice feeling of warmth. It took a couple of seconds for him to remember that he was sandwiched in between Jack and Sam. He opened his eyes to see Jack's face only two inches from his own; close enough to kiss. Daniel shook his head - he couldn't do that here. Gently, he shook Jack's shoulder to wake him up, wishing that he could say something as well. It was frustrating not to be able to talk.

"I'm awake," Jack grumbled as he was suddenly pulled from his sleep. He opened his eyes but saw nothing. That triggered the memory of yesterday's events to come flooding back. He was blind. Daniel was mute, Carter was deaf, and Teal'c was in big trouble unless they could rescue him soon. Jack moved his hand upward to rest on Daniel's cheek; he could feel the stubble beneath his fingertips. "Is it daylight?" He felt Daniel nod. "Is Carter awake?"

Daniel turned his head to check on Sam. She was just beginning to stir. He turned back to Jack and nodded.

"Good." Jack sat up and took one of Daniel's hands in his own. "Squeeze once if your ankle still hurts. Squeeze twice if it doesn't. And don't even think about lying, Daniel. I'll be able to tell if you're limping."

Wishing that Jack didn't know him so well, Daniel squeezed once. It was only a mild ache but he didn't know how to tell Jack that.

"Get Carter to look at it," Jack ordered, immediately concerned and jumping to the conclusion that it was hurting badly if Daniel was actually telling the truth. "But before you do that, point me in the direction of the nearest tree." Now that he was standing up, his full bladder was making itself known.

With a knowing smile, Daniel led Jack over to one of the trees just out of the clearing, then left him there. He went back to Sam, who had just woken up fully. Daniel gave her a little wave in greeting.

"Morning, Daniel," Sam said in a loud voice. She saw Daniel gesture that her voice had been too loud and she winced. "Sorry," she said in what she hoped was a softer voice. "Where's the colonel?"

Daniel pointed to the tree where he had left Jack.

"Right." Maybe she should find a tree too. She stood up and looked for one; she knew that Daniel would respect her privacy but she still wanted plenty of cover.

"Daniel!"

The linguist pointed again to the tree, indicating to Sam that he was going to go get Jack. He then went and led the older man back into the clearing and sat him down on the ground.

Jack patted Daniel's leg. "You know, you'd make a great seeing-eye dog." Then he instinctively ducked as Daniel swiped the back of his head. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the forest this morning."

There were several comments Daniel could have made if he had been able to speak. Instead, he had to settle for rolling his eyes. It seemed as if Jack was going to be his usual annoying self today.

It was with some relief that Daniel handed Jack over to Sam while he went back into the trees. Daniel knew he was going to bear the brunt of Jack's comments - being that Sam couldn't hear them - and with no way of retaliating, that was going to get extremely frustrating.

A glimpse of white off to the side caught the corner of his eye. He looked in that direction but saw nothing; however, he was immediately on alert. Quickly, he tidied himself up and headed back to the others.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked as soon as she saw his face.

Daniel didn't reply, instead just examined the ground around their little campsite. When he found footprints in the bushes near where they had been sleeping, he pointed them out to Sam.

By this time, Jack was getting worried. "Would someone please tell me what's going on?"

Despite not hearing the question, Sam stated, "There are footprints, sir. I think we might have been followed."

Of course they had been. The High Priest probably didn't want them to succeed so he had sent someone after them. The only flaw with that scenario was that SG-1 wasn't already dead. Maybe the priest wanted to get rid of them all in one go but Jack doubted it. Something didn't add up. In any case, they didn't have anything to defend themselves with. "Daniel, come here."

Curious, Daniel went over to Jack and was surprised when the older man put a hand on his face.

"Is there anything around here that we can use or make into a weapon?" He knew asking the non-military member of the team was probably a mistake but he didn't have too many other options.

Daniel looked around him and tried to think like a soldier would. But he couldn't work out how anything in the forest could be used as a weapon. And considering they didn't even have a knife or some kind of rope, they couldn't cut things or tie them together anyway. He shook his head, mouthing, "I'm sorry, Jack,' even thought the colonel couldn't hear him.

"That's okay, Daniel. It was a long shot anyway." Jack patted his cheek then put his hand on the linguist's arm. "Tell Carter to be on the lookout, and then let's get going."

