From the Ashes

by Sam Walker

Daniel Jackson was asleep on one of the commissary tables. Teal'c caught sight of him as soon as he entered the room, and sighed. The young human's insistence that he needed neither sleep nor food on occasions when it was painfully obvious to everyone else that those were precisely the things he required never failed to annoy Teal'c.

He collected his meal from the counter and seated himself opposite Daniel, debating the merits of letting the man sleep or waking him up and remonstrating him for denying himself rest when he had a mission approaching.

The desire to remonstrate won. If Daniel Jackson would not take care of himself, Teal'c would take care of him instead.

"Daniel Jackson," he said. There was no response. "Daniel Jackson!" he said again, this time accompanied by a hard shove to one shoulder.

Daniel groaned and stirred, raising his head to give Teal'c a bleary look. "Wha?" he said articulately.

Teal'c frowned in concern, irritation forgotten. Daniel's eyes were bloodshot and his face was flushed. He did not look well.

"Daniel Jackson, are you unwell?"

"Wha?" Daniel said again, reaching for a napkin. He frowned, his brain catching up with the conversation. "Oh! No, Teal'c. I'm fine." He blew his nose, a procedure which took a considerable amount of time and left him wheezing for breath.

Teal'c's expression became stony. "You are unwell," he said forbiddingly.

"I'm fine."

"You are not."

"Yes, I am."

"No. We will go to the infirmary now." Teal'c knew better than to ask if Daniel had already seen Doctor Fraiser. If he had, he would not be sleeping in the commissary, nor would he be using napkins for Kleenex. Doctor Fraiser tended to frown on such practices.

"I don't need to go to the infirmary," Daniel protested as Teal'c dragged him to his feet. "Whoa," he said faintly, swaying. Teal'c tightened his grip on Daniel's arm as the young man paled alarmingly.

"Would you prefer to sit? I can bring Doctor Fraiser to you if you do not feel you can make it to the infirmary."

Daniel shook his head. "No, I'm okay. It was just a head rush." He rallied somewhat. "And I don't need to go to the infirmary. I'm fine. It's just a stuffy nose."

Teal'c did not dignify this with a response.

****

"Well, it looks like you just have a bad head cold," Dr. Fraiser said, looping her stethoscope around her neck.

Daniel glowered in Teal'c's direction. "I told you I was fine."

"On the contrary," Dr. Fraiser said briskly. "You are not 'fine'. You're sick, Daniel. You have a temperature, you need to rest and I want to keep an eye on your lungs. And since I can't trust you to take care of yourself, you'll be resting in the infirmary until I decide you've recovered."

"But - "

"No."

"The mission - "

"Can go on without you," Jack said from the doorway. "It's a mineral survey. No natives to annoy, no snakeheads to bait. Just lots of samples to label." A thoughtful look crossed his face. "Actually, now that I think about it, I'm feeling kind of sick myself..."

"Very funny, Jack."

"Maybe next time you'll remember to take care of your colds as soon as they hit," Dr. Fraiser said pointedly. "How long have you been feeling sick?"

"I'm not sick," Daniel insisted, but it lacked conviction.

"Uh-huh," Dr. Fraiser said, sounding entirely unconvinced. "I'll go call General Hammond and tell him you're staying here. That means, by the way," she added, turning back to glare at him, "that I expect to /find/ you here when I return."

Jack laughed. "I'd say she's on to your tricks, Daniel."

Daniel gave him a dirty look, which Jack chose to ignore.

"Come on, Teal'c. We get to go play in the galactic sandbox once again. Gotta love those mineral surveys!"

"I do not," Teal'c told him, but he was already down the hallway and out of earshot. Teal'c turned back to Daniel, who was starting to list a little to one side.

"Rest, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c told him gently. "You will be well when we return." He gave Daniel a light push back onto the bed. Daniel's eyes slid closed.

"'M not sick," he mumbled. "Feel fine..."

Teal'c raised one eyebrow in polite disbelief and left the infirmary.

Dr. Fraiser hung up on General Hammond and returned to find Daniel flat on his back on one of the gurneys, fully clothed and dead to the world.

"Men," she muttered with fond exasperation as she began to unlace his boots.

****

"Thank you for travelling Stargate Air," O'Neill said with false cheer as he exited the wormhole. "The flight only took half a second, 'turbulence' doesn't even begin to cover what we just went through, and you might not have had time to notice but there were no in-flight snacks. We have now arrived on lovely P9C 365. Local attractions include... well, we're not sure what they include, but we're going to find out. Carter!"

Major Carter hid a smile and quirked a bland eyebrow in her CO's direction. "Sir?"

"Do you have any particular direction you want to explore in first, or should we flip a coin?"

"I do not see the logic behind flipping a coin, O'Neill," Teal'c interjected. "A coin has but two sides, and there are many directions to choose from. It would be much wiser to spin a bottle."

Dead silence.

"Ah, Teal'c, that's a different sort of game. Let's just go straight, shall we?"

Teal'c gave a small sigh. Cassandra had, in fact, explained to him the significance of the game Spin the Bottle quite some time ago. Perhaps it was a question of delivery. His timing could be off.

They hiked for several hours, pausing as they went to collect soil and vegetation samples. P9C 365 appeared to be mostly grasslands, which had O'Neill shouting a great many things about pilgrims and circling the wagons. Major Carter pondered aloud about why a planet with healthy and abundant plants would have no signs of animal life, and got into a lengthy discussion with herself over UV radiation and comparable coping factors with reference to the American plains. Teal'c tried to comment from time to time, because he knew that under normal circumstances Major Carter would be debating with Daniel Jackson on these matters, but idle chatter was not in his nature and he consequently left most of the talking to her.

The grasslands rolled on in unending indistinguishable waves, and Teal'c could imagine that it would be easy to lose one's sense of direction in such a place. He kept a close eye on the position of the sun and any unusual landmarks, and could find no geographical indication as to why his symbiote should suddenly become agitated.

"Teal'c? Something wrong?"

He looked up to find O'Neill regarding him intently, all traces of the jocular man from a moment before gone.

"My symbiote has become agitated. I do not know why."

"Carter?"

Major Carter consulted a handheld device. "I'm not picking anything up, sir."

"Is it just here?"

"I was fine until now. I do not understand the reasons behind this disturbance, O'Neill, but it worries me. I believe we should return to the Stargate."

"Okay." O'Neill bent to scoop up one of Major Carter's sample cases, and lost his balance.

"Whoa. Okay, a little light-headed there."

Major Carter swayed on her feet. "Me too."

Teal'c stepped forward and grabbed her arm, hauling O'Neill to his feet with his other hand. "We must depart."

"No argument from me," O'Neill slurred, but he appeared to be having difficulty standing.

Major Carter slumped to the ground, and Teal'c began to feel a strange disorientation spread over him. In his pouch, his symbiote writhed unhappily, but the feeling was suddenly very distant. He looked around and realized he was seated on the ground between O'Neill and Major Carter, gripping both of their jackets tightly in his hands. He tugged, trying to rouse them, but there was no response.

The world swayed around him and he toppled sideways. His vision blurring, at first he did not understand what he saw. Large clumps of grass shifted and moved, rising from the earth to reveal creatures hidden beneath. The creatures started towards them and Teal'c struggled to rise, panic swelling in his chest. Major Carter's jacket was pulled out of his hand, followed closely by O'Neill's. The last thing he saw before blackness swept in was one of the aliens leaning over him.

****

Daniel awoke slowly, luxuriating in the feel of warm blankets and a decent mattress. One of the springs in the mattress in his apartment had come loose a few weeks ago, and if he wasn't careful and rolled over just wrong he got a nasty jab in the side. He'd been meaning to replace it for some time, but never seemed to get around to it.

He stretched and opened his eyes, feeling the slight twinge of an IV in one arm. He could still feel a touch of the cold he'd gone to sleep with, but for the most part it seemed to have cleared up.

"It's alive!" said Janet's voice from across the infirmary.

Daniel rolled over and sat up. He was still wearing his t-shirt, but his pants and socks had vanished somewhere. He blushed and pulled the blanket over his lap.

"Nothing I haven't seen before," Janet teased.

"Good morning, Janet!" Daniel said, using a very Charlie's Angels inflection. Janet grinned at him.

"You've been asleep for almost twelve hours, you know. How are you feeling? And don't lie. I'm a mother and I can always tell."

"Fine. Great, actually." He gave the IV in his arm a suspicious look. "Twelve hours? What did you give me?"

"Nothing stronger than saline and a mild antibiotic." She gave him a stern look and popped a thermometer in his mouth. "Which is usually an indication that a patient should be sleeping more in general, Daniel."

Daniel gave her a sheepish smile.

"I'd give you my standard lecture on timely medical attention, but since you never pay attention anyway I'm not going to bother. Maybe I'll just wait until the next time you get drunk with the Colonel and we'll have it tattooed on your forehead." She took out the IV and pressed a cotton ball to the spot.

"Okay, now that's just cruel," Daniel mumbled around the thermometer. Janet gave him a scary Doctor look and he subsided.

