Sam didn't like this. She didn't like this one bit. Not only did she *not* like this, she *really* didn't like this.

There was a full scale war going on, headed by a minor Goa'uld and his army of Jaffa. Not only had he managed to take complete control of the people, but he had them killing one another like cattle. The worst part? The people coming in to save the day were the ones who regularly bet on booger eating contests, had illicit sex with one another, and tried to outdo themselves every week in the office pool General Hammond pretended not to know about. One member had a collection of shrunken heads, another head every Simpsons episode on tape, another walked around with a snake in his gut, and Sam? Well, Sam was the only normal, classy one among them. Throw in Castleman's team of nut job marines with a death wish, Prince Knievel and his crew of dare devils, and it was a recipe for disaster.

Then again, disaster usually worked for them, so she was holding out hope.

The main initiative was to take down the orb that was controlling the population, find Neb, and take him down in public viewing of his Jaffa and First Prime. Simple, right?

Right.

And to add insult to injury, Sam would be doing it with all the grace of a wet seal. At least, that's how the lycra felt, plastered to her skin, rubbing her boobs wrong and chafing her thighs. It didn't help that it looked painted on to her, and she cursed her love of blue Jell-o as she wrung out her hair on the shore, hidden in the bushes with the rest of her team and SG5.

Teal'c was crouched behind Samantha, his Jaffa staff balanced on his forearm as he sighted alongside it. The river that Daphon had spoke of flowed straight through Neb's private chambers, which were guarded by three Falcon guards. He raised three fingers at Jack, to signify three guards, and then lowered himself back down behind the thick cover of reeds and brush by the riverbank.

Jack duck-walked over to Teal'c, keeping his head below the cover line. "Three outside the room, but nobody inside," he answered, looking over Sam's shoulder and then back down at Teal'c. "They're all outside the door; Carter, you and Daniel come up on the left side, and get over to the pedestal. Start loading the C-4 charges, and we'll find that orb-thingie that Daphon told us about as soon as we've taken care of the guards. Blow the pedestal, and if we're lucky, it'll take out the orb too," Jack instructed. "As soon as the charges are set, hit the river again and stay under until it's blown; we'll take cover outside the room."

See, it was the whole 'blow the pedestal and get lucky' parts that Sam was having a problem with. But she was cool as a cucumber about it, just noding firmly with a "Yes, sir", cradeling her P-90 firmly in her arms. She may have been a wet seal but she was a wet seal decked out with toys.

She motioned Daniel to keep behind her with his Baretta and motioned the members of SG5 accompanying them forward with her, covering their flanks as they began to move towards the palace.

Her mind switched off and her instincts came on. Move, never stop moving, careful to motion to the men where she wanted them and how to get there. They advanced silently and swiftly, even Daniel, moving across the terrain like the trained men and women they were.

The pedestal, according to the Princess' plans, was on the fifth floor of the palace, in the central room unguarded on the left side. They hadn't had any Goa'uld here other than Neb in a long time -- their guard was sloppy. They could slip through, undetected, no sweat.

Jack motioned to Teal'c, and the two of them, followed by the rest of Daphon's men, spread outside the room. They were communicating wordlessly, blooming into three-man triads, back to back to back so that all sides were covered and once, and Jack raised an eyebrow at Teal'c.

The training of the men was evident as Daphon joined Jack and Teal'c as their third, and while one group moved up the hallway, the other moved down.

The first of the three Falcon Guards saw them almost instantly, and Teal'c's staff took him down. "Zats!" Jack hissed, unsealing the waterproof pouch on his hip and pulling out the Goa'uld weapon. The head raised instantly, and as the other two guards came down the hallway, one from either direction, he fired his zat twice in quick succession, while Daphon's men fired on the other with one of their arrows.

It pierced the Falcon Guard's armor almost instantly, and Jack met Teal'c's surprised glance. "I'll bet that's a naquada arrowhead," he hissed. "Tell them not to fire at anything that could explode, go!" He pushed the Jaffa down the corridor, and waved Carter and her team through the cleared hallway. "Switch to backup channel now," he hissed, changing the radio to the second frequency, so their communications would hopefully go undetected.

Sam did so, flipping the radio in her vest. The other men and Daniel did the same, and without a word she motioned them through the door, covering their backs and slipping in behind them.

Marble everywhere. Glass, gems, gold everywhere the eye could see. So rich it was tacky, but Sam didn't bother making a face. She had no time for it.

They moved up the stairs, silent as a cloud of smoke but for the breathing of the men and the rush of her own furiously beating heart. They moved towards the staircase almost as one, alert for any signs of danger. None so far. Sam smelled an ambush.

Up the steps, around the enormous gilded hall, and down a corridor leading deep into the house. More steps, and she crouched, listening silently for a moment before slipping up the steps, stopping and moving the men up every five steps to watch for enemies.

Jack fell back with the others as Carter's team moved up and forward, and with Daphon in the lead, for he knew the way better than anyone else, they circled around the room, crossing the river and moving silently through the palace as they approached Carter's position from the other side.

The palace reflected the bisection of the river, almost as though the entire structure straddled the river instead of only a floor or two, and Jack paused a moment to reflect on the beauty of the architecture as they moved through the halls.

The doors and walls lacked the hieroglyph writing that the motherships had had on them, and were instead decorated with natural textures, and thick textile hangings depicting animals, battles, and what Jack assumed to be stories or myths. He was sure Daniel could have translated for him in a heartbeat, but he shoved the thought away as he put the zat away, and cradled his gun close.

Jack's team and Carter's team emerged at the top of opposing staircases at the same time. Anyone coming between the teams would be caught in crossfire, and Jack waved the two marines from SG-5 through and over to Carter's team before speaking into the radio. "Hamilton and Bosch are checking the room; when they give the all clear, move in with the charges. Blow up anything and everything you can in the room; use all the charges you brought with you and talk to Daphon's men; I think they've got naquada arrowheads. See if they'll give you a couple to stick in the C-4, and that should make a hell of a show."

"Yes sir," Sam said, voice low, and moved off with the rest of SG5 and Daniel.

They had yet to bump into anyone.

Trap. This was a trap. She knew it, she knew the Colonel knew it, she knew Daphon knew it, but what choice did they have? The hair on the back of her neck was standing on end, Daniel was tense beside her, SG5 were more wary than normal. She had a case of the jeebies a mile wide.

They were being watched.

She lifted her hand and signaled SG5 up the fourth staircase to the fifth floor, where they crouched and listened. Silence.

Jack sighed, and looked over his shoulder at Teal'c, who was impassive as always. "Anyone else think this is entirely too easy?"

Teal'c shrugged a massive shoulder. "It is, O'Neill. However, we are too far into the situation to abandon it now. We must go forward."

Daphon was bouncing, slightly eagerly, behind Teal'c. "This is a good omen," he whispered over the Jaffa's shoulder. "They are not expecting us to attack their seat of power; we have been able to find them off-guard."

"Off-guard my ass," Jack snorted. "Hamilton, Bosch, report."

A quick crackle of static, then; "Nothing to report, sir. The room is clear, and we've got the entrances covered. Major Carter, all clear."

Jack leaned back into his radio. "Okay, Carter. Move in, go slow, and leave two of Daphon's men covering your half of the exit. We've got the hallway covered, and we've still got a crossfire set up. Get the charges in place as fast as you can, and let's get the hell out of here."

"Understood," Sam said, voice low, and after giving the necessary instructions to Daphon's two men, she entered the room where the orb was supposed to be.

The room was empty at first glance, but she made sure she and SG5 checked every nook and cranny before she turned to the empty throne. Suspiciously empty.

She was well acquainted with Goa'uld technology, and it only took two tries to hit the right button on the clasped lions paw serving as the arm of the chair. An enormous pedestal rose out of the marble before them, lifting into the air in front of the throne with a strange, mechanical whir. Atop it an enormous gray sphere sat atop it, ringing Sam's alarms instantly.

She never wanted to blow something up more in her life.

She didn't pause to look at it, and SG5 must have felt it too, because the opened the pockets of their vests and began pulling out C-4. Daniel, unusually silent beside her, did the same.

