Title: The Devil Incarnate.

Author: Lingren.

e.mail: dalintel@aol.com

Status: Complete.

Category: Angst, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Romance.

Warnings:

Pairings: Sam/Jack.

Season: 5.

Spoilers: None.

Rating: 13+

Summary: Not all ‘first contacts’ go smoothly.

Disclaimer: Don’t own Stargate SG-1. No copywrite infringements intended. Just borrowing the Characters for a bit of fantasy and imagination.

Author’s Notes:

File Size: 176K

THE DEVIL INCARNATE.

by Lingren.

The noise level rose in the confines of the small locker room and the boisterous behaviour of one of the four members of the premier team, SG-1, grew with it. The worst offender was, believe it or not, the leader of this little band of diversified characters, one Colonel Jack O’Neill. He stripped off his regulation T-shirt and threw it, supposedly at his friend Dr. Daniel Jackson, the team’s linguist and archaeologist. It went sailing over his head far too high and landed on the security camera, blotting out the ‘spy in the corner’ and earning Jack a round of applause.

“Yeeess,” Jack hissed, punching the air with his fist.

He took a bow, before pulling on his clean T-shirt and Jacket, and then walked purposefully towards his 2IC with a wicked gleam in his eye.

“You know Jack; I bet you were a real devil when you were a kid.” Daniel stated in earnest, folding his arms across his chest to study his friend. “Still are,” he added. “All that’s missing are the horns, the red suit and the tail, along with the em….”

Jack cut him off.

“….I don’t know what you mean Daniel, but I think my Mother would be hurt to hear you say that!” Jack replied; his eyebrows rising in all innocence. Though this remark brought a few giggles from Sam.

“One of these days General Hammond’s going to cotton on to your antics,” Daniel sing-songed, pulling on his own jacket.

“No he won’t; not if I can help it. Now get out of here, we’ll see you guys in the gate room in five minutes.” Jack growled mockingly.

Teal’c and Daniel happily took themselves off to the gate room to await the others, hoping that General Hammond wouldn’t ask too many questions as to what was keeping Major Sam Carter and the Colonel.

Jack, now that they had the room to themselves, approached Sam and drew her into a hug before kissing her soundly. Sam responded by throwing her arms round his neck and bringing his head even closer, pressing their lips together more firmly. When they both came up for air, Jack rested his forehead against hers while they both calmed their breathing once more. It was just a quickly stolen moment in their forbidden relationship and they both knew it would have to last them until they got back from their mission in four days time.

Fraternisation was strictly forbidden under Air Force regulations, but that hadn’t stopped them from falling head over heels in love with each other. It had taken the couple, a few years to finally admit to each other that there was something between them, and then it took even longer for them to actually do something about it, prompted by their team-mates to ‘stop tap-dancing round the issue and just get on with it’.

Jack straightened Sam’s jacket again and zipped up her vest for her, before dropping his hands to fasten his own. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and silently slid her palm down across his clean shaven face, her blue, suddenly serious eyes locking onto his deeply hooded dark hazel ones for a brief moment; then in the blink of an eyelid, she was gone.

The door closed behind her and Jack let out a deep sigh, staring at the inanimate door, wondering what the mission had in store for them all this time. Neither he nor Sam had spoken a word; it wasn’t necessary. They both knew it could possibly be the last time they could indulge in any dreams of normality, and that either of them could die out there today, tomorrow...or whenever. It was an unspoken fear they had for each other and perhaps speaking of it would bring about its reality, so the words had always remained unuttered.

Jack picked up his backpack and pulled the T-shirt from the security camera, throwing it in the laundry bin across the room, whooping another *Yeesss* when it shot straight in, then he made his way out of the door to join his team.

As soon as they stepped from the room it would be as if their earlier intimate moments had never existed. Back in that room for a few minutes it had been just Jack and Sam, but now it was their professionalism which came to the fore, and they switched back to being Colonel O’Neill and his 2IC, Major Sam Carter. There was no Jack and Sam whilst working, personal feelings didn’t enter into it. Their emotions would not intrude until they were home and off duty again. It was their unspoken rule, and only fair to the other members of the team. The brief interlude in the locker room being the only time they broke the rules on base, just in case it was goodbye.

**********

Jack sauntered calmly into the gate room, Sam was checking the equipment on the M.A.L.P. and Daniel was rummaging through his backpack for the umpteenth time, while Teal’c stood by patiently waiting, standing like a sentinel guarding his team-mates already. Jack looked down at his watch, noting that he was on time and signalled to the General his readiness for the mission to begin.

General Hammond ordered the dialling process to begin and stood patiently behind Sergeant Davis watching his best team prepare to leave this world and bravely walk upon the surface of an unknown planet. The bantering going on between the close knit team below was comforting in it’s own way, giving him the feeling that maybe just this once the mission would go according to plan. It was meant to be a simple ‘meet ‘n’ greet’, and they were to glean as much Intel as possible from a race of people who were perhaps a lot less advanced than they were. But, as they had discovered to their cost before, some societies were advanced in many other ways than was at first thought.

The gate locked its seventh chevron into place and the bright plume of matter burst forth into the gate room, bathing the area in an eerie blue glow, bringing an awesome silence to the waiting team as they watched the M.A.L.P slowly make its way up the ramp. Tense minutes passed by as each team member looked to each other, hanging unspoken messages of reassurances in the silence.

“SG-1!” Hammond barked through the microphone at the four, making them look up at him expectantly; waiting for his orders. “You have a go. See you in four days. Report back to me every 24 hours Colonel. God speed!”

“Yes Sir. Will do! Thank you Sir. Keep the lights on General; we’ll be back before you know it!” Jack waved a ragged version of a salute to the senior officer then led his team up the ramp until one by one they disappeared into the event horizon, stepping out onto a new world beyond.

**********

PZ4 792 appeared to be everything that the M.A.L.P. had shown it to be for once. The temperature was a cool 12 degrees C., but a weak sun still shone down on them from out of a clear blue sky. A breeze blew gently, rustling the shrivelled leaves littering the ground around their feet and causing an occasional dead leaf to swirl down from the almost bare trees nearby. Jack relaxed his grip slightly on his P90 and dropped it back, supporting it at waist level, feeling that for now they appeared to be safe. The rest of the team followed his example, though each of them remained in readiness for the unexpected encounter that might prove potentially dangerous.

“Okaaay...Carter, which way to this town?” Jack asked, he was the Colonel now and as such, he was in command, and waiting none too patiently for her to reply.

Sam studied the compass, and then finally deciding the correct heading she answered.

“It’s to the North Sir. That way; through the gap between the trees. About 35 clicks away Sir.”

“Oiy! Just for once, couldn’t we gate to some place that has it’s civilisation nearer to the damn Stargate?” Jack whined.

“We...um...tried that before and we barely made it back to the SGC in one piece Jack,” Daniel pointedly reminded him. “PX2 843...remember? The gate was right in the middle of the village square and we were faced with hundreds of hostile natives. If I remember rightly, it was you that almost didn’t make it back....”

“Okay, okay, just don’t remind me. So on that occasion it was a little too close for comfort, but just now and then, a few hundred metres would suffice, even a mile or two, but jeesh, it always seems to be between 20 and 40 clicks. Give a guy a break now and then huh?” he pleaded mockingly, looking heavenwards and rolling his eyes and his shoulders, his hands outstretched, just like Topol in *The Fiddler on the Roof*, Jack mimicked him, half singing “Would it spoil some vast eternal plan?....”

“Are you well O’Neill?” asked Teal’c with deadpan expression on his face.

Jack frowned at his team-mate, a little exasperated.

“Actually I’m fine thank you Teal’c,” he replied deflated.

Sam sniggered and Daniel smirked, whilst Teal’c on the other hand went off into a long diatribe on why the gates were often a long way from the nearest habitation.

“It’s okay Teal’c...it was just a little….”

“Over-rated?” suggested Daniel. Jack cast him a cutting look but studiously ignored him and carried on.

“….Sarcasm on my part, don’t take it too much to heart big guy.” Jack patted Teal’c on the shoulder as reassurance, and then turned serious again. “Right then! Carter, you’re on point, Teal’c, you watch our sixes. Daniel, that leaves you with me. C’mon folks, let’s get this show on the road.” He waited for Sam to move off before following; walking alongside Daniel, knowing Teal’c would take his duty seriously, and keep them safe should there be any attack from the rear.

**********

The landscape around them deepened from flat and desolate looking, to forests, of tall dark pines. A small clearing afforded them the ideal place to sit and rest for a while. The walk had been boring to say the least and Sam smiled indulgently at Jack’s comments about the over abundance of trees, knowing it was something he always remarked about no matter which planet he was on. The rest break was welcome, but sitting around was getting each of them chilled, when the sweat from the walk cooled on the skin beneath their clothes. Jack urged them to pack up and move on, giving the excuse that it will soon be getting dark, and he for one didn’t want to arrive anywhere in the dark. A potentially dangerous position to get into; a dark unknown location plus any strangers, equalled a warning signal prickling at the back of his neck. No sir...he wanted to arrive wherever it was, in broad daylight so he could fully assess the situation.

After another few miles he called for a halt, it was getting dark now, much quicker than they had anticipated. They would have to set up camp. They moved away from the beaten track into a small clearing some metres away and set to; erecting the tents. The spot was well chosen, it was far enough from the path and well hidden away from prying eyes. In a strategically chosen place, higher than the surrounding area, in order to look around them in a 360 degree circle at anything that may approach.

The night passed without incident, and the next day they packed up and continued on their way.

Emerging from the trees, great rolling hills with fields of corn, or whatever these people grew, appeared on the landscape. There were sheep and goats grazing in the higher paddocks and the occasional dog barked it’s warning of approaching strangers. A few of the people came out to see what the rumpus was all about and watched fascinated as the strangers progressed down the dirt track which passed for a road where they encountered yet more and more houses and people. The spartan setting of the houses near the outskirts diminished now, the number growing rapidly the further into the town they went, until they were walking down a wide street, between crowded houses. There was nothing technically advanced about this society, at least that they could see. A cart pulled by an ox plodded past the end of the road, and as they neared the corner, they were greeted by many other such conveyances, all moving along the street.