"Honestly, Daniel, you have to take better care of yourself. You can't exist entirely on coffee and chocolate, you know." She pulled out the thermometer and studied it.

"Heresy!"

Janet grinned. "Yeah, I know. I went through med school, remember?" She shook out the thermometer and handed him a band-aid for his arm. "Well, you look pretty good for a man who doesn't have the sense God gave an eggplant. Get dressed and I'll find you something to eat. SG-1 should be coming back any minute, so if you're good I'll let you out in time to greet them."

Daniel gave her a smile. "Thanks, Janet."

Janet waved one hand irritably. "You can repay me by eating everything I bring you and not whining about the decaf."

****

Twenty minutes later, Daniel wandered into the control room nursing the cup of real coffee he'd pilfered from the nurse's station. Sergeant Davis gave him a nod as he settled into position by one of the panels of blinking lights that apparently did something important besides blink. Daniel had had Sam explain it to him once, but there are only so many times a person can hear the words 'differential', 'sub-space', and 'compensating for geo-magnetic fields' before completely losing track of the conversation.

Daniel took a sip of his coffee and glanced at the clock. SG-1 should be returning right about... now.

Nothing.

Well, that didn't mean anything. They could be running late, Sam could have found something interesting, the differences between the two planets could have thrown their watches off... the possibilities were endless. So it was nothing to worry about. Really.

Daniel shifted uncomfortably and glanced at the clock. They were now fifteen minutes overdue. Sergeant Davis shot him a sympathetic look.

General Hammond walked in reading a large sheaf of papers, avoiding passing airmen with the ease of long practice and the confidence people would notice him and step to one side.

"Sergeant Davis, tell Colonel O'Neill that I need to see him in my office, please - "

"SG-1 has not reported in yet, sir."

Hammond looked up, taking in Daniel, the inactive Gate, and the empty Gateroom in one glance. "They could be running late."

"Yes, sir."

"Give them one hour and dial it up."

"Yes, sir."

The hour seemed to crawl by. Daniel had long since finished his coffee, and stood nervously shredding the edges of the styrofoam cup and dropping the pieces one by one into the trash can by his feet, his overactive imagination providing him with a bevy of awful reasons why SG-1 was late.

"Dial it up, Sergeant."

"Yes sir."

The Gate whirred, clunked, and whooshed to life. General Hammond reached for the microphone.

"SG-1, come in. SG-1, do you copy? This is General Hammond." There was no response.

"Activate the MALP, see if there's anything near the Gate."

"Yes sir."

Daniel came up to stand next to the General, his eyes riveted on the tiny screen where the MALP's telemetry was playing back. He remembered this planet - grassland, mostly, with no evidence of civilization or habitation, but apparently with something interesting science-wise for SG-1 to be sent out on sample-collecting duty. Honestly, he had been paying more attention in the briefing to not falling asleep than to what was being said.

The MALP panned left and all of Daniel's diversionary musings ground to a screeching halt at the sight of three bodies lying motionlessly on the ground in front of the Stargate.

SG-1.

****

"Well, from what I can tell, they've just been sedated," Janet said, sticking her hands in the pockets of her lab coat and giving Daniel and the General her best reassuring look. "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with them, they're just asleep. If they haven't woken up by tomorrow I might start to worry, but as it is..." she shrugged.

Daniel tightened his arms around his chest. "Then why did you move Teal'c into the observation room?"

Janet gave him a sympathetic look. "I've been getting some strange readings from his symbiote. From what I know of Jaffa physiology, that's just the symbiote trying to counter the sedation, but I've moved him into the observation room just to be safe. I can keep a closer eye on things in there."

The General nodded. "Thank you, Doctor. Please keep me informed of any changes in their condition."

"Yes, sir." She turned her attention to Daniel. "You can go in and see them, if you want. It might be nice when they wake up to see a familiar face."

Daniel's face brightened, and Janet suppressed a smile. "Thanks, Janet. I'll do that."

****

Daniel stood awkwardly next to Jack's bed, eyeing the numbers on the various machines nearby with trepidation. Over the years he'd gotten to be pretty good at reading all the infirmary monitors, and Jack's numbers did seem to be okay. But you never really knew.

He tugged fussily on Jack's blanket, straightening it neatly. Jack just looked asleep. He didn't have that washed-out transparent look he had when he was unconscious, or the overly flushed one he had when feverish. Like Janet said, he did seem to just be asleep.

Daniel sighed and moved on to Sam's bed. Her numbers looked fine, too. He brushed an errant lock of hair off her forehead and headed for the observation room.

Teal'c was lying in state on a gurney in the center of the room. He looked like a king in repose, the gravity and regality he had in consciousness undiminished by the mere impediment of being asleep. Daniel noticed, however, that unlike the others, Teal'c had a tight hold on the sheets to either side of him. He brightened. Maybe that meant Teal'c was waking up. He wouldn't be surprised if Junior brought Teal'c around sooner than everyone else. It wouldn't be the first time.

He reached out and gently pulled the covers from Teal'c's grasp, smoothing the sheets as he went. Suddenly, Teal'c's eyes snapped open.

"Hey, Te-"

Daniel never had time to finish his greeting. In the amount of time it took Teal'c's eyes to focus, he found himself with two large hands wrapped around his throat.

Teal'c growled something in Goa'uld, but Daniel was past being able to translate. He struggled for air, pounding Teal'c's arms with his fists, but the big man's grip only tightened. A detached part of Daniel's mind noticed that Teal'c was out of bed now and standing before him, his face twisted in rage. Dark spots began to swirl in his vision as he struggled fruitlessly to free himself. With a final twitch of numbing fingers against the Jaffa's hands, he lost consciousness.

Teal'c hurled the first creature away from him, snarling in satisfaction as it hit some kind of barrier and slid to the ground, and turned to free O'Neill and Major Carter. He could see only one other alien, standing a few feet away holding what looked like a zat'nik'tel. The alien fired, and Teal'c sank into an oblivion of blue sparks.

****

Janet looked up from her paperwork at the sound of a knock on her office door. "Come in."

General Hammond eased the door open and waved a file in her direction. "Doctor, could you clear some - "

"Medical alert in Observation Room One! Medical alert in Observation Room One!"

Exchanging alarmed looks, Janet ran for the observation room, the General close behind. She rounded a corner and burst through the door, taking in the situation at a glance. Teal'c was sprawled near the foot of the bed, and the pale guard still clutching a zat gave her a clue as to what had happened there. Several feet away, Daniel was crumpled by the wall, a pool of blood spreading beneath his head. Leaving the guard to the General and Teal'c to the rest of her arriving staff, Janet hurried to the archaeologist.

Keeping one eye on the medical storm centered around Teal'c and Doctor Jackson, General Hammond drew the guard to one side.

"What happened here, Sergeant?"

The guard swallowed audibly. "I... I heard a crash, like something got knocked over, and then someone shouting. I came in and..." his panicked eyes darted in Teal'c's direction "he was holding Doctor Jackson by the throat. I think the Doc was unconscious by that point. I shouted at him to put him down, but he just - he just - /threw/ him. Like he didn't weigh anything. And then he turned towards me so I fired and sounded the alarm."

General Hammond closed his hand gently around the guard's and took away the zat. "Thank you, Sergeant. That will be all."

The guard nodded and General Hammond made his way to the medics surrounding Teal'c. "Put him in restraints in case he wakes up again - and we'd better do the same with Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter."

****

General Hammond was sitting at his desk when the phone rang a few hours later.

"Hammond. Yes, Doctor Fraiser... are you sure? There's no mistake?" He closed his eyes briefly. "No, I understand. Let me know as soon as the rest of SG-1 regains consciousness. No, I don't think that would be wise... Well, we'll just have to play it by ear. All right, Doctor. Thank you."

General Hammond hung up and rubbed his forehead with one hand. He felt old.

****

Jack opened his eyes and took in his surroundings with the speed of long practice. Ah, the infirmary. Home sweet home. He frowned. The restraints were new, though.

A bustle of movement to his left had him craning his head to catch sight of Nurse Allen.

"Why am I in restraints?"

She jumped and backed away from him, smiling determinedly. "Sir! You're awake! I'll go get Doctor Fraiser." She made like a bunny rabbit and disappeared.

"Sir?" said a groggy voice to his right. "What happened?" The voice sharpened. "Why am I in restraints?"

"Carter," Jack acknowledged. "That would be the question of the hour. Any sign of Teal'c? Or Daniel, for that matter."

"I am here, O'Neill." Teal'c's reassuring bass rumbled across the infirmary. "I do not, however, see Daniel Jackson."

"Bet Fraiser kicked him out," Jack said, and no one argued. It was SOP for the un-infirmaried members of SG-1 to hover pathologically and drive Fraiser to distraction whenever one of their team was in the infirmary. "Anyone remember what happened?"

"We were on P9C 365, gathering samples," Carter said thoughtfully. "I remember getting really dizzy."

