seconds

Seconds

by Travelling One

Email: travelling_one@yahoo.ca

Website: http://www.travellingone.com/

Season: 8, sort of. Jack goes offworld though.

Related Episodes: Avatar; the Tomb

Summary: This adventure continues from where Avatar leaves off. The effects of the virtual reality chair may not have quite worn off yet.

Notes (and advice): If some of the dialogue sounds confusing at first, just give it a few more seconds. ;)

April 2007

"We have won."

"Well," with his hand still resting on Teal'c's shoulder, relieved beyond mere words, O'Neill matched Teal'c's understatement. "It's what we do."

Then he broke into a grin. Close one, with the big guy's heart nearly giving out. Any more deaths, and, well, something he'd rather not ponder. How could a person die from a game? Virtual Monopoly, now there was something Bill Lee could work on. Jack shook his head, hoping no one noticed him responding to himself, and glanced towards his other ex-teammate. Daniel had been a worry for a while there, too. Those few virtual reality deaths of his own had had the younger man's heart doing a few unsavory loops. Three times in succession, shot by Teal'c himself, nearly had Jack ordering the unplugging of the machine regardless of potential consequences. Better sooner than after Daniel's heart stopped too.

But Daniel and Teal'c had made a good pair. Together, against Teal'c's unintentional continual reconditioning of the rules, they had won. Finally. But it had been a heart-stopping couple of hours, and not just for those doing the playing.

Eyes closed, Daniel tapped his head on the back of the chair, relief tingling tangibly in all cells of his body. He could feel his heart still thudding like all those military boots trampling the virtual hallways.

With Teal'c now smiling and looking a hell of a lot healthier, Jack ambled the few steps to his other friend. Daniel nodded as Jack approached, his eyes remaining shut.

"How 'bout you? You okay?" Jack looked at Daniel warily, waiting for a response but none came.

The room had been ungracefully swaying last time Daniel looked, his head not yet feeling quite right. "Give me a minute." Or two.

Jack stared for a longer moment. "Daniel?"

The pause was too long. Finally Daniel squinted one eye open, then closed it again. "Bit dizzy."

Teal'c and Carter stood at Daniel's other side. "Are you not well, Daniel Jackson?"

"He's not ready to talk yet." Noncommittal, but Jack was concerned. "Doc?"

At the abruptness in Jack's voice, a quiet urgency, Dr. Carmichael left the equipment he'd been packing up to take back to the infirmary, and turned questioningly to SG-1. His gaze fell on Daniel, Dr. Jackson seemingly too complacent and content, just sitting there. "Let's have a look," he frowned.

Daniel felt the doctor's hand on his wrist, felt the blood pressure cuff encircle his upper arm, and opened his eyes, slowly attempting to maneuver his legs out of the chair. "I'm fine. Just exhausted, I think. Been a long afternoon," he smiled half-heartedly. "Thought for a while there we weren't going to make it out." But before he could fully stand the room swayed again, and he grabbed for the edge of the chair just as Jack and Teal'c caught his shoulders, gently guiding him to a seated position on the floor.

"Doctor?" It wasn't so much a question as an unvoiced order this time. Figure out what's going on here.

"Dr. Jackson's pulse is 110 and blood pressure is 150 over 95. That's somewhat high but likely a consequence of the stress he's just been through. I suggest we get him to the infirmary so we can find out for sure."

Daniel's eyes were once again closed. They stayed that way for most of the ride to the infirmary in the wheelchair.

_____

"Hi." Daniel glanced up briefly, then returned to his document.

"Hi," Jack sauntered into the room, glancing around self-consciously, wondering why Daniel was ignoring him. No greeting? "Hey there," he tried again. Juice and a bowl of soup lay untouched on a tray by the bed, and a laptop balanced precariously on Daniel's chest as he busily typed. The archaeologist shrugged, keying in some notes.

"Why are you still here? You're obviously not sick." Jack cocked his head at Daniel.

Daniel continued tapping at his keyboard.

"What?"

"Daniel?"

This time, Daniel frowned up at Jack. "Still doing tests," he retorted nonchalantly. "I feel fine. No, not hungry," he added, cutting off Jack's unvoiced question.

Pausing with the words "You should eat that" about to come out of his open mouth, instead Jack moved to reach for the spoon as Daniel said, "Be my guest."

Jack's next words, "What, I'm that predictable?" clashed in mid-sound with Daniel's "If the shoe fits," and then Daniel glanced down at the ground before sighing, tossing Jack a patronizing look. As Daniel went back to his typing, the spoon tumbled from Jack's fingers, landing between his feet with a small clang.

Not a twitch from Daniel, as he worked at the laptop resting across his upper body.

Jack reached down to pick up the spoon, then hesitated, his hand suspended above the utensil. Wait a minute.

"It did," Daniel mumbled seemingly to himself, in the midst of his work.

"Daniel, why didn't that startle you?"

No response; Daniel was absorbed in other things. Jack paused another moment before asking, "What did what?" as he brushed the spoon on his shirt before dropping it back into the soup. Something seemed oddly strange, almost as though…

Daniel stopped his typing, taking a critical look at Jack. "What's with you?"

Slowly, Jack slid the napkin off the tray and crumpled it into a ball. Without taking his gaze from Daniel, he …

Daniel raised his right hand and snapped it shut, catching air.

… tossed it at Daniel.

The wad of napkin hit the younger man on the chin.

The look of surprise on Daniel's face would have been funny, if Jack had not known what it meant. With a sigh and slump of his shoulders Jack uttered only one disheartened sound, "Oy."

______

The last few tests had been just as useless, even though they now knew what they were looking for. Daniel was definitely experiencing things two seconds too early.

"How the hell is that possible?" Jack asked yet again. "He's not attached to that damn chair any more." No, Daniel remained in the infirmary, conspicuously absent from this briefing about him.

"I have no idea," Bill Lee responded once more with the same frustration in which SG-1 and General O'Neill were requesting answers. "All I can suggest is that maybe the electromagnetic stimulation of the cortex expended by the chai - "

"Electrical stimulation?" Jack interrupted.

"Relax, it's too mild to be harmful."

"Like you assured us the game would only be fun?" Jack shot back. "Like Teal'c could stop at any time with a failsafe? Like - "

"Sir." The single, quiet word from Carter reminded him that the look on Bill Lee's face indicated he felt as badly about this as any of them.

Jack scowled and shook his head. "I rest my case. Go on."

"The EM energy isn't enough to hurt anyone, General, no matter how long they play. But it must have residual effects on the firing of the neurons in the brain - "

"And you call that harmless?"

"To his health, yes," Dr. Lee emphasized.

"How can that cause Daniel Jackson to experience dialogue and actions two seconds into the future?" Teal'c queried.

"I don't know… I don't know, it's all I can come up with. It's alien technology, and it was interfacing with your brains. Now it's got to be networking with something out there we aren't aware of. Research in extrasensory perception is insubstantial, to say the least." Dr. Lee finally turned his head sheepishly away from the angry general. Carter didn't look any better, though, so the scientist set his gaze on Teal'c. The former Jaffa did not look pleased. "Look, it will probably wear off by tomorrow." Not that he knew anything about this sort of thing… but telepathy obtained within a matter of two hours couldn't last long, could it? The brain was probably overloading and letting off steam, or something. How should he know anything about neurology and extrasensory perception?

Jack sighed. Sometimes he hated playing General, but now he could hear Hammond's voice channeling through him. "Until it does, I can't let Daniel go offworld. Carter, tell Doctor Carmichael to keep an eye on him for the next twenty-four hours."

"Yes sir."

