Dream of Minnesota by devra and JoaG

On another note, please keep in mind as you read this story: Good things come to those who wait. Patience is a virtue. Remember this is *us* ... we bend them and break them but *always* dust them off and put them back the way we found 'em.

Daniel allowed himself the luxury of taking a moment to regroup, and the only prevalent thought he could arrive at was that SG-1 was going to collectively murder him. Only last week, Jack had begrudgingly signed off on Daniel's archaeological request to travel with SG-11 on a purely archaeological mission to P9H 889, mumbling under his breath that he would be a rich man if he charged the other teams every time they borrowed SG-1's archaeologist. Jack had scoffed that he would be able to retire on the monies that could be had if he doubled the fee when Daniel was injured and then raise the dollar amount exponentially based on the length of infirmary time necessary for recovery.

Not this time, though, Jack had advised Daniel. This time, he was going to come along to personally watch SG-1's archaeologist's six. Daniel was going on this mission, along with SG-11, while he, Colonel Jack O'Neill, was going to execute his brilliant idea of killing two birds with one stone. Keeping one eye on Daniel while the other eye was going to be trained on a handful of recruits who Jack promised would learn the fine art of keeping busy when a mission was truly boring. And if that hadn't been enough, both Teal'c and Sam had thought their CO's idea was a wonderful one and had volunteered to go along for the ride.

"Daniel?"

"Over here, Jack. I'm fine." Daniel quietly laughed at the absurdity of his remark while Jack continued with verifying the recruits' whereabouts. Wherever they were, was pitch black. Daniel couldn't even make out his own hand in front of his face so he truly doubted Jack had any idea where "over here" was.

Suddenly aware that he was stretched out on his back and staring upward into the darkness, Daniel cautiously righted his body into a sitting position and paused, taking stock of any injuries. Finding nothing but stiffness, he patted the floor on either side of him, first leaning to the left then to the right, trying to possibly locate his backpack. His hands met only cold cement. Disappointed, he slid his ass along the dampness until his back made contact with an equally damp cinderblock wall.

"Jack?"

"Stay put, Daniel." Jack's voice came from an indeterminate distance from where Daniel sat. "*Everyone*, just stay where you are. Teal'c? Carter?"

Daniel exhaled slowly as his friends answered.

"Major Kamran, is your team accounted for?"

Daniel listened as a crude roll call was commenced, concentrating intently as each name was called and then responded to until SG-11's team leader called his civilian linguist's name.

"Major?"

"Dr. Gintz appears to be missing, sir."

Daniel walked up the wall until he was upright and did a little sidestep to the left, keeping his arm flush up against the cinderblock. He took two more steps in the same direction. "It's so dark in here, are you sure he's not unconscious? I mean… shit!"

Even though walking slowly when his left leg made contact with the object, the surprise caused him to overbalance and he slipped sideways, his hands flaying in a futile attempt to find purchase. The left side of his body landed on something definitely softer than the floor, but his right hand made painful contact with a metal object that protruded from the wall and seconds later, the room was flooded with bright light.

Daniel threw his hands up to shield his eyes, inanely noting for the first time his glasses were missing.

"Arrgh. Thanks Daniel, but next time, warn a guy, will ya?"

Slowly, Daniel lowered his hands, immediately slapping them back over his eyes as the light painfully stabbed into them. He could hear conversing and movement, but right now all he could focus on was the pain from the infusion of light and how little his hands seemed to block out the whiteness.

"Hey, you okay?"

Daniel struggled against the hands that fought to bring his arms down.

"Easy. Carter come over here and take a…"

"Jack?" Daniel left his hands in place and fanned open the fingers, peeking out cautiously between the spread digits.

"Okay?" Daniel could feel Jack giving up the fight to tug his hands from his face and instead the familiar weight moved to his shoulder and squeezed.

"Fine." He dropped his hands, still squinting in the brightness, the people standing in the room no more than a blur. "Ow." He dug the heels of his palms into his eyes to rub away the pooled moisture.

"Don't rub," Jack reprimanded and he must have motioned to Sam to take his place because the next order of "don't rub" was softer and a higher pitch. She patted his hand. "I'll be right back." His hands were pulled down and their pressure was replaced by a cool, wet rag.

"Feeling better?"

Daniel nodded. The coolness against his eyes was a godsend.

"Do you think you can remove the cloth so I can take a look?" Sam gently tapped his forearm.

Experimentally, Daniel blinked behind the wetness and was pleased to find the burning had dissipated. He thought about mentioning the burgeoning headache and decided against it, nodding instead to Sam's question about taking a look. Hesitantly, he lowered the washcloth, surprised and feeling more than a tad foolish that the light seemed to have no effect on him anymore.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He sidled up to Jack as he stood in the corner, his glance gazing around the room continually assessing their situation. "How're the eyes?"

"Fine, actually," shrugging away Jack's look of disbelief. "Sam said she didn't see anything." Daniel blinked for emphasis.

"Okay then." Jack waved his arm around their cell. "Anything? Writing, carvings… a hint?"

Eleven people in a cinderblock cell that housed a prison-like, black metal bed, a side cubicle with a toilet, a working sink, and that was pretty much it. The walls were comprised of stark, white cement; a door, if any existed, was still undetected, windows non-existent. The ceiling was vaulted with the ducts for breathable air too small and too high to gain access to. The room was oddly shaped and Daniel had been sitting on the bed, ignoring the looks of concern from the people in the room, and concentrated on the design instead, counting the blocks in a futile attempt to find some type of clue as to who or what was holding them hostage.

"Nothing," Daniel apologized.

"Okay, everyone, listen up. Situation… Carter?"

"I'm sorry, sir." Like Daniel, she apologized for her inability to find anything suitable to help them out of this situation.

"Teal'c?"

"I, too, O'Neill, have nothing to add. Except that this cell does not appear to be of Goa'uld construction."

"Ok, that's a plus. Anyone else?" Daniel watched as Jack threw up his hands in frustration. "How about… what do we know?"

"Stepped through the 'gate and woke up here," Major Kamran stated. He held up his left hand, then pointed to the area where his watch should have been. "I seem to have lost mine in transit. Anyone have an idea or a thought as to how long we've been gone?"

Daniel rubbed his face, his hands feeling only smoothness, as smooth as when he shaved this morning. "No five o'clock shadow, I'm taking a stab at 6 hours at the most."

"Carter, that box over there."

"The light switch, sir?" She sighed so deeply that Daniel watched her shoulders rise and then fall in defeat. "That's just what it is. A light switch. Not even alien technology."

"Could we still be on Earth?"

"Anything could be a possibility, Colonel.

"Weaponless," one of the recruits threw out. "Even my knife, gone."

"Watches."

Daniel's headache was intensifying with each item ticked off their list and all hopes of even an aspirin were dashed when Sam spoke up. "Packs, vests… no medical supplies."

"No MRE's."

"No fresh water."

"Not true," Sam interjected, "The sink by the toilet works. Hopefully the water is drinkable. We have no purification tablets."

"No GDO," Daniel added. "And no Dr. Gintz."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For an indeterminate amount of time everyone in this room had literally crawled over each other and had searched the walls, the floors, every square inch of their prison for some type of an escape route or a clue as to who their captors were. Tempers had flared and then quieted down. Daniel was once again leaning against the wall, sitting on the cold, damp floor, gazing up at the thighs and calves as everyone paced with nervous energy. They all appeared lost in their own thoughts, except Jack and Major Kamran, who were having an intense, whispered conversation that was slowly rising in pitch.

He dropped his chin onto his knees, forcing himself to focus past his headache and concentrate on what was being said. He smothered an inappropriate yawn behind his hands, eyeing the single bed with longing, chiding himself for the sudden, intense desire to close his eyes and sleep. Daniel shook his head over the ridiculousness of this situation, one man missing, a man from *his* archaeological department, they were stuck in a cell with no food, one bed, and all he could fight against was the urge *not* to slide into that bed and shut his eyes.

Daniel jerked, his eyes flying open when he felt a gentle tapping on his cheek. Jack's distorted face occupied his whole field of vision.

"Jack?"

"Good. Still with me?"

Daniel blinked convulsively, trying to force Jack's face into focus. He couldn't seem to find the words to ask Jack what was wrong, his mouth opened a time or two without finding the appropriate words to fill it.

"Not. Only. You."

Jack's voice was slow and slightly stoned sounding.

"Huh?" was all the coherency Daniel managed to produce.

"Look." Jack stepped aside.

The cell was littered with the unconscious bodies of both SG teams and the recruits.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Screams pulled him from unconsciousness. Incessant screams of pain that droned on and on, not even coming up for air. He should be concerned, hell, he was concerned, but acting on that concern wasn't as easy as it should have been. In slow motion, Daniel pulled his body onto his hands and knees. Staying the position, with his head down, breathing through his mouth, fighting nausea and losing, his retching thankfully blotted out the screaming for a while.

A voice cut through his misery, and he allowed the hands to guide him to a sitting position. "It'll pass, Daniel," the voice shouted in his ear in an attempt to be heard over the screaming. "Been there, done that."

"Jack?" He felt Jack's hand on his neck, then he cringed as the screaming increased in pitch, words peppering the sounds of anguish. He stood with Jack's assistance, squinting in the direction of the horrific noise, stretching his neck to see around the number of people surrounding the bed. "Who's...?" Daniel waved his heavy arm towards the cot.

"It's Gintz, he's been tortured, horribly. Carter said fatally, it's just a matter of time."

Daniel heard the 'but' behind Jack's silence. He kept his eyes closed; it was easier to concentrate that way and not be distracted by the sickening tilt of the floor and the walls. He leaned into Jack's hand, ashamed of the comfort he was drawing from the warmth wrapped around his neck. "There's something else, Jack, isn't there?"

"Major Kamran and Lt. Harriman have been taken."

"Oh, geez." Daniel took two steps forward and faltered; the room spinning with the effort.

"Give it a minute," Jack ordered, gripping Daniel's shoulders. "Take some deep breaths, the feeling goes away—or it lessens in time."

"Thanks," Daniel mumbled, unsure that even if the feeling lessened, he'd be able to walk, but as much as the screaming was pulling him to investigate, he stayed and counted to ten, taking deep breaths. Jack was right, though he wasn't a hundred percent, at least now he could put one foot in front of the other without the fear of falling flat on his face.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Daniel sat by Dr. Jimmy Gintz. Others had drifted by, offering reprieve, but the only one he allowed to sit with him was Sam. He had even waved away Jack, knowing that Jimmy would have been embarrassed to be comforted by Colonel O'Neill. Jimmy had been his choice, therefore his responsibility, one that he was unwilling to share.