The group had only taken a few steps when Jack stopped. The other two looked at him in concern.

"Daniel, you didn't get Carter to look at your ankle, did you?" Jack queried after feeling the linguist limp.

He knew he could mislead Jack but that wasn't in his nature. Sighing, Daniel sat down and unlaced his boot.

Sam immediately got the idea and examined his foot. "Still a little swollen but there's nothing else that can be done until we get back to Earth."

"That figures," Jack commented. "Okay, campers, let's keep going."

It took them ninety minutes to reach the foot of the mountain. The cave entrance was around forty feet from the ground, and the only way to reach it was to climb up the sheer rock-face where handholds were scarce. Sam explained the situation to the colonel and hoped that he would be able to come up with an idea.

"Daniel, ask Carter if she's any good at rock climbing." He knew Daniel was pretty good at it but he wanted someone who could talk to go up first and guide them.

Unfortunately, Daniel hadn't thought that part through and was hurt that Jack didn't trust him to go up first. Nonetheless, he asked Sam the question.

Sam looked up at where she would have to climb; it was a lot harder than the training wall at the Academy. Then she examined her hands, which were bloody from the cuts. She didn't like to risk it but she would have to.

Before she could say anything, Daniel pointed to the cave entrance. She followed his finger and saw the pile of rope that almost blended in with the rocks. "Sir, there's a rope up there. Whoever goes first can send it down for the other two."

Well, that would be helpful, Jack thought. "Alright, change of plan. Daniel, you go up first, then Carter. Then the two of you will have to pull me up." He briefly considered staying behind but he didn't like the idea of not knowing what was going on.

Daniel mimed the plan to Sam, who nodded, then he left Jack's side to investigate the rock-face. He would need to be very careful because a fall could easily kill him. After deciding on a path up, Daniel carefully started climbing.

Jack waited anxiously in darkness, straining to hear any sound of Daniel's ascent. There were the occasional boot-on-rock sounds but nothing that would have indicated that Daniel had lost his grip and fallen to his death. Jack didn't realise he was holding his breath until his lungs started to burn, and he let it all out in a big rush. Worrying about Daniel, even though the linguist was all grown-up, was second nature to Jack but this was different because he couldn't protect Daniel at the moment. In fact, he hadn't been doing much protecting on this mission; it had been Daniel who was protecting him for a change.

"He's up there, Colonel," Sam said, turning to face her CO and catching the unguarded look on his face. Pure relief washed over his face, and Sam realised that he must have been extremely concerned about whether Daniel would make it.

The rope was thrown down the cliff and Sam quickly made a large loop at one end. Then she got a good grip on the rope above the loop. Her hands were going to hurt like hell but she wasn't about to let the team down. "Sir, I'm ready to go."

Jack gave her a thumbs-up and listened as she moved up the cliff. He wasn't as worried for her as he had been for Daniel, which he put down to the fact that Carter had a rope to hold onto. He waited somewhat patiently for what seemed like hours until Carter yelled that she was at the top and that he could put the rope around his waist. Cautiously, he moved forward until he found the rock-face and then the rope. When he encountered the loop, he silently thanked Carter for doing that for him. He then slipped the loop over his head and down around his waist, then tightened it. "Okay, kids, I'm ready!" he called up to them. He would help them as much as he could by trying to find handholds but essentially he was going to be a dead- weight.

Up at the top, Daniel and Sam had positioned themselves far enough back so that they hopefully wouldn't be pulled over the edge. As soon as they had enough rope, they would brace themselves behind a boulder to assist with leverage.

It was hard going, and both of them were sweating profusely after a couple of minutes. The going was a little easier when they moved behind the boulder but it was still hard, especially as they were starting to feel the effects of no food or water for 24 hours. But they never gave up and eventually got the colonel high enough so that he could crawl over the edge and join them on the plateau.

"Never doing that again," Jack muttered as he lay on the hard rock. "Good job, kids." He felt someone catch his right hand and squeeze it, and figured it was Daniel. Jack held on for longer than was necessary then released the hand to sit up. He knew that Daniel - and Carter - would have very sore hands after that effort. "You two okay?"