_____

Twenty-four hours later Daniel had learned not only to hold his tongue for two extra seconds, but that if he closed his eyes the effect wasn't so noticeable. Mostly, he'd see things before they happened, or hear them, but touch - as long as he wasn't looking - remained pretty much normal. Smell, however, was a different story, and luckily didn't occur too often. Daniel sighed, a too-frequent emotional response that was already becoming a habit.

There was a knock on the door, even though he'd left it open. Hi, Jack.

One one thousand, two one thousand, …

Jack rapped on the door, just so he didn't catch Daniel daydreaming, or something important like that.

"Hi Jack." But to Daniel, by then Jack was already in the room.

Jack stepped into the room, his nonchalance more of an act than natural sentiment. Every time he'd stopped by, it was with the hope and expectation that Daniel was all better and could get back to the business of rejoining his team. "Hey."

"No."

"You better yet?" Jack asked, then scowled in frustration. This was driving him nuts. Daniel, on the other hand, probably didn't even notice the weirdness. If he said nothing, would Daniel answer what he'd been about to say? What are you working on?

Nothing. "Guess not." Jack shrugged and took a seat.

"Guess not what?"

"Guess not you can't just read my mind."

"Obviously."

"Busy?"

"Trying to be."

"Need help?"

"From you?"

"Yes, from me… Daniel?"

"Yes, Jack?"

"How come we just had a moment of normal conversation? Well, I mean, compared to lately."

"Cause I'm trying really hard to be good, Jack."

Jack stared for a moment, until insight hit. "Ah. So it's a ruse."

"Counting two seconds before answering you."

"So how are you doing it? …Oops; slipped up that time, huh?"

Daniel shrugged, and sighed again. This was getting to be too hard. Leaning back in his chair he almost forgot to count before responding to Jack's, "Well, if you can control it, the doc might let you back on SG-1."

It was a meager hope on Jack's part, wishful thinking, he knew, that Daniel would be fine to go offworld. He wanted Daniel to be fine, but could he take the risk? Then again, there was the chance that such an abnormality… or skill… might actually be useful offworld, just like in the game. For Daniel's sake and the sake of SG-1, he wanted back to status quo.

"Hammond?" Daniel looked puzzled for a moment. "Won't happen."

"Hey, maybe if you tell Hammond you're all bet…ter." Jack cut off, realizing Daniel had already answered him. Not Hammond. Freudian slip, or habit? Jack realized he had just told Daniel to lie to him, General as he now was. How long would it take him to get used to the fact that Hammond wasn't the decision-maker here anymore? "Oops."

"Carmichael won't…" Daniel stopped, waiting. Although his words had halted, Daniel realized his face couldn't be so controlled. He couldn't reign in his non-verbal reactions, two seconds early.

"What won't happen?"

"Carmichael won't let me go offworld like this, Jack."

"Well, at least tell him it's under control. I'll tell him." George always did say I walk a fine line. Jack grinned. "Need anything?"

"Thanks. No, I'm fine."

"Good. Practice that line while I'm gone."

_____

"I can't agree to that."

"Oh, come on, doc! He's learning to manage it."

"What he's managing is his speech, General. Have you given thought to what the world seems like to him? Everything's happening too early, before it happens to anyone else. He not only hears your words, he sees your movements. He has to remember what to answer to your second-to-last question, General, while listening to everything you're saying next!"

Jack pursed his lips, his gaze dropping from the doctor's face to the floor. No, he hadn't really thought of it from Daniel's point of view. He hated to admit that maybe Daniel had mastered only a small part of his world, so far. How long could it go on?

"Let's play a game here, General. Respond to everything I say, but not for two seconds."

"Why?"

"Humor me. Don't respond for two seconds, alright?"

"Okay."

"No, that was too fast. Let's try again. Don't respond for two seconds. Do you understand? And have you gone to see Daniel today?"

"I understan - "

"Then you spoke with him. How was he feeling?"

"You know I've seen Daniel -"

"Do you really want him back on SG-1 yet?"

"Yes I want him back on SG-1!"

"No, General, you missed a question."

Touché. Jack glared at the doctor.

Then he turned and walked out of the room.

_____

"I think it's fading."

"You sure?" Jack felt hope spark like a flame inside him, a teeny tiny match kind of flame. SG-1's missions had been postponed by Daniel's absence, but Jack was starting to take heat from above. Two more essential SGC members were being unused, and now Jack found himself having to defend his reasoning behind having kept a three-man team. He desperately didn't want to replace Daniel now, as well as himself. This time, it was Hammond he had to report to, along with the President. He dreaded the ring of the red telephone.

Two seconds passed. "Positive."

"It would please us to have you rejoin the team, Daniel Jackson."

"We don't want to go offworld without you, Daniel," Carter smiled.

Two seconds passed. "Thanks, guys."

Jack's humored façade faded into a frown. "What's with the time delay?"

One one thousand… two one thousand. "What?"

"Daniel… time delay. You're answering everything really slowly."

"Oh…" Daniel broke into a grin. "Great. Now I'm really positive it's worn off."

"What are you talking about?"

"I wasn't sure. Waited the two seconds just in case."

"So you're hearing us… when we're really talking?" Jack whipped the pen he'd been playing with in Daniel's direction…

And Daniel caught it.

Suddenly four people were grinning broadly, and Jack was clapping Daniel on the back. "Welcome back."

_____

Two missions went off without a hitch. One long-abandoned world - and why anyone would voluntarily leave unless they'd polluted the place or stripped it of resources, Jack couldn't figure, but he had SG-1 check it out anyway - and one on which the scattered inhabitants stared a lot but refused to interact, even with Daniel. Two planets, offering nothing of value.

The third one, however, was alive and teeming with activity. And that, apparently, was an understatement.

"What's that, a fairground?" Jack squinted and leaned in closer to the screen. A locale after his own heart - but he wouldn't admit the commotion was a bit rough on the senses; drumming and clanging, shouting, laughter, movement, bells, voices voices voices…

And the equipment within view was dizzying, even witnessed from the perspective of a MALP transmission. But that clear transmission lasted only minutes; suddenly bodies were covering it, sitting on it, and otherwise completely obscuring the camera. The few faces that peered right into the lens showed curiosity and humor.

"Look at that, offworld smiles. You have so got to go," Jack remarked. Wryly rethinking that last statement, Jack realized this was the sort of place he'd always hoped for when he'd been a member of SG-1, and the reminder was nostalgic and sobering. Technology, fun, happy people right there at the base of the gate runway, ready and willing to welcome them. I have so got to go. Just to open negotiations, he added to himself, rationalizing his call to Hammond… who'd more than understand his real need. Easing himself into his new role needed a great cover story, and Hammond would buy him time until he came up with one. After all, his team - former team - had convinced him that now he could do anything he wanted… within reason.

"Hello?" Daniel spoke into the mic, hoping to attract someone's attention. "What language do you speak?" When there was no response, he tried all the languages he knew, Sam watching with a hint of admiration, Jack with impatient smugness, but the people just blocked the camera.

"He's putting that kid up on the MALP," Jack blurted suddenly, "like it's a ride."

"Um," Daniel frowned, "maybe they think it's supposed to be there. They may think my voice is programmed in."

"It doesn't seem as though they're worried about us," Sam remarked. "The air is obviously breathable, sir, and temperatures are warm enough for those people to wear light clothing. They have some advanced technology, judging from all those… those, um, - "

"Rides?" Jack filled in. People may not have been sitting on all those other contraptions within view, but from this distant angle it appeared as though they were entering some of them and exiting laughing. Laughing, eating, jovially interacting. Brought back memories of popcorn, hotdogs, cotton candy; all they needed… and was that a kid throwing up? "Play that back again."