The screams had faded to whimpers. The whimpers faded to whispered, hoarse pleadings for death. He *begged* for death. He begged for help. He called for his mother, father, and other names Daniel wasn't familiar with. Daniel never let go of the cold, blood-soaked hand, speaking soothing words of nothingness just so the young man on the cot would feel connected to the human race.

Daniel no longer saw the empty eye sockets, or the skin peppered with missing chunks that resembled a battle lost with a lion. Daniel only remembered the young man's gift for ancient languages that had rivaled his own and he switched from English to Ancient Greek, spinning tales of mythology from memory, if for no other reason than to bring reality into their waking nightmare and comfort to a dying friend.

He didn't know how long he sat there after Jimmy died, still talking, unaware that he was telling tales to a dead man. Daniel fought against the person who sought to separate his hand from Jimmy's.

"DanielJackson, it is time for you to leave Dr. Gintz's side."

"Huh?" Daniel looked up, his neck protesting the movement. "He's—"

"You were a good friend."

"*Were* being the operative word here." Daniel allowed Teal'c to guide him away from the bed, and he watched with a strange sense of detachment as Sam took his place next to Jimmy's body, and began to wrap it in the blood-soaked sheet.

"I need to help. She's doing that all wrong." Daniel twisted from Teal'c's grasp and descended on Sam.

"No," he shoved her hands out of the way. "Like this. It needs to be done like this."

Sam protested but Jack intervened, pulling her off to the side, nodding at Daniel as he passed.

"I will be honored if you allow me to assist you in the preparations, DanielJackson."

"Thank you," he whispered, his voice dry and hoarse, as if he had been the one screaming for hours.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Daniel and Jack sat on the floor, leaning against the bed with their backs to the wrapped body and he wanted, very badly, to lean into Jack. A little bit of normalcy in an abnormal situation would have done wonders for his psyche.

The room was deadly quiet. Everyone had stopped mulling around, stopped looking for answers, and Daniel was too exhausted to even mention how ludicrous that was. SG-1 never gave up, no situation was hopeless, but for some reason, here, in this cell, with two good people missing and one dead, they were figuratively rolling over and playing dead.

Wrong.

This was so wrong.

The fact that he couldn't even find the words to say how wrong the situation was, was wrong.

Daniel sneezed and for a second he was able to breath, and the air smelled different, heavier, cleaner. "Jack?"

There was confusion, noises, shuffling of hands and feet on the cement floors and then, nothing.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And then there were four. Daniel could feel an insane bubble of hysteria work its way up his throat, but he clamped his mouth shut, preventing its escape. All dead, except SG-1.

All tortured, dying horrific, painful deaths, begging for a reprieve that didn't exist.

Seven dead bodies sharing a cinderblock cell with four living people was itself torturous. The smell overpowering, beyond nauseating, even the masks they had constructed from ripped sections of their tee shirts had proven worthless. Sam was green around the edges, and honestly, it was a good thing their stomachs were empty.

"It has been an honor—"

Jack threw up his hands. "Do *not* even go there, Teal'c."

"Sir, it's inevitable, I mean," Sam stole a glance over her shoulder.

"I know, Carter—it's just that—"

"You don't want to die like that?"

"I'm sure I can speak with confidence when I say that none of us want to die, Carter."

"I wish you to kill me, O'Neill. Should I return in such a state, I wish you to kill me. For your sakes - I do not wish you to see me suffer so needlessly."

Daniel's head jerked up. "You can't mean that, Teal'c."

"Indeed I do."

Daniel jumped up and began to pace, keeping his agitated steps to a minimum, never straying away from their circle. "Jack, tell Teal'c that's a crazy idea."

"He will not, because he feels as I do. O'Neill, also, would wish for his friends to end his—"

"Sam, you try to talk some sense into—" Daniel's gaze flew around the group. "None of you think it's crazy."

"Daniel—"

"Count me out of your secret warrior club, guys. I can't—" Daniel's empty stomach rolled at the sheer enormity of what they were discussing. This wasn't blowing up a Goa'uld ship and saving the Earth without hope of rescue. Everything about the whole damned situation was ludicrous. Why couldn't anyone but him see that?

"You can, Daniel." Jack's voice was soothing, cajoling, seductive almost, as if he were asking Daniel for a blow job instead of asking him to...

"No, I can't."

"You know the moves; I've shown you exactly where—"

"I can, but I won't. I refuse. Huge difference, Jack."

Jack snorted. "Pacifist to the end?"

"What end? When the hell did you become—" Frustrated, Daniel threw up his hands "Maybe they're done—"

"They who, Daniel? Tell me who the hell you're talking about, 'cause I sure as hell haven't seen anyone. We've been here for days, bowls of slop to sustain us. Tap water." Jack's arm swept the room. "Dead people for company. Come on, you're smart—do you think leaving us now, letting us go, fits their personality file?"

Daniel walked away, found a piece of blank wall, then rested his shoulder against it, keeping his back to his team and his eyes closed so he couldn't see the gathering of dead SGC personnel in front of him.

He knew Jack was behind him even before he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Daniel, that was uncalled for."

"I have to agree with you, it was uncalled for." Daniel turned and looked into Jack's eyes. "But you haven't changed your mind, have you?"

Sadly, Jack shook his head.

"Jack, I pointed a gun at my wife while she was killing me and I couldn't shoot her. Don't ask me to do this."

"I *will* do it for you."

"I don't want you doing to for me." Horrified, Daniel pressed his back against the wall. "Do you hear me? I don't want anyone—"

"You told me to make Jacob stop, Daniel," Jack insisted. "I listened."

Eyes wide at the shock that Jack would even *use* that analogy, Daniel adamantly shook his head. "That was different."

"How was that different?"

Daniel closed his eyes and concentrated. His mind was sluggish and unresponsive and he was having a horrific time retrieving from his extensive repertoire of words, the ones that would explain to Jack the difference between their two requests. "I can't take anyone's life," was all he managed.

Jack huffed, annoyed, which only added to Daniel's confusion over the wrongness. This was the end. The brick wall, he knew it. Hell, they all knew it—time was ticking until their last call and what the hell were they doing? Arguing.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

He wanted to yell. They should be reminiscing, making jokes about the cavalry coming to the rescue. Daniel's head ached with the wrongness of their actions and he pressed his fists into his temples to counteract the pain.

"Sir?" Suddenly, the wrongness dissipated and it settled into fear. "The air."

"I smell it, Carter."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Daniel said his goodbyes and stepped away from Teal'c's broken body, taking up the spot next to Sam that Jack had just vacated. With his forefinger, he wiped away the bubble of blood that had pooled in the corner of her mouth.

"Dad," she gargled.

Daniel nodded, understanding her request, and forced himself not to avert his eyes from her damaged body. He owed her that. Dignity. She deserved it, but there was so much blood. Daniel was amazed that a person could lose that much and still manage to draw a breath. Daniel was trying to imprint in his mind visuals of Sam, working, laughing, being angry, focusing on past images rather than the broken shell of person who lay before him, when he heard it.

It was loud, louder than he could imagine, the breaking of a friend's neck. He gripped Sam's hand harder, but she didn't reciprocate. She was still conscious, her eyes searching for something, someone.

"I'm here."

"Colonel?"

"No, Sam, Jack's with, umm, Teal'c, for awhile."

Sam closed her eyes, then slowly shook her head. "Me next."

"No!" Daniel's response was lightning quick.

"It's what she wants, Daniel."

Daniel shrugged the heavy hand on his shoulder. "It's what you want."

Jack squatted next to Daniel, and wrapped his hand around Sam's and Daniel's.

"It's not the same thing, Jack."

"It is."

Roughly, Jack hauled Daniel to his feet and dragged him to the side. "Don't you dare say there's still hope." He pointed to Sam. "Even if the whole SGC medical staff arrived here in seconds, they couldn't save her. Nor Teal'c. Like you couldn't be saved from the radiation. Stop with the delusions, Daniel." Jack drew a breath, then ran blood-stained hands through his hair, leaving an absurdly pink streak through the grey. "There *is* no hope."

"I hope to god you're right, Jack."

"God has nothing to do with this."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Daniel watched disinterestedly as Jack paced the two foot by two foot space right in front of him. He had a horrible crick in his neck from looking up and just wished Jack would sit. Just *sit*, so Daniel could talk to him. Touch him. Say goodbye the proper way. Everyone was dead, there would be no accusers if they broke the don't ask, don't tell law, didn't Jack notice that? Better yet, didn't Jack care?

Maybe he wasn't being fair and with a time clock ticking loudly, did it matter? Jack did what he felt necessary, Daniel may not have agreed, but honestly all Jack did was hurry along the inevitable, while he fought to prolong it, but the end result would have been the same—Sam and Teal'c would have died.

"Are you okay?"

Daniel sniffed the air before answering. "Just great. You?"

"Peachy."

Jack sat across from Daniel and if it wasn't such an immature action, Daniel would have patted the floor next to him in invitation.

"Have you eaten?"

"Eaten?" Daniel looked at the two bowls of grayish, lumpy liquid that had been brought in with Teal'c and Sam. "No, have you?" Daniel asked incredulously, wondering how the hell Jack could even think of that now.

Jack just shrugged, he seemed uncomfortable with Daniel, ill at ease, and Daniel was just so confused. He slid closer to Jack, then placed a hand on his thigh, gently massaging the tight muscle.

Talk about confused. Jack gazed at Daniel's hand, then at Daniel, plucked his hand off of his leg and handed it back to Daniel with an expressionless face.

There was no time to react, the wave of pain that crashed into his skull was intense, blinding and blurring the image of Jack pulling away from him. There was no rebuttal, no chance to challenge Jack's nor a chance to say goodbye before the blackness descended.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A just-showered Jack was touching his face, wet, warm fingers were tracing a path along his check and he smiled in his sleep. The sweet smell of some bath gel Cassie had given him drifted though Daniel's clogged nasal passages and he sneezed, banging his head on a surface what was too hard to be his mattress.

Oh god. "Jack!" He sat up quickly, too quickly, but he ignored the dizziness and searched the darkness, patting the floor, accidentally smacking Jack's torso in the process.

"Argh—Daniel, please."

"Are you?"

"Not good." Jack was panting, his words spit forth with each breath.