As far as towns go, it was only a small one, but the people seemed friendly enough. It reminded them of the Middle Eastern countries, the whitewashed walls of adobe was reminiscent of a scene from somewhere like the older parts of Jerusalem. Jack looked behind him for the thousandth time, watching the growing crowd to their rear. He smiled benignly at them and carried on; safe in the fact that no-one seemed to be armed with any kind of weapon or had attempted to disarm them...yet. Not that he could tell if they hid anything behind their long flowing robes. Only time would tell, he assured himself.

The swell of the crowd seemed to herd them in a certain direction, though nobody had uttered a word so far. They drifted along the dusty road, hopefully towards where the appropriate authoritative figures would be waiting for them. And suddenly, there they were. As soon as the next corner was turned, a welcoming committee awaited them on the steps of a large colonnaded building set before a small market square. The cries and jostles from the sea of traders and shoppers faded to a deathly hush as they approached the waiting group. All eyes firmly fixed on the four olive clad figures which stood out starkly against the muted beige, cream and white robes of the surrounding throng. Jack turned on his noted charm and smiled serenely to the serious looking officials then called on Daniel.

“Daniel...you’re on. Time to make nice with these folks!”

Daniel stepped forward and bowed slightly to the group anxiously eyeing them up and down, all of them unsure as to what the presence of these strangers meant.

“Um...Hi. I’m Daniel Jackson. This is Major Sam Carter....” he waved his arm in her direction and did the same with the others as he introduced them. “Colonel Jack O’Neill and Teal’c. We’re from a planet called Earth; we come in peace and wish to get to know you and discuss trade…..” he broke off at the excited babble from several members of the welcoming committee. He turned to Jack, noticing the officer’s grip on his weapon had become tighter and he’d moved his finger closer to the safety on the P-90.

“I...er...guess they don’t speak English.”

“That’s what your here for Daniel. This is supposed to be your thing...you know...languages?” Jack prompted. “*Doctor*. Jackson…PhD in ancient cultures? Ring any bells?”

“Yeaaah...right.” Daniel hesitated knowing full well what Jack was getting at but still it drew an irritated glare from within him. He gathered his wits again and swallowed an imaginary lump in his throat, then tried again, listening to the men speaking among themselves, trying hard to gain an insight into their language. He tried several different languages, including Latin and Greek, before he realised that it was in fact a derivation of Hebrew.

“Umm…” he began in a tentative voice, hoping he had the pronunciation just right, dredging up the ancient words from his memory. “Shalom! We come in peace,” he interpreted as he went for the sake of the others. “I’m Daniel.”

“Daniel!” the obvious designated leader spoke the familiar name. “Shalom Daniel!”

“Yes…Thank you. I’m Daniel,” he repeated laying his hand on his chest to emphasize the meaning. He pointed to Jack, “Jack.” He followed the same motion with the others and kept the smile plastered on his lips.

The man nodded, smiling broadly, uttering his own name in the tense silence.

“Ebrahim,” he placed his hand over his heart and nodded, uttering a string of words which Daniel frowned over, but translated as best he could.

“He says his name is Ebrahim and he is the leader of these people.”

“Ebrahim?” Jack repeated getting to grips with the name, “Any kinda similarity to Abraham?”

“Sort of; I suppose on a level with the biblical character, sure,” Daniel nodded.

Ebrahim smiled again and pointed to his followers on the steps beside him, saying their names slowly too.

“Jacob, Isaac, Ishmael, Reuben, Simeon.”

Daniel was about to repeat the names to the others, but Jack held up a hand to forestall him.

“Ack! I got that bit Daniel.”

Ebrahim asked Daniel a question which had the linguist stuttering a denial. Jack picked up on Daniel’s rebuttal and asked him what was going on; and if it spelt trouble.

“No…it’s okay Jack. He just wanted to know if we were…gods.”

“Oh fer cryin’ out loud!” Jack muttered, and turned to face the leader. “We are not gods! No way!” he stated loudly, shaking his head, waving his hands to emphasise his point. “We’re just ordinary folks like you.”

Daniel duly translated but felt it was unnecessary when the old man had smiled and acknowledged Jack’s vehement statement by the tone of his voice. He asked another question and Daniel answered quickly.

“Daniel?” Jack asked.

“He just wanted to know if you were our leader.”

“Oh. Right…Why?”

“It's a sign of courtesy Jack. A ‘warrior’ leader….” Daniel brought his hand up to his mouth in a subtle cough, “….such as yourself, would be offered special consideration out of respect for his rank.”

Jack cast a derogatory glare at Daniel, but smiled back at Ebrahim who returned one of his own, and casually passed a comment of ‘about time’, which Daniel sighed heavily over before he muttered an aside to Jack.

“You’re always lamenting about a lack of respect Jack, just make the most of it while you can,” he mocked sotto-voce.

Jack glanced up quickly to pierce Daniel with a long suffering look, then a disapproving one at a snickering Sam, hastily stifling her giggle. Daniel ignored the look and turned back quickly to his host, delving once again into their intentions.

After more halting conversation, the team were led inside the building and invited to partake of a meal, having first been offered a bowl of water to refresh them with. Daniel showing the others what to do before they could offend their hosts, hoping that their customs ran along similar lines to the Earth based Jewish ones.

The feast went off surprisingly well and by the time it had drawn to a close everyone was well stuffed and on the best of terms. Daniel was having a great time firing lots of questions at Ebrahim and the others whom he now knew to be the elders of the little town. The team were made very welcome and were treated with great respect by the people.

Here they settled into a smooth relationship and felt at ease. A state which had all of the team both relieved and more relaxed. Not to be chased by the population back to the Stargate was definitely a welcome change.

They were shown generous accommodation and over the next 48 hours they interacted with ease, learning ways and means from the many people they met. Every evening they would gather again in the council chambers to join the elders for the main meal and chat over their findings. Ebrahim was well pleased with his new friends and looked forward to the arrival of new medicines in exchange for allowing other teams to roam in search of some unused mineral, which Sam had enthused over, lying beneath the soil some distance away.

Jack was happy. There was no threat here. There were no indications that the Goa’uld had ever been here, or that they were likely to, he hoped, and that suited him just fine. These people were friendly, informative and willing to share what they had. He got on well with Ebrahim despite the language barrier, picking up a few words here and there.

**********

As it turned out later, the walk beside the river was far more revealing about their gracious hosts than Jack or the others could ever have imagined.

Jack and the small group of elders from the council were ambling sedately along the banks of the fast flowing river. This life-giving flow of water was the mainstay of the town’s supply. It was both crystal clear and freezing cold; its origins were from the fresh melting snow, high up in the mountains. It was deep and wide, and Jack noted, that it had various swirls and eddies as it flowing rapidly from the range to the east, all of which meant that it wasn’t a safe place to swim in. Further along the banks Jack could see the women at the calmer water’s edge, all pounding their washing onto the rocks in a time honoured method of cleaning their laundry.

There wasn’t a great deal of conversation going on between him and the elders because of the language differences, but they had almost reached an understanding, using sign language, as such, and many gestures. That’s when they heard a woman’s loud screams rend the air following an ominous splash. Jack looked up in horror as a young woman was to be seen floundering in the chilly waters, constantly disappearing below the churning waves.

What amazed him more than anything was the complete lack of action from these people along the banks, nobody seemed to be making a move to help her, just staring helplessly at her while she drowned. Without thinking, he slipped off his boots and jacket and dived headlong into the swirling maelstrom. The deep penetrating chill took his breath away, but with long easy strokes he soon reached the spot where the distressed woman had just disappeared beneath the churning water again. Taking a deep breath, Jack dived below the water and frantically tried to locate the woman. Then he spotted her floating back up towards him, lifeless and limp, she bobbed on the surface for a brief moment, before sinking again. He made a grab for her, wrapping his arm around the frozen body under her arms and then kicked out for the shore, hoping against hope that the chill waters didn’t sap his strength before he could reach the safety of the river bank.

His head broke above the roaring river again, as he relentlessly pulled her towards the little shore, struggling now against the flow. He was tiring rapidly, the freezing cold water draining his reserves quickly and making him shiver violently. On reaching the shore he forced his frozen limbs to drag her inert body away from the water’s edge, trying to draw great gulping breaths into his own lungs; but from the woman, there were no gasps for air. Feeling for a pulse, he wasn’t surprised when he found no reassuring throb beneath his fingers.

Without thinking, he automatically began CPR, and started rescue breathing for her, forgetting his own needs or the deep chill seeping into his bones from his wet clothes, counting off the vital emergency action. He fervently wished his team were with him, but as they had drifted a fair way down stream, he knew it would be some time before they reached him. A crowd of onlookers from the town had followed their progress along the river banks, and now gathered silently around him, all watching in a fascinated horror, as he carried out his selfless actions, from pulling her unresponsive body from the water, to the first sign that she was recovering.

The young woman, coughed and retched for some minutes, all of which elicited a great gasp of disbelief from the watching crowd as they backed away from the soaking wet pair. Jack sat back on his heels trying to regain his own breath, watching her closely, thankful that he was able to revive her in time. The crowd grew restless, but he hadn’t noticed until the woman recovered sufficiently to stare up at their faces, her own horror dawning upon her now. Jack reached out a hand and gently touched her arm, meaning to bring reassurance to her, but instead, she pushed his hand away and began to sob. Jack was dumbfounded; he couldn’t imagine what he’d done to upset her so much. This was when he noticed the crowd were staring at him with something akin to fright on their faces.

Shivering from the cold so much it made his teeth ache, Jack climbed wearily to his feet, looking round at the crowd wondering what was wrong. Then like the parting of the waves, the now silent horde stepped aside and Ebrahim and his elders were suddenly all standing before him. Jack just shivered, waiting at least for someone to say thanks and explain to him why everyone was staring wildly at him. The chief stood silently, a vaguely sad and pained expression across his face, looking from the woman, still sobbing as she sat shivering on the sandy shore, towards Jack and then back again.