"No." Daniel leaned over, stopping the sergeant's hand on the keyboard. "Ignore the man beside me. He's possessed." What Daniel ignored was Jack's scowl and the swat on his arm.

"Whatever, sir, they seem fairly well developed technologically. EM readings are a bit high, but that's likely just concentrated emissions from the equipment. Radiation levels are negligible. I don't see any threat to our health or safety."

"Okay kids, we're not going to talk to these people from here. Let's have a go." Jack rubbed his hands in anticipation. He didn't see much chance of danger here. Likely these people were using the stargate for something, as they weren't afraid of the MALP coming through.

Daniel's eyebrows pitched. "Let's have a go?"

"Yup, I'm coming. Sergeant, take messages. I'll be back in three hours." Catching the team's undisguised gaping stares he added, "What? Just think of it as an afternoon meeting with foreign representatives. Part of my new job description."

_____

Well.

They hadn't expected applause to break out upon exiting the wormhole, but this was good. Jack almost bowed. "What the hell's going on?" he whispered out the corner of his mouth.

"I think we just, uh…" Daniel shrugged. Damned if he knew.

But now that they had successfully traipsed a few feet up the path, strange looks and voices fading and attentions turning elsewhere, the novelty of their arrival already seeming to have worn off, the answer was starting to come clear.

"I believe we may have just performed a stunt," Teal'c suggested, looking at the one crowd among many, one of many pockets of individuals standing around some sort of mobile contraptions. Crowds that were laughing, cheering, dancing, eating, and exhibiting all other manner of enjoyment. Music was playing nearby, bells were ringing, and the cacophony of voices of those having fun rang out across the grounds.

All of a sudden the attention shifted again; people were shouting, looking at SG-1 and waving, but the movements no longer appeared cheerful. No, that was more like panic on the faces of the nearby onlookers, as Jack and his teammates were forcefully shoved off the runway and into the bordering flower garden.

A vortex shot forth, barely missing them.

"Holy!" Jack jumped clear of the garden, further pushing whichever of his teammates were close enough to push. "Is that incoming?"

"I don't think so." Carter stepped out of the way to let someone pass. She watched as a young man walked eagerly through the open wormhole, a sack over his shoulders.

"Looks like we interrupted them from dialing out," Jack stated, wondering again why everyone had cheered at their arrival. Had the acclamation been for them at all, or was something else going on here?

"It appears there are many waiting to dial out, O'Neill." Teal'c was frowning. "There is a wheel."

Following the direction of Teal'c's attention, SG-1 saw that someone was indeed spinning a large upright wheel mounted on a stone wall - a thick wheel with hundreds of groupings of chevrons on it.

"Those are all gate addresses!" Daniel exclaimed.

As it spun, the crowd chattered quietly, all eyes on the colourful wheel. SG-1 watched in curious confusion.

"It stopped on P4T 878," Daniel puzzled out loud, his eyes scrunched. "That's a dead world."

Three teammates turned to stare at him.

"What are you talking ab…" Daniel began.

"Uh, Daniel?" Jack patted him on the back, interrupting, as the wheel stopped at P4T 878. "How did you know that?" He looked at the gate now shooting forth a vortex, as the crowd came to life with cheers and bellowing horns.

"What are you talking about?" Daniel started again. "It had stopped - " But now Daniel stopped, his mouth going wide in realization. It was happening again. "Oh damn."

"Yeah."

Sam grimaced. "I guess the EM energy in this place is affecting you, Daniel."

Sighing, Jack hated giving his next order. "Okay, I think we'd better make our way back to the infirma - "

"No!" Daniel cried out, lunging into the crowd. "Don't go there!" Pushing his way through the mass, he grabbed at the couple about to step through the gate.

"Daniel!" Jack plunged after him, Sam and Teal'c at his heels. The crowd had suddenly gone from laughter to surprised exhalations, and some were grasping at SG-1's clothing in an effort to stop the disruption. "Daniel! What are you doing?"

The man seemingly in charge of the dialing wheel was trying to block Daniel from reaching the potential gate travelers, shouting words they could not understand, Daniel fighting the whole while.

"Daniel! What the hell are you doing?"

In spite of the disturbance and Daniel's incomprehensible insistence, the couple stepped through the open wormhole, and a distressed Daniel slumped in resignation. "They went to P4T 878. Why?"

"Perhaps they are explorers, Daniel Jackson."

"Looked more like a honeymoon couple to me," Jack commented. "But who am I to judge."

"But they can't survive there!" Daniel still looked stricken, as this time SG-1 was herded down the runway and deposited with angry looks and words at the back of the outer posts separating the gate area from the onlookers. Participants still seemed to be waiting for more gate activation, and Daniel's face clouded over as the wheel was being spun again, this time by three teenagers.

"Daniel?" Jack saw the concentration.

"Pretojiia."

"Bonanza meets Little House on the Prairie?"

Daniel nodded. "That's the one."

"No luggage. Must be a day trip."

And the three were stepping through the wormhole, to the sound of applause and more cheering.

"I don't understand what's going on." Daniel was staring hard as the next set of participants dialed a planet the SGC had never encountered, as far as he knew.

"The wheel appears to be a DHD," Teal'c answered what he thought to be Daniel's confusion.

Jack noted the uncomprehending concentration on the face of his archeologist. "What?" His look bounced between Daniel and the still spinning wheel.

"I don't know that one."

As the rest of the team watched, the gate did not activate upon completion of the dialing sequence.

"It goes nowhere," Teal'c commented, frowning. "I, too, do not understand this procedure."

The four dialers left the crowd to the sound of sighs, disappointment on their faces.

Jack whistled. "I do," he announced matter-of-factly. "Wheel of fortune."

"What?" Carter exclaimed, as both she and Daniel turned his way. Daniel had stifled his surprise a moment ago, upon hearing the theory before Sam.

"And they walk…" Daniel stopped, as he saw the grimace on Jack's face.

"Of course," Sam nodded in agreement. "It's a game! Wherever the wheel stops, they go through. If the gate doesn't activate, they lose."

"And they walk into whatever destination the gate opens for them?" Daniel asked incredulously. "Do they even know where those wormholes lead?"

They watched four more times, as a group of friends left for a beach; a single individual for nowhere they knew; and two other couples ended up failing to procure a destination. Then two families with small children ended up disappointed as well, going nowhere as their wormholes failed to materialize. A third family was next in line.

"Oh damn. Not there," Daniel swore, as he jumped into the crowd again. "Stop! That one's overrun by Goa'uld and Jaffa. You'll never come back!"

"Daniel! If they know what those planets are, they already know that!" Jack shouted, heading after his teammate once again.

But the contestants didn't understand him anyway, and this time Daniel was restrained in the arms of four large security men, as he kicked out, continuing to shout. The wheel came to a standstill, opening a wormhole onto an alien enemy world. The young couple and their child happily strode through, doing their best to ignore the agitated man calling to them in a language they did not recognize.

By now the crowd seemed more than annoyed; this time, they were angry.

And Daniel started shouting something incomprehensible, as the rest of his team caught up and the attendants released his arms.

"What are you saying to them?" Jack wanted to know, his own version of angry rising to the surface. Whether he was angrier with Daniel or with these people for sending a family through to the Goa'uld, he wasn't yet sure.

Daniel's agitation showed in his facial tension, in his rushed words. "Sometimes their words remind me of Akkadian, although I'm probably messing up the pronunciation. I don't know if they understood me, but I told them that planet is dangerous." Daniel was highly distraught, his frustration continuing to mount. He shouted at the crowd again. Then his expression went rigid, seconds before the sound of a nearby voice. "No!" Daniel yelled back, in both Akkadian and English. "No, I'm not evil!"