"Light—we need light." Daniel stood, imagining where he and Jack had been sitting before he passed out, then tried to picture that position in relation to the switch on the wall. He swiveled, took two steps and tripped over something—someone in his path, landing hard on a wet, smelly, and definitely human, shape. His mind refused to even go there, and he hauled himself back up and forced his steps to become hesitant, sliding across the floor, his hands out at hip level, searching for the frame of the metal bed. Daniel found the frame, or rather his knee did, and he leaned across the bed and slid his hands up and down the wall, eventually finding and flipping on the switch and found—

A macabre scene, one that would have made horror film buffs cover their eyes and gasp. Daniel had the luxury to do neither. Their captors had taken the dead and posed them. Sam and Teal'c were propped up against the far wall, Teal'c's arm around Sam's shoulder, her head hanging against Teal'c's chest at an unnatural angle. Kamran was kneeling by the bed, in a position that looked as if he was praying. And the others… two had been undressed and their hands were resting on their genitalia. Daniel whimpered and contemplated turning off the light. What he didn't see wouldn't be burned into his memory—but Jack, without light, he couldn't assess him.

So he constructed mental blinders and focused on Jack, sidestepping the bodies in his path. He knelt beside the injured man and used the corner of his ripped tee shirt to wipe away the blood from his face.

"Thanks," Jack huffed.

"Don't talk," Daniel commanded. Like Sam, there was so much blood and it puddled on the floor, surrounding Jack, seeping into Daniel's pants. This was Daniel's torture, he knew it now. Their captors where never going to come and *get* him, he was going to be left in this room for eternity. He listened to Jack's struggle to breathe and promised never again to complain about Jack's snoring if they got out.

He must have drifted, closing his eyes for a second. "Charlie?" Jack's voice was a mere whisper.

Daniel swallowed. "I'm right here, dad."

Lost in a labyrinth of delusions, Jack blindly waved his hand, made contact with Daniel, then patted Daniel's arm. "Be a good boy for your mom, okay."

"I promise."

"Don't give her a hard time."

Daniel just shook his head, unable to answer.

Jack's huffing sped up and then slowed, falling in a hypnotic rhythm. Daniel wasn't too sure how long he watched Jack's chest rise and fall before a gasp interrupted the pattern. Jack arched his back off the ground, and screamed in pain. "Make it stop," he begged.

"I'm here." Ineffectual for someone in pain, Daniel knew, but he was shattered by seeing Jack not in control.

Jack flopped to the floor and gazed up and Daniel. "Please, Danny." He grabbed Daniel's arm with a strength that belied his pain. "Don't make me beg."

"I can't."

His vice-like grip increased as another spasm of pain rocked his body. "I trust you."

"Jack—"

He huffed again and smacked his lips. "I'm sorry. This wasn't the way it was supposed to go down."

"No, it wasn't," Daniel agreed softly, thinking of growing old in a cabin in Minnesota.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"No," Daniel replied, the answer sounding nightmarishly familiar. "But I will be."

"You remember what I taught you."

Daniel nodded. He sopped up tears with the back of his hand. He would obey orders.

"I'm sorry," he sniffed, suddenly apologetic for the guilt he had left Jack with when he ascended, burdening him with the message to make Jacob stop. Full circle. Atonement for his sins.

Gently he closed Jack's eyelids. "Don't look."

"'K," was all Jack managed.

Daniel shifted position and placed his hands where Jack had taught him and then jerked them back as if Jack's skin was on fire.

"Now, Daniel."

Daniel didn't bother to wipe the tears away as he leaned over and kissed Jack. "Dream of Minnesota," he whispered in his lover's ear before putting his hands around Jack's neck.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The room was dimmer than he liked, the shadows partly obscuring the face of the man sitting in the chair beside the bed. Evander leaned against the doorframe and watched as the man stared vacantly at the wall across from him.

His hands rested laxly against his lap except for an occasional twitch; his mouth was partly open, his breathing loud and nasal in the otherwise quiet. He was dressed in strange mottled green trousers and a black top which emphasized the muscled body. A silver wire gleamed brightly against the dark material as it dangled from behind his ear, connected to a strange box on the floor which blinked and hummed softly.

This was the young man these aliens had promised him? Curious and impatient, his special delivery already two days late, Evander stepped farther into the room, carefully skirting another wire connecting the man to one of the two aliens in the room. They had better be right this time. Evander had traveled to this world twice already and as much as he enjoyed flying his ship, his patience was wearing thin.

He hated these creatures but they truly were his last hope. He had given up expectation of finding the type of person he so desperately sought on his own world, so he had put the word out that he was willing to buy what he was looking for.

He tried not to look at the bulging eyes and odd orangey-hued face as he walked past the first alien; instead he turned his attention to his new acquisition.

Leaning over to peer into the face of the man, he was surprised to see the impossibly blue eyes shiny and wet. Even as Evander watched, a tear formed in one eye and slowly, slowly, pooled over the rim of his eyelid and slid down his cheek.

"Got him!" the alien crowed. He quickly bent down and punched a button on the blinking box. Immediately the man gasped loudly, his eyes rolled back and his eyelids fluttered so quickly that slivers of white were barely evident. It was painful and disturbing to look upon.

Evander reeled back as the man's hands and legs jerked and twitched. The other alien moved from the doorway and stood beside the man, a hand placed on his shoulder to ensure he didn't fall off the chair. The alien removed the wire connecting him to a small piece of metal affixed to his temple and smirked.

"Heee put up a wonderful fight," the creature said with a grin as he rolled the wire up and threw it upon the machine. "Too bad weee don't get more like him more often."

Evander looked away from the small, sharp teeth and blue tongue peeking behind them, and turned to gaze again upon the man.

A moment later the twitching stopped and the man's eyes finally stopped flickering. His head dropped down and Evander could tell he wasn't conscious.

The creature pulled back the man's short hair and teased the wire from a similar metallic device behind the man's ear.

"Allow hiss hair to grow long enough to hide thiss and no one will ssuspect."

Evander peered at the circular device. It was almost flush with the man's skin, about the size of his thumbnail.

"What is it?" Evander asked, touching the metal with a forefinger. It was warm to the touch, almost the temperature of skin.

"Tok'ra technologeee, but weee made it better." He grinned again and Evander had to turn away quickly.

The man was dumped unceremoniously onto the bed and rolled onto his side.

"Give him a few minutess for hiss brain to abssorb the latesst download. When heee wakess up, heee'll beee ready to go."

Evander straightened and stood up straight, smoothing down the creases on his gown. Now came time for negotiations. "He is old."

"Heee is in the prime of hiss life." The creature jabbed the man's arm with a knobby finger. "Heee iss sstrong."

"I did not wish a behemoth. I wished a young companion with whom I could converse, discuss, teach."

"Thiss man iss what you assked for, My Lord Eeevander. Heee knowss of many culturess, sspeakss many languagess. Heee hass a thirsst for knowledge that iss unquenchable and iss alwayss eeeager to offer aid and teach."

"Teach? What could he teach me? Does he speak Greek?"

"Heee speakss a variation of your own sspeech, My Lord. I am confident heee will quickly learn to conversse eeasily with you, and in the meantime, heee sspeakss the language of your old Massterss. Heee will be able to teach you hiss own native language, and many more. He speakss many. There will beee little difficulty in communication."

Evander harrumphed loudly. "And what of history?"

"Heee sstudied the hisstory of hiss own planet and I am certain you will disscover there are many common threadss along the coursse of your own. Heee hass explored many worldss and may even teach you of your own passt."

"You are certain of this?"

"For many monthss weee have sstudied thiss man. Weee do not make misstakess."

"Very well. What must I do?"

"Firsst, you must pay uss." The aliens handed Evander a piece of paper.

"Three hundred and fifty?" Evander roared angrily when he saw the bill. "We had agreed on two hundred marks."

The alien grinned and scratched at his ear. "Yessss, weee did. But weee never expected ssuch sstrength of will in thiss man. You have done extremely well, my Lord Evander. And asss long asss you do not remove the deevice, Daniel Jacksson will do exactly asss you bid him."

"Two hundred and fifty. Not a mark more."

"Three hundred and twenty five." The alien's nose twitched as he stared at Evander with a steely gaze.

"Three hundred. And this man will now be known as Danil." He had thought long and hard about it and figured the man's original name should not be changed overly much. Evander had had a good childhood friend by that name so had decided upon it.

"It iss ssimilar to hiss own name to not causse him confussion. Sso beee it."

A soft moan came from the bed and Daniel Jackson, now known as Danil, shifted restlessly.

"He's waking up."

"Yessss." The alien grinned and rubbed his hands. "And weee accept your generouss offer, my Lord Evander. Three hundred markss."

Evander took a pen from the pouch at his waist and signed his name on the receipt with a flourish. The amount was exorbitant, but from everything he had heard of these aliens, they always delivered what they promised.

The alien leaned over Daniel and pushed him so he was lying on his stomach. He produced a thin golden disk the size of the metallic one affixed to Danil's head.

"Thiss isss a key. He hass been programmed to obey whoever ownss it. You musst turn the device on, like so." He placed the golden disk over the device. "Now place your finger on the deevice and turn it half a turn, once, to the right, sspeak your name and tell him you are hiss masster."

Evander approached Danil, who was following him with his eyes. He leaned close, pressed his finger on the golden metal, turned it and spoke clearly in the tongue of his people's ancient master. "I am Evander. You are Danil. I am your master now."

Danil's eyes did the fluttering thing for several seconds, then they opened lethargically.

The alien plucked the golden key from behind Danil's ear and handed it to Evander.

"Keep this safe. If you wish to sell him, you must change ownership in the same manner."

Evander took the disk and saw there was a small hole in it. He deftly unclasped one of several chains around his neck and added the disk to the many pieces of ornamentation there. It would remain around his neck until he died. Or until he tired of this man.

"Danil?"

"Master?" Danil sat up quickly, and nearly toppled off the bed. The aliens appeared to have been expecting this because they caught him and pulled him right back up. Their laughter angered Evander and he placed a sympathetic hand on Danil's shoulder. The man was breathing heavily, obviously dizzy and weak.

"Heee hass not had food or water in two dayss. His training wass ssuch heee wass unable to hold the nutrition. Heee will be fine once heee hass eaten."

"Then by the wrath of Ra, get him some food now." Evander sat down on the hard mattress beside his new purchase, some of his anger easing as Danil watched him worriedly. "Do not worry, my friend. You will be feeling better soon."