Jack vaguely wondered why no-one had offered her, or himself come to that, something to wrap around them for warmth. The Chief uttered something Jack couldn’t understand, and a young man stepped from the gathering and knelt down, bowing his head deeply to honour his leader, speaking his quick staccato words, gesticulating from Jack towards the frightened woman, but the speech was too fast for Jack to translate. ‘Great,’ he thought, ‘Where’s Daniel when I need him?’

Chief Ebrahim listened intently to the young man as he explained what had happened, then questioned him a few times, finally turning back to look miserably at Jack. Over the last few days he had come to like the self-confident leader of these strangers, and now this incident had shown him in his true colours. Without taking his eyes off Jack, the Chief lifted his official Staff and spoke a single word, which Jack pretty much realised what its meaning was as soon as several of the town’s guards swarmed forward and grabbed his arms, pulling them tight behind his back, and tying them there. Jack was too surprised to react quick enough to escape their grip, his actions slowed by his sluggish, shivering body, all the while wondering what the hell was going on.

“What the...?” he gasped, peering as far behind him as was possible, to see the steely determined faces of his captors, but was held firm. “Just what the heck is going on here Chief? What have I done for cryin’ out loud?” The easy camaraderie had vanished now without a trace, replaced instead by hostile looks and mistrust. Daniel really needed to be here, like NOW. Jack yelled at the top of his voice, hoping that Daniel would come to his assistance. “DANIEL...DANIEL, will you get your butt over here right NOW.”

Before he could think anymore, he was hurriedly pushed forward, back towards the town’s square, forcing him onwards, causing him to stumble along the way. With his arms firmly tied behind him, and his movements hampered by his shivering tremors, he couldn’t stop himself from tripping several times and falling onto his bad knees. The men merely yanked him to his feet again and again, putting untold strain onto his arms. Freezing from the cold still and grimacing in pain, Jack wondered again where Daniel was and what was taking him so long to reach him. He wanted desperately to discover just what he’d done to offend these people. Everything up until now had gone so well. He wondered what had happened to the woman he’d rescued, he couldn’t see her anywhere, and whenever he’d turned to look for her, he’d been pushed and had stumbled again.

Daniel ran into the town square, just as Jack was being tied to a tall sturdy post in the middle of the market place right in front of the council building. His hands were bound in front of him round the stout wooden pole, and then his wet shirt was unceremoniously ripped from him, exposing his back, ready for his punishment. Daniel and Sam stopped and stared in disbelief, before Daniel’s brain caught up with him, and he sprinted towards the Chief. Sam hurried towards Jack, but was prevented from doing so by the guards who met her half way. Instead she hurried after Daniel.

“Uh...What’s going on? Why are they tying Jack up?” he asked in a faltering translation of the native language. He turned back to face a bewildered Jack. “Jack...what the hell did you do?”

“Do? I didn’t DO anything. Just get me outta here, fer cryin’ out loud. This has got to be one huge honkin’ mistake.”

The Chief at last answered Daniel’s question.

“He broke the sacred law governing my people. Therefore he must be punished accordingly.”

“Law? What law?” Daniel spluttered, before turning back to face Jack. “He says you broke a sacred law Jack. Just what happened?”

“Nothin’ I tell ya. All I did was rescue a woman who fell in the damn river. I didn’t break any law. I was tryin’ t’ help!” he stated irritably. Suddenly he began to shiver even more violently, but this time not just from the cold. He had a bad feeling that this was sooo not good news, and it was certainly no fruit basket they were offering him. “Daniel,” he warned, “Hurry it up will ya.”

“Okay...okay.” Daniel sought the right words, going through his limited mastery of the language. “Chief Ebrahim, please, what law did Jack break? He says he thought he was trying to help that woman,” he asked carefully, hoping that he too wasn’t going to offend the Chief by probing further.

“It is written, that no man should interfere with the will of God. When the woman fell into the river, it was by the all powerful, almighty, God’s command, and by all that is right she should have died, but your leader interfered with that law. He brought her back from the dead. Therefore he must be punished. Only God is the rightful giver of life, so it is written. The only other being which has this power is the Devil himself. Your leader has already vehemently denied he is a god, therefore he must be the Devil Incarnate, and it is our duty to punish his sin and banish him back to hell, from whence he came, before he spreads his evil ways amongst us.”

The Chief, ignoring Daniel’s protesting denial, raised his hand and a tall muscular man stepped forward. In his hand he bore a long whip, and began to raise it, drawing it back and releasing it quickly to crack against Jack’s exposed back with unbelievable force. Jack gasped in pain as the leather thong bit deep into his flesh. He refused to cry out in agony, instead he was urging Daniel, through gritted teeth, to hurry up and get him out of this situation.

“Dani…Argh!” he began, but the loud crack of the whip wrenched Daniel’s name from his lips turning it into a desolate pain-filled yelp.

Sam bit her lip so hard in sympathy, that she could taste blood.

“W…wait...wait...wait, please!” Daniel pleaded with the Chief. “Jack’s no Devil. He just wanted save the woman’s life. He stopped her from dying...right? She lives?” he turned to Jack for confirmation, but Jack had a death like grip on the post, his face scrunched up in agony as he tried to override the pain eating it’s way through the flesh on his back. As Daniel watched in horror, the man continued to lash his victim. Both Sam and Teal’c, who had now joined them, had attempted to stop the brute of a man from his given task, but they were held back by several more of the guards.

Jack couldn’t stop every scream that fought its way up from his throat, but was making a concerted effort to remain quiet, biting his lip in pain and making that bleed too. Daniel turned back from the horrific sight and tried to reason with the Chief.

“Please STOP. You’re making a mistake. On our world, we save lives all the time. We always try to make sure every *accident* victim lives. It’s what we believe is the right thing to do. Please, stop, you’ll kill him.”

The Chief stared back at Daniel, his expression unreadable.

“So be it,” he uttered with finality.

Before they knew what was happening, they each found themselves held firmly by several of the muscular guards, and forced to watch from their knees. Daniel couldn’t comprehend what the natives had in mind for them now, and despite his dire pleading on Jack’s behalf, the lashings continued.

“What?” Daniel racked his brains trying to find the right words. “Wait a minute? What are you going to do to us?”

“You are to be returned to your world, where you will now live better lives without the Devil as your leader.”

“No...No...No...Jack’s also a friend. God....” Daniel began hesitantly, slightly out of his depth here. Searching his knowledge frantically, he came up with a small quote, and hoped he could sway their punishment by using it. He couldn’t recall where it came from, but that wasn’t important right now, and he was desperately appealing for reason. “Our own God created man on our world....” he never mentioned that they were in all probability descendants of Earth peoples too. “....to learn to understand our limitations, and he gave us the knowledge to put things right, to save lives. Jack was only doing what he believed was right. We have a saying from our scriptures that cites ‘God helps those that help themselves’. And this we do, also by helping others as well.

The Chief thought this through, but his own prejudiced beliefs fought against the idea that anyone should be able to revive the dead other than the rightful god.

Sam spoke softly, feeling every lash that she witnessed, wishing there was more she could do to stop it.

“Daniel...is that true...that quote you’ve just cited?”

“I’m not sure Sam, but I don’t think he’s at all familiar with the Bible do you? I just hope it gives him something to think about and stop Jack’s punishment.”

Sam nodded mutely, agreeing with his sentiments.

Daniel looked back over to Jack. He could see his friend was now on his knees and barely conscious. He could tell he hadn’t passed out completely yet because his head jerked whenever the whip cracked against the tender skin of his back, now criss-crossed with bloody lines. Daniel watched, feeling every fiery pain filled lash himself. Rivers of Jack’s sticky red blood welled up slowly from the many deep cuts across his back. Jack gave a pitiful moan and fell limp, slumping awkwardly against the rough post, causing his friends to gasp in their own private agony at his predicament, and so totally helpless to go to his aid. Teal’c had struggled free, managing to throw off his captors and ran to Jack’s side, pushing everyone out of his way. Once there, he felt for a pulse, relieved when he found a steady but faint throbbing beneath his fingers.

“He’s alive,” he yelled across to the others, before turning back towards Jack. “O’Neill.”

“Te....” was all Jack could articulate, rousing slightly through the thick haze of pain, but that one softly uttered sound meant he was still alive and cognisant, albeit, barely. “Over?” he asked, mustering up just enough strength to hope his punishment was finished with.

“I do not believe it is. I wish it were so O’Neill, but I fear this is just the beginning.” Jack let out a long whimper of frustration and pain.

Daniel and Sam both closed their eyes briefly, thanking God for sustaining Jack and keeping him alive. The brutal whipping had stopped at last, and Daniel was hoping they would now be able to take Jack and return to Earth to get him the medical help he so badly needed. He was soon disappointed however, the Chief’s words cutting deep into his conscious brain almost as if he’d been slashed with a knife.

“You will be returned to the great circle now, while the Devil’s punishment continues.”

Daniel protested loudly, but the result only made the guards tighten their grip on him and proceed to drag him back towards the gate. Sam though, had a clearer plan.

“No...Wait. Daniel, please; stop struggling; tell them we will go peacefully.”

“Sam? What?...what are you saying? What about Jack?”

“It’s okay Daniel. Just tell him, and ask him if we may have our things back before we go through the gate.”

Daniel looked at her, a stunned expression on his face. He couldn’t believe that Sam would even dare to think about leaving Jack behind, especially now in his condition. If Jack needed them at all, it was here and now. How would he feel if they all went back to the SGC and left him behind. It was Jack’s personal rule that no-one got left behind. They just couldn’t go and leave him. He, personally couldn’t, how so could Sam? She who professed to love him so dearly.

Sam was not immune to Daniel’s surprised anger, but she took control of the situation as was her entitlement.

“Do it Daniel. That’s an order.” Daniel continued to gape at her as if she’d lost her mind, but seeming minutes later, he turned to the Chief and translated her wishes to him, sending a thunderous expression back to her afterwards.