"Evil??" Jack exploded. "What the hell are they saying?"

"I don't know!" Daniel shot back, clearly unnerved. "But I think they're calling me evil and corrupt."

"You appear to know the destinations and their words before they are complete," Teal'c offered as explanation. "Would this not make them suspicious?"

"Like the presumed witches of medieval times," Sam interjected, "accused of knowing or altering the future."

"They have to be warned! I don't think they realize where they're going." Daniel's distress was almost causing him to forget the two-second count before answering his teammates. While part of his brain was reflexively trying to panic, the rational part of him kept him on track in present time. Daniel was finding it excruciatingly difficult to separate the two parts of himself again, working within a temporal distortion while feeling so emotionally charged.

"Daniel, I'd be willing to bet this isn't the first time they've played this game. Wouldn't they want to know why some of their contestants never come back?"

"Maybe they think they're going for a long holiday. Maybe it's a permanent move to what they believe is a better place. Maybe they have a completely different idea of what the gate does. How should I know?" Daniel's eyes flashed, as though his friends were taking sides against him. "We came through; maybe they think we're previous winners coming home, and that eventually everyone else will too." Suddenly a different expression flitted across his face, one that read scared. "What are you doing?" He said to no one in particular, just as two men grabbed his arms, then others those of his teammates.

"Hey! What's going on?" shouted Jack, struggling to be released. The grip was tight and strong, and all he succeeded in achieving were some bruises along his arms. Teal'c was struggling as well, and having better success until a third man took hold of him.

SG-1 was being ushered towards the stargate.

"Daniel? What's happening?"

Daniel was frowning in concentration. "The supervisor's spinning…" his voice drifted off, and SG-1 saw the upright DHD wheel starting to spin.

"No," Daniel breathed, then a much louder "NO," as he struggled even harder to free himself from his human restraints.

"Daniel? What is it?" Sam asked, fear clouding her eyes. She'd never seen Daniel so shaken.

"We've locked that one out of our dialing system!"

"What? Why?" Jack shouted, as the wheel stopped and a vortex burst forth, settling into a placid event horizon. And as the team was shoved along the runway and pushed into the wormhole, Daniel's horrified voice was saying, "Because there were too - "

The wormhole swept them up as they disappeared from the crowd's view, in time to the fading cheering and applause.

_____

Jack plummeted into a world of black icicles and blood-red crystals glittering in the faint illumination coming from …somewhere. Shadowy shapes flitted above his head long before his mind could discern any real images. What the hell was he looking at?

First thought was to whip out his flashlight; the second was to ready his gun.

Sam bounded out next, leading the way for Daniel and Teal'c.

"… many radioactive signals and unstable EM energy readings from the vicinity of the speleothems," Daniel completed his sentence, as if Jack still needed to hear. "Um, stalagmite formations. And the visual transmissions indicated a variety of… things in the shadows." There'd been many signs of potential danger, too many unidentifiable anomalies, and nothing on this world worth risking a team.

Carter wasn't looking pleased to be here, either. "I remember this planet, C… General." She shook her head; much as she'd forced herself to get used to missions without the former Colonel O'Neill, it was good to have him back, if only for a day. Having him here, though, was like a trip backwards in time. Now she realized how much she'd been missing his presence the past few weeks.

"Things?" Jack's face puckered in disgust and the dilemma of needing, but not wanting, to know. "Stalagmites, huh?" Okay, not icicles, but as he touched one a cool tingle ran up his arm. He pulled his hand back. Wasn't quite as cold as ice, just tingly cool to the touch and black like night and death and a witch's hat, if he wanted to get ironic about it. What difference did it make, though? Ice or stalagmite, black water or particles had to be rising - or dripping - from somewhere to create this mess. Toxic soup, left over from a misguided, destructive generation? Jack shivered, damn sure he was outdoors. Weren't stalagmites supposed to be created in limestone caves, by ground water dripping from the ceiling? Inside? Carter could explain this, he guessed, if he wanted her to and when the time was right. Then he looked around, and looked again, hoping one of his team saw something he didn't. "DHD?"

"That was another reason we never planned on coming here, sir."

"Swell." Just swell.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. This was my fault."

"No it wasn't, Daniel."

"You did nothing but try to stop others from coming to harm, Daniel Jackson."

"Jack!" Daniel's attention suddenly shifted, but he wasn't close enough to Jack to intervene.

Something plopped down at Jack's feet, and the general jumped out of the way, barely missing bumping into Teal'c. "What the hell is that?" He aimed his light, uncovering a small lump of pulsing blackness.

"I'd say it could be the substance that caused these pinnacles to develop, sir," Carter replied as another lump just missed her shoulder, Daniel pulling her out of the way in time. "I would have conjectured that the pinnacles developed underground as the surrounding matter was eroded, but now I'm not so sure."

"Crap, it's raining mud." Jack shone his light desperately around, looking for shelter. There was nothing in the immediate area as far as he could tell, but visibility wasn't a strong point here.

Another lump plopped down, this time on top of a stalagmite.

Jack pulled the rim of his cap lower, thinking an umbrella might be nice right about now. Where the hell was this stuff coming from? Braving a quick glance up didn't answer his question.

Though they were not indoors, the troposphere overhead was black as coal, with red ribbons of light twisting and turning, lighting up pathways before them with an eerie macabre effect.

"Lightning?" Jack questioned, knowing somehow that was wrong.

"Charged solar particles bombarding this planet's magnetic field, ionizing the molecules and atoms in the atmosphere. Near as I can tell, sir."

Jack stared, not quite appreciating the way Sam's eyes seemed to glow in the weird lighting. "I knew that. Care to explain it to Teal'c? Six words or less."

"Sorry, sir. An aurora. As we never studied this planet in great enough detail to be certain of the exact magnetic or radioactive conditions, I'd say that for the time being we'd be safest indoors."

"There's an indoors?" So far, no more mud - or something - seemed to be dropping, and that fact didn't go unnoticed by any of them.

"We didn't send a UAV to this planet, sir, but zoom shots from the MALP cameras indicated several structures carved into the faces of the hillsides. The nearest should be about ten minutes' walk." Aware that Daniel was now keeping uncharacteristically silent, Sam attempted to pull him into the conversation. "Do you remember anything else, Daniel?" He was downcast, pouting off to the side of the other three.

"No."

Keeping his peripheral vision on the younger man as they walked in the direction indicated by Carter, stepping around and between pointed stalagmites or pinnacles that insisted on blocking their way, each highlighted by the illumination of flashlights and red light flashes from up above, Jack tried to understand more of what Carter was saying. "Are we in danger out here?"

"I have no idea, sir. I doubt the radiation is harmful unless we stay for a while," Sam answered, hoping 'a while' would be less time than they'd end up being here. "My instruments can't register any unknown alien properties in the atmosphere, but we should be alright under cover. The red aurora is the effect and not the cause of the atmospheric conditions, but ionized atoms have a net electric charge and could carry a sufficient amount of energy. We don't want to get hit with a dose."

"Hit? So, lightning?" Jack turned to face Sam fully, her skin an odd shade of crimson in the ricocheting red radiance. Didn't go well with her eyes.

"Well… not in the abrupt electrical discharge sense, sir."

"Didn't you just mention something about net electrical charges?" he pointed out.

"Yes sir." Carter sighed, but stopped talking.

Jack decided to leave it at that.

"It was over here." That was the most that had come out of Daniel since their arrival, and Jack swept over to walk by his side.