"Sshould you wissh to sset him freeee, usse the key and turn it threeee times. It will unlock the device and itss removal will allow him freeeedom will once more."

"What of his memories? His previous life?"

"Hiss mosst vulnerable moment wass captured by the computer, and isss held locked insside hiss brain. The pain of that memory will prevent him from going beyond the boundss of hiss programming, or beyond your orderss. He now hasss no memory of hiss life beyond today – hiss knowledge isss there, that weee have not touched, but hiss family, hiss work, hiss friendss... heee will not know them even were heee to come face to face with hiss most beloved."

"Too bad she iss dead," the other alien said.

"There iss one other thing, my Lord Evander," the alien said as it handed Danil some bread and cheese. "The device isss imbedded into hiss brain, as you ssaw."

Danil looked to Evander for permission to eat and Evander nodded.

"It affectss hisss eyessight and hasss made him ssussceptible to sstrong light. It will give him headachess and will affect hiss eyessight."

"You tell me this after I paid for damaged merchandise?" Evander got up from the bed, and although he was aware he had a proprietary hand on Danil's shoulder, it angered him that they had harmed this man in their attempts to train him. Danil stopped eating and sat watching Evander uncertainly. He waved him on and Danil took a bite of bread.

"It iss an inevitable occurrence. But eassily treated with a sspecial tool." The alien handed Evander an object that had twin pieces of glass on them affixed to two long stems. "Leave thesse on hiss face, over hiss eyess and when heee needss to go out in the ssun, heee can eassily clip theeesse on." A small, dark covering was placed over the twin pieces of glass, enveloping them completely. "Thiss will protect hiss eyess to a degree in the sstrong light."

"And what is the charge for these?" Evander waved the eye protectors at the aliens.

"No charge, My Lord Evander. It iss our gift to you."

Evander handed the protectors to Danil, who took them and frowned down at them. He threaded one of the twin stems into the neckline of his dark shirt, but Evander motioned for him to put them on. He unclipped the dark protectors from the clear glass and placed the two stems along his temples so they rested against his ears. Uncertain what to do with the dark pieces, Evander took them from him and placed them in his pouch.

"Finish eating, Danil. We'll be leaving for home as soon as you're done." He got up and went to gather his bodyguards who were waiting for him in the hallway. They'd be heading for his space ship the second Danil was strong enough to walk.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

// Daniel laughed softly as the man behind him teased him mercilessly. They were walking along an underground passageway, lit by artificial means. Someone carrying a huge wrench nodded at them as he walked past and Daniel smiled a greeting, then turned to rejoinder the man's taunts.

He saw laughing brown eyes in a strong face framed by silver hair. A feeling of warmth, love, and happiness infused Daniel and he sighed in contentment. He was hungry and they were off for some food, some much needed rest, and plenty of hot and heavy sex.

"So next time you say a place smells that bad, make sure you're not caught eating beans."

Daniel grinned at the joke, ducked his head as he accepted the blame and—

The room suddenly morphed into a dimly lit cell, the bodies of their dead teammates gruesomely positioned around the room, the scent of death and decay overwhelming despite the days spent with the corpses. All of which were the symptoms of a twisted and sick mind.

"Please, Daniel, don't make me beg."

He looked down at those laughing eyes which were now shrouded in pain, the life from them fading fast. Daniel could feel the cold, clammy skin beneath his fingers as he positioned them on Jack's neck. //

"Danil."

He jerked, sitting up in a swift motion from where he'd fallen asleep on the chair overlooking the bare gardens. He was sweating, fighting for breath, and his head ached mightily.

"Are you ill, my friend?" Evander placed a hand on Danil's shoulder, and he could feel the heat of the man's hand even through the soft cloth of his loose shirt. Danil looked up into the clear winter sky, wondering where the sun had gone. But it still shone brightly in the deep blue sky, although none of its warmth penetrated the windows of his bedroom.

"Headache." Danil reached a hand and massaged the area around his temple and right ear.

"We should not have spent so much time discussing the merits of being under the rule of Ra this morning. You were obviously upset. I apologize; I had not realized you weren't feeling well."

"I was fine before. I'm sorry, My Lord, I hadn't planned on falling asleep." The last vestiges of the dream faded, leaving him only with the memory of the anguish in those brown eyes, and the feeling of happiness lost.

"You should wear the protectors over the lenses when you're near the window. That's why your head hurts. Haven't I told you to keep your eyes covered? You do enjoy hearing me nag, don't you?"

The small dark covers were placed into Danil's hand and he removed the frames from his face and obediently clipped the covers over the clear glass. As he placed the lenses back onto his face, he thought it strange how much clearer his vision was when he wore them.

"Better?"

"Yes, thank you," Danil lied. If anything, his headache was worse and the meal he'd eaten a few hours ago sat heavily in his stomach.

"So, do you think we could go on with the language lesson this afternoon?" Lord Evander picked up the tablet with the text Danil had written out earlier and began looking it over. As his Lord became absorbed in the lesson, Danil took the opportunity to rub at his temple again. He gazed out the window into the garden where ornamental bushes were covered with protective sheets and bare stalks swayed in the cold wind.

"You should see the gardens in the spring, Danil." Evander had followed Danil's gaze and was staring out the window. "The bellie tree flowers early and the shantu blooms days later. And the scent from the lopsa flowers is so powerful it will follow you into your dreams."

"I'm looking forward to seeing it all." In the five weeks Danil had been in Lord Evander's manor, it had been overcast and raining. Today had been the first sunny day and Danil had taken the unexpected free hour to simply sit, relax, and enjoy the blue sky. Lord Evander had been reminiscing about his dead wife and had left Daniel alone when he'd become melancholy.

Daniel inserted two fingers beneath the lenses and rubbed his eyes. Unfortunately Lord Evander had been right and his eyes simply couldn't take the strong light.

"Do you know anything about gardening?"

"I don't think so."

"Then I need to begin teaching you immediately." Lord Evander put the tablet aside and motioned for Danil to follow him. "I have books in the library. We can start with those plants that are right outside your window."

As Danil stood, the scent of a flower teased his nostrils. In his mind's eye, he saw an elderly woman kneeling, digging in the dirt before a plant full of yellow blossoms. The aromatic scent of the flower continued to tease Danil's mind, and he gasped when the woman turned to look at him with the same loving brown eyes he remembered from his dream.

He shut his eyes against the pain that shot through his right eye as he fell back into the chair.

"Danil?"

The worry in Lord Evander's voice scared Danil, more than the fact that he could barely move from the pain. This was his Lord and Master, he shouldn't be worrying so over a slave. Danil should be the one obeying his commands, but the pain was preventing him from doing that. He tried again to stand but ended up leaning forward, his hands cradling his head.

Moments later he heard his master shouting for help. Hands grabbed Danil and for a few seconds he knew nothing, until he found himself in his bed. Without opening his eyes he knew the curtains had been drawn; the room quickly chilled now that the sun had been chased away.

"Here, drink this." A cup was placed to his mouth and he was forced to drink the bitter liquid. He realized the lenses had been removed from his face when a cool cloth was pressed over his eyes.

Danil shivered and blankets were wrapped around his shoulders. Soon a fire hissed and popped in the fireplace, its heat seeping through the blankets and into Danil's bones.

A chair scraped the one part of the floor that wasn't covered with thick rugs. Evander's voice spoke softly to him and Danil squeezed his eyes open to look at him. The pain was easing now, as was the memory of whatever had brought the attack on.

"The potion will ease the pain and make you sleepy. I'm sorry, Danil. I'll have the window covered so this won't happen again."

"No." Danil pushed a hand out from beneath the heavy coverings and reached for his Lord's hand. "It was my fault. I didn't protect my eyes. I'm sorry, my Lord. I was looking forward to learning about the garden."

"Tomorrow is soon enough. Sleep now and we'll see how you feel by suppertime."

Danil closed his eyes and tried to relax. Whatever he had drunk was already beginning to ease his headache. He listened to the wind blowing outside, and tried to imagine the garden in full bloom. All that came to mind were those pretty yellow flowers.

He dozed, his lingering headache keeping him just on the cusp of sleep. He heard Lord Evander get up and walk softly out the door after a while.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The klaxons wailed loudly, signaling the return of one of Hammond's teams. He left his office gratefully, glad for the opportunity to take a break of the monotony of paperwork.

"It's SG-2," Davis said as Hammond stepped up behind the man's chair. A glance at the computer confirmed Davis' announcement.

"Open the iris," Hammond ordered.

Seconds later, Ferretti and the other three members of his team stepped out of the wormhole with little ado. Hammond left the control room and descended the stairs. A few steps through the hallway and he was in the Gateroom even before Ferretti's team had finished handing over their weapons.

"Nothing much to report, sir," Ferretti said as his teammates passed him by on their way to the infirmary. Hammond saw Ferretti glance up towards the briefing room window and even though Hammond didn't look up, he knew who was standing there staring down at them.

And from the way Ferretti couldn't hold Jack O'Neill's gaze, they both knew there had been no news on Daniel Jackson's whereabouts.

"The planet was a bust. No signs of naquadah, no signs of habitation. The MALP's preliminary workup was totally off. There was naquadah in the dust around the Stargate, but not an inkling of it anywhere else."

"Fine, Major. We'll debrief tomorrow at ten."

Hammond turned to watch the major exit the control room, then looked up at the empty spot in the briefing room. He shook his head and returned to the control room.

"No news?"

Hammond looked at Davis' expectant face and couldn't imagine the pain SG-1 was going through. He shook his head and Davis nodded. Three months and there had been no sign or word about Daniel Jackson's whereabouts.

Hammond returned to his office, dreading SG-14's scheduled return in six hours.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sam sighed softly as she watched her fellow teammates walking before her with an almost dejected mien. Of course this was only apparent to someone who'd known them well for the past few years.

Teal'c was always the same solid, protective bodyguard, but he'd become more introverted, more like the Teal'c of eight years ago. Gruff. Strong. Silent. All the little Tau'ri nuances; the humor, the smile, the twinkle in his eye, even the hair on his head, gone. The Teal'c of Chulak, First Prime of Apophis, now walked with them once again.

He'd begun to understand Tau'ri humor and at times, she was sure, he had played the game just to get the colonel riled or confused. She smiled to herself at the memory then frowned; it had been quite a while since he'd teased any of them. Especially Colonel O'Neill. She missed the more relaxed Teal'c, the one who had mellowed out since losing his symbiote. She still trusted the Jaffa implicitly, but this alien Teal'c made losing Daniel even harder.