"I believe we were drugged, O'Neill," Teal'c supplied. "But by who and for what purpose I cannot say."

Jack could remember the dizzy part well enough. It was the part that came after he was really curious about. "Anyone know why we're restrained?"

He heard Carter moving on her bed, probably testing the restraints. "No clue, sir."

"Teal'c?"

"I am unsure. However, when I first awoke, I was in the observation room. I have since been moved here."

Jack frowned. Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice would say.

"Good morning, Colonel, Major, Teal'c." Doctor Fraiser's businesslike voice was music to Jack's ears. "I see you're all awake."

"Doc, what's going on?" The nice thing about Doctor Fraiser was that asking her direct questions got you quick answers with a minimum of exposition. Jack was still trying to train Daniel and Carter the same way. So far, no luck.

Evidently Fraiser had been taking lessons from them in her spare time. "All in good time, Colonel. First I need to run some tests."

"Why are we restrained?" Jack was never one to be deterred by mere Napoleonic power-mongers with delusions of height.

"Just a precaution," Fraiser said enigmatically, and Jack gave up. Maybe it was just that time of the month.

The next few minutes after they were released from their restraints were some of the weirdest of Jack's year, and that was saying something. The tests themselves weren't unusual, although the wariness with which he was treated was new. No, the weird part was the underlying tension that seemed to be affecting the entire medical staff. Nurses dropped things, Doctor Fraiser damn near swore a few times, and everyone seemed to be looking at him sideways. Across the infirmary, he caught Carter's eye. She gave him an elaborate grimace, which he took to mean that she was noticing the same thing.

Finally, bereft of what felt like several quarts of blood, injected with every kind of antibiotic under this and probably a few alien suns, poked and prodded until he was about ready to start poking and prodding back, Jack lost his patience.

"All right, Doc. What the hell is going on here?"

Doctor Fraiser's hands clenched into fists and went still. Glancing up at her face, he saw that her eyes were closed, but instead of looking like she was trying to hold her temper she appeared to be struggling to fight back tears.

"Doc?" He said in alarm. A pang of fear took up residence in his chest as a number of pieces clicked together and his Daniel-radar went on high alert.

"Janet, where's Daniel?" he asked in a voice he barely recognized as his own. He was peripherally aware of Carter and Teal'c moving to stand nearby but his attention was focused on Fraiser.

She opened her eyes and stared for a moment past his shoulder, then finally looked him in the face.

"There was an accident while you were unconscious," she said reluctantly. "He was... very badly injured." She bit her lip and opened her mouth to say more, then closed it again. "Come with me, please," she said finally. She turned towards the exit to the infirmary, calling out to one of her nurses to phone General Hammond and have him meet them in the observation room.

Jack trailed along behind her, dread crawling through his veins like a living thing before taking up leaden residence in his stomach. "What happened to him?" he asked, but Janet didn't answer, her ramrod-straight back telegraphing her unhappiness. Jack glanced back at his teammates. Carter's face was pinched and white but her chin was firm. She was preparing herself for something bad, he could see. Teal'c was frowning slightly, like he was trying to remember something.

The door to the observation room clicked open, and Jack forgot everything but Daniel for a while.

Daniel was hooked up to what looked like every monitor in the whole mountain. His face was pale except for the area around his eyes which was almost black with bruising. Under the monitoring wires and the respirator, his expression was slack in a way Jack didn't think he'd ever seen before. A line of livid marks surrounded Daniel's neck. Jack heard Carter gasp behind him.

"What happened?" he asked in a strangled voice.

"It was an accident," Fraiser repeated in a near-whisper. "The blood flow was cut off to his brain, causing acute passive hyperemia distal to the obstruction." Her voice firmed as she took refuge in medical terminology. "As well as that he suffered blunt trauma to the occipital part of the skull. There was no fracture, but the resulting contusion caused a good deal of intercranial pressure near the cerebrum and the cerebellum."

"Janet," Carter's voice was pleading. "The EKG..."

Fraiser looked down. "I'm sorry, Sam," she said.

"Are you trying to tell me," Jack said, his voice rising, "that he's a /vegetable/?"

Fraiser flinched but met his gaze. "Yes." Her eyes slid towards Daniel's still form. "I'm afraid the life support is pretty much the only thing keeping him alive, Colonel."

Jack leveled a stare at her that had made hardened soldiers worry for their lives. "Tell me what happened," he ground out.

Fraiser met the look defiantly. "It was an accident."

"No." Jack gave a harsh little laugh. "No. Those marks around his neck are from strangulation. People do not get strangled by accident. Now goddamn tell me who did this to him!"

"Colonel!" General Hammond's voice boomed from the doorway. "Stand down."

"No!" Jack had lost any control he might have ever had over his temper. "That's one of my kids lying there. I want to know who did this and why and then I want ten minutes alone with them to explain in detail why it was a bad idea!"

There was something nagging at the back of Teal'c's mind. He could remember being on the planet, he could remember urging O'Neill to return to Earth, but there was something after that... something he needed to remember... If he thought hard, he could recall trying to pull O'Neill and Major Carter along behind him. He had seen the aliens rising out of the ground and he had seen them coming towards him, but after that it was all a blank.

No, not quite a blank. For some reason, he could remember fighting the creatures. He'd gotten one by the neck, he knew, and had been turning towards a second when it shot him with a zat'nik'tel. Which now that he thought about it was very strange - none of the creatures he'd seen rising out of the ground had been armed. And if he had lacked the strength to even stand, how had he managed to fight?

"Colonel, calm down," General Hammond was saying. "The circumstances around Doctor Jackson's injuries aren't important, what is important - "

"Bullshit!" O'Neill yelled. "They goddamn well are important! Tell me who the fuck did this to him!"

With a wave of sick horror, Teal'c knew. He had never fought the creatures. He had fought figments, one of which just happened to be hiding the features of his friend.

"I did," he whispered.

"What?" O'Neill yelped. "That's ridiculous." He turned to Doctor Fraiser and General Hammond, who refused to look back.

"Oh my God," Major Carter said, and sat down with a thump on the edge of Daniel Jackson's bed, one hand over her mouth.

"You're kidding," O'Neill said. There was a hysterical edge to his voice. "You would never hurt Daniel. You... you're not like that. There must be some mistake."

"I think Teal'c's symbiote reacted to the sedative used on you," Doctor Fraiser said. Her voice was even but her face was pinched. "When he woke up the first time he was hallucinating and Daniel... Daniel just happened to be there."

"That's why we were in restraints," Major Carter said, the scientific part of her brain taking over. "In case we started hallucinating too."

"Yes."

"Oh, shit," O'Neill said blankly, his head swiveling between Teal'c and Daniel.

Teal'c's legs felt weak. When he had first met Daniel Jackson and realized who exactly he had chosen to be Amonhet's host, he had sworn that he would never again cause the other man pain. And then they had discovered Sha're on Abydos, heavy with Apophis' child, and Teal'c had forced himself to lay aside his own honor in order to protect the child Sha're carried and to strike a blow at the false gods he hated. He had tried to apologize to Daniel Jackson but Daniel had forgiven him easily. Teal'c had renewed his vows, and promised himself he would help Daniel find and protect both Sha're and her child even if he were to die in the process.

That, too, was not meant to be. In the space of a few mere seconds Teal'c had weighed the lives of Daniel and Sha're and found Sha're wanting. He had stood there in the doorway to the tent and made the decision of life and death, the decision of a god. Later, in his quarters, head bowed under the weight of Daniel's pain, he had looked over the day and found himself no better than the Goa'uld. And he had vowed a third time to protect Daniel Jackson.

Three times now he had failed that vow. Three times he hurt Daniel deeply and himself not at all.

He fell to his knees and bent his head, crossing his wrists over his chest in the traditional posture of complete submission.

"My life is forfeit," he choked.

There was a long silence. He could feel them staring at him as he knelt and knew they were weighing their choices, just as he had done in the past.

"Get up," O'Neill snarled.

"Son - " General Hammond began, and Teal'c was not sure which of them he was talking to.

"Look at me," O'Neill barked. Teal'c kept his gaze averted. He did not think he could bear seeing O'Neill's face. O'Neill was protective of Daniel Jackson in a way the rest of them could never quite match.

"I said look at me!" O'Neill's fingers gripped his chin and turned his head until Teal'c had no choice but to look O'Neill in the face.

What he saw made his heart sink even lower. O'Neill was furious, angry with an intense anguish that speared Teal'c's soul.

"This," he gestured angrily behind him at the hospital bed and the soulless body of their friend. "Was not your fault. Okay?"

Teal'c looked away and closed his eyes, unable to bear O'Neill's mercy.

"Teal'c!" There was command in O'Neill's voice and Teal'c could no more not respond to it than he could deny his own culpability. "This was not your fault." O'Neill repeated again. He turned and glared at everyone else. "Keep telling him that until he believes it," he snapped, and stormed out of the infirmary, slamming the door shut behind him.

****

Cerebral hypoxia. That was when the brain was starved of oxygen.