"Here, you say?" Jack looked around, trying to find a hill with a carved structure. All that lay before them were some bumpy mounds, covered with rock. Rock that sparkled like orange gems when hit with the battery-powered illumination. When the red streaks flashed in the sky, though - which was every two or three seconds - they shone both navy-silver and blood red. "Lead the way."

Daniel skirted the immediate pinnacles, diverting his path around the other side of the mound. From here, it seemed to rise into a crest, and then dip downwards into the ground, an overhang looming above a deliberately carved doorway. This was no cave; at least two rooms had been sculpted out of the rock. Whether this mound had been natural, or the structure fully artificial and made to appear natural, Jack couldn't determine amidst the eerie shadows and lighting.

The navy walls inside glowed with numerous bits of crystalline orange.

"Carter?" Jack switched off his flashlight, leaving the place in glittery navy darkness; he turned the hand-light back on, watching the glows return to orange, offering as much illumination as a dozen candles. Out of the floor grew more of those black icicles. Turning, his back to the wall, Jack observed his team. Carter looked thoughtful, Teal'c overly alert, Daniel uncomfortable.

Sam was staring at the glittering walls. "I can't explain these yet, sir."

If there ever had been a time when Jack felt a certain smug satisfaction at those words, this wasn't it.

"Possibly iron oxide," Sam continued, "but," she shrugged, "I don't think so."

Jack turned to speak to Daniel, just in time to see the archeologist lift and point his handgun - straight at Jack.

"Hey!" Leaping out of the way, Jack shoved Daniel's hand towards the floor, as Teal'c fired his gun. The wall behind where he'd been standing cracked, and Jack turned sharply to see the smashed goo of a hat-sized previously-living thing splattered against it, dripping downwards.

"It was reaching for your back, O'Neill." Teal'c's sharp eyes searched the room for more lurking specimens.

Jack swung back around to Daniel. "You aimed that gun right at me!"

Daniel's face was pale, even in the weird light, his eyes wide with dismay and fear. His stunned voice came out in a whisper. "I saw you jump out of the way." Daniel knew what had nearly happened, and he felt sick.

"Well I hadn't done that yet!" Realizing a gun in Daniel's hand was a dangerous thing while his temporal misalignment was recurring, Jack removed it from Daniel's grasp, prying open his stiff fingers. "No more weapons for you, Daniel."

Swallowing several times and backing away, Daniel moved off to sit on the ground by the far wall, spots of orange light speckling his clothes and turning them brown. Out of the way, he couldn't get into trouble. Out of the way, he didn't have to listen to his teammates speak while their lips looked out of sinc, didn't have to watch them move before their actions had any effect. Sound and sight were so out of alignment that he felt dizzy.

Jack watched Daniel's movements before turning his attention to the others. "Wasn't that - "

"It was indeed."

Damn. They'd seen those creatures before, buried with a Goa'uld in a sarcophagus in the bowels of a ziggurat, on P2X 338. Trust SG-1 to have possibly, probably, found their homeworld.

"I'm going to have a look around. Carter, with me. Teal'c, keep an eye on Daniel. Watch out for more of those… creepy things."

Together, Jack and Sam scoped out the other room, finding nothing but black and gray stony cold protrusions growing like mold, from the floors and from the ceilings. Small orange ones even seemed to be projecting outwards from the walls. The walls themselves were of a substance that even Carter couldn't identify; a metal-like rock. Porous, slippery, yet capable of growing. There was nothing they could use in any of the chambers; if this place had once been occupied, whoever had lived here had left nothing behind.

"Now what?" Jack looked at Sam in desperation. Team leader he might be, base commander he might be, but he was the first to admit he never had all the answers. And one major player in this drama was out of commission.

Carter knew her CO was feeling a sense of helplessness, knew he'd be thrilled with any idea she could offer. Right now, though, she was at a loss. "We know where the stargate is, sir. Maybe I can find something in the environment to make it work. There's a lot of untapped energy out there; I just don't know if I can find anything useful or conductive."

"What about the radiation?"

"We'll limit our exposure, sir. I think it's our only option."

"Well, it's a place to start, Colonel." As Jack turned to retrace his steps, keeping a lookout for odd and unusual creatures, he put a hand on Sam's shoulder. "Thanks."

_____

Daniel hadn't moved, nor had Teal'c. For a moment Jack wondered if he, too, was caught up in some sort of time warp. With the orange glitters and black pinnacles, and walls that had been fashioned by some vanished or banished race, this setting was too surreal to fit comfortably into his world. Jack preferred things neat and tidy, logical, comprehensible. And having Daniel know things seconds too soon was fitting right in with this bizarre atmosphere. Judging by the way Daniel sat against that wall… smooth wall growing bumpy things, one that made Jack shudder just to touch it … the guy wasn't dealing with any of this very well.

With eyes still closed, Daniel felt the hand before he heard the voice.

"Daniel?" Sam was nearby, but Daniel didn't want to look, didn't want to see her talking.

"What?" Had he said that too soon? Was she even really, truly by his side yet, or just on her way? Why were his actions in present time… or was he? Right; something about his own brain making 'allowances'. A word that meant no one really understood and no one could help him. Who really was in present time here, anyway?

"It's the EM energy in this place. It's affecting you more than before."

"Great." He still kept his eyes closed.

"You should be safer in here than outside, though. The general and I are going to look around. You can wait in here with Teal'c." Sam had been getting used to the Colonel in Charge thing, and she realized General O'Neill was giving her space. She was grateful to him for that, almost as grateful as having him back in the field, no matter how temporary.

Daniel nodded. "Are you here yet?"

Sam paused, taking a moment to realize what Daniel meant. "I am."

"Were you here when I started answering you?"

"No."

Daniel just sighed.

"Daniel." That was Jack.

Daniel waited a moment before responding. "Jack. Are you here?"

"You talking to me, Daniel?"

Daniel forced his eyes open, seeing Jack crouching beside him, right …inside Sam. And then Sam was on the other side of the room, and Jack was in her space. But he was also where he'd been a minute ago.

"Oh damn." The sigh was quiet, and Daniel felt his eyes well up. Fighting back tears of exhaustion and dread, dragging the back of his hand across his upper face, he asked again, "Are you here now?"

"Yeah. You okay?"

Daniel shook his head.

"Sorry I jumped at you earlier."

One… two… "Sorry I nearly killed you, earlier."

"What?" Jack had hardly heard Daniel, their words overlapping. "Try counting again, Daniel."

One… two… "Been doing that."

Again, their words overlapped.

Jack paused, wondering if he was jumping to conclusions. "Try four seconds, Daniel."

"What?"

"Count to four."

"Okay." The word again overlapped Jack's.

Jack watched Daniel fighting his emotions; eyes shut tight, his hands were gripping the loose fabric of his pants. Nerves, panic, fear. "I'm going outside with Carter. We won't be long."

One one thousand, two one thousand, three…, four… "I should come."

That was about right. "No."

One…..

"We can't split up here, Jack. You need Teal'c to watch your back; he can't stay here to watch over me."

"You can't even see straight, Daniel."

"I can manage."

"This is managing?"

"Is my timing working?"

"It is now."

"Okay. So four seconds and I'll be alright."

"Stay here a minute." Jack put his hand on Daniel's arm and gave a reassuring squeeze, although he wasn't sure as to who was being reassured, knowing Daniel had probably already felt that four seconds ago. He shook his head; this was too weird.

"Carter." Jack walked quietly to where Sam was now standing, watching Daniel from a little distance. "Why is he getting worse?"

"I don't know, sir. Whatever anomalies are in this atmosphere are exaggerating the effects. But I've been thinking." She paused, frowning inwardly, her mind racing through a myriad of jumbled suspicions.