And the colonel. She glanced up at his stiff back before her; walking with a barely controlled rage. Although she couldn't see his face she was sure his eyes were constantly in motion, checking for hidden dangers. The dirt track leading through the field of grass and flowers they were following was surrounded by wooded land. She guessed anybody or anything could be hiding in there, watching them. She turned to glance behind them, making sure that nothing was sneaking up on them.

The colonel had become a stranger to her these past six months. He barely spoke, refused to socialize with her and Teal'c, and was constantly on the edge of losing his temper. She could see he walked a fine line in keeping control.

She had loved serving on SG-1; they were her friends, and had become her family. But the way things were going, she was seriously thinking of requesting a transfer to another team. She had discussed this with Teal'c and he shared the same views. Now she remained on the team only out of sisterly love for Daniel and respect for Colonel O'Neill, but she wasn't sure how long she could stand to see her family fall apart.

As she circumvented a patch of delicate-looking blue flowers, she saw the colonel tramp carelessly through another, leaving a trail of broken and crushed petals. She sighed. Had Daniel been here, he would have gently nudged him aside and…

Daniel. And herein lay the problem. Daniel wasn't here. Daniel was… gone. This wasn't like the time Daniel had left them and had ascended. Then they had known Daniel's fate. But with Daniel's disappearance, his fate unknown, it was taking a toll on all of them.

God, but she missed him. And if the ache in her heart was this bad for her, she couldn't even begin to imagine what Colonel O'Neill was feeling.

Don't ask, don't tell. A stupid unspoken rule, but her friends' love had been obvious to those who'd known them. She'd been so happy for them; they had both deserved joy in their lives and although totally different personalities, they complimented one another. She had often wished she could find someone that she could love wholeheartedly the way they did one another; but now that she had Pete, she was afraid of committing to him. She didn't know if she could bear being hurt that way.

This trip was another waste of their time. She was sure of it; they all knew it. Hell, there wasn't even a Stargate here, they'd come to this planet in search of someone due to another lead given to them by the Tok'ra. They'd used the Tel'tak, and had parked the spacecraft several miles away, hopefully in a space where nobody would actually walk into the now-invisible ship.

Their fourth team member had been very impressed with the alien ship. He was a quiet, swarthy young man who spoke several languages and had some knowledge of archaeology. Marty didn't come close to having Daniel's extensive expertise but he did try hard, she had to give him credit for that.

She and Teal'c had welcomed Marty Chandler into their team, extending him the courtesy required, but not making any attempt to get close to the man. It was as if Daniel's position on the team was simply on hold, and neither wanted him to be replaced. The colonel, on the other hand, ignored him as much as possible. It sometimes made for very awkward and disagreeable missions.

Their mission today was to find a young woman who had been a prospective host for the Tok'ra and who had been kidnapped from her home world. They were pretty sure she was here and the Tok'ra had tried to convince them that there was a good chance that Daniel was, too. Especially since this young woman had disappeared in similar circumstances as Daniel.

At first, after Daniel's disappearance, they'd 'gated to as many planets as they could, following up every available clue they could find. But Daniel had vanished from P9H 889 with no sign of a struggle and no clue as to where he had gone. They'd searched the area for days; then, when they'd realized that he wasn't on the planet, they'd called Sam's dad for help. At Jacob's behest, the Tok'ra had put out feelers and had eventually come up with all sorts of information, but it had all led to dead ends.

Colonel O'Neill had been edgy and anxious in his search for Daniel during the first few months. He'd barely slept and ate; he had slowly become a shadow of the man he'd once been, both physically and emotionally.

They'd all wanted to go and rescue Daniel from whatever fate had befallen him but it had been just too exhausting, too discouraging, too painful. Then, after four months, the colonel had finally blown up in a meeting with two Tok'ra representatives. Sam knew it wasn't their fault, they had honestly been trying to help, but the last three times that SG-1 gone out looking for Daniel had also been with underlying missions that the Tok'ra required as favors.

They had all suffered with Daniel's disappearance; Sam thought that it was the unknown that was killing them, tearing them apart. Had they found a body to bury they could have said their farewells, mourned, and then gone on with their lives. But living with the constant hope that he'd merely been abducted and was waiting for rescue… and seeing her commanding officer's eyes slowly lose their vitality every time they returned from a wild goose chase, tore at her heart.

While Colonel O'Neill slowly withdrew from everyone and everything that he'd held dear, Teal'c, on the other hand, had begun seeking Sam out more often. She figured that he was missing Daniel and the two of them could at least give each other support and comfort. They had tried approaching the colonel several times but he'd brusquely pushed them away, refusing to even invite them into his house.

The worst part, though, were the missions. He'd taken innumerable chances with his life lately but never endangering any of his team in the process. Daniel had once told her that he had had a suicidal bent after his son's death and she was sure that this was what she was seeing.

She started suddenly as she realized that they'd reached the meadow's edge and were entering the wooded area. She'd been wool gathering, and mentally chastised herself for it. Quickly turning around, she scanned the field before brushing aside a branch and followed the well worn trail into the forest.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They traversed the woods for a good thirty minutes and came out overlooking a valley in which a large town was comfortably sprawled before a small mountain range. From their vantage point it was very picturesque, complete with a waterfall and lazy river flowing nearby. Verdant lands and fields showed evidence of the thriving town.

The colonel's face remained impassive to the scene as he ordered them onto the trail leading down towards civilization. As they descended, they passed by several homes, all well cared for, lawns manicured, gardens and flowers growing abundantly. Children played outside, their cries and laughter carried to them on the wind.

Sam began to feel uneasy once they'd reached level ground. She kept turning back, trying to spot whoever she thought was following them. They were approaching the town now; the large gates with unfamiliar script, probably naming the city, loomed before them.

A young boy ran past them, chased by another child. Both were laughing. The sound seemed to grate on Sam's nerves. This wasn't right, she loved children. This whole scenario was beginning to get her down and she decided then and there that she'd hand in her transfer papers as soon as they returned home.

The kids' laughter suddenly turned into a scream, echoed by what seemed like a vicious snarl. Spinning around, she saw an immense shaggy creature that seemed to be a cross between a bear and a hyena chasing the children. They split apart, one running back towards them, the other making for the fields. The creature began to run, quickly gaining on the frightened child who had left the security of the group.

She brought her P-90 to bear and heard the colonel's gun go off beside her. She squeezed off a shot and saw the animal shudder, but the bullets barely slowed it down. Its speed was incredible and within seconds it had nearly caught up to the running child. She and Colonel O'Neill took aim and their combined shots finally took the creature down just as it swept up the boy. It rolled several times, coming to an ungraceful stop against a tree. The young child, thrown several feet by the powerful claws, landed in the earth and lay unmoving.

They quickly rushed to his side, Carter grabbing several pressure bandages and with Teal'c's help, she placed them on the heavily bleeding claw marks on the boy's legs. He was unconscious and she could see that he'd hit his head when he'd landed.

Footsteps and cries warned her of the townspeople quickly approaching. Teal'c and the colonel turned to face them, standing protectively over her as she worked to stop the bleeding.

"Wyvair," one of the approaching men uttered in an awed voice. Several of the men cautiously approached the dead beast while the others gathered round Sam and the injured child.

"Is there a doctor here? A healer?" she called out, looking around at the crowd. Marty quickly translated and Sam returned to her grisly task.

"They say there's a healer not far from here, Sam," the young man said quietly as he knelt beside the injured child. "They'll take the boy to him," he explained as one of the men knelt down beside them. The balding man gently gathered the boy in his arms and began walking as quickly as he could towards the town. An older boy took off at a run after the man yelled something at him. Sam suspected he was going to alert the healer that he was soon going to have a patient.

Sam reached for a sterile wipe and washed the blood from her hands. She'd need to scrub with soap and water to get it from beneath her nails but she did as good a job as was possible for the moment. When she stood, she caught a glimpse of the dead predator which was surrounded by a dozen villagers who were poking the furry carcass with sticks.

Marty was talking with several, one of whom was garbed in very elaborate and flowing gowns. She glanced around, taking the time now to note that most people were wearing brightly colored clothes and jewelry except for one or two who were wearing drab beige pants and tunics.

"Colonel," Marty called as he left the man that Sam was beginning to term a 'peacock' due to the rainbow colors of his tunic and pants. "Whomma here is the brother of the Lord of the village. He wants us to come for a meal as a thanks to us for having killed that beast. And I think he may want to trade; he seemed particularly interested in your guns."

"Tell him we're not hungry," Colonel O'Neill said as he turned to stare in the direction the injured child had been carried.

"Sir?" Sam said. "This might be an opportunity to ask about the missing Tok'ra. They might be more inclined to talk if they're relaxed and—"

"She's not a Tok'ra, Carter. She didn't get snaked yet."

Sam held back a retort and continued.

"Yes, sir, technically you're right, but she had agreed to the blending. Anyway, I think maybe we could at least try and negotiate for information, if nothing else."

"MajorCarter is correct, O'Neill." Sam jumped slightly at Teal'c's voice sounding behind her. She hadn't heard Teal'c walk up to them. "We should not give up this opportunity."

The colonel nodded slightly and Marty returned to the peacock, who quickly led the way to the manor house.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Something was off. It wasn't anything that Jack could put his finger on, but something about this feast in SG-1's honor wasn't right. He hugged his P-90 closer to his chest, but honestly, it had nothing to do with a feeling of unrest and a whole lot more to do with the Lord's Eveready's lack of interest in them. Oh, he had made all the perfunctorily noises regarding the weapons, touching them, asking questions through Chandler, but Jack still couldn't shake this weird sensation.

He glanced over at Teal'c and Carter who were sitting too stiffly, ill at ease, offering smirks instead of smiles to the people serving the food. Only Chandler seemed oblivious, but that was okay because Jack was usually oblivious to the young man anyway.

"Lord Evander seems most distracted."

"Took the words right out of my mouth, T." Jack followed Evander's gaze to the door to the left of the dais.

"I wonder what's behind door number one? Carter, Teal'c—any ideas?"

"I believe that's—"

Jack didn't let Carter finish, instead he tapped Chandler on the shoulder. "Chandler, why don't you and Carter mosey on down front a ways and see what's so interesting." He stood and smiled at those around him, who nodded and smiled in return. People were milling around, as opposed to sitting, so he didn't think anyone would take offence to SG 1 doing a bit of meandering. "Teal'c you're with me; let's play to the back of the room."