Acute passive hyperemia. That was when the airway and the anterior, external, and internal jugular veins were cut off simultaneously but the carotid arteries were not. It meant the blood had backed up in Daniel's brain and hadn't been able to get out.

Petechiae. Those were the little pinpricks of blood on Daniel's neck and face. They came from the acute passive hyperemia.

Bilateral bruising. Those were the marks around Daniel's neck.

Sam shifted in her seat. So much for the strangulation.

The occipital bone. That was at the back of the head. Daniel's hadn't broken, which might have made things better because then the pressure inside his skull would have had some release. According to Janet it wasn't that common to get bruising around the eyes and along the back of the neck without a fracture, but Daniel had it, the lucky guy. He also had a contusion on the back of his head which was a bruise, which lead to an edema which was swelling, which lead in turn to intercranial pressure which was just what it sounded like. He also had an endotrachial tube to help him breathe and one blown pupil. Sam had taken Janet's word on that one.

It was amazing what ten minutes talking to the CMO and half an hour online could get you. In Sam's case she now had the same buffer of words Janet had, but without the understanding. She knew things about the cerebrum and the cerebellum, and the brain stem and the medulla oblongata. She knew which of Daniel's symptoms came from strangulation and which from the concrete wall his skull had crunched against. All of it led to the conclusion that Daniel was never coming back.

Sam closed her eyes. If she had to spend one more minute staring at the minute spikes on Daniel's EKG she was going to start screaming and they would have to sedate her to make her stop.

She got up and began walking aimlessly through the corridors. It was late night, or maybe early morning, and there were few personnel in the halls. Those she passed gave her sympathetic glances and Sam spent a few minutes trying to wonder at the efficiency of gossip in Cheyenne Mountain, but her mind refused to settle on anything for long.

She looked up, not surprised to find she had ended up in front of Daniel's office door. She gently pushed the door open with one finger and walked in.

There was something about Daniel that made everywhere he was seem more lived in. At first she had assumed that it was because of the way he seemed to accumulate stuff. It appeared in stacks and piles, settled in drifts on his desk, a general cloud of clutter that followed him everywhere.

Later she realized it had to just be something about his personality. He had agreed to help her move from her apartment to a proper house and after a day of lifting and carrying had spent the night on her couch. The house was filled with boxes, the walls were bare, she had not yet explored the nooks and crannies or imprinted any part of her personality on anything, and somehow it still felt like the right place to be. Drawing on the evidence of previous moves which had made her feel rootless for weeks, she concluded it had to be something about Daniel.

It was hard to make herself believe that was gone now. Daniel, her partner in crime, her scientific ally against the Colonel, her little brother. She was waiting for some miracle, for some last minute reprieve that would return Daniel to them whole and safe. Because Daniel always came back. No matter what happened, no matter how awful things looked, he always came back. He had to.

Sam turned and began walking the halls again, some restlessness driving her forward. Under Janet's guidance she had tried the healing device that afternoon. She had stood for ten minutes over Daniel's still form and the damn thing hadn't even lit up. Janet said that maybe it was because Sam was emotionally at a bad place to control it, but Sam couldn't bring herself to care about anything other than her own failure to make the device work.

She was the only one from the team who had stayed in the infirmary after Teal'c had offered his life in place of Daniel's. From what she'd heard, the Colonel had gone straight to the gym and beaten the hell out of a punching bag with enough intensity to make even the Marines nervous. Teal'c had locked himself in his quarters and refused to come out.

Sam hesitated at an intersection, then made the turn that would take her to Teal'c's room.

"Teal'c?" There was no answer, not that she was really expecting one. "Teal'c, I know you can hear me." She waited again, hands flat against the cool metal of his door, hearing nothing. "Teal'c, it wasn't your fault. I know you don't believe that right now, but it really wasn't." She chewed her lip. "You didn't know what you were doing. There was no way you could have fought those hallucinations because you couldn't have known they /were/ hallucinations." Well, that was clear, Sam. You go girl. She shifted her weight and tried again. "If you blame yourself for that, you might as well say that what all the men did under Hathor's control was their fault too. And you couldn't stop there, either. You'd have to blame Daniel for what he did when he was on the sarcophagus, and all of Seth's disciples for being under the nish'ta, and... and Rya'c for trying to destroy Earth after being brainwashed by Apophis, and I /know/ you don't blame him for that." She leaned her forehead against the door. "You can't judge us differently, Teal'c. If you blame yourself for Daniel then you blame us for everything else. You can't forgive us and not forgive yourself. It's not fair and it's not the way it works."

There was no answer from inside. After a few moments, Sam turned and kept on walking.

****

There were times when General Hammond loved his job, when he thought there was no way anyone else on the planet could possibly have a job as wonderful as his. Generally those were the times when it was brought home to him that despite the vastness of the galaxy and the cruelties the human race was capable of, it was also capable of incredible beauty and tremendous grace. Those were the times when he thought they might have a chance, that just maybe it would all work out well in the end. The good would be rewarded and the bad would be punished and the Colonel would actually catch a fish.

Of course, there were also times when everything seemed hopeless. Good men died. For every step forward they took a wormhole back, and the suspicions of their higher-minded allies seemed right on target because when you really got down to it the human race was way too fallible to be messing around the galaxy without constant supervision. Days like those had him wishing he'd taken an early retirement.

And then there were days like today. On a galactic scale, of course, today would hardly even register as unfortunate. If one lonely person on one tiny planet orbiting a small sun at an almost indistinguishable spot on one arm of a middling galaxy stopped being able to think for himself, what tragedy was that?

Incredible. Monumental. Unimaginable. All the ten-dollar words in Doctor Jackson's erstwhile vocabulary strung together in one long, bumpy, multisyllabic sentence would not be enough to encompass the sheer tragedy of this single loss.

General Hammond rubbed his head tiredly and reflected that it was a good thing he'd been completely bald before he'd taken this job. It was probably best his hair had disappeared naturally instead of being torn out by the roots.

Major Carter was moping in the infirmary, and Hammond was afraid that any moment she would retreat to her lab and start blowing things up to make herself feel better. Colonel O'Neill had pounded every punching bag in the gym into submission, and then pounded one of the Marines too. He was currently cooling his heels under Major Ferretti's watchful eye. Hammond dreaded the next conversation he was going to have with the man, because O'Neill was Doctor Jackson's legal next of kin and at some point he was going to have to decide what to do with his friend.

And Teal'c... Teal'c was inconsolable. He had sunk himself in a pit of guilt and remorse so deep Hammond was surprised he was still capable of functioning. He'd tried to resign from the SGC twice already and only the fact that he clearly felt himself unworthy to even be in Hammond's presence had kept him from protesting Hammond's refusal to let him go.

It was enough to make a man want to quit and take up something easier, like relocating the Great Lakes to Arizona armed with only a teaspoon and a ziploc bag.

A knock on the door had Hammond hastily pulling his thoughts in line. He straightened behind his desk and called for his visitor to enter. It was about time for Teal'c to come in and try to resign again.

Sure enough, the Jaffa slipped noiselessly through the door and immediately dropped to his knees before Hammond's desk.

"General Hammond."

Hammond sighed. "Teal'c, please get up."

The Jaffa didn't move. "I wish to submit a request."

Hammond rested his head in his hands. "Go ahead."

"I would like to contact Master Bra'tac."

Hammond brightened a little. Bra'tac was pragmatic enough to recognize the situation for what it was and forceful enough to make Teal'c actually listen, something none of them had accomplished. Hammond cursed himself for not thinking of it sooner. "That's an excellent idea, Teal'c. I'll have him contacted immediately."

"I thank you. You are truly a wise and powerful leader, General Hammond."

Hammond grimaced. Teal'c had fallen into the patterns of interaction he'd learned working for the Goa'uld and it made Hammond uneasy. He kept waiting for Teal'c to start calling him 'My Lord'.

"Not so wise, Teal'c, or I would have thought of Master Bra'tac myself. Do you want me to tell him anything in particular about the circumstances here?"

Teal'c considered. "If it is no trouble, please remind him of the Jaffa Is'khar. He will know what I mean."

"It's no trouble, Teal'c. I'll let you know when he gets here."

****

Master Bra'tac's cloak swirled as he strode down the ramp into the Gateroom. He stopped before Teal'c and General Hammond and inclined his head. "Teal'c. Hammond of Texas."

Hammond smiled, but it was strained. "Master Bra'tac, good of you to come." His eyes flicked in Teal'c's direction. Bra'tac took the hint.

"Let us proceed to your quarters, Teal'c."

Without a word, Teal'c turned and left the Gateroom. Bra'tac followed silently, mulling over the situation as he walked. Teal'c's earlier invocation of the Jaffa Is'khar had him intrigued and not a little worried, and General Hammond's palpable distress in the Gateroom only served to heighten his sense of foreboding.

Finally, they arrived. Teal'c ushered Bra'tac inside and closed the door.

"Did you bring it?"