Jack watched her for a moment, exasperation and helplessness getting the better of him. "Carter! I like suggestions short, not silent!"

"Sorry, sir," Sam perked up sheepishly, roused from her mental theorizing. "We assumed it was electromagnetic energy doing the damage, but that may be working in conjunction with other atmospheric properties. When we accidentally went back in time to 1969 and then forward into the future, we were relying on solar flares. The solar activity surrounding this planet is exaggerated, General, and something in the way that chair works may have caused a hypersensitivity in Daniel. And that's led me to consider the possibility that somehow solar variances of an as yet unidentified nature are causing Daniel to vibrate within two time parallels simultaneously."

Jack stared at her, unfortunately comprehending some of that, sort of. He'd heard and seen bizarre things in his years at the SGC, and had learned to take possibilities as they were handed to him. One thing at least was indisputable; Daniel was not okay. "Terrific. Can we do anything?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, sir."

"I don't care much for my guesses, Carter."

"Then we'd better find a way out of here, sir."

"That's the plan."

"Daniel Jackson!"

Jack spun around to see Daniel standing up, not quite making eye contact, focusing in almost another direction. "Daniel, you - "

"I'm coming."

Jack strode over, and now Daniel's eyes were right on him. Daniel was counting. "I don't think that's a good idea, Daniel."

"I do."

Jack considered for several moments. While he didn't want Daniel to come, he definitely felt better having the backup of Teal'c's eagle eyes. He couldn't leave Carter here; he needed her expertise and assistance. And no way would he leave Daniel alone. If Daniel could keep himself in check, fine. If not, he'd find out for himself and stop arguing about staying behind. The last thing Jack wanted was for Daniel to think of himself as a liability, but for the time being, that's what he was. "Fine. Let's go."

Daniel kept his eyes on the floor; at least that was something that didn't move. He could maneuver his way around solid, stationary obstacles, especially when they were nearly as tall as he was. He'd go out with the others, and do his best to discover the reason these people had abandoned their world, how they'd lived here in the first place - this planet couldn't have been like this way back then, could it? - where they'd gone, and how they'd gotten there. In the process, he'd try not to be a hindrance to his team.

The red flashes continued to twist and turn through the sky, the air almost buzzing with an intangible static. Carter balanced and juggled as many instruments as she could reasonably handle at any one time, Teal'c giving her a hand while keeping the other firmly on his weapon. So far, apart from the thing that had inhabited the house - hopefully not the alien owner, or the family pet - they'd seen no other signs of life, but he was taking no chances.

Jack wandered close by, his flashlight scanning for anything that might be a clue to getting them out of here, although he had no idea what he might be looking for. Daniel, he noticed, was running his hands along the surfaces of those pinnacles, likely hoping for some Braille to pop up under his fingertips. Had to give the guy credit, though; he knew Daniel's world for the past while had not been the easiest, or safest, place to be. The man could have crouched in that room in avoidance, and Jack would not have blamed him. Certainly, he hadn't expected Daniel to be getting back to work.

Daniel traced his fingers over everything in his path, hoping that these pinnacles may have had some use, had some meaning to the former inhabitants of the area. Had these growths, albeit smaller, been here when the occupants were around? If so, would they not have carved them, used them in some meaningful way, like every other ancient civilization did with their rocks? But so far he'd found nothing unnatural, either at their centers or at their bases. Not wanting to wander too far, he stayed close to the team, trying to block from his vision whatever they were doing.

That, however, proved to be impossible.

For at the same moment that Jack seemed to be in front of him, he was off to the side talking to Teal'c. Thank God for Teal'c, who never seemed to move much at all, and soon the images almost merged. Daniel closed his eyes, ridding himself of the broken 3D effect.

"I don't see anything here, Carter. You having any luck?"

"I get odd readings, sir. They keep changing even within the same piece of rock."

"I do not believe these to be rocks, Colonel Carter."

"Teal'c? I'm not sure I follow….."

"I don't see anything here, Carter. You…"

"I get odd…"

"having any luck?"

"readings, sir. They keep…"

"I do not believe…"

"Any luck?"

"changing even Colonel Carter within the same believe these to be luck? Piece of rock to be rocks, sure I follow you Colonel readings. Carter. Carter."

"Oh God." Daniel covered his ears, his eyes stinging through closed lids. He couldn't take this any more. Leaving the familiarity of the two flashlights held by Jack and Teal'c, he dashed around the pinnacles into the structure, finding his way through the room by the glitter of the navy crystals. Sliding to the floor, Daniel dropped his head into his hands, squeezing his eyes tight once again, treasuring the stillness and the silence of this intentionally made chamber. His haven, as long as his teammates stayed outside.

But he knew that was not to be.

Jack stood in the doorway, watching his teammate retreat into his own safe place, and he felt at a loss for what to do. Even touching Daniel had to make the archeologist question his senses. They had to get him out of this atmosphere; at least he'd been getting better at home. Home, where electromagnetic energy - or solar activity - was more or less stable and insignificant. If Daniel had to refrain from going offworld in order to combat this, then that's what he'd do.

But first they had to get him home.

"What happened out there?" Jack's voice was soft.

What what happened out what there out there

Daniel shuddered, and felt a touch on his arm. Afraid to open his eyes, he gathered the courage to speak. "Jack, I think I'm - " He heard himself say, but knew his lips hadn't yet moved. Shocked, Daniel lifted his head and stared past Jack, his eyes wide and startled.

Jack's lips were moving, but Daniel had heard the words seconds ago… sort of. This was getting worse; usually at least the lips and sounds had worked in synchronization. And now he knew his own lips were moving, no sound coming forth. Jack, I think I'm…

This time the tears made it down his cheek.

Going crazy?

He couldn't tell if Jack held him before or after his shoulders started shaking. He was too mixed up to know the difference.

_____

"He's losing it in there."

Sam didn't meet Jack's troubled, penetrating gaze. "I'm doing everything I can, sir. There might be a way to redirect some of this EM energy and convert it to gate power, but I haven't figured out how. I don't have much to work with."

"I know, Carter. You're doing good." Jack turned back towards the shelter. He hadn't felt comfortable leaving Daniel alone even for this long.

"General?"

Jack paused, looking back at Sam.

"I want to help him."

Jack nodded. "You will." If they stayed here much longer - and Carter wouldn't give a clue as to how long 'much' was - they'd all be in trouble, anyway.

Jack found Daniel had not moved an inch, not that he'd expected or wanted him to. But the man should at least pick up his head; what if one more of those pudgy things came 'round?

Oh. Daniel had no weapon anyway.

Jack sat down beside him, against that wall that gave him the shivers. What was up with that, anyway?

"Here. Use this to lie on." Jack folded his jacket, laying it across Daniel's knees.

Daniel didn't move.

"Daniel, come on." Was his counting off again, too?

Daniel raised his hands, reaching out for something Jack should have been offering.

"No. I gave it to you. Here." Jack patted the small bundle on Daniel's lap. "It's here."

Seemingly in confusion, seconds later, Daniel lay down, placing the jacket under his head. "Sorry to be so useless, Jack," he whispered. "I'm sorry." His words sounded distorted to his own ears. Daniel tried to block out all sensations, sounds, sights. It was easier, lying there with his eyes closed.

"Sshh. You can stay there quietly."

It was several seconds before Daniel said "Thanks."