Daniel patted Jack on the shoulder, letting him know they were good to continue. His hands were very sore from rope burn, and his ankle was throbbing again but he could cope with that. Sam's hands were even worse than his but like him, she would soldier on.

"Right then. Let's see if we can find Teal'c then," Jack suggested.

Sam took point while Daniel assisted Jack. It quickly became dark in the cave and visibility was reduced to almost zero. Sam reached behind her and caught Daniel's hand so that they didn't get separated in the darkness. Fortunately, the path had been worn down through years of use and there was very little to trip over.

After a while, they entered a big cavern. Torches of flame were attached to the walls and provided illumination for the travellers. Sam retrieved one of the torches and, seeing nothing else in the cavern, continued on to the next tunnel. The two men followed her.

It was eerily silent in the tunnel, SG-1's footsteps the only sound. Everything else seemed unnaturally still. The flame from the torch flickered over the walls, casting shadows all around them.

The tunnel opened up into another cavern, except this time there was a large pit in the floor. And in the middle of the pit was Teal'c.

The Jaffa looked up at his three friends, having never doubted that they would come for him. "O'Neill!"

"Teal'c! Is that you?" Jack called back, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from.

"It is I, O'Neill!" He noted that the warrior was looking around blindly, and that neither DanielJackson or MajorCarter had spoken. Had his team-mates been injured in some way?

"Thank God," Jack muttered. "Listen, Teal'c, we've got a slight problem here. I can't see, Danny can't speak, and Carter can't hear."

"Sir!" Carter cut off his explanation, unaware that the colonel was speaking. "The pit has smooth edges, and is at least twenty feet deep. That's why Teal'c hasn't been able to climb out."

A pit - okay, that explained a couple of things. "No way up, huh? Teal'c, what have you tried?"

"I have tried climbing but can gain no purchase on these walls," Teal'c informed him.

Sam's head moved back and forth between the two men, hating that she couldn't hear what was going on. She felt like stamping her foot in frustration but refrained from the childish act. Instead, she turned her mind to solving the problem of getting Teal'c out.

Daniel, however, beat her to it. He got Jack's attention and then traced `rope' on the back of the older man's hand.

"The rope from the entrance," Jack said as he saw the plan. "Good thinking, Daniel. Is there somewhere to tie it?" He felt `yes' being traced onto his hand. "Okay then. Take Carter, go back, and get it. Teal'c and I will wait here."

Daniel guided Jack to a comfortable boulder and helped him sit down. Then he went over to Sam, traced the word `rope' onto her hand, hoping that she would recognise the plan.

Sam nodded her understanding. "Sir, Daniel and I will go back to get the rope." She didn't realise that the colonel had already given that order.

Together, she and Daniel retraced their steps to the entrance, retrieved the rope, and then took it back to the cavern. When they got back, they found Jack being held prisoner at spear-point; two men held their spears either side of his neck, the points digging into his skin.

One of the natives spotted Sam and started jabbering to his friends. Straight away, Daniel, who had the rope and had been hidden behind Sam, faded back into the tunnel. If his luck held, the natives wouldn't have spotted him, thereby giving him a tactical advantage.

Sam, however, was caught out in the open. She raised her hands and didn't protest when she was grabbed by two men and dragged over to where the colonel was.

Daniel found a little niche to hide in and he sat down, trying to formulate a plan. He was well aware that he was the least likely member of SG-1 to be able to pull off a rescue but he owed it to the others to try. The only problem was, he didn't know how he was going to do it.

Wait - there had to be another entrance to the cavern because he hadn't seen any of the locals on their travels through the cave. The only question was, where was it - and how could he use that to his advantage?

Raised voices echoed down the passageway and he realised the locals were looking for him. Quietly, he got up and started looking for the other passageway.

Back in the cavern, Jack was getting worried. He had no idea what was going on except from what Teal'c had told him before Carter had arrived back. He had heard Carter's voice but he still didn't know where Daniel was.

Donegal, the leader of the group, gave an order for two of his men to find the young man who had escaped. Then he observed the worry on the blind warrior's face and deduced that he was worried about the others in his group. Not being able to see was a big disadvantage but being able to see was sometimes a lot worse. He snapped out an order to his men to bring the antidote for the man's blindness; Donegal wanted the man to see the young man and the woman sacrificed in the name of the goddess Morrigan.