Bra'tac did not move. "Perhaps." Teal'c frowned and Bra'tac gave him a quelling look. "I may have, I may have not. Either way, you will not have it until I am satisfied."

Teal'c gazed back at him steadily. "Daniel Jackson lies in the infirmary, gravely injured from a hurt I inflicted. He will not recover unless I help him. I claim ren'o'lisha."

Blood debt? Bra'tac's eyebrows rose. "/You/ claim it? You are not the one injured, my friend."

"I claim on behalf of Daniel Jackson."

Bra'tac's gaze sharpened, challenging. "He has not requested it himself?"

"He cannot. He is incapable of speech."

Bra'tac crossed his arms over his chest. "Then I see no reason to give you the alinor."

Teal'c's jaw tensed. "It is a matter of my honor, old man. You have no right to deny retribution."

Bra'tac shook his head. "I have every right, Teal'c. I have taught you since you were a chal'ti. When I see you ready to do something foolish, it is my prerogative to stop you before you do yourself harm." He shrugged. "Beyond that, it is I who hold the alinor."

Teal'c stared angrily at Bra'tac for another moment, then his shoulders drooped and he turned away. "I have done him such injury, Bra'tac. This goes far beyond any simple physical harm. I have injured his soul."

Bra'tac heard the pain in Teal'c's voice and closed his eyes. "Teal'c... I have known you for most of your life. You have been to me like a good son." He opened his eyes, looking past Teal'c's room into the world beyond. "I do not wish to lose you needlessly."

"You do not know that I will die."

Bra'tac's hands rose in a half-gesture and dropped to his sides, the first unnecessary move Teal'c could remember seeing him make. "You were the youngest Jaffa to ever become First Prime, Teal'c. That was formidable, yes, but it does not make you invincible."

Teal'c turned back and grasped Bra'tac's shoulders. "It is my /honor/, Bra'tac."

Bra'tac gave a bitter laugh. "Honor. Much is done and said for honor that is not at all honorable." He sighed. "But I do trust your judgement. Take me to Daniel Jackson."

Teal'c squeezed Bra'tac's shoulders and let his hands drop. "I thank you, Master Bra'tac."

Bra'tac shook his head irritably. "This is foolishness. Proceed before I change my mind."

****

Major Carter was asleep by Daniel Jackson's bedside, one hand loosely gripping his around the many wires and tubes. Teal'c halted at the door for a moment, a wave of guilt and shame washing over him so powerfully that for a moment he couldn't breathe.

It wasn't just Daniel Jackson he had hurt. It was his team. It was people like General Hammond and Doctor Fraiser. It was the whole base, whether they knew it or not. He alone had deprived them of Daniel Jackson's brilliance and compassion. He alone was responsible for the death of that curiosity and intellect. Where System Lords and alien viruses had failed, Teal'c had succeeded.

Bra'tac pushed past him and Teal'c remembered to draw breath once more. Bra'tac made his way to Major Carter's side, barely glancing at Daniel Jackson's still body, and touched her shoulder gently. She stirred and woke, looking instinctively first at Daniel Jackson before realizing who stood next to her.

"Master Bra'tac?" She smiled, covering her disappointment well, but her eyes were dark with sadness and fatigue. "I'm glad you could come." Her eyes flicked past him to Teal'c. "Tell Teal'c it wasn't his fault. He won't listen to any of us."

Bra'tac smiled gently. "I will do my best. Please, you should get some rest. We will watch over Daniel Jackson."

Major Carter glanced once more at Teal'c and relinquished Daniel Jackson's hand, stepping back. "All right." She hesitated. "You'll let me know if... if anything changes?"

"We will."

"Thanks." She turned to go, then impulsively turned back and kissed Teal'c on the cheek. She was gone before he could react.

Master Bra'tac looked down at Daniel Jackson with a jaundiced eye. "These machines, will they be in the way?"

Teal'c shook his head. "They are fine. If Doctor Fraiser has them to refer to she is less likely to interrupt."

Bra'tac nodded. "Very well. Situate yourself, if you are still determined to do this."

"I am." Teal'c gently lifted Daniel Jackson's head off the pillow and slid behind him, wary of disconnecting anything, until he was sitting cross-legged with his back against the wall and Daniel Jackson's head in his lap. He shifted a little, getting comfortable, then looked at Bra'tac.

"I am ready."

Bra'tac withdrew a small glass vial from a pouch on his belt. He hesitated, turning it over in his hands, then gave Teal'c an inscrutable look and uncorked it.

The gentle smell of a plain after a rainstorm drifted through the infirmary. Bra'tac eyed Daniel Jackson speculatively, then mentally dismissed the tube coming out of his mouth and tipped a small quantity of alinor down Daniel Jackson's throat. It would be absorbed into his system regardless. He handed the vial to Teal'c and stepped back.

"I will stand watch."

Teal'c nodded. There was nothing else to say. He upended the vial into his own mouth and swallowed quickly.

Bra'tac stood with his arms crossed at the foot of the bed and watched as Teal'c's eyes slid closed. He cast a wary glance in the direction of the many mysterious machines surrounding the two men on the bed. Sooner or later, one of them would register the changes to Daniel Jackson and bring the doctor.

He stood stiffly at the end of the bed. There was only waiting now.

****

Teal'c fell into blackness. It surrounded him, pushing its way into his ears and nose and mouth until he was aware of nothing else. He thrashed, searching.

Far away, he felt himself called. He strained in the direction of the call, propelling himself through the blackness until finally, far below, he caught sight of a light. It was tiny, pulsing weakly, but it was alive.

He sank down to the light, hovering over it for a moment. Finally, he reached out with a hand that didn't exist and caressed it with one intangible finger.

There was a soundless crash and an invisible burst of light and he found himself standing in a tent. A woman was seated at a rickety table placed near the center pole, her blonde hair pulled back and tucked under a kerchief. She was bent over a stack of papers, muttering to herself as she chewed the end of her pencil.

On the ground nearby was a small cradle made from a wooden packing case. With one foot, the woman rocked it absently back and forth as she worked.

Teal'c knelt on the sand beside the crate and looked at the baby within. He was asleep on his back, clad only in a cloth diaper because of the heat. As Teal'c watched, the baby's eyes opened and focused on Teal'c.

Teal'c smiled.

****

Janet stood up from her desk and mentally braced herself before leaving her office. She knew what she would find. Daniel, still brain-dead. One or more of the members of SG-1 hovering in the infirmary. If it was Sam, she would probably be clutching the healing device in one hand, intent on trying again. The Colonel would ask why Daniel wasn't better yet and loudly imply something wasn't being done right. Teal'c would say nothing. That was the hardest to take.

She rounded the corner and caught sight of Master Bra'tac standing against one wall. Good. Maybe that meant Teal'c had finally left his room. She came further into the room and frowned. When she had hoped Teal'c would leave his room, she had not meant that he should meditate on Daniel's bed.

As she neared, Master Bra'tac straightened and intercepted her.

"Do not touch them."

Janet leaned around him, trying to get a good look at the monitors surrounding Daniel. "Master Bra'tac, /what/ is going on?"

Bra'tac dragged her away from the bed by one arm. "Teal'c is attempting to revive Daniel Jackson. Please do not disturb them."

Janet pulled herself up to her full height and glared. "Excuse me?"

"Doctor Fraiser, is there a problem here?"

Janet turned to face the General. "Sir, did you approve this? Why wasn't I told? Master Bra'tac, I insist you let me examine my patient!"

"No." Master Bra'tac folded his arms across his chest and leveled a stare at the indignant doctor that had been known to make fully trained Jaffa quail. "You may observe the monitors, but you may not touch either of them. That will disturb the process."

"What process?" General Hammond demanded, just as Janet leveled a glare right back at Master Bra'tac and said "Let me pass!" in a voice that had commanded everyone from Cassie to General Hammond, and tried to shove past Bra'tac to the gurney.

Bra'tac picked Janet up bodily and deposited her back next to General Hammond. "I will explain," he said sternly. "But you will /not/ disturb them."

Janet and General Hammond gaped at him for a moment, Janet sputtering indignantly, then General Hammond turned to the airman at the infirmary door who seemed to be wavering between calling for help and zatting the whole lot of them. "Go get Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter." He turned back to Master Bra'tac. "This had better be good."

Bra'tac crossed his arms again. "I will wait for O'Neill and Major Carter," he said, and cast a dark look in the general direction of his protŽgŽ that suggested he'd be collecting on a big favor some time in the future. "I intend to explain once only."

Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter skidded into the infirmary, their eyes going immediately to Daniel. Carter frowned. "What - " she began.

"I will explain." Master Bra'tac said. "/You/ will proceed no closer to them." He glared until he had collected a nod from each of them. "Very well. Teal'c is attempting to heal Daniel Jackson using a drug called alinor."

"But - " Janet protested.

"You will not interrupt me, or I will not continue," Bra'tac snapped, his patience clearly gone.

"Go ahead, Master Bra'tac," General Hammond said in a tone that indicated his own patience wasn't that far behind Bra'tac's.