"Play? I do not believe—"

"Scope out. Check out."

"Assess," Carter threw out.

Teal'c stood. "It will be my pleasure to play with you, O'Neill."

Six months ago, before they got stuck with Chandler, before Daniel had gone missing, that remark would have been fodder for Daniel and Carter. Now, it fell flat and Jack just motioned Teal'c forward with a wave of his gun.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The two of them walked the perimeter, keeping one eye on the group of people and the Lord, who was still keeping both of *his* eyes on the door. Jack's other eye was trained on Carter and Chandler. His sigh was obviously loud enough that Teal'c turned a questioning eyebrow in his direction.

"O'Neill."

"Carter and Chandler. Sounds like they should be a vaudeville act and not an SG team."

Teal'c raised the other eyebrow.

"Think Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello."

Teal'c sighed as well. "Indeed."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They completed one more circuit around the hall, and he was just going to motion for Carter to rejoin them when he noticed that she was gesturing for them to join her.

"Problem, Carter?"

"Not exactly, sir. Marty was able to ascertain that the Lord is upset—"

"No duh, Marty."

"Sir!"

Carter's reprimand forced a humble nod of apology from Jack.

"Lord Evander is awaiting word from the healer."

"Make sense, he seems like a nice enough guy, concerned about his town. Okay, I'm for giving him the benefit of the doubt, let's eat, drink, and be merry, and keep our eye out for the Tok'ra woman. Any intel on that, Carter? Chandler?"

"Not even a whisper, sir."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jack was getting antsy. Twenty minutes since SG-1 had resumed their seats, no sign of the healer, the party seemed to be winding down, and the Lord was getting more agitated by the second, his glances towards the door increasing.

Jack was just about ready to find the fuckin' healer himself when the door opened and a middle aged man appeared, ignored the protocol of waiting for the guards and hurried over to Lord Eveready. Bypassing the postulating that everyone else had done before the Lord, the healer began to speak, his hands waving wildly in the air. Surprisingly, there was a flash of unhappiness, sadness even, before the older man threw back his shoulders, adjusted his robes, and dismissed the healer with a disgusted wave of his hand.

Shit. Jack didn't think the child the animal had attacked had been hurt that badly. He pounded the table in frustration. "Come on, folks, let's go offer his highness over there the services of an SGC med kit. Seems the kid's not doing that great." He pointed to Chandler as they approached the dais. "Clear, concise, no playing around. Find out how serious the kid's injuries are, and cajole him into letting us examine him."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Chandler, did I just hear what I thought I heard?"

"Ummm, that would be a yes, sir."

"Then why the hell—never mind. I'll talk." Jack pushed Chandler aside and gave the minutest of bows to the Lord, annoyed that the man had the capability of speaking English, and had spoken it quite clearly, but hadn't bothered to make SG-1 privy to that little fact any earlier. Jack pasted a smile on his face, convincing those in his group that he was capable of being diplomatic with the best of them. "Lord Evander," Jack bowed once more. "I am quite pleased to hear that you can speak English."

"I didn't choose for you to be aware of it until now."

"Truly your prerogative." Jack softened the harshness of his accusation with a slight lift of his lips.

"Why have you come before me? I have spoken to you regarding your weapons and I have not yet made a decision what in my possession I wish to trade for them."

"Presumptuous much?"

"I do not understand your statement."

"Sir." Carter hissed a warning through pursed lips.

"I ummm... we," Jack flicked his hands to encompass all of SG-1, "noticed that you were a bit upset with the healer. We will gladly offer our assistance in the treatment of the child injured by the beast."

"Child?" Lord Evander leaned forward, his face screwed up in confusion. "I do not understand."

"Child. Little boy." Jack touched his head. "Dark haired. Nine or ten years old. Attacked by the beast." He patted his gun. "We shot the beast. Any of this sounding the least bit familiar?"

"The child is fine; otherwise we would not be feasting."

"That's good. Great, actually. We just thought…"

"The healer was not discussing the boy. His injuries have been treated and he is already at home with his parents."

"We could not help but notice, Lord Evander, your agitation with one you call the healer." Teal'c bowed much more majestically than Jack. "Can we be of assistance?"

"A favorite slave of mine, Danil, fell ill about a week ago and I am sad to say each day his breathing gets worse." Evander gazed at the door. "I was informed that today his struggles for each breath are progressively harder and he has developed a fever."

"Could you possibly back up a minute? Did you say this slave's name was Daniel?"

"I did not. His name is Danil."

Jack's gaze bounced around the room, noting for the first time the overabundance of flowers and the open windows, remembering the fields they had trounced on their way to this village.

"Carter? Allergies?"

She shook her head, then shrugged. "Anything's possible, sir."

"How long have you had this *Danil*? Jack undid the clips holding his backpack, catching it before it fell to the ground.

"His father was my father's slave."

The answer was too quick, too precise. Hopefully Lord Eveready would never take up the game of poker 'cause he would suck at playing cards. The man's face was an open book. He was lying and, for the first time in ages, Jack's heart soared with hope. He squatted and dug through his backpack, finding a crinkled blister pack of antihistamines, which he waved at Teal'c and Carter. "Hey, just in case."

Lord Evander pointed at the rectangle in Jack's hand. "Can those help Danil?"

Jack stuck out his hand. "Carter, how about hitting me with some Tylenol and antibiotics?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This was against regulations. Jack should have insisted that someone, Teal'c, Carter, hell, even Chandler, accompany him and the healer to Danil's room. But after all this time, Jack needed to see with his own eyes, privately, without having to share either the exaltation of finding Daniel or the disappointment of another red herring. So he left a protesting team with a Lord who informed them protocol didn't permit him to leave the shindig until the last person had departed.

The healer's English wasn't as clear as Evy's; it was broken, spoken with a weird, heavy accent, and intermingled with what Jack recognized to be some Goa'uld. He was able to pick out cough, fever, restless—the rest was lost.

"Here." The healer stopped beside a wooden door that, surprisingly enough, didn't seem to have a lock on it. Jack filed this bit of information away for another time and followed the man through the door into a simply designed sitting room with a desk overflowing with books and papers. Bowls of freshly cut flowers garnished every flat surface.

Jack tried to cover up his impatience as the healer, Janilisse, spoke to an older woman sitting on a chair in the corner. She stood and nodded at both the healer and Jack as she left.

"Security?"

"I do not know this word—sec—" Janilisse tapped his forehead.

Jack pointed to the now vacated chair and the closed door.

"Oh, Fontina. She watches Danil when sick. When I cannot."

"Nursemaid. Gotcha. If this is Daniel we're talking about, been there, done that. And I so understand where you're coming from."

The healer nodded and Jack figured he probably hadn't a clue what he was talking about. "Lead the way, my friend." He patted his pockets stuffed with medication. "Let's see if we can help him."

Janilisse guided Jack down a short hallway filled with things that just looked old. Ancient. Daniel-type toys. Jack had to admit that for a servant, this guy's quarters were damn nice.

"He is here." The healer pushed a slightly opened door and motioned for Jack to step inside. The room was huge, light, airy, with doors that opened onto a garden, from what Jack could see. The doors were closed, but three floor–to-ceiling windows were open, the curtains flowing back in forth in the breeze, the overpowering smell of fresh flowers wafting through the room.

"Where?" Jack pivoted, sneezing.

Janilisse pointed to an area behind an ornately decorated Japanese style screen.

Jack heard the wheeze of someone struggling to breathe even before he approached the head of the bed. The lump under the covers was curled in a fetal position, only a few strands of blond hair visible. Hair that was too light and too long to be Daniel's. Disappointed, he sat at the edge of the bed and lowered the blanket.

And suddenly he couldn't breathe.

For six months he had dreamed what he would do when he found Daniel, but now, as he gazed down upon a profile as familiar as his own, he did none of those things. He sat in stunned silence and stared.

"Can you help him?"

Jack jumped at Janilisse's intrusion. "I need to examine him first." Jack gestured to the screen. "May I have some privacy?"

The healer seemed a bit flustered but Jack smiled and lowered his weapon to the floor. A big, big break in *his* protocol but if he didn't tell, who would know? He lifted his empty hands in the air and Janilisse smiled hesitantly and stepped behind the curtain. Sure, Jack realized, if Daniel should die, who better to blame it on than the strangers from another planet.

He waited until Janilisse was safely behind the screen, then pulled the blanket back and examined Daniel like a new parent, foregoing the finger and toe count, looking for three particular marks.

"I know. I know," he soothed as Daniel's hand searched for the missing covers. "This will only take a minute, I promise." He started at Daniel's left foot, there on the sole, the tiniest of scars received when a barefoot Daniel stepped on broken glass in a storeroom a lifetime ago. Jack gently pushed Daniel onto his back and received a cough, but no other protest for his efforts. He tugged down the pants to reveal the smooth line of an appendix scar. "Almost finished." He pulled the pants up, then, with shaking hands, Jack lifted up the short sleeve of Daniel's right arm and hesitantly sought out the patch of mottled, scarred skin from a staff blast received in an AU.

"Daniel?"

Fever bright, unfocused, confused, and never looking more beautiful, blue eyes stared at him.

Not caring how sick Daniel was, ignoring the squirm of protest, Jack jerked him upright by the front of his shirt, enveloped him in a hug, and buried his face in Daniel's warm neck.

"I'm so sorry," Jack confessed. Not many people could do what Jack was now doing, embracing their heart, and, for the first time since he buried Charlie, Jack cried. He shed silent tears for all that was wrong in the universe, and tears for all that was right. Thankful tears for the gods that watched over wayward, kidnapped archaeologists and protected them, as well as tears for making one desperate, lost colonel, have second thoughts before he ate a bullet.

A hand forced its way between their two bodies and Jack allowed Daniel to push them apart.

"Hey." Jack reached up to touch, and fought to keep the hurt from his voice when Daniel scuttled away. "I know. It's been a long time." Jack wiped his tears away with the back of his hand. "See," he sniffed, throwing open his arms. "I'm still the same, a little greyer thanks to you but—"

"Lord Evander?"

"Don't worry, I left the guy alive—for now."

Daniel blinked at Jack, then coughed, a deep, tight, painful sound that forced Jack back to reality. He lifted his ass and dug into his pocket for the myriad of medication. "Look familiar?" He presented an open palm to Daniel with antibiotics, Tylenol, and the blister pack of antihistamines.