Hamilton did the same thing, unpacking the C-4 cubes from his vest and handed them over to Major Carter for placement. Bosch was placing his own cubes, one on the floorboards by the pedestal, one on the pedestal itself, and he had one left. He looked at the weight in his hand, and reached up, steadying the orb with one hand and applying the C-4 charge with the other.

There was a vibration that rattled the entire palatial structure before the wall blew out. It threw Jack and his team halfway down the stairs with the force of it. Shards of the rock wall exploded outwards, damaging statuary and other trinkets in the throne room. Through the chokingly thick mortar dust, Jack could see the Jaffa pouring out of the shattered wall like water. "CARTER! Get out now! Jaffa!" But even as he shouted the warning into the radio, it was too late. The Jaffa spread into the throne room like locust, filling almost every square inch of it.

Jack was yanked to his feet by Teal'c, and he dropped the P-90 for the zat. "Go! Charge the room, now! Teal'c! Find Carter! Get the team back to the river, now, and back to the Stargate as fast as you can! Daphon! Go! Get out, now, before they realize you're here!"

Once O'Neill was on his feet, Teal'c picked up his staff and began shooting his way in. The shattered wall had destroyed most of the cover that the hallway's corners had provided, but he made do with the remaining statuary and the cover fire from Daphon's men.

Daphon refused to budge. "We are not going to leave our friends, Colonel Jack O'Neill." Daphon's men were already clustering behind Teal'c, giving him cover fire even as the mountainous Jaffa mingled with the others. "We will help you fight."

Jack was too busy firing the zat to answer, just giving Daphon a nod instead as he started pushing his way through. Three shots, vaporizing the dead bodies that fell, wincing as even more took their place and Jesus *Christ* how many of them were there?

It was unreal. A swarm of Jaffa, staffs blazing, anger in their faces and eyes, fell out of the wall like some bizarre Trojan horse in reverse. At least a hundred soldiers swept into the room, that not even a pepper of gunfire could hold back. She fired, over and over and over, until her hand and arm were numb, but it didn't hold them back. A short, barking cry -- "DANIEL!" -- from beside her was more than she could look at herself, because in the next moment, something struck the back of her head, and her world turned to black.

Jack heard it.

Over everything else in the battlefield that the throne room had become, Jack heard it.

Carter was screaming for Daniel.

That couldn't be good. Not in this situation. He'd been a fool to let Daniel come along in the first place, and he raised the zat again, firing faster, more rapidly, trying to carve a hole through the Jaffa and get to Carter and Daniel.

He couldn't. The Jaffa were closing in around him, he was cut off from the protective cover fire of Teal'c and the others, and--

Searing pain as his body flew backwards like a marionette who'd had its strings cut. The zat fell from insensate fingers as Jack crumpled.

Teal'c saw it. First Samantha, and then O'Neill, and he could not see DanielJackson for all the other Jaffa in the room. He moved to go to them, but Daphon's hand on his arm pulled him back. "We must retreat, Teal'c!" he shouted. "We will bring back more men and rescue our friends!"

Teal'c shook his head. "No, Prince Daphon. I will not leave my fallen comrades." His staff never stopped firing until Daphon and the others pulled him away. "Release me this moment."

Daphon refused. "You will do no good to your friends if you are captured or killed," he said reasonably. A silver arrow rose from the other side of the room, exploding in a shower of bright sparks. The sparks blinded the other Jaffa as well as Teal'c, and by the time he could see again, he had been pulled completely away from the battle.

- = - = -

There were hundreds of steps between unconsciousness and the waking world. Coma, tiered close to death, came with drugged sleep and heavy injury. Unconsciousness was a step above that, exhausted sleep above that.

Daniel had a lot of time to think about it. He also had time to recite poetry to himself, do long division, balance his checkbook, count the drops of water rolling down the stone wall before him, and rearrange his book cases to his liking. And he had time to do all of this because he was nearly certain he had a concussion, and if he fell asleep he may never wake up again, and he had to take care of Jack.

He didn't know how long they'd been in this cold, dank little room. Hours. Days. No sun, no watch, no light. Only the dim darkness, the steady drip of water, and the ragged sound of Jack's gasping breaths were his company, and had been for a long time.

He'd tried. God help him, he'd tried. He'd put a bandage made of the bottom halves of his wet suit over the heavily bleeding wound in Jack's belly, but that task had left him dizzy and sick, so much that he'd thrown up in a corner of their dirty little cell.

He closed his eyes. "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain. Life is like a box of chocolates. It was neither Roman, nor Holy, nor an Empire. There are three classes -- the class who fights, the class who prays, and the class who toils."

"Do... you ever... shut up?"

Jack groaned it, but he was fairly certain that it was audible. Because that'd been the first thing he'd heard as he dragged himself awake, was Daniel Jackson talking.

Not that he was at all surprised, as he considered it, and he hissed sharply as the pain from the huge gaping wound in his side made itself known. "Daniel?"

"Jack," Daniel said softly.

"What's left of him." A deep groan as Jack finally pried gooey eyelids open to stare up into total darkness.

Something inside him eased as he looked down at Jack's head, laying on his lap. There had been no where else for him to lay, and Daniel would be damned if he'd be far away. "How are you feeling?" he murmured.

"Like I've been shot," Jack answered frankly.

"Your deduction skills never fail to amaze me," Daniel said, but gently. His eyes fell closed, though not that it mattered in the near complete darkness. "Want me to give you a threat assessment?"

"I'd rather hear how badly we've been hurt first. Then you can tell me how bad the situation is. I'll put off figuring a way out until tomorrow." A groan as he shifted, and his hand pressed against the bandage but came back sticky.

"It's been 'tomorrow', Jack. You've been unconscious for a long time," Daniel said softly. "You've been hit in the side, by your appendix. Real low. I was able to give you some morphine before they realized our vests had stuff in them and took them."

"So that's why I didn't wake up," Jack mused. He tried to sit up, but couldn't, and let himself lean back down, gasping. "That hurt." He wiped his fingers off on the outside of the wetsuit as best he could. "What happened? I remember... the wall. The wall blew out when Bosch touched the orb. Carter yelled your name... that's all."

"Jaffa," Daniel said dully. His fingers moved over Jack's hair without thought. "They ambushed us. I don't know where Sam and Teal'c are. Daphon, either." He closed his eyes. "It's Neb, Jack. He's got us here, though I don't know where 'here' is. The room is about six by twelve, no windows, so we've got to be underground. There's a steady drip coming from somewhere, dripping through the wall. It's clean; I used it to clean your wound as much as I could. I've got a little field medicine training, so..." His voice choked, thick and hot. "They haven't let me sleep. Every time I try, there's an alarm in here, all around us. So loud."

Jack let his eyes fall back closed in the darkness. "You did good, Daniel. You didn't lose your cool, and you stayed calm under pressure. You've done real good." He thought for a moment. "Teal'c... he was behind me. I sent him out to get to you and Carter. I don't remember after that; I must have gotten hit right about then. Are you all right? Aside from the not sleeping?" A little sigh as he twisted around on his side as much as he could, gasping and wincing as he felt the little trickle of blood speed up a little before slowing down once he got into the new position.

"Don't," Daniel said, keeping his hands on Jack's shoulders and chest. "Don't. Don't move, Jack. Let the morphine work for as long as it can, okay?" He squeezed Jack's shoulder to get him laying down again. It was freezing, but they were wearing wet suits -- it insulated the heat a little better than a uniform did. Even so, Daniel needed Jack to stay right where he was. "And I'm fine. I got hit in the head, but aside from a little dizziness, I'm okay. I think it's the sleep deprivation."

"Daniel," is all that Jack said, shifting to find himself a new position. "I wouldn't be waking up if the morphine hadn't stopped working," he answered, bringing up one of his hands and squeezing Daniel's in return as he settled in. "C'mon. Get comfortable. I'm awake now; they'll let you sleep now that I'm around." A little glare at the walls, as though daring the klaxon to sound again. "One of us is better than neither of us, and if I stay awake, they won't blare the horn. They'll be torturing me instead of you, and you need to rest."