"The alinor permits a Jaffa to establish a link from his own symbiote to whomever he touches. It is a difficult process and very dangerous. It was forbidden by the System Lords and is frowned upon even by Jaffa, because it is primarily used to keep Jaffa without their symbiotes alive until a new symbiote can be obtained. A Jaffa rarely loses his symbiote unless it has been taken from him by a Goa'uld, so to keep him alive is seen as a rebellion against the decision of a god. Using alinor is a dishonorable thing."

Bra'tac glanced at Janet. "Touching either party is not permitted. While under the influence of the alinor, the Jaffa cannot control where the healing power of his symbiote goes except by touch. If an uninjured person makes contact with either participant, a small amount of healing power will be diverted. The symbiote is under great strain trying to protect two people at once, and it is not unheard of for it to die in the process."

"And you agreed to this?" Jack blurted before he could stop himself.

Bra'tac looked unhappy. "I was against it. I am still against it." He shrugged. "Teal'c insisted it was a matter of honor, and I could not refuse him."

Jack shook his head. "This is nuts. This is just nuts. What the hell was he thinking?"

Bra'tac stiffened. "I realize the concept of honor may be foreign to you, human, but for a Jaffa it is everything. Without honor we have nothing."

"That was a rhetorical question, Bra'tac. Means you don't have to answer it."

****

Daniel hopped up the dune, singing a sand song. He stopped at the top and looked back. "Teal'c, why do the stars have stories?"

Teal'c followed him. "It is a human thing, to name the stars. My people have no names for them."

Daniel frowned. "Why not?"

Teal'c smiled down at his young charge. "Humans make stories of their gods and use the stars to illustrate them. I suppose it makes them feel closer to divinity. Jaffa have no need of such things. We know the gods for what they are."

"Real gods? You know real gods?"

"False gods." Teal'c quirked an eyebrow. "Dead false gods."

Daniel chewed his lower lip. "If they're dead and false, why do people believe in them?"

Teal'c crouched down at Daniel's level. "Belief is a strange thing, Daniel Jackson. If a person believes enough in a dead false god they see neither the falsehood nor the fallacy, and they will ignore such things with all their might no matter how much evidence they see to the contrary."

Daniel looked worried. "Then how do you know what to believe?"

"Believe in the truth, Daniel Jackson. Believe that it exists, and then find it."

"Daniel! Dinner!" Daniel's mother came into view around the corner of the dune. She stopped and smiled up at him. "What are you doing up there? You're going to be all over sand, young man," she scolded.

Daniel brushed off his shorts and peered down at her. "I'm talking to Teal'c, Mom. He's telling me about gods." He wrinkled his nose. "Dead false gods, but people think they're real anyway because they're dumb."

Daniel's mother smiled indulgently. "Well, tell 'Teal'c' you have to come in for dinner now. You can come back and play later."

"It's not /playing/, Mom," Daniel grumbled as he slid down the dune. "It's /important/."

****

Jack spun the infirmary chair left and let his eyes unfocus until the whole infirmary was a blur, then stopped himself and spun right. Left. Right. Left. Right.

Okay, that was probably enough. He was starting to feel kind of sick.

He stopped and found himself staring at Daniel and Teal'c's infirmary bed. Fraiser had bowed to Bra'tac's insistence she not touch either of them, but she had erected a plastic tent thingy around the two of them to keep out any germs while Junior worked overtime. Bra'tac had raised an eyebrow, obviously unimpressed, but had said nothing.

Jack squinted at the monitors. Lots of spiky lines. He didn't really know which one was which, but since Janet spent the most time staring at the one on the left he guessed that was the EKG. She had made a vaguely optimistic noise the last time she looked but had refused to say anything definite. Jack was choosing to take it as a good sign.

He gave a contemplative little half-spin that left him facing the rest of the infirmary. He was glad Teal'c was doing something to help, and really hoped it worked, but after this was all over, WHEN Teal'c and Daniel were both okay, he and tall dark and boneheaded were going to have a long talk about letting guilt push you into doing dumb things. He'd just have to make sure to do it somewhere away from Daniel so Daniel couldn't bring up that whole Abydos nuclear bomb thing.

He gave another little half-spin and found himself looking at Fraiser's office. She and Carter had disappeared a few minutes ago to drown their sorrows in Fraiser's chocolate stash. Neither of them was very good at waiting. Unlike Jack, of course, who could actually wait for quite a long time, as long as he was convinced it was worth it.

He spun the chair again, coming to an abrupt halt as Bra'tac's foot caught the bottom of the seat.

"Be still, human," Bra'tac growled. "You are making me ill with your fidgeting."

Jack raised his hands in an 'okay, okay' gesture and Bra'tac retired to his post along the wall next to the bed. Bra'tac was like an Unas with a toothache. He was angry with Teal'c for putting himself in danger and irritated that everyone seemed to assume he should have talked Teal'c out of this Eleanor thing. Jack figured letting Bra'tac blow off a little steam by yelling at the human was only fair.

He inched his chair around until he was facing Daniel and Teal'c again. The monitors looked the same, Daniel looked the same, Teal'c looked the same. He was having a hard time actually convincing himself that Daniel was brain dead. Daniel and brain dead just didn't go in the same sentence. It was like using Apophis and nice together. It just didn't work. Daniel couldn't be brain dead any more than Apophis could stand on a corner with a Salvation Army collecting tin and a hand bell. It was sacrilege. Besides the bruises and the wires, Daniel just looked asleep.

So, Daniel was asleep, Teal'c was meditating, the monitors were beeping rhythmically. Jack glanced over at Bra'tac, who appeared to be reaching new levels of pissiness. Time to vent a little of that steam. Jack gave his chair another spin.

"Enough, human!"

****

Daniel shifted from foot to foot, craning his neck so he could see around Teal'c. "That stone is awfully heavy. Do you think that stone is too heavy? I wish they wouldn't stand under it like that."

Teal'c glanced behind him into the rest of the museum. "It is quite heavy, Daniel Jackson. What were you saying about this statue?"

"Nefertiti," Daniel said absently. "Not the real thing, this is just a replica. She was married to Akhenaten and mother of Tutankhamun."

"She is quite beautiful," Teal'c said, and time inexplicably slowed. Behind him, he heard a loud snap, heard someone yell, heard Daniel scream. He whirled just in time to see the coverstone Daniel's parents had been under fall, saw Daniel's father try to push his mother out of the way. A small blur in the corner of his eye was Daniel throwing himself towards the accident as if somehow he could cover the space between them in enough time to accomplish something. Teal'c started after him, but one of the workmen got there first, picking up Daniel and depositing him along one wall as people scrambled around the ruins. The workman vanished into the crowd, leaving Daniel alone.

Teal'c glanced over at the ruins. He recognized the scene now. It was what he and O'Neill had seen while in the Gamekeeper's virtual world. Teal'c had never realized before what exactly had happened. He had only known that Daniel Jackson's part of the virtual world had to do with his parents dying. He had not known how.

He looked back at Daniel. The boy slid down against the wall, tucking his knees in close to his chest as if making himself smaller would help somehow. At the ruins, the frantic workmen had uncovered a hand. It was too smeared in blood for Teal'c to tell who it belonged to.

Teal'c crouched down in front of Daniel, blocking his view of the accident. "Daniel Jackson."

Daniel shivered convulsively, staring blankly through Teal'c's shoulder, and gave no sign he'd heard.

"Daniel Jackson." Teal'c reached out and touched Daniel's face gently, drawing his fingers over Daniel's eyes, closing them.

"There is a place on my world where the plains seem to stretch on forever," Teal'c said, his voice soft and gentle, rhythmically hypnotic. "During the day the grass blows in the wind like waves. It is called the kasq naloh, the earth sea, for this reason. Once a year there is a great festival there. The people gather at night to see the stars race across the heavens. It is said that each falling star is a warrior. The fastest and brightest are the ones who died with the most honor, and each family tries to see their own warrior in the heavens."

He stroked Daniel's hair, soothing the shivers. "My people do not name the stars. We know that they are not gods, we know that they are not really warriors falling from the sky. But we also know that it is the job of the living to remember the dead, and so we gather each year and pretend."

Daniel's eyes opened. He was still shivering a little and his face was wet with tears. "Are my parents dead?"

"Yes."

Daniel closed his eyes again, then opened them, staring desperately at Teal'c. "What do I do now?"

"You must be strong, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c straightened, unconsciously deepening his voice to that of a commander. "You must go forward. You must choose how best to remember your dead. You are one now, Daniel Jackson, and you must be strong."

Daniel blinked up at him. "Strong like you?"

Teal'c did not look away.

"Stronger."

****

"Teal'c?"

"Yes, Daniel Jackson?"

"Why do you call me that?"

"It is your name, is it not?"

"Yes, but why do you always say the whole thing? Why not just Daniel?"

"I am according you the respect of a great scholar. Among my people warriors are called by one name only, scholars by two or even three. Priests and tradesmen are known only by their station unless they are among family."

"Teal'c, I'm not a great scholar."