The Chief held up his hands, and the members of SG-1 found themselves released from their captors, but prevented from rushing to see him. He then turned to Daniel informing him that their things would be returned to them just before they entered the portal. Daniel gave Sam a bitter glare as he duly relayed the message back to her, who nodded with agreement. He just couldn’t understand what she was thinking. She was shaking the very foundations on which their trust was forged. How could she remain so calm and calculating at a time like this? She seemed aloof to the pain Jack was suffering, taking the easy way out, and leaving their friend to slowly bleed to death. God knows what the natives were going to do to him after they’d left.

Sam turned back to face Daniel, her own face impassive though she was fighting to hide the anger coiled tightly inside her gut. Anger at what they had done to Jack, and anger too at Daniel’s attitude towards her now, knowing he really believed she would leave the man she loved behind. ‘No way, this is my strategy being played out here Daniel. Trust me...please,’ she silently pleaded. Then she requested Daniel, to ask the Chief if she could say goodbye to the Colonel.

The Chief nodded, and allowed her to move forward towards Jack.

As she neared Jack, she could see he was more aware now, watching her as she approached. He was shivering with the cold and shock, battling so hard against the agony he was in. His dark hooded eyes stayed on her the whole time she moved towards him, until their eyes locked when she knelt down in the blood-spattered dirt in front of him, reaching out her hand to stroke his rough whiskered face. He could see the tears forming, welling up from her very soul as she whispered his name softly, and forgetting his rank or title for once. He watched helplessly as the tears began to trickle free, sliding down her soft skin unchecked.

“Jack. I know you’re hurting. God...I’m sorry...I wish I could have stopped it....”

“Carter, ’sokay, it’s not…your fault,” he interrupted, his voice weak and tremulous from the extreme weariness of pain and cold. He was so tired, so damn cold, and now it just hurt too much to move too, he really wanted to pass out, to lose himself in oblivion and be taken home. He leaned into the hand as it cupped his face, hissing in pain it caused by even that slight movement, but savouring her touch none the less. His arms ached to be able to hold her and brush away her tears of distress. She was hurting too.

“They’re going to escort us back to the Stargate, we have no choice Jack, but although it may look like we’re leaving you, I promise you now with all my heart, that we’ll be back again as soon as possible,” he saw the truth behind her words and nodded with understanding. She took a long look, losing herself in the depths of his dark eyes, and made him a promise. “I will not leave you behind to die Colonel...no way! We will come back for you!”

“I know you will Carter...Get back to the SGC...and bring some back-up...If you go through the gate...they’ll believe you complied...with their commands...They probably won’t expect you...to come back later. Don’t want any blood…shed on my behalf…this isn’t their fault.” he replied wincing, his voice growing weaker and more breathless as he spoke, until his eyes closed in near exhaustion, clinging to the very edge of his resolve, and he couldn’t keep back the soft groan of pain that escaped from his bloodied lips. Lips swollen and split, that he himself had made bleed through clamping his teeth deep into them in order to stop himself from crying out in agony with each lash of the whip.

Sam nodded her understanding in silence, not being able to voice anything for a moment. She continued to caress his cheek, watching as he grew weaker.

“Yes Sir. We’ll be back before you know it.”

“I’m…counting…on it…Carter,” he replied through gritted teeth; opening his eyes again to look up at her, Sam could see them focus on her, briefly glittering hard, showing her his steely determination to hold on until she returned, and trusting her completely, willing her to be strong and return quickly.

“You do that Sir! I want you to hold onto that thought!”

Sam watched as his heavy eyes closed again, only this time they remained shut, his body relaxing, giving in to the inevitable pull of blissful oblivion. Sam ached in her very soul for him, hoping with all her heart that he would survive this.

Sam was unceremoniously dragged to her feet, and her hand roughly pulled from its gentle hold on Jack’s face by one of the burly guards, and she was hustled over to rejoin the others. She could hardly bear to tear her eyes away from the sight of Jack slumped unconscious around the base of the pole, tied and whipped like a common criminal. Sam tried to ignore the deep welts of raw flesh that covered his back and the bright blood that pooled at the waistband of his soaking wet BDU’s, merging with the moisture there to turn them brown, and to soak into the soil beneath his lax body.

All the way out of the square, the three team-members kept their eyes locked on Jack’s still form, reluctant to leave him, but more than ever determined to return and rescue him. They were gently hustled all the way back to the Stargate. The guards stood over Daniel as he dialled them home and watched in awe as the gate spewed forth its huge plume of matter. Sam entered the iris code and waited for the all clear.

“We’re good to go guys,” Sam called dully, trying desperately to overcome the sinking feeling of deserting Jack. “Let’s get this over with guys! The sooner we do this, the sooner we can come back again and rescue the Colonel from this nightmare.”

Daniel wasn’t sure why they weren’t back there trying to help Jack right now. Sam’s attitude had puzzled him, but maybe, he thought, she and Jack had something planned after all. He reluctantly followed Teal’c into the event horizon, seeing Sam step up beside him before the freezing cold of gate travel whipped all thoughts from his mind.

**********

The red lights flashed and the noise from the klaxons filled the corridors of the SGC. General Hammond made his way down the stairs to the control room in time to hear the sergeant utter,

“Receiving SG-1’s IDC Sir.”

“Open the iris,” Hammond ordered.

Sergeant Davis complied and placed his hand over the palm scanner making the trinium shield slide back to reveal the shimmering wormhole. Hammond took the steps to meet the team from his usual position at the foot of the ramp. Just as he reached his place the steady flux distorted and three figures emerged. He waited for the fourth member of the team to appear. Instead the gate shut down behind Sam and he gaped at her, puzzled.

“Major? Where’s Colonel O’Neill?”

“We had to leave him behind Sir. We need to go back a.s.a.p General, and rescue him.”

“What? Briefing room, now!” he barked, worried beyond reason. What had happened in between the last report from his 2IC and now? According to Jack’s last check in, they were all getting along just fine.

The four anxious comrades made their way up to the briefing room and took their places around the highly polished table. General Hammond at the head as was his place.

“What the hell went wrong out there Major?” Hammond demanded. He wasn’t so much angry, more worried.

Daniel spoke up, rather than Sam and she allowed him to fill the General in.

“According to Ebrahim, the chief elder, Jack…em…Jack broke the law….”

“He what?”

“Well, apparently he rescued a young woman from drowning, and then when she showed no sign of life, he resuscitated her; which Ebrahim pointed out to us, was strictly taboo. Their law states that only their god has the power to revive a person from the dead, and anyone who isn’t a ‘god’ and does the same thing must therefore, be the Devil. So Jack was accused of being the ‘Devil Incarnate’ and subjected to punishment, before being sent back into hell.”

“We tried to stop them Sir, but we were held back. General; we had to watch as Colonel O’Neill was whipped into unconsciousness, but they said there was more punishment to come. They refused to let us watch any longer and we were practically pushed back through the gate. Sir, we can’t leave him there. I promised him we’d go back for him. He’s relying on us to rescue him.”

“I understand that Major. What’s the threat assessment there?”

“From what we saw; not much Sir. Though there were several guards but they had fairly primitive weapons. We should be able to go in and take them out if necessary. I don’t want to do that Sir, they are not a hostile people, and apart from this incident we were treated with the utmost respect….”

“I believe Ebrahim was genuinely distressed at O’Neill’s fate,” added Teal’c. “I think he was disappointed to think that O’Neill was labelled as a demon. Up to that point they had interacted exceedingly well. We would not wish to harm these people General Hammond. I suggest the use of Zat’nik’a’tels rather than conventional weapons for the rescue.”

“They don’t deserve to die General, just because of their beliefs,” Daniel added earnestly.

“Do you know what they intend to do next?” Hammond asked softly, not sure if he really wanted to know the details.

“While Sam was talking to Jack, Ebrahim did tell me what they intended to do with him….” His voice trailed off and he took a gulp of water from the glass in front of him, his hand trembling with fear.

Sam looked up in shock.

“Daniel…you never said….”

“I didn’t have much of a chance, did I?” he snapped.

“Dr. Jackson?” Hammond intervened, puzzled as to why the archaeologist was so highly strung.

“Sorry!” he muttered, genuinely upset at his reaction, he’d never meant to react so strongly, but he was still aggrieved over Sam’s odd behaviour on the planet.

“Jack is to be taken up the nearest mountain, where he will be thrown from the cliff into the river below. According to Ebrahim, if he should survive the drop, he would be carried away by the river which disappears into a cave some distance from the waterfall. Legend has it that the cave is the gateway to hell. The mountain above it is a volcano and it’s said the river boils before it emerges on the other side,” he gulped hard, swallowing the lump in his throat with difficulty.

“Oh God!” Sam uttered softly. Sir, we….”

“Very well people.” Hammond’s fear for his 2IC was genuine. “Take SG-2 with you. You have a go.”

“Thank you Sir.” The relief that they could return for their CO was uttered by all three remaining members of SG-1.

**********

Jack woke with a start. The sudden shock of icy cold water hitting his body woke him from the oblivion into which he’d sunk. He shook his head only to be assaulted by pain. He held himself rigid, riding out the agony of a deeply lacerated back until he felt his bonds being released. His thoughts that his punishment was over were abruptly curtailed when his hands were once again tightly bound behind him. He was dragged to his feet, where he staggered, light headed from blood loss. A sudden prod in his back sent fresh waves of agony rippling through his body, but he remained upright, where he was propelled forward and marched towards his one time friend, Ebrahim.

The two exchanged looks. Ebrahim’s saddened brown eyes reflected the misery he felt. This man whom he’d liked and trusted had turned out to be nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The very Devil himself had beguiled him into trusting him, and then revealed himself to them all. The thought dismayed him greatly. Jack’s own dark eyes, hooded with disillusioned frustration stared right back, making the elder feel worse.