Daniel shook his head, trembling as he grabbed Jack's shoulder tightly. "Don't get up, Jack. You've got to stay laying down, all right? Trust me on this." He squeezed Jack's shoulder again, urging him back down. He knew the instant he fell asleep the alarms would ring, bringing him back awake. Jack had told him all about long term torture techniques the 'bad guys' used. He hadn't been specific, so Daniel thought, hey, Jack couldn't mean EVERY bad guy. Well it seemed even Goa'uld used the age old technique of depriving the subject of rest to wear them down. Daniel wouldn't crack -- he wasn't the cracking sort. He just wished he had some toothpicks hanging around to prop his eyelids up with.

He kept stroking Jack's hair, very carefully. "I ever tell you how I learned to deliver a baby?"

"Daniel, I've been shot in the gut. There's actually no *chance* of me getting up. My ass, however, is complaining, and wants my weight off it. Therefore, I'm gonna move onto my hip," Jack said stubbornly.

With the move, he became very quickly aware of Daniel's fingers stroking through his hair, and his eyes opened. Saw nothing but darkness, felt nothing but the warm slide of blood down his abdomen, and concentrated on Daniel's hand instead. If Daniel was touching him voluntarily, he knew things were bad. Worse, possibly, than Daniel was telling him.

"Your ass has plenty of cushion to support it," Daniel snipped back, but helped Jack move a little. His skin was so clammy, his fingers cool, his neck too warm. Onset of fever. Daniel had never wished harder for a blanket in his life. Even in the almost complete dark, Daniel could feel the heat coming up from Jack's wound, and he kept stroking, kept touching. It was all he had. "Y'okay?"

"I'm fine, Daniel," Jack lied baldly. He was, in fact, not fine. Quite honestly, he was as not-fine as he'd pretty much ever been in his life. Including the hellish months spent in Iraq.

But he wasn't going to think about that. No, instead he was going to keep his mind in the present, right here, for as long as he could. "There we go. So... tell me your baby story."

"That makes me sound like some woman's baby's daddy, Jack," Daniel muttered, just to amuse him. He lay his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. The weight of Jack's head was making his feet fall asleep, but it kept him awake. "When I was twenty three I went on a dig in the Yucatan with my research assistant and Professor Jordan, my archaeology professor of the time. We were staying in a Mayan village outside of Valladolid, with a little group of Indians who had been the basis of my linguistics thesis. Nice people. We just happened to go at a time when many of the women were either pregnant or new mothers."

"Must have been somethin' in the water," Jack said, teeth glinting in a pained smile in the darkness. The soft drone of Daniel's story-telling voice was calm, and soothing, and Jack wondered what it meant.

"There had been uprisings the year before, which many men of the village had left to put down. When they came back... well you can imagine. We just happened to show up eight months later." He stroked Jack's temple softly. He could feel the pain in Jack's body like it were his own. "We were there studying the ruins of Chichen Itza. The thing is, Dr. Jordan was an old fashioned archaeologist -- he didn't let Blair and I come with him until we'd taken proper medical training. Field medicine, he called it, in case something happened. We put it to good use up there."

"Baby boom. Like in the States, back on Earth. After the World Wars," Jack said. His mouth was dry, but didn't say anything as he swallowed around it. He could feel himself starting to sweat, and knew it wasn't good. "Blair... took a girl with you?"

Daniel smiled. "He'd kick your ass if he heard you say it. Blair Sandburg. Nice kid. I lost touch with him when I joined the Stargate program. The last time I talked to him he'd decided to go into law enforcement. You'd have liked him, five foot nothin' ball of fire." He swallowed audibly. "One of the women, the daughter of the chief, went into labor out there at the ruins. Too late to get her back to the village, so I didn't have much choice but deliver her son right there. By the time Blair got back with Dr. Jordan and the chief, it was too late. I was scarred for life."

"Should... look him back up when you get home." Dry swallow, and Jack's tongue felt like it was starting to adhere to the roof of his mouth. "See'f he's... recruitable. Couldn't hurt... have someone to share your workload."

Daniel heard the thickness of Jack's voice, the stumbling over the words, and he trembled. Okay. "Maybe," he said, carefully sliding Jack's head off his thigh. "Easy," he said, carefully setting Jack's head down on the floor, and got up slowly. His head swam, nausea grabbed him at the gut, and it took him almost a full minute to finally be able to stand. Then it was only a matter of following the sound of dripping water.

He'd fashioned a sort of baggie with a thick strip of his wet suit, and used Jack's dog tags to keep it shut. He opened it now, and with the flat surface of one of the tags, used it to let some of the dripping water trickle into the bag. He spoke all the while. "We should have a baby birthing class at the SGC. I know SG4 and 8 have already had to deliver babies. It's true what they say -- we humans sure do love to reproduce."

"Daniel," Jack said softly. "You know better than to give a gutshot man water," he reminded. "Only... kills 'em faster. Drink yourself... an' sit back down." His voice was slightly slurred. "Mean it."

Daniel shuddered so hard he almost dropped the bag, and leaned his forehead against the stone. "A little won't hurt," was all he said, as he kept filling his makeshift bag. Daniel knew the Goa'uld wanted to watch him lick the stone, but they hadn't counted on Daniel's sheer resourcefulness. When they finally dragged him out of here, he knew he'd come back naked. They needed to drink what they could. "They'll come for us."

"Course they will," Jack agreed. "Teal'c's one stubborn Jaffa," he continued, interrupted by coughing that made him cradle his stomach as best he could. "Dug out... through a buried Stargate once, to find me. He'll come." He turned his head to look at Daniel. "You go with him first. Then send him back for me," he got out, through another spate of coughing.

"I'm not going anywhere without you," Was all Daniel said. He waited for his bag to fill enough and then took it, wrapped it shut with the tags, and walked back over to Jack. "Here we go," he murmured, sliding down the wall. The zipper of his suit made a strange noise against the stone as he finally sat on the cold floor. Gently, ever so gently, the bag caught between his teeth to keep it shut, he helped Jack back onto his lap, head on his thigh and shoulders close to Daniel's chest, cradled in against him. "Come on," he murmured, opening the bag, dipping his fingers in, and bringing them to Jack's lips. "A little."

"Humor... the injured CO here, for once," Jack answered, and then sucked Daniel's fingertips into his mouth.

The cold water was hard and metallic, as though it was running through steel pipes, and Jack almost choked on it, even the few drops that Daniel had let fall into his mouth. It tasted like blood, and left the same stale, coppery aftertaste in his mouth as he closed his eyes, and let his head fall back against Daniel's lap.

"I know, but it's not tainted. I've tasted tainted water," Daniel whispered, and urged a little more. "Come on, Jack," he said, running his thumb over Jack's lower lip to dampen it, cracked as it was. "Janet'll have my ass if she finds out I let you get dehydrated, even with a gut wound."

"Dehydration... least of my concerns right now." He looked up at Daniel then, slowly opening his eyes as he raised a sticky hand to hold Daniel's wrist. "How many days?"

"I don't know," Daniel said, a tremble in his voice. "I tried not to think about it. It feels long, but it may not be. I don't know, Jack. A day and a half, maybe."

"S'what I thought," he answered with a groan. "Internal clock's... all messed up... but that feels right." Jack let his head lean against Daniel's lap gently. "Listen to me, Daniel. Go with Teal'c, when he comes. I know he will. May be a few days. But he'll be here. He always is. Go with him; I'm not going with you. I'm going to slow you down, and you need to get out. He and Junior will come back for me when you're safe. Understand?" Jack coughed hard at the end of the sentence.

"No," was all Daniel said. He drank some of the water himself, tangy and freezing cold and disgusting, but water. Drugged, for all he knew, but he was so tired he couldn't find it in himself to care.

Jack's hand tightened on Daniel's wrist, jerking it as hard as he could. "Listen to me." Another hard cough. "Not... going to lose another friend. You go. Be *safe,* dammit."

"This is what I was trying to tell you, Jack," He whispered, even when Jack's fingers clenched on his wrist. The pain was good, bright -- made him feel alive. "Before. What I was trying to tell you... on the horse."