"You will be."

"Okay."

****

Janet looked at the EKG, then bent closer and looked again. Frowning, she checked the connection between the readout and the wires linked to Daniel, then fired a challenging look in Bra'tac's general direction and leaned down as far as she could without actually touching her patient.

"Janet?" Sam's worried voice distracted her from her scrutiny. "Is something wrong?"

Janet straightened. "Well," she said slowly. "I was reluctant to say anything at first because I wasn't sure, but... I think Daniel's brain waves are getting stronger."

Sam's jaw dropped. "That's impossible!"

Bra'tac looked smug. "It is the alinor. Teal'c is winning the battle."

Jack let out a completely unprofessional war whoop. "Way to go, Teal'c!"

Janet held up her hands warningly. "This doesn't necessarily mean anything is going to change for the better. He still has a long way to go before he gets to anything even approaching normal, and even then I have my doubts that he'll ever be the same again. But given that we are dealing with alien technology..." she shrugged. "I wouldn't get my hopes up, but maybe you lot can stop cluttering my infirmary and go get some rest finally." She gave Bra'tac a hard look. "Under normal circumstances I'd give him an MRI, but they're not exactly portable."

The Colonel was grinning from ear to ear. "Celebratory coffee in the commissary, kids. Let's go."

Janet gave him a quelling look. "They're not out of the woods yet, Colonel."

The Colonel's eyes flicked minutely in the direction of Sam and Master Bra'tac. "Well then we'll need to fill up on caffeine for the rest of the vigil, won't we?"

Janet followed his gaze, noticing how pale and drawn Sam looked and how Bra'tac seemed about ready to go off like a claymore. She pasted a smile on her face. "Excellent idea, Colonel! I don't want to see any of you back here for at least an hour. And that includes you, Master Bra'tac. I give you my word I'll keep them safe."

Bra'tac crossed his arms more tightly and gave her a dark look. "You will send for me if there is a change?"

"I'll send for all of you. I promise. Now scoot."

****

"It wasn't his fault, Teal'c."

"Are you not angry, Daniel Jackson?"

"Of course. But being angry at him won't do anything."

"Please explain."

"It wasn't his fault. Being angry at him does us both a disservice. All it accomplishes is to make him miserable and me look like a hot-tempered idiot. I'll get over it."

"But he caused you injury."

"Well, I guess if you can call a few books in a mud puddle an injury, yeah. It was an accident, Teal'c. He said he was sorry. These things just happen. They're nobody's fault."

"Of course, Daniel Jackson."

****

"I think I know what happened," Carter said with the hollow satisfaction of someone who has been puzzling over something pointless for a while and just figured it out.

"Well then, what happened?" Jack asked, stirring his coffee with one of those little wooden stirry things. Bra'tac had taken one look at the coffee and opted instead for water. Jack couldn't blame him, although he would have liked to see Bra'tac's expression when confronted with soda. Teal'c's had been priceless. Ah, for a camera...

"Well, it was bothering me that they drugged us and then left us at the Gate. I mean, they had us at their mercy, so why didn't they take care of us then and there?"

"We're talking about the alien gas guys, right?"

"Yes, sir." Carter nodded emphatically, setting down her coffee with only a small splash. "I think it was just their form of a defense system. They were banking on the fact that their actions would carry across cultural boundaries and translate to anyone. I mean, being knocked unconscious and left at the Gate is pretty easy to understand, right? And then if anyone came back, they just do it again until it works for good."

Jack shrugged. Whatever. "I guess that makes sense."

"I have heard of no such creatures," Bra'tac said dispassionately from the end of the table. "But if it worked upon Teal'c it is likely that any Goa'uld who went there was also affected and thus sent no further expedition."

"I wonder if that's a common defense," Carter mused. "It seems pretty effective."

The conversation trailed off. The ghost of Daniel's intellect seemed to hang in the air between them as they all left the thought that Daniel would know carefully unspoken.

Jack made a show of checking his watch. "Well, I guess the Doc won't kick us out if we go back a few minutes early. Any takers?"

****

"That was fascinating. It never occurred to me that you could get that kind of result from a - Teal'c, are you all right?"

"I am fine, Daniel Jackson. Please continue."

****

Jack watched Fraiser make her rounds of not-touching. It was actually kind of funny, if you ignored for a moment the fact that two of his best friends were lying in an infirmary bed. Fraiser had that itchy test-giving look about her that usually meant needles, only needles probably counted as touching in Bra'tac's book. They counted as a lot of things in Jack's book, none of them nice.

Fraiser straightened, looking worried. Jack's heart gave a leap.

"Doc? Something wrong?"

Across the infirmary he saw Carter and Bra'tac immediately come to attention.

"Janet? Is Daniel okay?"

"Daniel's fine," Fraiser said absently. "Not to be crude, but he really can't get worse at this point."

"What of Teal'c?"

There was a long pause before Janet answered.

"I don't know, Master Bra'tac. I think the strain is starting to get to him. His breathing seems shallower and he's perspiring, but without /touching/ him I can't say what's wrong. He's not connected to any of the monitors so I really have no idea."

Jack slumped back into his chair.

Great.

****

Daniel leaned back in his chair, looking stunned. "Oh my God."

Teal'c appeared like a shadow beside him. "What is it, Daniel Jackson?"

"I think I just figured something out."

Teal'c waited patiently. When Daniel did not seem inclined to continue, he spoke again. "What have you discovered?"

"All right," Daniel paused for a moment, obviously getting his thoughts in line. "Okay. Here's the deal. Up until now we've always assumed that the Great Pyramids were first built during the fourth dynasty. But if you don't think about that, if you just look at the heiroglyphs... my God, it's obvious."

Teal'c frowned. "I do not understand, Daniel Jackson."

"I don't think the pyramids were built then, Teal'c. All the other structures from that time and later are covered in heiroglyphs, but the pyramids aren't. Why? Why would you build something that incredible and not put something on them, some sort of prayer or incantation, or... or even a name or something?" He put one hand to his face, looking pale and scared. "Teal'c, nobody's going to want to hear this."

"Why would they not?"

"Because the only reason I can think of for the pyramids to have no writing is if they were built before the Egyptians invented writing, and not only does that fly in the face of over a hundred years of theory and scholarship... it also kind of points to the idea that maybe we didn't build them. And nobody wants to hear that something that incredible, something that awe-inspiring, wasn't actually a triumph of human ingenuity and perseverance. And they're /really/ not going to want to hear it from some wet-behind-the-ears grad student."

"Scientific progress in either direction is still progress, Daniel Jackson."

Daniel shook his head sadly. "I wish that were true, Teal'c."

Teal's thought for a moment. "Do you believe this theory of yours to be the truth, Daniel Jackson?"

"Yes."

"Then you must prove it."

****

The Colonel and Bra'tac looked like bookends, one on either side of Daniel and Teal'c's bed. Sam watched them from where she was curled up on a spare gurney across the way. Janet had insisted that they sleep, and as the Colonel had been known to sit vigils for his team that lasted days at a time and Bra'tac had yet to follow anybody's orders but his own, it was left to Sam to be sure Janet didn't feel entirely thwarted.

Of course, Janet could make her lie down, but she couldn't make her sleep.

Sam shifted a little and kept watching. It was like Daniel and Teal'c were suspended in the center of a triangle, with her at one corner and the Colonel and Bra'tac taking up the other two. As long as they stared, as long as they willed, Daniel would continue to improve and Teal'c would hang in there. She could hear the rasp and wheeze of his breathing even from here.

If only there was something she could do. There was nothing for the Colonel and Bra'tac to fight. The General couldn't order anyone to do anything because there was nothing to be done. There was nothing for Sam to fix, and there was plenty for Janet to heal but she couldn't do much without touching.

Sam sighed and clenched the corner of her pillow in one hand. Waiting sucked.

****

"I'm never going to get paid."

Teal'c smiled a little. "Perhaps if you take a small break you will be able to think of something. You are quite clever, Daniel Jackson."

Daniel gave him a grateful smile. "Maybe. Ugh, I just don't know. It doesn't look like any kind of writing I've ever seen." He flopped over backwards on the scaffolding against the coverstone and groaned. His voice echoed hollowly around the concrete room they were currently occupying. "This sucks, Teal'c."

Suddenly, Daniel sat bolt upright, the abrupt motion making the scaffolding sway. "What if it isn't writing?" He glanced down at Teal'c where he leaned heavily against the wall. "We've been assuming this whole time that it's writing, but what if it isn't? What if it's something else entirely?" He rose to his knees, peering intently at the symbols from up close, then turned and scrambled down the ladder to get a further away view.

"Does that one in the middle look familiar to you, Teal'c?"

Teal'c shrugged. "It resembles an hourglass."

"Noooo," Daniel said, long and drawn out. "No, it's something else. I've seen that before, but not in writing..." He angled his head from side to side. "Maybe... maybe... okay, think, Daniel, think." He pressed his fingertips to his temples for a moment, then looked back up at the symbol. "Free associate. Okay: Symbol. Hourglass. Um, tunic. Star. Star? Of course! It's Orion, Teal'c! It's a constellation!" He laughed delightedly. "They're all constellations, not writing at all!"