_____

"Sir, I figured out why there's so much EM energy concentrated within the pinnacles. They really are closer to icicles, sir, in a way. Their molecules act a bit like water, amplifying everything around them; in this case, energy seeping in from the ground and air, which is why this place is affecting Daniel so strongly. The substance that dropped around us is charged with an ionic current, building up the pinnacles and transforming them into what you might want to think of as storage units. Daniel would probably find them a storehouse of information, if we could convert their vibrations into some sort of communication signals."

"Does this help us, Carter?"

"Yes, sir. I think it might. You'll recall we escaped Hadante by winding subatomic particles around the gate to activate it; taking a page from our own book, sir, if we can connect enough of these specimens to the gate, we may be able to infuse it with power."

"These aren't subatomic particles, Carter."

"No, sir. But combined with a concentrated charge we may be able to release sufficient power to activate the stargate. I'm thinking, sir, if we connect a load of them together and set off a charge - "

"C4?"

Sam nodded. If I don't blow us all up in the process, she failed to add out loud. No telling what sort of reaction there might be with the rocks' internal elements combined with explosive forces, but it was all she could come up with.

For the first time, Jack felt a surge of relief. Not for the first time, he sensed that usual pride and admiration for his team - former team - stirring within. "Hear that, Daniel? We might have a way out of here."

There was no response from Daniel.

"Daniel?" Jack shook the other man gently, fully aware that Daniel hadn't fallen asleep, in spite of the pretense.

"How?"

"Carter says the icicles might be storing enough latent power to work the gate."

Daniel was silent again.

"Uh, Daniel, you're counting too high."

"That's good."

"Huh?" This time it was Jack who was puzzled, as he tried to figure out what was going on with Daniel's mind. Not an easy feat at any time.

"I haven't been counting at all, Jack."

Jack froze, concern sneaking past his guard to momentarily register on his face. For the past little while, Daniel's responses had been way out of whack - this time, far too slow.

"Daniel, repeat after me: one, two, three, four."

Jack waited, but nothing came. Finally, after he had started to question Daniel's hearing, Daniel spoke.

"One, two, three, four."

Crap. "You said that the second you heard it, right?"

Jack waited.

"Right."

"You're lagging now."

One, two, three, four, five, six… Jack was counting.

"Lagging?"

Oh for crying out - "You're hearing a delay now, Daniel. Like a long, long distance phone line." A line to Vorash.

Six seconds later, Daniel opened his eyes wide and said, "Damn."

_____

Red swirls continuing to flash overhead, the team made its way to the gate, only a ten minute walk from their shelter. Ten minutes, that is, if upward-growing icicles hadn't been in the way and if Daniel had been responding in Real Time. It was fairly disconcerting to the rest of the team to see him ignoring them, knowing he just wasn't getting the signals in time. Sam and Teal'c were up ahead, collecting broken or half-buried pinnacle pieces, blasting off more bits with their guns, hoping to hell they weren't hurting the things. Their previous experience with broken crystals would never be forgotten.

That left Jack to walk with Daniel.

Which meant walking a step behind him where he could keep an eye on the archeologist. Holding his arm while Daniel kept his eyes closed hadn't worked, and both men found it easier for Daniel to walk alone. "Keep walking towards the gate, Daniel. I'm right behind you," sounded potentially confusing, for Jack wasn't sure exactly where he was in Daniel's perspective. While Carter and Teal'c were a fair distance down the path, every time they stopped to collect broken rocks Daniel ended up stopping as well, thinking he was about to bump into them. And that made Jack halt suddenly in his tracks, to keep from bumping into Daniel.

"Daniel!"

Instinct caused Jack to shout, realizing within a millisecond that Daniel wouldn't hear; not yet, not in time. Jack himself had barely noticed the movement, the slight fanning of tendrils an abrupt giveaway.

The creature leaped from the pinnacle, lunging forward, cutting through the glare of Jack's flashlight. It shone nearly fluorescent in the brief moment of an aurora flash.

Subsequent flashes had it looking eerily like a golden strobe light… with tentacles. Tentacles already squeezing Daniel's ankle.

Only now was there any reaction - one of startled surprise, as Daniel was pulled uncomprehendingly down to the ground, where he fought unseeing, his hands grasping in search for whatever had knocked him down.

In less than an instant, Jack had his hands wrapped around the twelve-inch creature, pulling at it, feeling the resistance, until the thing unleashed itself, making a grab for Jack's wrist. Coiling around his lower arm, it squeezed mercilessly. "God! Get it off!" Jack was tugging futilely at its tendrils with his one free hand. Suction pads kept reattaching themselves to his arm, trying to suck the life out of his jacket sleeve.

Daniel had felt the creature release itself, but he couldn't tell where it had gone. Sensations of feeling still worked out of touch with sight and sound. The thing still appeared to be wrapped around his own leg, with Jack trying in vain to disentangle it. Daniel kept grabbing for it around his ankle, his hands feeling nothing, and frustration and panic roiled inside his stomach. He knew full well he was out of touch, and couldn't do a damn thing about it.

And then he heard Jack's cry. Surging forward to where he saw Jack struggling, the squid thing wrapping itself around his CO's wrist, Daniel realized he had no idea if it was still where he thought it to be, or even whether he was still in the six-second delay. By now it could be seven or eight or ten seconds; for all he knew Jack could already be dead. The ironic thought occurred to Daniel that if he himself were killed, he'd be dead before he knew it was happening.

Reaching for his knife, Daniel remembered in frustration that he had no weapons.

He reached for his radio and shouted for help, knowing Sam and Teal'c should have caught up by now. Hearing no response, he could only hope the message had gotten through.

Daniel continued to fight with the creature as it appeared to his own eyes, Jack struggling on the ground, when he heard Sam's transmission only an instant before he felt Teal'c's hands pulling him away.

Fighting with the thing that was trying to strangle his arm, Jack knew Daniel's disorientation was hindering his physical support. Thankfully, the others had heard his cry for help - several seconds before Daniel's - and Teal'c was already charging around the pinnacles, Carter right on his heels.

Feeling his arm go numb, trying - with no response - to get Daniel to back off, Jack was nearly oblivious by the time Teal'c pulled Daniel away.

A second later he was writhing under a zat blast, the creature stunned at his side. Carter was ripping it from his arm.

"Sir? Are you alright?"

Jack tried to nod, but only managed a grimace, as Sam none too gently rolled up his sleeve to have a look. What he noticed in his agonized haze was that her expression didn't register too much disgust. Good sign, he thought, before closing his eyes.

It was several seconds later, as he lay there trying to pull himself out of the painful electrical fog, that he heard Daniel's anguished voice beside him, muttering again and again, "I'm so sorry, Jack. I'm so sorry."

Jack wasn't yet in a position to comfort or reassure him, so he let the soft sound of Carter's soothing words take care of things for the time being.

_____

Finally they reached the gate, having realized those creatures were lurking damn near everywhere, gripping onto the sides of pinnacles, crawling out of crevices, camouflaged against the stone, angry or frightened at having their terrain be so disturbed and damaged. Teal'c had already taken out six of them, Jack and Carter two each. It had only been luck that had kept them safe in their earlier explorations, or the fact that they hadn't yet made a mark on this environment. Now, it was too late to second guess their actions; all they could do was stay alert and get out of here ASAP.

Jack kept guard as Teal'c and Sam wrapped bits of the broken pinnacles together with rope from their packs. The occasional swear word muttered under the colonel's breath told Jack it was not an easy task, but he was too concerned with keeping the creatures farther away than arm's length to lend a hand. Another discharge from his weapon, and Jack was pretty certain he had at least killed the shadow of a pinnacle. He was a sack of jittery nerves.