Jack still didn’t fully understand why this was happening. All he’d gained from the look in his one time friend’s eyes was regret. Regret that he’d been forced into making him suffer, when they should have been making a peaceful treaty with each other instead. Now they were as far apart as they could be, and he was surely going to die a very painful death, if the others didn’t return to rescue him soon.

Ebrahim averted his eyes from the hard gaze and nodded to the guards. Jack was then forced to walk to the West of the town, the crowds which had gathered to watch his punishment kept their distance, now hissed at him as he passed. He stumbled along, much weakened by the whipping. The shock of cold water waking him up had gone, and the shivering had now stopped. Jack knew that it was a bad sign, he knew he should be feeling the cold, but instead all he felt was a peculiar nothingness, neither hot nor cold, and realised it masked the hypothermia which had set in. His legs felt wooden, like lead, and trembled with weakness and whenever he faltered, falling to his knees groaning with agony, he was yanked back to his feet again and forced to march onwards. The crowd following in his wake; witnesses the final punishment.

The path wound upwards, seeming to go on forever, and still Jack stumbled on, forced repeatedly to walk beyond his limited endurance. Sheer willpower alone kept him from giving in to the exhaustion he felt. He wanted nothing more, than to collapse onto the hard ground and yield to the pull of oblivion. If he was going to his death, he wanted to face it head on with his eyes open, actively seeking a way out; to survive at all costs.

That was the problem though. Without knowing it, he was actively feeding the fantasy that he was the Devil, by his very own determination. ‘Surely,’ they muttered amongst themselves, ‘no mere mortal could have lasted this long in such a state as he was?’ Therefore he had proved beyond doubt that he was whom they believed, and they rejoiced at the prospect of his coming destruction.

Sweat drenched his body by the time he reached the specific point on the mountain. He’d been shambling along for over two hours before the party had halted. His sweat chilled limbs, stiff and uncooperative, were trembling from weakness and fatigue. The coldness of the evening air had bitten deep into him, but he no longer shivered, and he knew well the reason why. He had no idea what the time was, but he could see the pink tinted sky to the west as the sun slowly sank towards the horizon.

He didn’t know what was next on the agenda, but whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be pleasant. They allowed him to collapse onto the ground while Ebrahim gave some long speech to his people, turning every now and then to point at him, which brought forth a surge of mutterings from the crowd. Jack wondered where his team were and if they were on their way right now to save him from an almost certain death. ‘Anytime now Carter would be good!’ he muttered, hoping that even as he sat there, they were about to spring him from his fate.

No such luck!

The guards were on him already, dragging him upright again, off towards the thundering roar, he’d only now realised was there. He’d heard the noise, but thought most of it was inside his aching head. Now he knew better. The little group stopped at the very edge of the cliff, his toes overhanging the drop, held there securely by the guards. A waterfall off to his right, where the rushing water fell at a heart-stopping rate; the spray even now soaking them where they stood. He gulped, looking down at the sheer drop below. His heart hammered in his chest drowning out all thoughts, as a moment of panic set in.

No way.

There was no way he’d survive a drop like this, not in his present condition and with his hands tied.

In the gathering gloom of the evening, the shadows made the river look terrifyingly small from this height. The small bulge of the lake immediately below him resembled nothing more than a small pond, before the river resumed it rapid journey once more into the distance. He followed the river with his eyes, as it rushed headlong on its way, the bright sparkles from the last rays of the sun lighting its path, before it disappeared into nothing.

He wondered just how deep the ‘pond’ was, and whether he could adjust his plunge into some semblance of a survivable dive. He knew he stood a better chance with his hands tied in front of him, but no such luck. He closed his eyes, teetering on the verge of real fear, expecting any minute for the final push that would send him almost certainly into the next life.

Minutes ticked by in the silence which had fallen over the whole scene. Even the birds had stilled their myriad calls as time stretched out beyond the limit of existence. In seeming slow motion Ebrahim’s hand hovered briefly then gave the final push, Jack tensed; ready.

It came, and suddenly he was falling, tumbling into thin air.

**********

As leader of the rescue party, Sam Carter had divided her troops into two. One half, SG-2, under the leadership of Lou Ferretti, were ordered up the hill, but to remain at a discrete distance and stay hidden, they were to keep an eye on what the elders were doing to the Colonel. Ferretti watched as his friend was forcibly marched at the head of the column. His exhausted state, plain for all to see. When they reached the top, Ferretti and his men took to hiding as near as they could and watched as Jack slumped in a sweating heap onto the ground. Lou could see exactly what they had done to his friend, the angry blood red lines across his back stood out stark against his pale skin in the flickering of flaming torches; clear evidence of his punishment. Lou clenched his fists, angry and frustrated. He wanted nothing more than to rush out there and grab Jack before they could do anything else to him, but orders were orders and like the proverbially good soldier, he waited, watching silently for the next move.

Sam, Daniel and Teal’c had circled round from the other side, and now watched from the shadows of the trees below the cliff. The churning waterfall to their left. Sam wished she didn’t know what the elders were going to do, but she did, and nothing could change that. When the guards appeared at the very edge, high-lighted by the last rays of the setting sun, holding Jack firmly between them, they all knew without a doubt it was going to happen. She hadn’t wanted to believe it, but here the natives were, doing exactly what had been predicted.

They took off in a rush to reach a point in the valley from where they could initiate a rescue plan. Sam stopped at the base of the cliff and looked up in time to see Jack launched off the promontory. There was no cry from him, just a silent, graceless fall, with barely a struggle to survive at all costs. There was no time to lose. Teal’c being the strongest of them all, divested himself of his boots, jacket and vest, then he plunged into the frigid water.

Seconds later a conspicuously loud and ominous splash in the dark indicated where Jack had plunged below the surface. Teal’c swam down to reach his friend, ready to drag him to safety. It wasn’t easy to see him; the shadows were long and plunged the valley into an eerie darkness.

Being physically weakened, Jack tried hard to formulate a better position, barely managing it in the time allotted him before he smacked into the water with all the force of hitting a brick wall. He plunged deep into the depths even as his consciousness was torn him and water began to fill his lungs, already deflated with shock when he hit the seemingly solid surface.

Jack knew nothing as his inert body rose up again to the surface of the lake to float free for a few seconds before being swept away in the rush of wild foam that marked the rebirth of the river. Carrying him away from his assassins, away from the township where he had at one time made friends, never to be seen again. Banished for all time according to their law.

Teal’c headed towards the point where he believed Jack had plunged, but by the time he’d reached there, Jack was gone. He broke the surface and frantically looked round for his friend. Sam pointed downstream and he took off with powerful strokes in pursuit. The others following along the bank were trying to keep up with their quarry, feeling more than useless.

The churning of the water and the darkness made it almost impossible to see where Jack was, but Teal’c spotted the lifeless form bobbing just a few yards from him, and reached out with a renewed hope. The chill of the water was tiring him to the point of exhaustion, but he pushed the feeling aside, wanting only to save his Tau’ri leader.

**********

Ferretti had looked on in sheer helplessness as Jack was roughly pushed over the edge. He and his team had waited for any signs that these people might have spotted the others attempting a rescue, but there were no cries of discovery, no yells of deceit to rend the air. The people had cheered when the final push came and then they had quietly turned to leave, walking back down the hillside to resume their ordered lives. The only person left was Ebrahim, who stood and stared over the edge for a long time. If he saw Teal’c attempting to save Jack, then he said nothing. Lou watched him closely, puzzled at the enigmatic smile which lifted the corner of Ebrahim’s mouth slightly as he turned away from the edge, towards them. The fleeting gesture disappearing as quickly as it came, before he too, joined his people in their homeward journey.

SG-2 broke cover when the coast was clear, thankful that they hadn’t been forced to use their weapons against these folks. Ferretti fingered the radio, telling Sam it was safe, and then beckoned his team to follow the path of the river, ready to meet up with SG-1, who hopefully, should be reunited with Jack by now.

**********

Teal’c stretched out a hand and snagged the frozen, saturated body of his friend, pulling his unconscious form to cradle it against his chest, and then kicked out strongly for the shore.

Sam and Daniel ran waist deep into the freezing water to help drag Jack’s limp form from Teal’c’s arms, allowing the exhausted Jaffa to struggle from the river’s pull for himself.

They stretched their CO out onto the sandy bank, releasing the bonds which bound his hands behind him. Sam felt for a pulse against Jack’s neck. He was frozen to the touch, his face deathly pale in the torchlight. With tears in her eyes, she shook her head in frustration. She couldn’t feel any reassuring throb beneath her fingers.

“Nooooo!…C’mon Colonel, please! Jack! Don’t you dare die! Do you hear me?” she growled. “Don’t do this! Not now!”

She and Daniel ignored the blood as it flowed from a deep cut on his forehead, and began CPR, hoping against hope that they could revive him.

Teal’c watched with a detached fear growing in his heart for the brave warrior who had freed him from Apophis’ tyranny and given him hope for his people’s future. He little understood the reasons behind this needless act of brutality against his friend. However insignificantly he allowed his emotions to show, he was still assaulted by a deep sense of grief when O’Neill’s body rejected all attempts at revival.

Long minutes dragged on, but Sam and Daniel refused to give up on their friend. Sam suddenly gave a surprised gasp as she felt a soft intake of air from the slack body beneath her hands, which then turned into a shuddering gasp, followed by a strangled choke. Quickly she and Daniel flipped Jack onto his side, in order for him to expel the water clogging his lungs. Sam’s hand automatically soothing him with gentle strokes up and down his arm, judiciously avoiding his tender back; all whilst clinging desperately onto his hand. Whether this was for his comfort or for her own, she wasn’t sure, perhaps both, but it felt so good, because it all meant he was alive.

Jack coughed and retched, desperately trying to clear his lungs. Intense pain radiated through his chest, aggravated by the spasms of choking. Finally the wracking heaves subsided, only then did he feel the rest of his battered body consumed by a fiery agony, and he let loose a soft whimper, though much too weak to lend much voice to it. By the time his friends had gently laid him back again, he’d already passed out once more.