His laughter faded suddenly and an odd expression came across his face. Teal'c levered himself upright and stepped closer.

"Is something wrong, Daniel Jackson?"

"Yes," Daniel said slowly. "I've already done this, haven't I? I mean, I've already figured it out. And you weren't here then, either." He turned to face Teal'c. "I haven't met you yet."

Teal'c got very still. "What do you remember, Daniel Jackson?"

Daniel frowned. "I remember the Stargate. I remember... we're SG-1. We go to planets and you... you were all sick, drugged or something. You were all in the infirmary but I wasn't because... because I had a cold and I had to stay behind. And whatever they gave you made you hallucinate..." his voice trailed off. "What's going on here, Teal'c? How did we get here? I was hurt, I think. Shouldn't I be in the infirmary?" He peered more closely at Teal'c. "You don't look too good, Teal'c." His face paled as something else occurred to him. "Are we dead?"

"We are not." Teal'c sighed and closed his eyes briefly. "Come with me."

Daniel opened his mouth to ask where they were going, but before he could form the question Teal'c had leaned over and touched him gently on the forehead. Like rain down a watercolor the concrete room and the coverstone melted away to be replaced by a dark plain under a starry sky. Daniel's jaw dropped.

"What - where - "

"The kasq naloh."

"Earth sea," Daniel translated automatically, his brain starting to catch up with the rest of him. "But - "

"Not the real kasq naloh. A mental projection of it only. It is easier for me to maintain." He gave Daniel a grave look. "I will explain all that has happened here, Daniel Jackson, but I must ask you not to interrupt. Will you hear me?"

Daniel nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

****

Bra'tac noticed it first, an easing of Teal'c's breathing followed by a slight relaxation of his features. Jack and Bra'tac exchanged glances.

"That's good, right?"

"I do not know."

****

"When I awoke from the alien sedation, I mistook you for one of the enemy creatures and did you great harm. You lay in the infirmary, incapable of consciousness, with little hope of survival without Doctor Fraiser's machines, for some time before I remembered an old legend of a Jaffa named Is'khar who partook of the alinor plant and was able to keep his companion alive and even heal some of his wounds using the healing powers of his own symbiote. It is a practice forbidden to the Jaffa for it can be used to keep a Jaffa without a symbiote alive until one can be procured for him, and as the removal of the symbiote is the greatest punishment a Goa'uld can bestow upon his Jaffa it is not acceptable to circumvent this. I am currently attempting to impart enough of my symbiote's healing abilities to you to heal you from the damage I have done. I believe we have been successful." Teal'c bowed his head. "I regret that neither O'Neill nor General Hammond would fulfill ren'o'lisha on your behalf. I offer you my deepest and most humble apologies for the wrong I have done you."

"Ren'o'lisha means blood debt, Teal'c," Daniel said, his forehead creased with dawning apprehension.

"It does."

"Teal'c, it was an accident. You were hallucinating - that much I definitely remember. You didn't do anything wrong."

Teal'c did not answer. Daniel frowned. "It's not about that, is it?" Daniel asked, his gaze sharpening. "I mean it is, but that's not all. A blood debt is a serious thing." He covered his mouth with one hand, thinking hard, then suddenly reached out and placed both his hands on either side of Teal'c's head.

****

The screaming of the alarms made everyone jump. Fraiser was peering closely at the monitors and muttering to herself before Jack had even had time to catch his breath.

"What? What is it?"

Fraiser gave Daniel's prone form a frazzled look. "I don't know. His brain activity just increased but his pulse and respiration plummeted. I have no idea why."

****

The plain shivered, trembled, faded and came back. Frowning, Daniel tried again. This time the plain vanished fully to be replaced by a darkened room. Teal'c heard a sharp intake of breath and the bedside lamp clicked on to reveal Daniel Jackson, his forehead marked with the distinctive burn of a ribbon device. Teal'c was halfway through an apology before he realized that Daniel must have pulled him into one of his own memories.

"Are you ill, my husband?" said a feminine voice. Daniel rolled over quickly; evidently he hadn't been expecting it any more then Teal'c had.

"Apparently," he said, staring intently at the face of a woman Teal'c immediately recognized as Sha're. Teal'c's breath caught in his throat. Sha're's presence here, Teal'c knew, was impossible. She had been forever denied the chance to share Daniel Jackson's bed by Teal'c's own actions.

"Go to sleep," Sha're murmured soothingly. "Tomorrow you will rise and return to your travels through the Cha'apa'ai." A lock of hair tumbled forward across her shoulder and hung down, partially obscuring her face.

"No, I won't," Daniel Jackson said dreamily, his face more content than Teal'c could ever remember seeing. "I don't need to any more." He pushed back Sha're's hair, twining it around his fingers. "I've already found you."

"You must continue so you can find the boy," Sha're reminded him gently. Teal'c's eyebrow rose in surprise. This had to be a part of the message Daniel Jackson had insisted he had received from his wife. It was the only thing that would explain her presence.

"Where is he?" Daniel Jackson asked, apparently unconcerned by his wife's unexpected appearance.

"To continue your travels, you must first forgive Teal'c. He did what is right."

Teal'c's head snapped back in shock.

"When he killed you," Daniel Jackson's voice was hard.

"Yes."

"But you're here."

Sha're smiled. "Yes." She stroked his face soothingly. "Now go back to sleep."

Daniel Jackson rolled back over and the light faded. Slowly, the stars and the plain reappeared. Daniel let go of Teal'c's head and stepped back.

"It took me a long time to forgive you," Daniel said quietly. Teal'c was still too numb to do anything but listen to Daniel Jackson's words. "I was very angry. I told you several times that there was nothing you could ever do to repay me for what you'd done."

Teal'c bowed his head in acceptance.

"But you know what I realized? Sha're didn't just give me that dream as a warning. She gave me that dream to give me time to screw everything up so the next time it happened I would do it right." He smiled a little at Teal'c's surprised expression. "I don't know how many times in the dream I woke up to find Sha're alive, and every time I fell back asleep I would wake to find her dead again. And every time she was alive she told me to find the boy, that the boy would save us all, that finding the boy was more important than anything else. But you know what? Even with all that, even though she only had a limited amount of time to tell me where to find him, she refused to tell me a thing before I forgave you. You know what that means, don't you?"

Teal'c shook his head.

"That means that Sha're thought our friendship - yours and mine, Teal'c - was more important than the Harcesis. And if there's one thing I know about Sha're it's that she's never wrong. Not about things like that, anyway." He reached out and grabbed Teal'c's shoulders, leaning close so Teal'c would have no choice but to look him in the eye. "I punished you a thousand times in my dream, Teal'c. And when it was all over I knew that I'd been wrong. You didn't deserve any punishment. You didn't kill Sha're, Teal'c, you freed her. You did what I couldn't." He released Teal'c and stepped back. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you that before. I'm sorry I didn't realize how much you needed to hear that."

Keeping his eyes locked on Teal'c, he sank to his knees in the dark prairie grass.

"Will you forgive me, Teal'c?" He bent his head and crossed his wrists against his chest, copying the posture he had seen Teal'c and Bra'tac adopt before Oma Desala.

There was a rustle in the grass and Daniel felt Teal'c's hands on his shoulders, pulling him upright. He raised his head but before he could catch a glimpse of Teal'c's face he was enveloped in a bear hug that would have done Jack proud. Surprise kept him immobile for a split second and then he returned the hug with all the might he could muster. He could feel Teal'c trembling faintly.

Time passed, minutes or years, Daniel wasn't sure. Finally Teal'c pulled back, wiping his cheeks with one hand. Daniel gave a watery chuckle, unsurprised to find his own face a little wet too. Teal'c gave him a tentative smile and tipped his head back to stare up at the sky. "She was a warrior."

Daniel gave a small, sad smile. "Yes, she was."

Teal'c looked down. "We should return."

"Okay."

The plains faded away, washed out by the brilliant flash of a meteorite arcing across the sky.

****

Daniel's throat hurt. It felt a little like someone had cleaned out his esophagus with a wire brush and then force-fed him a mouthful of hydrogen peroxide. His head ached too, with the fiery intensity he normally associated with near-death ribbon device experiences.

He blinked, trying to clear his vision.

Blue eyes met brown under the gleam of a Jaffa tattoo.

Daniel smiled.

FINIS

AUTHOR'S NOTE: For Sarah, who pleaded so eloquently for more (any) Teal'c and Daniel friendship stories, and who gives the best cyber-hugs on the planet. Here's looking at you, kid! Thanks also to Atticus for the medical jargon, and to my wonderful beta LimeKid, who writes fun things like 'Dr. Zat Gun, I presume?' in my margins and says 'dude' a lot. And extra special thanks to Barb, Feedbacker Extraordinaire and single illustrious member of my Updates List. Okay, okay. I'm really done thanking people now. ;-)