Although Morrigan had long since left the planet, there were still those who worshipped her and believed that one day she would return. Donegal was the High Priest of the cult. And although he knew one of the strangers was a Jaffa, he knew that the emblem was not that of his goddess, therefore they had to be enemies. The druids had actually done him a favour by capturing the strangers and then robbing them of certain abilities; it had made their subsequent capture so much easier.

Donegal took the bowl with the antidote in it and went over to the leader. He forced the jaw open and poured some of the liquid down his throat.

Jack coughed and spluttered as someone tried to make him drink something. A hand was clamped over his mouth and he was forced to swallow the vile liquid. His eyes immediately started burning and he closed them tightly.

"What are you doing to him?" Sam demanded to know, struggling against her captors. They could be poisoning him and she was helpless to stop it.

Teal'c was feeling much the same way as he was still stuck in the pit. He could only hope that DanielJackson would somehow find a way to free them. But at the moment, he couldn't see how.

When the stinging finally stopped, Jack cautiously opened his eyes. Everything was blurry but he could definitely see again. The scene didn't please him though - two men held Carter in place, and Teal'c was just visible in the pit. On either side of him were men holding spears, and Daniel was nowhere in sight. We've been in worse situations than this, Jack told himself; we'll be fine.

A man whose bearing proclaimed him to be the Grand High Pooh-Bah stepped in front of him and jabbered something Jack didn't have a hope of understanding. "Sorry, haven't a clue what you're talking about," he replied.

The man said something else. "Nope, still don't know." What he wouldn't give for Daniel to be translating right now. Except it was good that the linguist wasn't here because then he wouldn't suffer at the hands of these... whatever they were.

Donegal was puzzled. Why wasn't this man worried about the fate of his companions? Then it occurred to him that maybe he couldn't understand their language. Wasting no more time in futile communication, Donegal directed his men to prepare the woman for sacrifice.

Sam struggled as she was forced over to the largest boulder and pinned to it. Her upper body was arched backwards over the rock, leaving her extremely vulnerable.

"No!" Jack went to move forward but was held back, the grip of the men bruising. His eyesight had improved greatly now and he didn't like what he could see.

Daniel watched the scene unfold from his place at the tunnel entrance. When he was certain that all eyes were on Sam, he crept forward, tied one end of the rope around the base of a stalagmite, and then dropped the rope into the pit. Leaning over the edge so that Teal'c could see him, Daniel gestured over his shoulder to the tunnel. He then went back into the tunnel to get the torches he had extinguished - the wood could be used as a weapon. He held the single burning torch low to the ground in the hopes that it couldn't be seen. He watched everything anxiously, his eyes flickering between the priest advancing on Sam and the edge of the pit. He would have to throw the torch as a diversion if the priest got too close or someone spotted Teal'c, and he didn't want to miss his chance.

When the priest came to a stop in front of Sam and drew his knife, Daniel threw a desperate glance in Teal'c's direction -- no sign of him yet. Knowing he would have to risk it, Daniel stepped into the cavern, threw the torch at the locals, and then took off through the tunnel.

"After him!" Donegal ordered, intrigued more than frustrated at the turn of events. The four men who weren't currently holding onto anyone left to chase the young man down.

Daniel went as fast as he dared through the dark tunnel. He kept his hands out in front of him so that he didn't bump into anything, and hoped that he could avoid being captured until Teal'c was free. He entered the cavern of the torches and turned to go into the other tunnel. As he did so, he ran into the two men who had just exited from that tunnel. Two pairs of hands immediately grabbed his arms and he was led back to the others.

Although he hadn't appeared to look away from the strangers, Donegal was no fool. He had seen the rope leading into the pit and knew that the Jaffa would be climbing up it. However, Donegal had the upper hand because soon he would have the other three and they could quickly be killed if the Jaffa tried anything. Besides, he didn't have the manpower to stop the Jaffa until the others came back.

The young man was dragged back into the cavern and brought to kneel in front of Donegal. The priest looked him up and down appraisingly; the young man was quite attractive, just as Ciaran had reported. "Can you understand me?" he asked. He received a nod in return. So this one knows our language, Donegal thought. That would make it interesting. "You have trespassed on our land with a Jaffa. In the name of the goddess Morrigan, you will be sacrificed."