Sam’s nervous fingers searched for a reassuring pulse, suddenly afraid he’d died on them after all. She let out a long sigh of relief when she found a feeble throb. Daniel snapped her from her brief moment of joy, when he grabbed a first aid kit, and began to clean Jack’s face of the blood, now running freely down it. In her frantic efforts to restart his heart she had forgotten all about his other injuries. Her duty as medic took over and she set to work to assess his condition.

Daniel had barely spoken two words to her since their departure from this world earlier. He watched her now, as she worked on Jack, uncertain as to what she was feeling. Although she showed concern for Jack’s condition, she seemed indifferent to anything other than her duty and showed it by merely presenting a purely platonic friendship towards the injured man. It puzzled him deeply.

Several minutes later Jack was bandaged, stripped of his wet things and wrapped in a sleeping bag, then covered with several blankets, but he was still too cold, and far too weak to shiver from the cold.

Teal’c had changed out of his wet gear too, using the clean dry clothes he’d brought with him, knowing he might need them.

In all this time Jack hadn’t stirred, his breathing was harsh and rattled in his chest. Sam was more than thankful when Ferretti and his men found them after an hour, and they made ready to carry Jack for the long journey back to the Stargate.

It was an arduous journey through the forest, but they made it. Taking turns to carry the stretcher between them. Sam had watched her CO closely, making sure he was still with them, even though his noisy breathing was reassurance in itself, and she still had to make sure of it, even for her own peace of mind. The wheezy rattle of every breath he took was enough to worry the returning party and they’d picked up the pace as best they could in order to get him to Janet as quickly as possible.

**********

General Hammond took up his usual place at the foot of the ramp, the diminutive doctor beside him, her team ready and waiting in the background with a gurney. All it wanted now was the team to step from the shimmering wormhole and then the process of nursing Colonel O’Neill back to health could begin. Hammond refused to think that it might already be too late.

Moments later the gate room was full of activity. The first ones to emerge from the flickering blue flux was Teal’c and two of Ferretti’s men, carrying the stretcher holding Jack, then Daniel and Sam, followed by Ferretti and Andrews. The iris closing behind them was a relief felt by all. Ferretti breathed a huge sigh as the wormhole snapped off, for some time he felt that he was being watched as they escaped the planet, expecting any minute to be ambushed.

The stretcher was placed directly onto the gurney and Janet approached Jack quickly, running her experienced eye in a rapid assessment over his condition, all whilst making haste to get him to the infirmary.

General Hammond had studied the pale inert figure, lying forlorn on the gurney and made a mental note of the dressing covering his head. As he understood it, Jack had been lashed with a whip, but clearly he had received other injuries too.

“Major Carter?” he asked puzzled.

Sam saw the perplexed frown on the General’s face and watched as his eyes took in Jack’s appearance, before he was whisked away.

“We’re not sure General. After the natives pushed him off the top of the cliff into the river we think he may have scraped the bottom when he plunged in, Sir. The impact when he hit the water was pretty solid.”

“I see,” he grimaced, then turned to look at Teal’c. “Teal’c get yourself checked over and then join us in the debriefing. Briefing room now people.”

A chorus of “Yes Sir’s!” from the two teams reached him as he turned and made for the doorway.

Weary though she was, Sam trudged up the stairs behind the SGC’s Commander in Chief. The others filed into the room behind her to sit themselves down around the table, Hammond as usual at its head.

“What happened out there Major?” he asked turning to Sam.

“When we arrived at the township, it was practically deserted. We discovered the people were climbing up the hillside as predicted. That’s when Major Ferretti spotted Colonel O’Neill Sir. He was being compelled to walk up….”

“Walk? God…he could hardly stand, and it was more of a stagger.” Ferretti gasped, outraged at what they’d forced Jack to do.

“We should never have waited.” Daniel interrupted, “Jack needed us and we left him behind. God only knows what they did to him after we left and before we got back there.”

Sam looked up quickly at Daniel’s statement, and his unspoken accusation that she hadn’t done enough, realising that he was obviously still miffed at her for delaying Jack’s rescue.

“We had no choice Daniel,” she countered.

Daniel opened his mouth to continue with his indictment, his eyes bright with anger, but General Hammond prevented the words from spouting forth.

“Doctor Jackson, as far as I’m concerned, Major Carter made the right decision. Her leadership is not the topic up for debate here. This is merely a report on the mission to rescue Colonel O’Neill. If you would like to add anything you feel is relevant then please go ahead,” Hammond reprimanded gently, knowing that the archaeologist was riding high on his frazzled nerves, just as the rest of SG-1 were. He nodded to Ferretti, who knew what Hammond had silently asked him to do, and after a moment, a cup of hot coffee was placed in front of Daniel.

Hammond took pity on Sam, knowing that she would be feeling guilty enough as it was, but more so now that Daniel had openly challenged her leadership.

“Any further comments you’d like to add Doctor Jackson?”

Daniel studied his fingers now wrapped around the steaming cup, before muttering his reply.

“None General.”

Sam continued at a nod from the General.

“I split my forces up. I sent Major Ferretti to follow the group, while I took SG-1 to the base of the cliff….”

“Why?” Hammond asked, curious as to why she had sent SG-2 to follow Jack.

“I had an idea that maybe they might be able to stop them. I took the alternative and followed the river’s path. Ferretti signalled they had stopped and we looked up we could see the Colonel standing on the very edge, silhouetted by the setting sun. He was held there by at least two guards.”

“Major Ferretti?”

“They’d forced the Colonel up the hill at the head of the townspeople General,” Ferretti continued the report. “The chief gave some sort of speech. After which they then dragged Colonel O’Neill over to the cliff’s edge, holding him there while the Chief gave another short speech before they shoved him from behind. He could barely stand Sir, if it wasn’t for the guards he would have collapsed. I was about to order my men into the crowd to rescue the Colonel from our position, when he was pushed. We were too late, with his hands were tied, and in his state, he must have hit the water pretty hard Sir. He was pretty much beaten up when we joined the others on the beach. Major Carter and Dr. Jackson had managed to revive him, but he remained unconscious. We then got him onto the stretcher for the journey home Sir.”

Sam swallowed the lump in her throat noisily, closing her eyes as the scene flashed into her mind.

“Revive him Major Carter?”

Sam opened her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, ready to take up her side of the events again.

“Yes Sir. Colonel O’Neill wasn’t breathing when Teal’c dragged him from the river, and there was no pulse, so Daniel and I started CPR. We both managed to get him breathing again, but he never properly regained consciousness. As soon as we rendezvoused with Ferretti and his team, we headed back to the Stargate.”

Anything to add Major Ferretti?”

“Nothing Sir. It’s just as Major Carter stated. We met up with SG-1 and came home. We didn’t encounter any difficulties on the return journey Sir. It’s like they had accomplished what their law required and whatever happened to him after that was none of their business. They were watching us, but they never actually showed themselves. It felt like we were being followed, although no-one made a move to stop us.”

“Sir,” Sam pleaded, desperate to find out how Jack was faring. She really needed to discover if he was going to survive after his ordeal.

Hammond understood her request.

“Okay people, let me have your written reports in due time. Report to the infirmary for your post mission checks. Dismissed!”

**********

Sam, closely followed by Teal’c, Daniel, Ferretti and the rest of his team, arrived outside the infirmary a little breathless in time to see Janet emerge from behind the curtain round the bed in the far corner.

“Janet?”

The petite doctor smiled wryly at the sight of them, all agog to hear the news about their friend and leader. As usual it was Sam with the leading question.

“He’ll be just fine, given a little time,” she answered the loaded question, halting them in their tracks. “He was hypothermic and we managed to get his core temperature up, but it just kept going, so at the moment he’s fighting off a high fever. Those wounds on his back were infected. He has a concussion, a couple of broken ribs, he’s dehydrated, has numerous cuts and abrasions and on top of all that his lungs are congested. So all in all he’s pretty sick right now.”

“Can we see him?” Sam ventured, shocked at the list of ailments. “Please?”

Janet deliberated, observing the look on their faces, and then relented. They needed to see the Colonel for themselves, if only to reassure themselves that he was still alive. Sam had been so worried when they’d arrived back through the gate. It wouldn’t hurt to allow them to take a peek for a minute or two.

“Sure, but only one at a time, and no longer than a few moments. My staff and I have got our work cut out for a while yet.”

“Thanks Janet,” Sam squeezed her friend’s arm in passing, as she made for the curtained area, brushing aside Daniel’s need to see his friend too.

Daniel sighed with frustration at Sam’s recent attitude. He resented the fact that Sam felt it was her given right to see Jack first. He hugged himself, while he went over how their friendship had come down to this. Janet prompted them towards the other end of the room in order for them to undergo their medicals.

Sam pulled the curtain to one side and slipped in quietly to study the quiescent form on the bed. Jack’s upper body was swathed in white bandages, his head wound had been stitched and covered with a dressing too. His arms resting by his sides were punctuated by tubes feeding his battered body with vital fluids, medication and extra blood to replace the loss. His wrists were now bandaged against the damage from the rough twine that bound him. A nasal canula fed him extra oxygen through his nose, and overall it painted a picture Sam’s heart could barely abide seeing. The guilt of leaving him to face his so called punishment alone was overpowering and left tears streaming down her face.

Hastily batting the moisture aside, she lightly traced her tear-stained fingers over his lips, moving them along his strong jaw-line to smooth the salt and pepper strands of hair from his brow, feeling the heat there. She leaned forward and brushed a light kiss over his lips, silently pleading with him to forgive her, and make it through this. Taking a good long look at him, she turned abruptly and fled the confines of the curtained off area. She would have liked to have left the infirmary altogether but Janet’s voice halted her progress before she’d reached the door.

“Sam!”

“Janet,” she uttered, stopping but without turning round to face the doctor.

“I need to run your post mission check,” Janet reminded her firmly.

Sam sighed before swivelling to face her best friend. She should have known better than to try and escape from Janet’s clutches.

“Okay, but can we hurry it up?” she snapped impatiently.