Daniel shook his head and coughed again. "Where's Janilisse?"

"Janilisse's medicine doesn't work."

"I'm fine."

Jack snorted at the *very* Daniel remark. "Sure you are."

"I don't need any allotrios helping me."

Jack moved closer to Daniel. "Daniel, that's a new one on me. What the hell does—?"

"Stranger. The word means stranger," Janilisse answered with a smug expression.

"You know, Jannie, do you even *understand* the word privacy?" Jack shook his head. "And you're mistaken, something must've gotten lost in the translation, 'cause that allo word can't possibly mean—" Jack looked towards Daniel again. "Tell him that's *not* what the word means."

Daniel's gaze flitted from Janilisse to Jack a few times, before he opened his mouth to speak. He got out a squeak of a word before a coughing fit overtook him.

"You lied," Janilisse accused. "Danil is no better."

Jack waved his hand clutching the meds in front of the healer. "I haven't given them to him yet, you idiot." Jack slid up the bed, inching his way closer to Daniel. "Get me water, anything for him to take with these pills."

All of Daniel's bravado faded with the coughing fit and he sat with his back pressed up against the headboard, warily eyeing Jack like a cornered, caged animal, huffing. Jack knew those furrows in Daniel's brow well, he was in pain and he hurt. "Your head hurts."

Daniel refused to answer.

Jack busied himself popping two antihistamines from the blister pack and repeated, "Your head hurts, your throat is raw, and your chest feels like you've swallowed a ton of water."

"Yeah?" Daniel demanded, his voice barely above a whisper. He leaned forward and examined Jack. "Do I know you?"

Jack touched his brow then pointed at Daniel's. "Your forehead gets all crinkly when you don't feel well. And your eyes get all squinty. Just like they are now."

"Do *I* know you? You never really answered me."

Jack held his breath as Daniel studied him and he would bet his life that there was a spark of recognition before he grunted in pain and dropped his head into his hands. "Head," he whimpered."

"Damn it, Daniel—Janilisse, where the hell are you with—"

"I am here."

"Well it's about time." Jack grabbed the heavy glass goblet from the healer's outstretched hands and sniffed the contents. Acceptable.

Janilisse began to speak to Daniel and Jack was able to pick out Evy's name followed by his own. Daniel lifted his head slowly with his hand pressed over his right eye, a sure sign that Daniel was definitely in pain, a migraine posture that Jack knew well. Daniel stretched out his hand towards Jack. "Pills? You have medicine?"

Listening as Daniel struggled to draw a deep breath, Jack was aware the only thing to truly help him would be several days' stay in the infirmary. Short of flinging the man over his shoulder and hightailing to the 'gate, these pills were going to have to make do.

Jack dropped the pills into Daniel's outstretched palm.

"Lord Evander is worried, Danil, you have been sick too long."

With an imperceptible nod of his head, Daniel popped the whole handful of pills into his mouth.

"One at a time—never mind." Jack handed the glass of liquid to Daniel and fought the urge to tell him to slow down with his drinking.

"Hey Jannie—when was the last time Daniel—"

"Danil," the healer interrupted.

"Yeah, whatever." Daniel was literally licking the rim of the glass when Jack plucked it from his hands. "You call yourself a healer? The man's dying of thirst."

"Water is not given for at least ten hours after the leeches—"

"Leeches? You sonofabitch backwards, backwater healer! You used leeches on him?"

Jack pointed to Daniel. "You. Go to sleep. The pills will make you tired and ummm, Lord Everre... Evander, requests that you sleep and get well."

Daniel yawned. "Fine," he mumbled

"I'll get back to you later on that." Jack waited until Daniel slid down and for the sake of propriety, he allowed the healer to cover him up. He counted until ten, watched Daniel close his eyes, then physically dragged the healer away from the bed.

"You're an idiot," Jack ranted, gathering up two armfuls of the flower from their vases and flung them out the nearest window.

Janilisse sputtered indignantly.

"You are a guest in my house, I trust you to behave as one."

Jack slammed the window shut and turned to face his accuser. Lord Evander stood in the middle of the bedroom.

"Where's the rest of my team?" Jack demanded.

"They are out in the hall, with my guards, where you will find yourself in a moment if you do not keep your anger in check."

"Anger? Anger?" Let me tell you something, *Lord* of the manor." Jack grabbed a handful of flowers and shoved them in Evy's surprised face. "You haven't even begun to see angry yet." He waved the blooms under Evander's nose. "You're poisoning Daniel. *These* are what is making him sick."

"He is wrong, Lord Evander, he does not understand our ways."

"Shut up," Jack yelled, throwing the flowers at the healer. Make yourself useful. Get rid of every goddamn flower in these rooms."

"I do not see where the signs of spring would—"

"Think back, Evander. When did Daniel begin to cough, sneeze, have problems breathing?"

"There have always been headaches."

Jack wanted to throttle the leader. "Listen to me," he hissed. "I'm not asking about the headaches, which will surely be a discussion for another time. I need to know when the sneezing—"

"When the garden began to bloom," Lord Evander spoke slowly. "And yet he pushed himself to learn about the flowers, and their planting cycles—*I am* responsible for Danil's illness?"

"My master?" Daniel stood, swaying, the screen on which he was holding onto for support was moving right along with him.

"Danil, what are you doing out of bed?"

"I heard my name," he whispered, squinting in the room's light.

"I am sorry we woke you."

Evander approached Daniel with Jack on his heels listening to the Lord gently admonish Daniel about the light.

The healer was pacing, gesturing wildly. "See, my lord? The medication from these people has not helped Danil at all."

"Bite me," Jack groused. "One dose isn't going to take away the damage you people have probably been doing to him for weeks. Shit." Jack was fast, but Evander was closer and managed to grab Daniel before he and the screen hit the floor. Evander lowered Daniel to the ground and Jack knelt by his side. He was burning up, uncomfortably hot to the touch, confirming Jack's assessment that this was a step over the line from an allergy attack. "Get my team. I need them here, now."

"Do not listen. It is a ploy, Lord Evander, to—"

"Will you just shut up!" Jack paused, sniffed the air, then bent down and sniffed Daniel's skin, hair, clothes. "Rose petals?" he growled, jumped up, grabbed the healer by the front of his shirt and slammed him into the wall. "Do *not* tell me that you've been bathing Daniel in rose scented water."

"Enough!"

Jack let go of the healer and disgustedly wiped his hands on his pants.

"O'Neill, if what you say is correct, how would Danil be affected—"

"Rose water? I am not familiar with that word," the healer asked, truly confused.

Jack scrubbed his face, disappeared behind the curtain and returned with a blanket to cover Daniel with. "Flower scented water. A rose is a certain flower. And flowers and Daniel don't mix unless he has his medication." Jack pinched his nostrils together. "He smells like flowers."

Janilisse began to speak rapidly to Evy in their own language and Jack watched as Lord Evander's face clouded with emotions until Evander shut his tirade up with a sharp clap.

"It would appear that you are correct, O'Neill. Danil has been washed in the oil of the kimitra flower, the properties of which are beneficial for those who have breathing difficulties." He pointed at Janilisse "You will keep quiet for just a moment while I speak."

"Phew, thanks a bunch, Lord Evander, that Jani guy was getting on my nerves as—"

"Do not speak to me unless *I* request you to do so. You seem to have forgotten that this is my house and as the Lord of this village, *my* word is final. I am grateful that you and your team saved the child. I am also grateful that you have given medication to Danil to cure him."

"Call him whatever you want, but his name is Daniel Jackson," Jack insisted, ignoring the lord's request to keep his trap shut as he rested a possessive hand on Daniel's shoulder. "He's a member of my team."

"Danil is *my* slave and has been in my service for his whole life."

"Daniel is owned by no man."

"Danil is owned by me. He belongs to me, in this house. He knows nothing else." Evander tucked the blanket under Daniel, then turned and paced in front of Jack, annoyed. "How long has this Daniel been a member of your team?"

"Eight years."

"He was a good friend?"

"Yes, he was," Jack admitted proudly.

"Yet when Danil, who you claim is named Daniel, a good friend and teammate for over eight years—when he saw you, what did he do?" Evander smiled. "Did he recognize you?"

"He's obviously been brainwashed as near as I can figure," Jack reasoned. "Look, Lord Evander, I can see from the feast and the size of this house you own many slaves but no guns. We will gladly trade our weapons for Daniel." Jack was treading on thin ice, if Evy agreed with him and SG-1 returned to the SGC weaponless but with Daniel in tow, Jack could only hope that Hammond would see the equality of their trade.

"I do not wish to discuss this now. For two people who claim to care about him, we have spent too much time arguing and have been distracted from taking care of him."

Evander signaled to the healer to pull a cord suspended from the ceiling. A contingent of household slaves appeared instantaneously. Lord Evander instructed them to clean the room from top to bottom, change the sheets on the bed, and rid the room of all flowers. He requested that Daniel be taken to his bedroom where a bath would be drawn and to be notified when the bath was ready.

"I will personally make sure that Daniel's body is rid of the flower's oil."

"Oh joy," was Jack's sarcastic remark.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sam smiled as she walked down the hall in Lord Evander's wake, trying to contain the bounce in her step. Okay, she really shouldn't be smiling, Daniel was ill, and she was on her way to assess exactly how sick he was. There was also the problem that he didn't remember anything other than being a slave to Evander. But both of those obstacles they could deal with. Daniel was alive. Which was more than they'd known twenty-four hours ago. Alive. Sam was actually so caught up in her happiness, she had to bring herself up short to keep from crashing into Evander's back when he stopped in front of a large wooden door.

The colonel hadn't been happy that Evander had adamantly refused to allow him to see Daniel. Based on the way her CO had been bad mouthing their host as he paced their quarters waiting for Sam to be summoned, there was an extremely strong possibility that he and Evander hadn't exactly seen eye to eye in the care and feeding of Daniel… Danil, she corrected herself. Danil, she repeated. Maybe going in through the back door and acknowledging that this had been Daniel's life for the past six months would get Evander to open up a bit more. What had her mother always said…? You can get more from honey… Too bad the colonel lived by the credo that the squeaky wheel gets the oil.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So close, and yet so far. Sam glared impatiently at the healer who was blocking her way, arguing with Evander. The way he was pointing and gesturing in her direction made it obvious he felt threatened by her presence.