The name of the Goa'uld surprised Daniel. SG-1 had never before encountered that Goa'uld, nor had they come across a world where there appeared to be two religions. He wanted to ask more about that but he couldn't. He also wanted to protest against being sacrificed but his muteness prevented him from doing so.

"You will be first." Donegal indicated that the men move the woman away from the stone, then watched with satisfaction as the young man was draped over the rock.

"Daniel!" Jack called out, not needing to understand the language to figure out what was going on. He managed to take a few steps forward before his captors halted his progress. "You can't do this!" Jack yelled at the priest. He then fixed his gaze on the linguist and prayed for a miracle.

That was the signal Teal'c had been waiting for. He climbed over the edge, rolled the short distance to the tunnel where he found the wooden staffs, and then quietly advanced on the group.

Unfortunately, Donegal caught the movement. "Kill him," he ordered, and the two remaining men rushed to obey.

The scene dissolved into chaos. Jack immediately kicked out at one of his captors, then elbowed the other one. He grabbed one of the fallen spears so that he had something to fight with. Nearby, Carter had dispatched one of her captors and was struggling with the other one. Jack went to help her but was grabbed from behind.

Teal'c warily watched his two opponents and assessed them with a practiced eye. Then, with moves that would make Master Bra'tac proud, he dispatched them with a minimum amount of effort. As he turned to help O'Neill, two more men confronted him.

Donegal had the men release Daniel so that they could join the fighting, and then he took the young man in a stranglehold. He backed away from the fight and headed into the nearest tunnel. He kept a reasonably tight hold so that his prisoner would have to concentrate on breathing rather than escaping. When they reached the other cavern, he went over to the torch in the middle of the east wall and pulled on it. The stone beside it slid back to reveal a hidden passageway.

Back in the other cavern, Sam knocked her opponent unconscious; Jack flung his head backwards to break one man's nose; and Teal'c flattened the remaining two. Jack quickly surveyed the eight men on the ground and looked around for the Grand High Pooh-Bah. His heart seized when he realised the priest had gone and had taken Daniel with him. "Teal'c, go that way," he pointed to the other tunnel. "Carter, you're with me."

"Sir, where's Daniel?" Sam asked, not having heard the order.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud." Jack grabbed hold of Carter's wrist and pulled her into the tunnel - there wasn't any time for an explanation.

The three of them met up again in the cavern of torches. "Any sign of them?" Jack asked Teal'c.

"None." Teal'c had stopped to retrieve the torch Daniel had thrown so he'd had reasonable visibility.

"Okay, let's check that way," Jack said, pointing to another tunnel.

Sam shook her head when she saw the colonel pointing. "That's the entrance way, sir. Without the rope, they wouldn't be able to get down."

Jack stared at the dirt on the floor, thinking hard about where the priest might have gone. His eyes absently trailed some footprints that went on an erratic course up to the wall and then stopped. Then his brain caught up with what he was seeing. The footprints stopped right at the wall. That just wasn't normal. There had to be a passageway built into the wall. He reached up and pulled on the nearest torch; it came off in his hands.

"O'Neill, what are you doing?" Teal'c wanted to know.

"Hidden passage."

Teal'c immediately understood. He began pulling on the torches to the right of the footprints. His first pull struck paydirt. The stone moved back, allowing SG-1 to look into its dark depths.

"Take point," Jack ordered Teal'c. Then he fell into line behind him, Carter firmly in tow.

The light from Teal'c's torch made travel through the tunnel much quicker than without. They exited the mountain at a different point to where they had entered, and they looked at the surrounding forest. Which way had the priest gone?

Teal'c put his tracking skills to good use and found signs that the other two would have missed. He followed the trail into the forest and discovered a well-hidden path. "This way," he called to the others.

Thanks to Daniel's struggles, he and the priest didn't have too much of a lead. Daniel wished he could call out to his friends but since that was out of the question, he settled for struggling as much as possible, hoping that he was leaving a trail that Teal'c could follow. Because of that, he also aggravated his twisted ankle, causing him to either limp or hop, depending on how fast the priest was walking.

"Stop it!" Donegal hissed, trying to keep to the path. He had not expected the young man to put up such a struggle.

Daniel shot him a defiant look.