“Why? What’s the rush?” Janet asked calmly, purposely ignoring the sharp tone, after all, she allowed, the man Sam loved was lying not three metres away, sick and injured.

“I have some work to finish.”

“Sam? That’s not the real reason, is it?” Janet probed, knowing her friend as well as she did, she knew there was something very wrong here.

Sam sat on the bed, while Janet ran her tests, her head down, her eyes avoiding Janet’s sharp probing ones.

“There’s no reason for you to be feeling guilty, you know. Colonel O’Neill would have done the same too. You know he would.”

Sam sighed. Trust Janet to know exactly what she was thinking and feeling.

“No he wouldn’t! He would have refused to leave any one of us behind. He’d do his damnedest to rescue us and get us home, before any harm came to us. I failed him.”

“That’s nonsense and you know it! He would never blame you for doing what he would believe was your given duty.”

“And he nearly died because I did what I thought was right. I don’t know about you, but I can’t live with that Janet. It’s tearing me apart! Even Daniel thinks I’ve gone too far this time! He won’t even look at me,” she exclaimed angrily.

“This is not about what Daniel thinks; it’s about how the Colonel will view it when he recovers. I don’t believe for one minute that he would blame you at all. You know darn well he wouldn’t Sam.” Janet cast a look round the room, and dropped her voice, “He loves you. Don’t you care about that?”

“Of course I care, but this is just too much. I broke his cardinal rule Janet; I left him behind, and he nearly died. Why can’t you understand; there’s no way back from this. He’ll hate me! We’re finished!”

“Then maybe you don’t know the Colonel as well as I thought you did, because he’ll recognise the situation for what it was. He won’t blame you for making that decision. You’re reading too much into this Sam. Don’t abandon him right now; just because you ‘think’ you’ve done wrong. He’ll need you more than ever while he recovers from this.”

Sam sat silently, withdrawn within herself while she wrestled with her friends words. Janet laid a hand on her arm, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Sam?”

“Okay. I’ll be there if he needs me, but as soon as he recalls the incident, I’ll have to put in for a transfer. He won’t want anyone under his command that he can’t trust.”

“Look, don’t do anything you might regret later. Wait and see what he says. Please!”

“Janet, I’ll never be able to look him in the eye again. It wouldn’t be fair to him to have to work with me. He’ll never be able to trust me any more.”

“Sam….” Janet began, but Sam interrupted her tersely, unwilling to carry on with the pointless exchange.

“Are you done?”

Janet sighed but nodded.

“The medical? Yes, for now. The talking….”

“Good!”

Sam then leapt from the bed and was out of the door before Janet could stop her.

Janet kept her eyes on the door as it swung closed, wondering just what was happening with Sam. Whatever it was she didn’t like it and mentally determined she was going to sort things out, one way or another. These were her friends and they all needed each other if they were going to survive as a team.

She roused her thoughts as she walked over to the curtained area and pulled them aside to come face to face with a rather self-conscious Daniel. She could tell by his face that he’d heard almost everything. Giving Jack a quick check, she shooed Daniel from the bedside.

“My office Daniel…now!”

He nodded reluctantly. Janet was in determined mood, so he followed meekly. Once they were there, she shut the door for some privacy.

“Sit!” she demanded, perching herself on the edge of her desk so that they could at least be eye to eye.

“Daniel…what the hell is going on between you and Sam?”

He drew in a deep breath and blew it out noisily, defeat written clearly across his face.

“I don’t really know,” he sighed again, dragging the words out with an effort. “Out there….” He waved a hand to emphasize when they were off world. “….she… I thought she loved him Janet, but…I… she was acting hard and unfeeling. I’ve never seen her like that. Even afterwards, when Teal’c dragged Jack from the river, it was like she was detached, aloof somehow. Like she was treating Ferretti, or someone else.”

“So what happened between you for it to get this bad?”

“I just couldn’t believe she would leave him behind,” he replied angrily.

“So you argued?”

“Not exactly, no. I got annoyed yes, but I never said anything.”

“You didn’t have to apparently.”

“No, so I heard.” He ducked his head, partly ashamed that Janet was reading like a book.

“We need to convince her to ride this out; not to be rash in her actions. She was doing her best Daniel. It’s tough being in command; it’s her job when the Colonel is no longer able to take control. She has to make the tough decisions. Just ask him what it’s like.”

Daniel frowned at her, but sighed again. He was really tired of this. He just wanted things to return to normal. He wanted Jack to be okay.

“Please Daniel. Talk to her. Your disapproval is making her worse.”

He hesitated, so Janet continued.

“You know, when the Colonel recovers he’s going to wonder why his team is falling apart around him, and it’s not going to do him any good. He’ll believe that it’s his entire fault and it will tear him apart. He needs all of you to rally round him, it’s been a tough time and he should have his team to see him through it. Even if he doesn’t admit that to anyone, you know that’s the truth. He’s a very…private man, and it’s probably given him more anxiety knowing you all had to witness his punishment. He’ll see this as a sign of weakness, which will make him feel guilty as well. You have to give it a try Daniel, for Jack’s sake. Is that too much to ask?”

Janet raised herself from the desk and sat down on her chair, feeling a little weary from the effort of persuading Daniel to act now, before it was too late for them all, and hoping she had done the right thing.

Daniel wrapped his arms around his body and glanced through the window towards the curtained off bed, seeing Jack in his mind’s eye, lying there battered and still unconscious, then turned back to face the earnest expression of his physician and good friend. He capitulated.

“Okay. I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything. You know Sam perhaps better than I do, but, yeah, I’ll give it a go.”

**********

Jack wrestled with his fever for several days by which time Daniel had so far failed to make Sam see sense.

Sam had kept her promise to Janet, and taken her turn in sitting, watching over her CO, but as soon as he showed any sign of recovering his wits she was conspicuous by her absence.

Janet was the first one to see Jack awaken from his fevered nightmare.

“Colonel!” Janet was smiling down at her patient, glad to see him open his eyes at last.

“Doc!” he croaked, before coughing painfully.

Janet helped him sip some cool water from the glass, and he savoured the refreshing liquid.

“Thanks.”

Jack looked round his bed, hoping to see Sam or at least Daniel or Teal’c, but Janet was on her own.

“My team?” he puzzled.

“They’re all fine Colonel. They’re working,” she informed him.

“Ah!” he closed his eyes, but Janet could see he was disappointed they weren’t there.

“How do you feel Sir?”

“Sore! Wrung out! Hot!” He coughed again wearily.

Janet offered him some more water, and looked into his statement, mentally adding ‘lonely’ to the list as well.

“You’ve been running a fever. Those lashes across your back became infected, and you’ve got a chest infection.”

“Great!” he sighed. “So what’s the bad news?”

“That would be you’re stuck here for a while Colonel.”

He frowned up at her, but the look was spoiled by the fact that he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer, and drifted back to sleep.

Janet smiled down at him, relieved that he seemed okay now. All it needed was to have his team there to greet him when next he awoke.

**********

Jack was pleased to see Daniel sitting by his bed when he roused some time later, though the archaeologist was yawning, and rubbing his sleep deprived eyes.

“Keeping you up?” Jack asked, grinning.

“Jack!...um…no. I’m fine. It’s been a long day. You?”

“Like I had a run in with a steam engine.”

He coughed a few times, until Daniel held the glass up to his lips for him to sip the cool water.

“Thanks. So…how long?”

“Um…three days.”

“That all? Felt like months.”

“High fever,” Daniel stated, as if that would explain everything clearly.

“Oh!”

Jack closed his eyes trying to recall those missing days. Daniel wondered if he’d fallen asleep again, but Jack spoke up once more.

“Where’s Carter?”

“Um…Sam’s…er…working.” She was. He knew she was still in her lab; he’d spoken to her barely a half hour ago.

“Still?”

“Jack, it’s not that late. It’s….” he glanced at his watch, suddenly realising the time. “…um…well actually it is.”

Jack raised his eyebrow, waiting for Daniel to enlighten him.

“And it’s?”

“It’s 21.18hrs actually. I didn’t realise it was….” His voice trailed off, unsure what to say.

“Tell her to go home, get some sleep. I’ll see her in the morning.”

Daniel looked away from Jack’s scrutiny a little sheepishly, unwilling and unable to mention anything to his friend. So far his attempts to talk to Sam had failed to persuade her to change her mind. He’d apologised; he’d pleaded; he’d begged her to just talk things over, but she’d resisted all his endeavours.

“Daniel?” Jack’s way of speaking his name, meant he was now suspicious that something was going on, and he wanted, if not, needed to know what.

Daniel didn’t answer, so Jack continued.

“Tell!” he demanded.

Daniel wavered, unsure if he should tell or not, but Jack had a way of undermining his resolve and always could get him to confess.

“Um…she…she doesn’t believe you will want to see her,” he blurted out in a rapid string of words.

“What?” Jack couldn’t be sure he’d heard correctly. “What the hell does that mean?”

“She…feels guilty about leaving you behind….”

“Oh fer cryin’ out loud! I told her to go get help. In fact, if I remember rightly, I ordered her to return to base.”

“You did?” Daniel was startled. “She never said,” he accused. This threw a whole new light on her actions, but not her attitude.

“I want to see her!” he demanded.

“Now?”

“Yes. Now! If she’s still on the base, then she can come see me.”

“But, it’s late…Janet will….”

“Daniel!”

“I don’t think she’ll come, Jack.”

“Daniel!”

Daniel knew when he was beaten, and yielded to Jack’s will. He sighed and stood up.

“Okay. I’ll try, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

Jack watched him leave, seeing his friend wasn’t happy by a long shot. Something funny was going on, and it bugged him. He needed to find out what was eating away at his team.

**********

“Sam!”

Sam looked up from her computer and sighed.

“Daniel.”

“Jack’s awake.”

She cast her eyes away from him, looking instead at the computer screen, though seeing nothing of the work it held. Daniel continued when she remained silent.

“He wants to see you.”

“I don’t….”

“Sam. He’s asked me to tell you, he, Colonel O’Neill, wants to see you.”