"No," Jack said a third time. "You listen. Lost... too many. Too many good men to the Goa'uld. Lost too many loved ones. Lost Charlie... lost Shau're. Not gonna lose you too, Danny. You have to go with Teal'c. I'll be all right until he gets back."

"No, you selfish son of a bitch. You wanna give up, you wanna be a martyr? Leave me alone, let me deal with more loss? Fuck you. I'm not going anywhere without you, if I have to carry you over my shoulder to do it. Got me?"

Jack didn't let go of Daniel's wrist when he coughed, and he didn't say anything when he felt something shift inside, something that had been shot, and warmth flowed more freely under Daniel's makeshift bandage. "Not giving up, dammit. I don't intend to die. Too old, seen too much, and got too much to do!" More hard coughing, and Jack curled around the pain until he could talk around it again. "not... gonna slow you down either. You move me, you're gonna kill me. You go with Teal'c, and you can bring back what you need to move me, got it?"

Daniel couldn't deal with this right now. The coughing, the gasping, Jack's heart beating too fast under his hand, the hot blood as warm as water flowing over his hands where he pressed to keep the bandage in place. Blood, and coughing, and death in this dank little cell.

No amount of alarms could keep Daniel awake.

His head rushed, his ears rang, and the last thing he heard before he passed out were Jack's hacking coughs.

- = - = -

The robes given to him by Daphon and the others of this world suffocated Teal'c. He was used to the tightly form-fitting clothing provided by the Tau'ri military units; they allowed freedom of movement, with no restriction. These robes, on the other hand, were long and draping, offering ample concealment for weapons of many kinds, but constricting every movement and every breath.

The headdress wrapped around his face and forehead, leaving only his eyes open to see as they attempted to hide his alien heritage from the market square they moved through. There were many people out stirring today, as though they did not know, nor care, that a vicious battle had been fought only three days prior.

Three days without word from DanielJackson or O'Neill. Three days that Samantha had been in the infirmary, her silken gold hair matted with blood. Three days that Jaffa rage had been building inside of Teal'c, stirring the larval Goa'uld in his belly into churning motion with every step.

Others followed, but he did not care. He would have done this alone had it been required. Other Stargate teams followed him; two combat units of rested men. Daphon's men followed him, as Daphon himself kept pace with the angry Jaffa. Teal'c's staff had been camouflaged by Daphon's technology, making it appear to be nothing but wood. Other weapons remained hidden on Teal'c's person, including a naquada tipped arrow and crossbow set taken from Sansu. It was over his shoulder, under the voluminous folds of the robe.

The guard outside the palace was no match for Teal'c's anger; the man's neck snapped easily and fell to the ground without a word as they entered the palace. Daphon's men spread out behind him, watching his back as they approached the throne room, and was quickly halted by two crossed staffs in front of him. "State your purpose."

Daphon spoke quickly. "I and the members of my clan come to make offering to Lord Nebuchudnezzar, in thanks and in hopes of blessing the birth of my sister's son." At his words, one of the men in robes like Teal'c's held a wrapped bundle aloft.

The staffs were drawn back, and they were allowed to enter. Teal'c followed Daphon, though he had no intention of staying in the rear for long. Others followed them in bearing covered chests and woven baskets with fruit bartered from the marketplace, and they were laid in front of the throne.

Teal'c bowed as the throne turned on the circular platform. There was no sign of the destruction that had occurred only three days past, and the anger leapt up in him like an animal as he was faced with the Goa'uld that held his friends.

- = - = -

No destruction on the surface, no, but many miles underneath it, Daniel was fighting for his life and the life of his best friend.

His mouth tasted like blood. His teeth were loose, his ribs were aching, his wrists in numb agony where they were clinched above him. He was on his knees in the grand throne room that had become his hell, the smell of rich food everywhere. He was so hungry his stomach couldn't even cramp anymore -- it ached, constantly, tugging at his insides.

And the worst of it was, Neb knew exactly what he was doing.

He was a minor Goa'uld, but he was not a stupid Goa'uld. As handsome as Jack, Neb sat on his throne before Daniel's bound body, eating sugar plums and slurping at the juices running down his fingers. He reminded Daniel of Jack, tall and gray haired, handsome to a fault, but frail in a way Jack was not. He'd had Daniel brought here twice already, to tease and taunt him, to try and make Daniel beg, without knowing Daniel hadn't begged for anything in his life and wouldn't start now.

But it hurt, it hurt when Jack was dying and the food was right here for Daniel to give to him. he just couldn't have it, couldn't reach it. Every time he refused it from Neb's hands their water trickle became less and less, so it took almost an hour by Daniel's calculations to get any in his makeshift bag, and then only a little.

They were going to die, here, in their underground hell.

"The plums, they're especially juicy this year," Neb said casually. "The crop seems to be better than before; possibly more rain or better soil." He split another one open, offering the succulent meat. "There, you see? The rich color, and how wet it is, even to the touch." His tongue ran over his lips as he devoured the sweet fruit, and then dipped his hands into the ewer of warm, scented water by his throne.

He wiped his clean fingers on the white linen napkin lying across his lap, and settled back, raising his gold goblet. Wine and brandy mixed together and sweetened with the fruit juices of the native trees, it was the drink Neb preferred, because it seemed to give him more pleasure than either of the three beverages alone.

"Which of you is the real O'Neill? You were wearing little metal tags that identified you as him, but you do not look like him. Your friend looks like O'Neill, but he wore no identification." He raised his hand, and the Jaffa standing behind Daniel snapped the whip across Daniel's bare back.

Daniel didn't scream. He'd vowed he wouldn't, and though his lips were bitten bloody, he clenched on them again as pain flared like fire across his shoulder blades, opening the other wounds already there. Pain lanced through him, the hot sensation of blood, its metal-tang in the air, dripping down his back. He had answered nothing, said nothing. He wouldn't break, even if he was dying of starvation, even if Jack was nearly dead in their cell. He had not even given the snake his name.

A sense of satisfaction, at that.

He closed his eyes against the pain, against Neb's food, against the rich wine he was drinking, and never hated the Goa'uld as much as he did in this moment.

"In the long run, I don't suppose it matters," Neb said calmly, giving the signal for the man to back off. "Whichever one you are, you and your friend are going to die here." Genteel smile. "Speaking of friends, did I mention that I saw yours this morning?" The smile turned into a wide grin. "The Jaffa came, with men of this planet. He brought fruit, valuables, treasures to offer to his God."

Teal'c! Daniel looked up at that, couldn't help it, pressing the side of his face against his arm. Teal'c had been there. Daniel knew he would, that he'd come. It was only a matter of time now, a matter of keeping himself and Jack alive.

"He made no mention of you, or your friend. He tried to hide himself, of course, but there is no way a Jaffa can hide from a god." Neb's eyes glowed white. "He came and left after making his offerings, and my Jaffa watched yours disappear into the marketplace with the others."

No. Oh, God, no. Teal'c hadn't left. He was here, he was coming for them. Jack was dying. Oh, God. He pressed his head down again, not wanting Neb to take advantage of him like this, to make him hurt like this, but Daniel was far gone. He was in agonizing pain, he hadn't slept or eaten in days, and his mind was, frankly, shutting down.

Neb edged one of the bowls forward towards Daniel. They were shaped like apples, but the skins were bright orange rather than the normal deep, burnished red. "The caltha fruit is highly prized in this region," Neb said. "Perhaps you would like to try one; they were a gift from your Jaffa friend, to me. I would be willing to share."

Daniel shuddered all over, shoulders all the way down, and looked away, away from the fucking snake bastard who was killing them, *killing them both*, so Daniel would never get a chance to apologize to Jack for punching his lights out, and Kasuf for getting his daughter killed, and General Hammond for being a pain in the ass, and everyone else he'd ever wronged. Why? Because Daniel was going to die here. He knew it like he knew himself.

Jack may have already died, alone, in that cell.

It was rage that had him lifting his face and spitting, as hard as he could with the dryness in his mouth, at the fucking Goa'uld bastard. He'd have done it again if he had any spit left.