Movement at the corner of his eye had him swinging around, his gun already blasting to the immediate left of where Daniel sat. The creature splattered into a dozen bits of flying body parts. Daniel didn't flinch. "It's okay, I got it, about six seconds ago," Jack stated, waiting. One one thousand, two… five…

Daniel gasped, jerking sideways and bolting to his feet, startled. "It's okay, I got it," he heard Jack say, "about six seconds ago." Daniel saw the creature splatter across the ground, parts of it landing at his feet… where he saw himself still sitting. Turning fully back to face Jack, his expression horrified, Daniel ran his hands through his hair, then covered his face.

"Carter!" Jack focused for only a second on the happenings around the gate, while moving towards his distraught friend.

"Working as fast as we can, General. I'm ready to set off the C4. Let's get clear of the gate, sir."

Jack stared at her. He and Daniel were already well clear of the gate. He ducked anyway, pulling Daniel into a crouch beside him, and holding on.

The explosion was small. The pinnacle bits crumbled, flickering orange, but that was all.

"Carter?"

"I don't think we used enough, sir." At least the radiation levels hadn't spiked.

Damn. Jack sighed. He was really, really certain that at some point soon, two or more of those creatures would appear at once, and he might not be able to take them out quickly enough. "Teal'c! Change places with me." He could help Sam for a while; Teal'c could take care of the slimy things.

Blasting off more bits of pinnacles, recklessly making a mess of the immediate area, Jack hauled them over to the gate.

"No more, sir."

"I think we want to be certain it works this time, Colonel."

"No, sir."

"No sir?" Jack raised his eyebrows.

"We may need to try this a few times, in small increments. I have no way of knowing the combination of elements contained in these rocks; if we unleash too much power it could blow up more than just these bits, sir. Their intrinsic energy is too unstable."

"Crap." Jack tossed a quick look in Teal'c's direction; the man was keeping a 360º watch, standing close to Daniel. "Let's just do it."

This time they moved farther away from the gate, into a clear area with fewer of the unstable icicles poking out of the ground. Unfortunately, the creatures seemed to have the same idea, slithering across the more open patches of terrain in numbers a bit too high for comfort. Whether to escape an impending death or to exact revenge, SG-1 couldn't know.

But by now a distressed Daniel had seen them as well, and was clinging to Teal'c's jacket as the larger man aimed at the approaching vermin.

Carter counted down.

The C4 blew, throwing dust and debris in all directions.

"Watch out!" More than one voice screamed, and Teal'c pulled Daniel down to the ground. The light-weighted creatures were flung out with the blast, flying everywhere, a couple missing Jack by a hair.

"I think I can tell you why the locals left," Jack scowled.

The stargate was starting to glow as if made of gold, and the few intact pinnacle segments that remained tied to it grew lighter and brighter, becoming a glowing orange like the bumps inside the dwelling in which they'd taken shelter.

"There must be heat or energy stored in the structure's walls, likely having to do with the atmospheric ionization - "

"Carter?"

"Yes sir?"

"I don't care." Jack rose swiftly, giving his next order and not waiting for a response. "Stay here with Daniel." He left Carter keeping a lookout for predators, as he and Teal'c hurried to manually dial out as fast as they could. Gazing at Daniel, Sam reached out to touch him, to let him know someone was still with him. For a moment she hesitated, then gently stroked his hair. He'd feel it eventually, she knew. Then she turned back to watching the shadows.

"Ow!" The ring was unexpectedly warm, and Jack quickly draped his jacket around his hands. Teal'c just grimaced and continued dialling out.

The chevrons lit up, one by one. The gate connected.

Partly tuning out Carter's words about radiation levels, Jack's voice was soft but urgent at Daniel's side. "Let's go home, Daniel."

But Daniel stood there, waiting for the outward surge of a vortex, and Jack took his arm in exasperation.

Daniel felt Jack tugging him towards a closed wormhole, realizing he much preferred to be functioning two seconds early than several seconds too late. Closing his eyes he allowed himself to be led through the gate, just as he heard it swoosh open.

_____

"Name?"

"Daniel Jackson."

"Date?"

"No thanks."

"Daniel!"

"Yes, we established that already."

Jack swatted Daniel on the arm, and grinned contentedly. "Seems like the timing thing is back to normal." He stared at the chair along with Daniel; wasn't sure why, but it seemed the right thing to do at the moment. Daniel was probably hoping his stare might blast the thing to bits or set it on fire with his x-ray vision. Jack checked just to make sure; yep, Daniel had his glasses on.

Daniel nodded slowly, shrugging. "So far."

"Still need the kryptonite?"

"Stalagmite. Actually, Jacksonite, according to Sam." Daniel grinned mischievously. "Probably not, but I'm afraid to leave home without it."

"Ah, give it a try. You can always go back to counting."

"That was scary, Jack. It really screwed with my head."

"Yeah. I know." Damn good thing Carter had realized the weird EM field off those rocks was starting to balance Daniel's brain signals, in a see-saw kind of way. "Can I see it?"

Daniel removed the piece of crystalline stone from around his neck. In this fluorescent light, it wasn't quite as black as night, but more of a charcoal gray with navy filaments, and tiny pink specks inside it, showing up only where it had been broken and growing brighter as Daniel's state improved. Sam was still working on what those were. He handed it to Jack. "Checking to see if it glows green?"

"Took the words right out of my mouth. Hey, if I'd known years ago a little thing like this could control your brain…" Jack flipped it over in his palm.

"Jack." Daniel looked away. That monster of a chair was still in place, awaiting more experimentation.

Jack was silent for a few seconds. "What?"

"What?"

One, two, three, four, "What?"

Daniel frowned. "Quit fooling around."

Jack stared at him blankly, before finally saying, "Who's fooling?"

Daniel paled, his eyes going wide. "You're kidding, right?"

"Damn right." Jack tossed the strung stone back at his friend. "Leave the kryptonite at home, Superman. You're okay now."

"Always been okay, Jack."

"Sure you have."

Daniel changed the subject. "Wrist still swollen?"

"Going down." Jack waggled his bandaged arm, stifling the sharp spurt of pain. Ow. "How about your ankle?"

"It's fine."

"Fine?" Jack lifted his eyebrow at the cane in Daniel's hand.

"Only hurts when I stand up."

Jack gestured toward the chair. "Have a seat."

"You kidding?" The look of incredulity on Daniel's face was set to infer utter and total stupidity of the one making the suggestion. "That thing should be faxed through the gate to every Goa'uld world we know of. Let them play with it."

Jack grinned. "Tell that to Bill Lee. He says he has it fixed."

"If he wants a volunteer, say no." Daniel shuddered exaggeratedly at the thought.

"Oh, I don't know. Might be the only way I get out on another mission," Jack responded with a wistful half-grin. "However surreal."

"You're General, Jack. You can do whatever you want, remember?"

"I think I wore out that excuse sometime yesterday, Daniel. Hammond's warned me my next holiday isn't until 2019."

"That bad, huh."

Jack nodded.

"Well, just so you know, it was good to have you back with us."

Jack didn't meet Daniel's eyes. When he spoke his voice was sullen and soft. "Felt good to be there, Daniel. Well, until I remembered the not so good parts." Felt better to be out there protecting his team than worrying about them from light years away, is what he didn't add.

Daniel smiled. "You're where you should be, Jack. Where you can do the most good."

For a moment Jack didn't move, remembering exactly why he missed his team so much. Then he put his hand on Daniel's cheek, knowing it had been years since he'd allowed himself such vulnerability. "Thanks, Daniel." A moment later he turned to head back to his office and the hopefully silent red telephone, aware of Daniel's eyes still lingering on his back as he retreated out the door. Thanks.

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Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of MGM, etc. I've written this story for entertainment purposes only.