She stiffened, angry that he’d obviously demanded her attendance.

“Was that an order?”

Daniel sighed, letting his shoulders droop.

“No. But if you don’t go now, he could very well make it one. We both know that’s not what he’d want.”

Sam nodded, slightly mollified.

“Okay. I’ll be there. Just give me a minute.”

Daniel nodded and went back to his lab, deep in thought.

**********

Jack smiled as Sam entered, but one look at her face and the pleasure at seeing her faded. Something was definitely wrong.

“Carter?” he greeted her, unsure of what she was thinking.

“Sir!” she replied, rigid with military protocol and a coldness that made him unwillingly give a little shiver.

He grimaced, thinking things must be bad for her demeanour to be like this.

“You wanted to see me?” she accused.

“I did, yeah,” he answered warily, but trying the friendly approach. “So what happened?”

“Sir?” She pleaded ignorance.

“Come on Carter. Don’t give me that dumb act. I may be slow on occasions but I’m not stupid. Spill it!” he coughed.

Sam hesitated, looking anywhere but at those piercing dark eyes of his. She held back her thoughts, but when she didn’t answer, he prodded her further.

“Sam, c’mon, tell me,” he pleaded, hoping that by using her given name it would melt the ice.

After a few moments in which he’d almost given up hope of reaching her, she reluctantly spoke, though it almost caused her resolve to admit the problem.

“I left you behind,” she whispered.

Jack looked up into her face, trying to get a look at her eyes. He could see the moisture lurking behind them, ready to fall at the slightest provocation. His cough was annoying him, but he pushed on, hoping to break through.

“I ordered you to go.”

“I’d already taken that option by then,” she countered.

“Then you made the right call.”

“You nearly died!”

“Maybe. But I didn’t. Because you came back for me. I don’t know how you did it, but I wouldn’t be sitting here otherwise.”

“Daniel believes I was wrong. He didn’t trust me.”

“Ah!” So this was the problem, he realised with sudden inspiration. “You made the right call! I trusted you to make that decision,” he stated, coughing, unable to stop it.

“I don’t know if I can do that again.”

“Carter?”

“I hated myself for leaving you there. I couldn’t bear watching….”

“There was no other option. So okay, it was tough, but those people didn’t deserve our wrath because of their beliefs. That’s why I ordered you to return to base and come back later. I trusted you then, and I still do. That’s all that counts.”

He watched as one tear, followed by another trickled down her cheek. It was hastily brushed aside, while she sniffed. He coughed once more, but took a sip of water to stifle it.

“How can you still trust me when I left you there to die?” she snapped angry with herself more than him.

“Because I have the greatest confidence in your abilities as my 2IC,” he stated, then as she looked right at him for the first time, her blue eyes awash with tears, he added softly, “And because I love you Sam!”

He watched, satisfied, when the barrier finally crumbled and the tears flowed faster.

“C’m’ere!” he beckoned, pulling her to his chest when she melted into his arms.

He sat patiently waiting for the sobs to subside. His fingers caressed her hair, and he pressed a light kiss to the top of her head. It felt good to hold her again. She pulled away from his embrace suddenly, and stretched her back, smiling weakly at him.

“Sorry,” she murmured, “Awkward position.”

He took her hand instead and squeezed it.

“You okay now?”

She nodded, slightly embarrassed at having broken down in front of him. All her former resolve having flown out of the window.

“Yes Sir. I think I am.”

Jack couldn’t help the yawn that cracked his jaw, or the cough that followed it. He winced.

Sam grew concerned.

“Are you okay?” she asked, offering him the glass of water.

After downing another few sips, he shrugged.

“Damn infection. Just…tired,” he mumbled, settling back into the pillows. It had been a long hard slog getting to the bottom of things, but it had been well worth it. Now all he wanted to do was sleep. “Sooo…are we okay?”

Sam smiled. It was the first time he’d seen her whole face light up since before the mission.

“Yes Sir!”

“You did good Carter. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

His eyes closed, but he blinked hard to keep them open.

“I swear Doc only gives these damn drugs so she doesn’t have to listen to me complaining so much!”

Sam giggled, and he relaxed knowing things would be okay now.

“I should leave you to rest Sir.”

He grunted an affirmation and allowed his heavy eyelids to droop.

“That would be the correct assumption Carter,” he slurred sleepily; both unable and unwilling, to drag his eyes open again.

Sam watched and waited until his breathing had evened out then whispered the words she couldn’t say earlier.

“I love you too Jack!” She placed a warm hand on top of his for a moment, then she quietly left him to sleep.

Turning away from him she never saw the smile that diminished the lines or worry on his face as he drifted away.

**********

“Daniel!”

Sam entered the lab, having been too late to see him last night, she was determined to patch things up the first chance she had.

“Sam!”

“Look, I’m sorry if you thought….”

“Sam!” he interrupted. “It’s me that should be sorry. I owe you an apology. I didn’t realise that Jack had ordered you to pull out. You should have said.”

“No Daniel. I shouldn’t have needed to. I was in command during the Colonel’s incapacity as leader. I should not have had to resort to those tactics,” she was angry again. She’d gone in there, trying to put things right, only for Daniel to twist things.

“I’m sorry. You’re right. I should have taken your word. It’s just that…I felt so helpless. I couldn’t see that coming back here was going to help Jack.”

“It was the only way Daniel. The Colonel knew that. He couldn’t condemn them because of their beliefs. He didn’t want them harmed in any way, that’s why we took Zats. We did what we believed was the right thing to do. As it turned out, everything is fine.”

“Yet it could have gone the other way. Jack could have died….”

“But he didn’t Daniel. That’s the whole point. We got there in time. Ifs or maybes, doesn’t count. I learned that from him. He was right, and we have to put this behind us if we want to go on as a team. I can’t carry on if you can’t trust me to do my job.”

Daniel saw her determination, and sighed. He knew she was right. The fact that Jack was willing to back her up was just the persuasion he needed.

“Okay then. You’re right, and I’m sorry. It wasn’t my place to judge you without knowing all the facts. If things had ended differently… Only then should I have cause to doubt your decision. I’m sorry, really!”

“God, Daniel. Don’t you think it tore me up inside to do what I did. I hated myself for leaving him. I had to be hard on myself; otherwise I could have ended up getting all three of us in trouble too. I’m sorry if it was hard on you guys as well. I never meant to hurt anyone.”

Daniel felt the weight lift from his shoulders, but at the same time, he realised she was carrying all of the responsibility of Jack’s punishment as well as their welfare. He watched as she surreptitiously wiped away a tear. He closed on her in two steps, wrapping his arms around her, while she wept in relief.

“Sam, I’m sorry. I’ve been a real pain in the ass. Forgive me?”

She pulled away and raised her swimming eyes up to his, laughing at his words.

“There’s nothing to forgive Daniel. I was just as bad.”

“So we’re okay?”

“Yeah Daniel. We’re fine.”

They shared another hug before they both went off to see Jack.

**********

Teal’c was standing at the foot of Jack’s bed, listening to Jack spout forth on some subject when they entered the room. He nodded to them, and smiled slightly, seeing them together had put his mind at ease. He’d actually hated to be the one to see them fall apart.

“Hi kids!” Jack greeted them, pushing away his half finished breakfast tray.

Daniel spied the toast still sitting forlornly on the plate.

“Don’t you want that?”

Jack shook his head.

“Nah! Not really hungry.”

Without further ado, Daniel picked it up and started to devour it.

“Help yourself Daniel by all means!”

“Hmm! Thanks,” mumbled Daniel through his mouthful.”

Jack rolled his eyes, and sighed.

“And you can keep your eyes off my coffee!” Jack added, seeing Daniel look longingly at it. He sought to distract his friend.

“So, are you two okay with this now?” he asked.

They both looked at each other and nodded.

“Yeah sure. We chatted it over this morning. We’re fine Sir,” Sam assured him, while Daniel merely nodded; his mouth still full of toast, and then muttered something which no-one could recognize.

Jack sighed, looking at the others.

“This is what I survived for? Daniel for a linguist you sure are difficult to understand sometimes.”

Daniel spluttered, spraying Jack with toast crumbs.

“Jack!” Daniel managed to utter after swallowing with difficulty

“Daniel!” Jack countered, wiping the soggy crumbs from his scrubs.

“Sorry!” Daniel apologised, full of remorse, stuffing yet more toast into his mouth.

Jack smiled tightly, casting his friend a disparaging glare.

“I’d already said I didn’t want the damn toast. There was really no need to share it with me!”

The comment only made Daniel choke on the remaining mouthful, almost spraying Jack again.

“Oh fer cryin’ out loud Daniel. Finish already will ya!”

Several thumps on his back later, Daniel had regained his equilibrium and colour, and glared down at his friend, sitting so innocently in the bed.

“What?” Jack asked, mystified but with an impish grin across his face, which belied his naive looks.

“I was right, I said it before the mission and I’ll say it again; even the folks on PZ4 792 correctly confirmed the fact….” Daniel paused for effect.

“And what would that be Daniel?” Jack asked beginning to worry about what the young man was going to say.

Sam and Teal’c threw him puzzled looks too.

He looked at each of them, a sly smile turning the corners of his mouth up as he finished his reflections.

“That you, Jack, really are a devil.”

“Birds of a feather Daniel.”

Jack studied his friend, his head on one side, then waggled his eyebrows and smiled crookedly at him, he then grinned at Sam before she dissolved into laughter at the look on Daniel’s stunned face. Teal’c however, merely raised an eyebrow at their antics.

“Jeez; Thanks Jack!” Daniel managed to splutter at last. He tried to sound disgruntled, but knew he’d failed when he could no longer hold back a snigger.

Jack surveyed his team from where he lay back against the pillows, content to watch his team.

Yes; he’d be the devil; if that’s what it took. He’d fight like the very devil himself; to protect his team. He’d act like the devil; just to see his team happy. And he’d willingly trade places with the devil if they should get themselves captured; if it meant his team could go free. It would be worth his very soul; for the sake of his family.

The End.