The Jaffa behind Daniel raised the whip again, but before it could crack, Neb's voice bellowed out. "No!"

Calmly, he raised the linen napkin, wiping away the bare amount of spittle that Daniel had been able to produce. "Remove the water drip entirely and take him back to his dead friend." A pause. "And if his friend is not dead, please feel free to remedy that."

The jostling, the movement, and what he'd just done to Jack were all Daniel could take. His vision tunneled, and he followed it into oblivion.

When he opened his eyes again, it was to hit the floor.

His body fell with a hard ‘thump' that echoed in the tiny hell he and Jack had been put into, masked only by the reverberating boom of the door closing and the latch sliding closed. The room was so cold and the steady drips had finally stopped.

They would die here.

He trembled, so hard his body shook, and crawled over the ice-cold stone to Jack. Jack, who was lying there without moving, almost without breathing. He was so still. "Jack?" His voice was so hoarse he could barely speak, barely be understood.

"D...Danny," Jack murmured, and brown eyes opened to meet his. "Okay?"

Not even a little bit. "Yeah," he whispered, and because he could move no more, he thumped down to his side and dragged himself close to Jack.

"Good," Jack murmured again. Ice cold fingers settled on Daniel's hand. "Danny... you gotta tell them somethin'."

"What?"

"Something. A code, a location... anything. We're gonna die here if not."

"Jack, we're gonna die anyway.".

"Maybe. But what about Teal'c, and Carter? Neb's gonna find them and do to them what he did to us. We've got to give him something, give them a chance to escape... maybe even give us a chance to escape."

Daniel looked up with the last of his strength. Something wasn't right. "What do you think I should give them?"

"Anything. A transmitter code, the Iris code, the location of the alpha site. Anything."

Daniel's eyes filled with tears without his being able to stop it. "You're not Jack," he whispered.

Jack's face transformed, from the warm lines and soft eyes to Neb's insanity-ridden blue eyes, his face going lined and craggly. "But I could be."

"But I could be," Neb repeated. "I could be Jack for you." He touched something at his belt again, and his features flowed back into Jack's.

"I could be Jack for you forever," he shrugged. "Not gonna die on you, not gonna leave you behind, anything. You and me, Danny. I could get you out of here, go meet up with our old buddy Teal'c, and get the hell out of this snake pit. Get back to Earth, take a few days off to recuperate... nobody would ever know. You'd have Jack, and I... would have what I want."

"No," Daniel whispered, the tears sliding down his face. The chains at his wrists ached, so far away, because he was in the cell but he *hurt*. "He'll use his knowledge to destroy Earth, Jack... we can't, Jack, we can't. I'm so sorry, I want t-to help you," Daniel whispered on a sob. "Teal'c will help us, Jack, you just have to hold on."

"Teal'c isn't coming, Danny," Jack whispered back. "You heard what the Goa'uld said. He came, and he left, and he didn't give a damn about us. It's you and me, Daniel, and I'm counting on you to help me. Please."

"I can't, Jack, I can't, it goes against everything you believe in. Can't, Jack, they're our secrets, the things we don't tell anybody. I didn't tell him about the GDO, Jack, I didn't tell him about Sam. We can get out of here, someone will come for us. General Hammond won't let us die here."

Jack's hand reached out to squeeze Daniel's shoulder. "You did good, Daniel. You protected our secrets because we thought we were going to get help. But we're not. And I don't want to die here, Daniel. I've got too many things to do." Neb knew exactly what to repeat, because they had been listening to every word. "Too many things left in this world to, Danny, and I want to do them. Nobody's coming to help us, so we have to help ourselves." He squeezed again, and then gave a yelp when a hand closed around his foot.

"Nobody... talks to Daniel... like that." Jack--the *real* Jack--didn't have that much strength left in his arm, but he yanked the Goa'uld down and away. "Leave... leave him alone."

The shape-changing device scraped along the rock floor of the prison cell, and Neb-Jack's image flickered, in and out like a ghost, superimposing Neb's face over Jack's, then Jack's over Neb's, as the real Jack fought him.

"D-Daniel..." hard cough. "Got to help me. Don't let them fool you." Another hard cough as Neb kicked Jack off.

Oh, God.

Daniel was losing his mind. That's all there was to it. But he took the Jack laying on the floor, bleeding to death, over the one standing over him, flickering in and out. He grabbed Jack and pulled him back, scuttling back against the wall where the freezing cold stone was heaven on his aching back. He pulled the real Jack in close and held him tightly, shaking so hard he was shaking Jack along with him. "Leave m-me alone," he whispered.

Jack gave a sharp, jolting cry of pain as Daniel moved him around roughly, but there was nothing to be done. He looked up at himself, flickering in and out over the Goa'uld's face, and he shook his head as he pressed tightly against Daniel. "Leave him alone," Jack rasped out. "He doesn't know what you want. I do. I'm Jack O'Neill, and I'm the one who blew up the mother ships." More hard coughing, and he could feel the fluid and blood starting to back up in his lungs as he fought to breathe. "Do what you're going to do."

Neb frowned at the device on his belt when it refused to stop flickering, and he tried dialing through other images. Nothing worked, and he ground the device to pieces under his heel. "You will die here, O'Neill, and so will your friend. I have done trying to be reasonable. You will not cooperate. You will instead die." Neb's eyes flared white again, and he turned on his heel, letting the door clang shut behind him.

There weren't any tears left in Daniel's heart to cry. He just lay his head back, holding onto Jack with a grip as strong as his resolve, refusing to let him go as he lay his head back against the stone. His voice, rambling, broke through the silence. "He wants me to give him the codes, but I wouldn't, Jack, he said that Teal'c had been here, we'll be out soon, have to hang on, have to, okay? Can't die yet, we're almost free, almost, they'll help us soon, Jack."

"Of course Teal'c was here," Jack humored. "I told you before--" Another harsh cough. "--that he wouldn't let us down. He's just biding his time, looking for the best way in." He curled, as best he could, around Daniel. "Should have... told you earlier, when you could understand me. But listen to me, Daniel." Jack looked up. "Whatever you think--" more coughing, and it was a longer hack this time, and Jack breathed deeply several times before he tried speaking again. "Whatever you think I said, about Shau're... I'm sorry. I wouldn't--" cough. "--hurt you like that. Promise."

In his head, Daniel wanted to scream at him, to tell him not to say goodbye. But he couldn't. He couldn't do it. He'd been awake for too long, he was too hungry. He felt like he was dying, and that's because he was. His fingers wouldn't let go of Jack, wouldn't loosen, just held on through the coughing and the pain. "I love you, Jack," he whispered, more to himself than to anyone else. "Loved you from the second I saw you. Didn't know...I love you. I wanted to make a life with you, wanted you to help me get over Shau're," he whispered, and rocked Jack gently. "Sleep, Jack, sleep. Will be here, sleep."

Jack's fingers tightened around Daniel's. He knew that Daniel was completely out of his mind, exhausted, hunger-driven, sleep-deprived, and as close to insane as he'd seen his friend since the sarcophagus. It was so hard to think, and Jack didn't try any longer. It might have been just to appease him, make it easier for him to rest, but Jack appreciated the words. "I know, Daniel," he answered softly, and when he whispered, the coughs didn't feel like they were going to rip him to pieces. "I love you, Danny. Even though... you're a pain in my ass... wouldn't trade it for the world." His eyes fell closed then, and Jack was out.

- = - = -

The armor of the Falcon Guard had been ridiculously easy to procure, and the Jaffa wearing it easy to dispose of. Sealed inside the armor, hidden behind the beaked mask, Teal'c watched as DanielJackson was dragged off, out of the throne room, and it had taken every bit of control that Teal'c had possessed not to dispatch the demon where he stood.

Instead, he followed Neb down to the lower corridors, where he and the other guards were told to turn back, and Neb proceeded alone, to safeguard the location of his prisoners. Teal'c did not disobey; to do so would have been his death before he could have rescued his friends.

Instead, he watched, and he waited.

He waited until Neb had resurfaced in his private chambers, and when Neb had demanded all Jaffa gather to him in the courtyard, Teal'c had seen his moment.