Donegal quickly assessed where he was. They weren't too far from the old riverbed. Quickening his pace, he dragged his prisoner over to it and then pushed him over the side.

Daniel hadn't seen that coming so he was caught completely by surprise. He tumbled down the slope, collecting a lot of scratches and bruises along the way, before coming to a halt at the bottom. He lay there for a few seconds, stunned, then got up. Limping over to the slope, he started looking for the best way up.

SG-1 stormed through the trees, Teal'c easily following the trail Daniel had left. It took only a couple of minutes for them to come across the riverbed. Jack peered over the edge and saw Daniel trying to climb back up. "Daniel!"

The linguist looked up. Jack was staring at him as though he could see him. He waved in reply and saw Jack grin. When did Jack get his eyesight back, Daniel wondered, having not paid attention back in the cavern.

Sliding carefully down the slope, Jack joined Daniel in the riverbed. He noticed the linguist was favouring his left foot so he asked, "How's the ankle?"

Daniel grimaced. It was currently throbbing like mad.

"Not fine, huh?" Jack knew there had to be an upside to Daniel's muteness, even if it was only that the linguist couldn't lie about his injuries. He put his right arm around Daniel's waist to help the young man balance himself, then looked up at the slope. "Danny, do you reckon you can make it up there?"

Daniel nodded. He wasn't entirely confident about it but he didn't really have a choice.

"Okay. I'll be right behind you." The last thing they needed was for the linguist to fall down again.

Reaching up, Daniel got a good grip on a tree root, then sought for a foothold for his left foot. He gritted his teeth as his ankle protested but he kept going, determined to make it to the top. As soon as he got close enough, Teal'c reached down and helped pull him the rest of the way.

"You look terrible," Sam stated as she helped him to stand.

Daniel looked down at his clothes, which were dirty and torn. He shrugged, shooting Sam a wry grin.

Once Jack climbed to the top, the four set out again. They went back to the mountain, found their original path, and started back towards the stone circle. Although a blind Jack didn't slow them down, Daniel's injury meant that they couldn't travel quickly. However, they did manage to make it back to the circle just at sunset.

"We're back, we've got Teal'c, now give us the antidote," Jack called out as SG-1 walked into the stone circle. There was, however, no-one in sight. "You'd think they would at least send a welcoming committee," he complained.

"They may be unaware of our return, O'Neill." Teal'c assisted DanielJackson to sit on the ground.

"Yeah." That would be just typical of their luck. Although if he were in the locals' position, he would have guards posted to keep an eye out. "Well, I suppose we ought to make ourselves comfortable. Teal'c, why don't we have a little look around, see if we can find something to eat."

"I have not observed any nutritional substances during our journey here," Teal'c replied.

"O-kay." Sometimes he really hated it when Teal'c did that. "Well, it's nearly night-time. I'll take first watch. Teal'c, you take second."

The Jaffa inclined his head.

"Daniel, you and Carter cuddle up for warmth."

The linguist looked at Jack and then pointed at him.

"I'll be fine," Jack replied. "I'll hop in later." Behind Daniel, preferably.

Daniel thought about it for a minute and then nodded his agreement. He was disappointed; he had really wanted to sleep with Jack again. He started to tell Sam what was going on when several figures in white suddenly entered the stone circle.

"You have completed the task," the High Priest observed. "You worked together and successfully to rescue the Jaffa. You are free to go."

Jack automatically looked at Daniel for a translation then remembered he wouldn't get one. So he looked a question at Daniel and received a nod in return. "How about fixing us up first?" he demanded, pointing to his eyes.

The High Priest nodded. He motioned behind him and three acolytes each brought forward a bowl. The priest waved one back - he had noticed that the leader could see. The other two bowls were offered to the young man and the woman.

Sam took a couple of quick mouthfuls and a rushing sound immediately filled her ears. She put the bowl down and put her hands over her ears until the sound died down. Then she uncovered them.

"How are the ears, Carter?" Jack asked, hoping that the antidote would work like his had.

"Just fine, sir," Sam replied, a grin on her face. It had been so hard not being able to hear anything, and she was relived that it hadn't been permanent.

Daniel waited until Sam spoke before taking his mouthfuls. Straight away, he started coughing, the liquid irritating his throat as it had done last time. He coughed for about twenty seconds before the irritation faded.