He stood now, behind the Goa'uld as part of his honor guard. One other Jaffa stood with him, on the other side of the balcony, and behind the Jaffa, gathered in the faces of the city's people, here and there he picked out the faces of Daphon's men, waiting to be brought into the palace by Teal'c.

But first, he had to do this.

Neb started to speak as he raised his robed arms. On them, as the sleeves fell away, were displayed the devices that SG-1 had worn. GDO, guns, zatnikitels. "Look to your God, Jaffa! I possess those things which will allow us to pass through the Chappa'i, and onto the world of the Tau'ri!"

A cheer rose from the Jaffa below, feet stamping as they realized their moment of invasion was near.

Teal'c took his moment, arming his staff and blasting the other Jaffa guard off his feet. He moved quickly, dropping the staff and taking the zat from his armor, zapping Neb once and watching him fall to the floor. The Jaffa in the courtyard started to pour out, and into the palace, and Teal'c used the fin of the staff's butt to sever the head from the Goa'uld's still twitching body.

"JAFFA KREE!" Teal'c bellowed, disengaging the mask as he held the head aloft. "SEE WHAT A FALSE PROPHET YOUR GOD WAS!"

The First Prime of Neb, Evo, stood motionless, paralyzed by horror. His God was dead. This... his Jaffa had just murdered him, severed the head from his body. Evo was a powerful warrior, a skilled tactician, an intelligent and courageous Jaffa, but even he could see with his own two eyes. He lowered his staff weapon before he even raised it, lifting his stunned eyes from his dead God to the man who had just killed him. "How can this be?"

As the Falcon head retracted from the armor, Teal'c's own gold shield became visible on his forehead. He did not drop his weapon, nor did he drop the decapitated head. "The Goa'uld are not gods. They are parasites, creatures that live in the bodies of others as our own larval Goa'ulds do. They die, as their hosts die, and they are vicious in revenging their wrongs." Teal'c threw the head to Evo. "Hold it aloft for all of your men to see. Become *free* Jaffa," he encouraged. "Become free, as I have done. There will one day be a free Jaffa nation. You can help that nation come to pass, but only if you reject the Goa'uld! They are not gods; you do not owe them your obedience, or your allegiance." He gestured to the head. "You may serve your dead God, and I will kill you as I rescue my friends from Neb's dungeons, or you may become free, and I will call my master, and he will show you all you need to learn to live as free men."

"Sholvah!" Evo cried, but not in anger. He raised the head, fierce realization in his eyes, hate and anger he'd repressed for so long coming to his face as he looked at the head. He was stunned, horrified, overjoyed. Too long had he killed in the name of this man. Relief swept through his body. "The sholvah, Teal'c. You bring us your wisdom, and to you we are forever indebted to," He said, and all of them in the room bowed low to him.

Teal'c shook his head and reached out, raising Evo to stand tall beside him. "Do not bow to me, or to any man," he chided. "Those who wish to be free, are free! Free men do not bow and scrape before anyone."

Evo stood proud beside him, tears filling his eyes, and thumped one arm across his chest before turning, snapping and snarling at his Jaffa to get going, to spread the word that Neb was dead. He turned to Teal'c before he did and pressed the keys to the jail into Teal'c's hand.

Teal'c squeezed Evo's forearm in thanks. "Many thanks," he answered, inclining his head and closing his eyes for a brief moment. He released Evo when he turned to go to the other Jaffa, and knelt beside Neb's headless corpse. He rifled through the sleeves, pulling off all of SG-1's gear and stowing it in the empty knapsack that rested across his wide shoulders. He stripped the wrist device off, as well as the ribbon device, and added those to his knapsack as he let the Goa'uld's body fall back to the ground in distaste.

Leaning over the balcony, he motioned to the men in the courtyard. "You are free to enter; the Goa'uld that ruled this place is dead, and his Jaffa have been freed," he called to Daphon.

Daphon and his men cheered, and Daphon gave Teal'c a bright smile as he pounded up the stairs.

Teal'c slipped the wrist device on over his arm, and pressed the black button. The familiar sound of transport rings was accompanied by the bright light of the mechanism opening, and Teal'c concentrated on the prison cells.

The rings delivered him to a wide, brightly lit space leading to a dank hallway, and Teal'c picked up his staff. "O'Neill!! DanielJackson!"

Someone was screaming his name, but Daniel was too far gone to hear. If someone could be unconscious with their eyes open, then Daniel was doing it, because his mind had shut off. He had Jack close, agonizingly close, tightly close so he wouldn't slip away if someone came for him without Daniel knowing.

The voice, again. Calling for him.

Teal'c moved down the hallway, cautiously, staff held at the ready in front of him. There were no guards to be seen, which concerned him greatly. The only reason you did not guard prisoners was because they were left for dead. "O'Neill!" Teal'c shouted again. "DanielJackson! Respond if you can hear my voice."

Oh, God. "T...Teal'c," he whispered, voice broken and hoarse. Teal'c was there. Teal'c had come. "Teal'c," he whispered again, forcing it past his parched throat. "Teal'c," he said again, squeezing Jack's unresponsive shoulders. "Teal'c, Teal'c."

There it was. A quiet noise, echoing in the nearly silent caverns. "DanielJackson!" Teal'c shouted. "O'Neill! Can you hear me?" He knew it was DanielJackson; it had to be, because it could not be otherwise.

"Teal'c," Daniel whispered, trying again, and again. "Teal'c."

He couldn't scream.

Panic swept through him, and with the very last bits of his strength, he took the dog tags from around their nearly empty water bag, wound the metal around his trembling hands, and tapped against the wooden floor. Over and over. SOS. SOS. A pattern Teal'c would know, because Jack himself had taught him. Over and over. Slow, sluggish, muscles screaming. "Teal'c," he whispered.

As soon as Teal'c heard the methodical tapping, he paused. Three long taps, three short, three longs, and then the pattern repeated again. "DanielJackson, I can hear your message. Please continue as long as you can until I am able to pinpoint your cell." Because at the moment, Teal'c was about ready to blast every single one of them open.

He followed the tapping to the last door at the end of the hallway, and opened it. There was a small opening, large enough for a chair, or an individual, and another door. Teal'c peered inside the door opening, and saw the naked, small, and shivering figures of DanielJackson and O'Neill. "Prepare yourself, DanielJackson," Teal'c called through the opening. "I am about to destroy the door."

Even if it was another trick, Daniel was too tired to wonder what he should do. He did as Teal'c told him to do, pulling Jack close to him, shielding his gray and waxen face with his own. He could barely feel Jack's breath on his cheek. His fingers, clenched on the dog tags, wrapped tight around Jack's face, pressing him close. "it's okay, Jack, we're safe, Jack, I'm here," Daniel whispered softly, over and over, eyes closed. "Teal'c came, I told you he'd come, we're safe now, safe."

Jack's face was gray, even though his entire body was hot and flushed with a fevered heat. He was sticky with sweat, and entirely unconscious. His chest was barely rising and falling, and he had no idea how desperately Daniel was clinging to him.

Teal'c waited until Daniel was hunkered down over Jack, and he raised his staff. A blast to the serpent shaped lock, and a hard kick with Teal'c's booted foot, and the door sailed open, half off the hinges in the process. "DanielJackson." He ripped the silver cape from the armored uniform, and draped it over his friend's naked body.

Daniel didn't look up until Teal'c said his name, and the cape fell over his body, and it was warm, and... "Jack," he croaked, looking up. "Teal'c, he...Jack."

"I am aware, DanielJackson." He put his hand on Daniel's shoulder. "Can you stand?"

Daniel didn't move, didn't even react as if Teal'c had spoken to him, just stroked Jack's matted, wet hair.

Teal'c shed the Falcon Guard armor as quickly as he could, and used the radio strapped to his shoulder. "Samantha, where are you at the moment? Come to Neb's throne room; bring one of Prince Daphon's instant transportation devices, and I will send the transport rings for you. DanielJackson is injured, and O'Neill is dying."

"Teal'c?" Daniel whispered, focusing on him, really *focusing*. Realization dawned on his face and his eyes filled with tears. "Teal'c?"

The last thing Sam ever wanted to hear. She nearly missed it, over the spray of bullets, and crouched low as SG5 shot back with everything they had, and she yelled into her radio, "SG3 and Janet are nearing your position! Ten minutes away!"

Teal'c nodded. "I understand, Samantha. Do you require further assistance? The palace has been secured, and the Jaffa are no longer loyal to Neb. Once DanielJackson and O'Neill are in the doctor's care, I will speak to the First Prime and see if reinforcements can be sent to your position." He put his hand on Daniel's shoulder. "It is going to be all right, DanielJackson."

"No, Daphon went up again to meet the First Prime! Turns out he's part of the rebellion," Sam yelled, and let out another round of bullets. "We're trying to hold them back, Teal'c!"

Daniel listened to the sounds on the radio, far away sounds. Painful sounds. "Teal'c," Daniel said, quietly. "Jack, he's hurt. I tried to help him, but there was blood. I tried, Teal'c, to get food for him, but Neb wouldn't… he... he wouldn't..."

"Indeed," Teal'c replied into the radio. "I will send the Jaffa from the palace here to your position, along with the head of Neb. Perhaps that will help sway them into laying down their weapons." He turned the radio switch for a moment. "Doctor Frasier, what is your current position?" He knelt down beside DanielJackson and O'Neill. "You did your best, DanielJackson. No one is blaming you. Doctor Frasier will be here soon, and she will help you."

"Five minutes away, Teal'c!" Janet cried into her radio. She and the rest of SG5, as well as her three medics, were running top speed. "We just left Daphon with his father! He's unhurt and alive. Where is your current position?"

"We are deep inside the building's containment facility," Teal'c answered. "Please proceed to the throne room, and call for me when you are there. There are transport rings in the ceiling which I will then activate, and they will bring you to our position," he instructed. "As I took the rings myself, I do not know how to tell you to find this place on foot."

"Will do!"

Daniel zoned out again. His fingers were tight on Jack, eyes at half mast. His face looked at least ten years older than what he really was.

Teal'c let the radio fall back onto his shoulder, and he wrapped the cape even tighter around DanielJackson's shoulder. "DanielJackson. You may release O'Neill now; Doctor Frasier is on the way." He tried to gently pry Daniel's fingers off Jack's shoulders. "You must tell me what has happened to O'Neill."

Daniel wasn't letting go. His fingers were tight in Jack's hair and his wet suit both. "He was shot. The Jaffa shot him. The bullet went through, but there's blood, and his belly... there's blood. He's stiff and bruised inside, internal... they hurt him, wouldn't let me help him, Teal'c. The water, it was sick, sick water, it made Jack… ma-made him..."

There would have been no bullet, Teal'c knew, because the Jaffa did not use projectile weapons. But the damage was real, and Teal'c physically moved Daniel's hand to inspect it. "This wound is deep, and has damaged more organs than you thought," Teal'c said blandly.

"Teal'c!" Came the crackle through the radio. "We're in position!"

Teal'c reached up and pressed the button on the wrist device, summoning the rings. He did not take the time to explain, simply waited for the rings to lower from the ceiling and deposit Dr. Frasier at the end of their hallway.

One of the orderlies waiting with Dr. Frasier gave a sharp cry of alarm as the ceiling retracted, and five huge metal rings descended down around them. "Doctor!" he called out, gathering the boxes of supplies close to his chest.

"It's all right!" Janet called back, as soon as they were on the ground once more. She picked up her own box, her P90 strapped tight to her chest, and followed SG5 down the hall. "Teal'c, what's your position?"

"Proceed quickly down the hallway. You will find a doorway at the end of the hallway. Come through the doorway and you cannot miss us. We are in the cell at the bottom, with the door removed from the hinges." He stood, staying crouched down. "DanielJackson. Please step away from O'Neill, and go with Doctor Frasier. I will take care of O'Neill."

Daniel's bloodshot eyes opened. "Teal'c, I can't get up."

Janet, and SG5, did just that. Castleman led them quickly through the labyrinth, setting up a perimeter around the room as she and her orderlies swept in.

The first thing she was aware of was the Colonel, and the blood on his belly. Drenched, nipple to hip. Daniel, holding him tightly, and Teal'c.

It was going to be a long night.

Janet came towards him, trying to speak to him in that soft voice of hers, but Daniel far gone. Four days without sleep finally crashed and burned, his eyes rolled back into his head, and he heard no more.

- = - =

In the infirmary, flat on his back, still mostly unconscious, Daniel's lips curved.

There was a thud, which Jack really, truly hoped hadn't woken Daniel up.

But that was just his fucking luck; get up to take a piss, and when he came back was the first sign of life on Daniel's face since they'd gotten back from 909. Of course he missed it.

Jack just sighed, and leaned over, picking up the papers and the stack of books that had just toppled over from the small bedside table.

It was a miracle that Janet hadn't kicked him out of the infirmary two days ago, but when Jack had brought half his desk, Daniel's laptop, and a pile of books, Jack thought she'd given it up for a lost cause as he'd camped out around Daniel's bedside, waiting for him to wake up.

As it turned out, the thump was just what Daniel needed. His exhausted body finally let go and he began to wake up, shifting slightly this way and that, fingers curling, and groaned soft and low. It sounded nasal with the oxygen going up his nose, cold and strange but not all together unfamiliar. Sad, that. As were the familiar tugs in all the most private parts, his arm, and no way was he in the Infirmary again.

He tried to open his eyes, but it was so bright it nearly blinded him, and he groaned again.

All the papers and books went flying again, as Jack shoved them out of his lap. "Danny? C'mon, Daniel... wake up." One of Jack's hands slipped into Daniel's without realizing it while the other very, very gently rubbed his cheek. "Attaboy, Danny. C'mon back to me."

"Ow....fuck," Daniel whispered.

*Not here in the infirmary,* Jack wanted to say, but he knew it wasn't the time. "There's the linguist I know and despise. Out of all the words he uses to wake up with, he picks fuck." A little grin, and Jack squeezed Daniel's hand a little tighter.

The light was too bright, and he squinted, then shut his eyes quickly when they overflowed with tears of pain. "Ow," he whispered again, then...

Jack.

His fingers convulsed, his body tightened, and he cried, "Jack!"

...Jack, covered in blood, cold, dying, cell, no one to save them, food right there but Daniel couldn't tell Neb anything about the SGC. Jack dying because of him!

"I'm here, Daniel." He reached up with the hand that had been stroking Daniel's cheek and waved to one of the nurses, who was across the room. When he'd gotten her attention, he dropped his hand down to shade Daniel's eyes a little. "I'm here. I'm here, Daniel. You're at the SGC, in the infirmary. We're back on Earth."

"And in my care," Janet said.

She closed the curtain around her, already pulling out her pen lights. Her nurse had a whole row of shots for her patient, and she smiled down at him as she flickered the lights behind the bed lower, so they didn't hurt his eyes. "There we go. How are you feeling, Daniel?"

Jack, God, he... "Jack," he said softly, and reached up with trembling hands to touch his face, his neck, his shoulders. "Alive? You're alive," he whispered.

"Yeah, I'm alive, thanks to you. And Teal'c." He raised both his hands to gently wrap around Daniel's wrists, but he didn't make Daniel stop. Instead he leaned in, so Daniel didn't have to lift and strain as much. "You kept me alive, warm as you could, until Teal'c got there. You were gone by the time that happened; T said you passed out on him before they could get you out of the palace. They brought you through the Stargate and Teal'c took me to the sarcophagus they captured when they killed Neb."

Janet saw it on Daniel's face, when he panicked. He'd told her most of what happened when Amonet had him under the control of the ribbon device, and for that reason and that reason alone she intruded on their moment. "Daniel, it's true. Daphon was there with him, and I released him from the infirmary the night before last after keeping him for observation and pumping him with fluids," she said, and touched his hand before looking at the Colonel. "Colonel O'Neill, why don't you call me when you're ready? Fifteen minutes, all right?"