Jack knelt down beside the linguist and rubbed his back. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." His voice was scratchy but he could talk again! He grinned up at Jack. He could talk!

The older man had never been so happy to hear Daniel say those words. As bad as his own blindness would have been, never to hear Daniel speak again would have been worse. He grinned back. "Shall we go home then?"

"Please."

Jack helped Daniel to his feet then turned to face the High Priest. "Well, it's been fun. Thank you so much for your hospitality."

Daniel mentally rolled his eyes. He translated `thank you' into Celtic and then let Jack lead him away. It was too bad that they couldn't stay and study the culture but given what had occurred, it wouldn't be safe. He put his arm around Jack's shoulder, accepting the assistance for the moment. "Uh, Jack, do we know where the Stargate is?"

That stopped everyone in their tracks. "So much for the dramatic exit," Jack complained as he turned around. "See if you can get our gear while you're at it."

Daniel translated the questions for the High Priest. The other man nodded and ordered several of his acolytes to bring the equipment to the circle. He then pointed off to the west.

"It's just over the hill," Daniel informed the others.

"Sweet."

Once SG-1 had all their gear again, they set off over the hill. The Stargate was where the priest said it was, so the team quickly dialled up Earth and went through.

~~~

Jack and Daniel went home together the next day. Most of SG-1, except for Daniel, had been pronounced fit and healthy after spending a few hours attached to a saline drip to re-hydrate their bodies after returning from the mission. Daniel's ankle was bandaged but that hadn't stopped him from working hard in the lab all day. Now that it was evening, the two men had decided to go to Jack's house for the night.

They had dinner, watched a movie, and played a game of chess. Then it came time to go to bed and Jack had a plan. "Daniel?"

"What?" The linguist carefully got to his feet.

Jack - ignoring his bad knees - swept Daniel off his feet.

Daniel burst into laughter. "Jack! What are you doing?"

"Carrying you off to the bedroom to seduce you, what do you think?" Jack replied. He lay Daniel down on the bed, removed the young man's glasses, and then lay down half on top of Daniel, being very careful of the injured foot. "How's it going so far?"

"I don't have any complaints," Daniel said, smiling up at Jack. He was still getting used to the feel of Jack's body against his own. They had only been together for a week and they hadn't done anything more than some kissing and touching; neither of them had been in a same sex relationship before. He wrapped one arm around Jack's shoulders and the other around his back. "I liked sleeping with you the other night."

"Me too. Although for a minute there, I thought Carter was going to come between us." He wasn't going to say anything about his jealousy over Carter's comment.

"I wouldn't have let her." Daniel lifted his head to receive Jack's kiss.

"Would you have been jealous?" Jack asked a minute later. He licked his lips, savouring the taste of Daniel on them.

"Maybe a little," Daniel admitted. "No more than you were when Sam cuddled up to me."

Jack ruefully acknowledged the hit with a smile. "You did good, you know," he said, changing the subject. "You stopped Grand High Pooh- Bah from killing Carter, and you rescued Teal'c. I'm proud of you for that."

Daniel looked away in embarrassment. He wasn't used to praise from Jack - or anyone else, really. "I just did what was necessary."

"I don't know any other civilian who would have done what you did." Jack gently encouraged Daniel to look at him, then he kissed those soft lips again. "That's part of the reason why I love you. And it's what scares me half to death as well."

"I love you too, Jack," Daniel said, not taking offence at the second part.

"The thing that scared me the most was that you might have remained mute. I would never have heard you say that again." Jack trailed his finger over Daniel's face and along his lips. "I will never grow tired of it. Or you."

"Same goes for me." Daniel knew in his heart that Jack was the one for him. He tipped Jack over and then snuggled into the older man's chest. A strong arm pinned him in place. "Uh, Jack?"

"Mmm?"

"I need to go to the bathroom." He stifled a chuckle when Jack groaned. Daniel rolled onto his back and got ready to get up but suddenly found himself being scooped up again. "Jack, your knees!"

"They'll be fine." Jack kissed Daniel again. "Just like us."

"Oh boy." Daniel wasn't too sure what that said about their budding relationship. But he was definitely going to have fun finding out.

THE END