Jack just nodded at Janet, and kept his hands on Daniel's wrists. "It's true, Daniel. I promise, I'm not lying to you. You're not under any influences or anything. It's okay."

Okay, then.

Daniel relaxed, fingers still on Jack's face, and focused on his surroundings, with the wisp of the curtain as Janet drew it closed behind her. He was in the infirmary... Jack was alive. "What happened?" he asked softly, unable... unwilling to take his hands from Jack's face, his neck.

Jack gently nudged Daniel's hip over with his own and sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to jostle Daniel too much. "I don't remember very much; the last thing I remember is the Goa'uld in the cell with us. After that... I don't remember anything until Teal'c helped me out of the sarcophagus. I've read his report, and apparently, he snuck into Neb's palace, dressed as one of the Falcon guards, and assassinated him on the spot." He leaned in close. "Beheaded him in front of all the Jaffa; the ones who defected are with Bra'tac. The ones who didn't are mostly dead, thanks to SG3 and SG5, who were holding the Gate for the rescue teams." A pause. "Janet and her medics got you back to the transport rings, and Daphon used one of his little doohickeys to send you straight to the Gate."

After 'sarcophagus', Jack's words became a blur of sound. He was comforted, knowing his friend was alive, just listening to the sound of his sarcastic voice as always.

He'd never loved anyone more in his whole life.

He opened his eyes, glassy and blood shot, and murmured, "I'm sorry I couldn't help you more."

Jack stopped talking at that, and looked down at Daniel. "You're crazy, Daniel. You did everything right. You did everything you could and more than most people. You've got nothing to be sorry about."

"I couldn't tell them about the SGC. Even if you died. I couldn't tell them," he murmured, shaky fingers sliding up his chest, across the wires, over the tape holding them in his neck, where the dog tags were gone. He drew his fingers up to his face, where he tugged the oxygen off and began to sit up, pushing his elbow under him.

"Stay, stay down," Jack said softly. He wasn't stupid; he knew what Daniel was looking for. He reached under his shirt collar and pulled the dented, beat-up dog tags out of his shirt. He let the tags themselves stay in his hand to get warm, and he reached carefully under all the wires and tubes so that he could fasten the bullet chain around Daniel's neck. "Stay still, Daniel, or Doc Frasier's gonna sedate you."

Oh. The warm metal on his chest was so familiar, so great. As beat up as they were -- or at least, as Daniel was -- but still there. Still intact. A lot like his relationship with Jack. Yeah, it was a relationship, and yeah, he didn't want it to end. In fact, as soon as he was on his aching back again he reached for Jack's hand. "I dreamed."

Jack met Daniel's reaching hand with his own. "Whatever it was, it wasn't real," Jack said quietly. "You were here. You were safe with me." His thumb rubbed calm, soothing circles over the back of Daniel's hand, and he barely resisted the urge to reach up and stroke Daniel's hair off his forehead, because the hair was no longer there to be stroked, not with the short cut that Daniel had adopted earlier in the year. "I wasn't going to let anyone hurt you, not after what you did to protect *me.*"

A little smile, all dimples, graced his face. He turned his hand up so that thumb moved over the palm of his hand and he could touch back "We were in your boat. It was hot...we were watching the clouds. I knew it was a dream, because your boat smelled like fish."

Jack snorted. "I don't think the boat's ever seen a single fin on it," he said with a dramatic sigh. "Unless I bought the fish and grilled it on the boat." He smiled when Daniel turned his hand over, and he squeezed it tightly before going back to the soothing rubs.

"It was finless," Daniel said, and closed his eyes. "We did good, Jack."

"No, *you* did good," Jack said, smiling softly at the restful expression on Daniel's face. "You did good. You beat the Goa'uld. You survived; you made sure I survived. I'd say that makes you the hero of the story."

"No," Daniel murmured, and looked up at him. "We did good." He squeezed Jack's hand, and a hope in him blossomed so fiercely that he knew it was visible on his face.

Jack's hand tightened around Daniel's, and his other hand came up and gently stroked Daniel's cheek. "Yeah... we're always good together, Daniel," he said softly. "We always *do* good together."

"I'm sorry," he said, quietly. "For..." He reached up to trace where the bruise had been.

Jack just smiled, and turned his cheek enough to display the unblemished skin. "Don't worry about it," he said softly. "Sarcophagus took care of it, and I'm not sure that I didn't deserve it. If not for that, then for something else, so let it go, okay?"

Daniel's throat tightened. "You did deserve it, but I shouldn't have hit you." He squeezed Jack's hand.

"Yeah, you should have. I'm a bastard, and I'm not dumb enough not to see it." He paused, looking down at Daniel's hand in both of his rough ones. Daniel's was just as rough, if not more so--Jack's from guns, Daniel's from pens and shovels, and somehow, that fit. "Look... Daniel. I should have said this earlier, when it might've made a difference. Whatever you think I said about... about Shau're... I didn't. I wouldn't. I'm sorry. You know I wouldn't hurt you like that."

"I know," Daniel said softly, and smiled a little. "Sometimes I get consumed by my own pain. Shocking, huh?" He laughed a little, and groaned. The flash of pain in his back seemed to bring him more to his senses, because he scowled fiercely. "You did say 'beheaded', right?"

Jack grinned. "Very shocking. Never would have figured that one out myself." And then a nod. "Yeah, I did say beheaded. I gather Teal'c was very, very upset."

"Good," Daniel muttered, then nudged Jacks hip with his knee. "Now go away so I can have Janet poke me. You can come back afterward and tell me how you're going to make this up to me."

Daniel did not *leer*. He was incapable of it. He did blush, though.

Jack shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere, Daniel. Janet's tried. I pulled rank and refused to move. I told General Hammond I wasn't leaving either, and he backed me up, for once, as long as I didn't get in the way of your treatment. I haven't, and I'm not going to. But I'm not leaving."

Daniel's eyebrows drew together, and he glared. "I'm not flashing my ass to all of humanity, Jack. Go away until Janet's done."

A glare back, and Jack relished it. Part of him had been worried that Daniel wouldn't be able to glare at him any longer. "I've seen your ass, Daniel."

"We won't go into your lotion problems, Jack, so drop it and beat it," Daniel said, and gave him another more urgent nudge.

"You've gotta be kidding." A little grin. "And, be nice, or I won't share the stuff that warms up." Jack reached into the pocket of the laptop carrier, and dangled a handful of little packets in front of Daniel's face.

Daniel scowled at him, but there was a hidden smile lingering around his lips. "I'll bet Janet will give me the stuff that tingles if I ask really nice."

"Ah-ah," Jack scolded, and did another dive into the laptop carrier, and brandished several other little packets. "It's amazing what you can find lying around when you raid the medical supply cabinets."

Oh, there was Daniel's smile, dimples and all. He grinned, scrunching his nose around the oxygen tube, and rolled his eyes. "You have no shame, Jack."

"You're just figuring this out now?" Jack leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to Daniel's forehead, and then to his mouth. "Want me to yell for Janet?"

Oh, the kiss. Daniel's smile disappeared, replaced with heavy eyes and pleasure written in every goosebump. Just a press to his mouth, but it had been more than he could have hoped for. His eyes closed and he sighed, softly. "Hmm?"

Jack could almost see Daniel's hair standing on end. "Let me call Janet, and get you taken care of. Once she releases you, I'm gonna take you home for a few days down time."

He opened his eyes again. "I'll need my books."

"The Geek Squad's already packing up half your office, and Linelos is hard at work on transcription of part of the temple walls, to help you decode everything. We've sent MALPs through to the other two temples, and we're getting shots of all the walls, so you can put the pieces together," Jack reassured, pushing the drapes open enough to wave Janet back over. He'd gone over their fifteen minute limit, but he could *really* have cared less.

"Not geeks," Daniel said sleepily, his tingling body lethargic with pleasure.

Janet glanced up from Sgt. Siler, nodded, and with a brisk snap of her gloves she strode over to the Colonel. Behind the curtain she could hear Daniel muttering to himself. "All ready?"

"Yes, they are geeks," Jack agreed, and pushed the curtain open for Janet. "Yeah, we're ready."

- = - = -