"I will not stand for your insolence," Evander insisted, and the healer withered under his gaze. "I do not want you to think your place in this house is secure enough that you believe you can speak to me or our guest in this manner."

She hid a smug grin as the healer bowed deeply and stepped aside to let them pass.

"Major Carter, I ask that you forgive Janilisse." Evander smiled broadly at her as he opened the door and allowed her to enter the room first. "He has truly overstepped his boundaries but he is worried about Danil." Evander paused, and if Sam didn't know any better, he looked embarrassed. "As are we all."

Sam walked into the anteroom and gazed longingly at the archway. Daniel was through that doorway and she surprised even herself by managing a modicum of decorum by not rushing in there and throwing her arms around her missing teammate.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The hair was lighter, longer, and you could see in the pale, sweaty face a hint of tan and a smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose. He looked the same, he looked different, but he was definitely eyeing her as if he had never seen her before in his whole entire life. But then she'd experienced this before. It was Daniel's inability to make a move or answer a question without first glancing at Evander for approval that disturbed her the most.

He was sitting up, the blanket pulled snugly to his neck. She was positive Daniel was feverish but she didn't want to enter his personal space until he had let his guard down some—maybe relax in her presence—allowed her within three feet of him.

"Does your head hurt, Danil?"

He turned towards Evander, who smiled and answered for him. "Danil is prone to headaches. Light sensitivity. The fact that he always has his nose buried in a book adds to his headaches."

Sam sighed, gritted her teeth and prodded forward, searching her memory for Daniel's springtime allergy symptoms. "Nose stuffed?"

"That is a most recent ailment," Evander answered, nodding at Daniel. "As is the itchy eyes, though the cough has increased to the point he has had problems sleeping, isn't that correct?"

As if on cue, Daniel yawned. "It is, my master."

"May I speak to you in private, Lord Evander?" She didn't wait for an answer, just took off to the seclusion of the anteroom, knowing that curiosity and fear over Daniel's condition would force his hand.

"With all due respect, I'm finding it extremely difficult to examine Danil in your presence, Lord Evander."

"How so?"

Sam was stunned; the man couldn't or didn't see what she was witnessing. "You are answering for him, and *he's* allowing you to." She huffed in frustration, one minute away from stamping her foot in frustration, which was the least invasive way she could think of to deal with the overbearing lord when all she really wanted to do was to zat the man into oblivion.

"I did not realize, I promise I will—"

"You'll stay right here," Sam interjected, feeling a slight victory as confusion danced across his face.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Hey, Dani—Danil."

"Where's my master?

Sam bit back a nasty, very colonel-like remark that dealt with false gods. "Lord Evander will be back." Short, sweet, and not exactly a lie.

"You don't like him, do you?" Daniel wheezed, his eyes trained over her shoulder to the archway for a second or two before his head flopped backwards on a throne of overstuffed pillows, obviously not caring what her answer was.

"Bet you're tired."

He just shrugged but closed his eyes in response. "I slept."

"Head aches, throat hurts, eyes itch." Sam didn't mention the reddened nose, chapped lips or, what really was worrying her, the loud wheezing sound that was attached to every breath.

Daniel opened his eyes and studied Sam with contempt. "Didn't Lord Evander already answer your questions?"

"Yes, he did." Sam fought to keep her anger under control, trying to temper it with the joy of *finding* Daniel, so she decided not to even justify her response. She pulled the med kit from her backpack and slapped a fever strip on his forehead, then batted his hand away when he attempted to touch it. "No."

His fever was high, but not dangerously so, his breathing was wheezy, bordering more on bronchitis than pneumonia, she hoped. Daniel was exhausted, dehydrated. He needed sleep, water, and to go home. The sleep and the water she could easily rectify, it was the going home that would take some convincing, or maybe downright kidnapping.

Daniel buried a cough in a pillow and while Evander had removed all flowers from this room, Sam had a sneaking suspicion that the pillows, and probably the blanket, weren't exactly helping Daniel breath any better, nor was the headache allowing him to sleep. She had the blister pack in the med kit, Tylenol, antibiotics, but she decided to piggyback the Motrin with the Tylenol and hold off the other meds for another hour or two.

He eyed the pills she was handing him. "I've taken those already and I do feel better, honest."

"These are different ones."

Daniel leaned over and peered into her open palm, then shook his head. "No."

Didn't make a difference if he was Daniel or Danil, the brainwashing hadn't taken away an iota of stubbornness.

"Lord Evander wants you well, Danil."

He looked towards the archway, nodded, accepted the goblet of water Sam offered him, then scooped up the pills without another word.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Lie down."

"I'm not tired."

Daniel *had* actually been drifting, and Sam had just enjoyed watching, when a coughing fit woke him and he sat up and pounded the one flimsy couch pillow she had given him in exchange for the overabundance of pillows that had been surrounding him.

"You're exhausted." She had already pulled the 'Lord Evander wants you to do this' out of her hat and didn't want to overplay that hand, so she showed Daniel her watch. "Make you a deal—I'm setting the alarm for fifteen minutes. Lie down for fifteen minutes, and if you're not sleeping within that time—"

"I can get up and finish the research I was doing on the cross pollination of—"

"You can get up and dance naked in the garden, for all I care," she explained with a flourish, not caring if she was channeling the colonel.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sam switched off the alarm with six minutes to spare. "I've missed you, Daniel," she whispered to the sleeping man as she pushed a strand of hair off his face and tucked it behind his ear. He brought up his shoulder to move her hand, but it did the opposite, pushing it closer to his hairline, right into a suspicious, heart-stopping lump behind his ear. She moved his hair to the side and skirted her fingers over the hard, flat lump imbedded under the skin.

"It is the mark of my house."

Sam jumped up and turned, barely saving the med kit before it fell to the floor, annoyed that she had been so focused on her teammate that she hadn't even heard Lord Evander enter the room. "You've branded him."

"Branded? Marked him?" He vigorously shook his head. "No. Danil is really not my slave, he is my companion."

Sam snorted. "You say potato, I say po*tat*o. But what it all comes down to, *Lord* Evander, is that Daniel is not here of his own free will. And in my book that makes him a slave."

"You are a guest in my house, Major Carter, and as such I would expect you respect my ways and the ways of my people."

"Could you explain to me how you respect another human by making them a slave?"

Three sharp, staccato slaps and two guards appeared by his side. "Danil is sleeping, so for now he no longer needs your services."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Carter, talk to me."

She had entered their quarters sputtering and spitting, and her teammates had patiently waited while she pounded around their suite of rooms until she flopped onto the couch, the flame of her anger slightly lowered.

She pointed behind her ear. "Daniel wears a device here."

"And—it does what?"

"I'm sorry, sir. When I found it, Evander walked into the room and I sort of, ummm, *questioned* his right to slavery." Now, in their rooms, she was embarrassed at her loss of control.

"I'm taking it that your opinion didn't sit very well with him?"

"No, sir."

"I believe, O'Neill, Lord Evander is not going to give up DanielJackson so easily, even if he does require our weapons."

"No, I have to agree with you." The colonel sat down on the couch next to her. "Short of calling in the cavalry and snatching Daniel by force—I'm open to suggestions."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Danil buried his face in the uncomfortable pillow. The bed and the linen were vastly improved over the norm of the infirmary, softer, smoother and immensely better smelling, but the pillow left a lot to be desired. His headache was back with an intensity that was mind-numbing; the drone of voice that belonged to the person sitting by his bedside was like fingernails over a chalk board.

"Do you need something?"

Danil nodded, smothering his head in the poor excuse for a pillow. "Headache."

The touch to his cheek was unfamiliar and Danil slowly opened his eyes and as they adjusted to the dim light in the room, the headache receded a bit.

"Do you feel better, Danil?"

Eyes as wide as saucers, he sat up suddenly, accidentally knocking his master's hand away from him. "I apologize—I didn't mean—" He felt the heat of blush work its way up his body, it was embarrassing enough to awaken as his master was extending comfort to him, but to actually awaken *in* the master's bed—was unthinkable.

Lord Evander's laughter only succeeded in adding to Danil's discomfort.

"I am truly sorry."

His master patted Danil's knee. "There is no need to be sorry, for I am not angry." He wagged a finger in Danil's face, "Though if you keep apologizing, I *will* get angry."

Danil averted his eyes. He was truly mortified and it was easier to examine the blanket than it was to meet Lord Evander's gaze.

"Would you be more comfortable back in your room?"

How should he answer the question? Danil would have been much more comfortable and relaxed in his bed, but to give that as an answer would have been an insult to Lord Evander. "I wouldn't mind staying here."

"Good." Lord Evander reached for the book that was precariously resting on the edge of the bed, then opened up to a previously marked place and began to read. His master's voice was pleasant and for many minutes Danil sat and listened, letting his mind wander and his gaze drift around the room, feeling particularly blessed and humbled to be under the protection of a master who was so caring.

"Danil?"

"Master?"

"Would you please lie down?"

Danil yawned. "Why?"

"Because you are still tired. Isn't that reason enough?"

"But this is your bed, my Lord."

Danil misread Evander's sigh of exasperation and hurriedly slid down under the covers, the small pillow under his head, his arms held stiffly to his side. "If you continue to read, I'm sure I could fall asleep."

"Are you calling me boring?"

"Oh no, never." He struggled to sit back up.

"Danil!"

"I've offended you." He had done something to cause all of Lord Evander's exaggerated facial expressions. Danil hadn't missed the roll of eyes or the pursing of lips, nor the slight shake of the head.

"Lord Evander?"

"Yes?" In an unusual showing of temper, he slammed the book shut and turned his attention to the guard who had entered the room and called for his attention.

The guard bowed. "I am sorry to interrupt, but your presence is required in the great hall."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

His suite was devoid of flowers and Danil was both shocked and hurt that his offence to Lord Evander had gone so far that his master had ordered his room stripped of the blooms they had worked so hard to grow. Even the yellow buds were gone.

What little energy he had when he had awoken in Lord Evander's bed had slowly dissipated as he'd trudged towards his room. He had found no peace in his master's bedchamber and now there was no peace here either. He sank heavily onto his couch, fearful of what fate was planned for him. He fingered his master's mark, finding comfort in its touch.

The blueprints he'd been studying, the books he'd been using, and all of his research were no longer strewn around his desk. His work was neatly piled and organized, just waiting for someone else to pick up where he left off.

He looked around the room, realizing with a shock there was nothing for him to pack and take on his new journey because he had arrived at this manor with nothing, and nothing here belonged to him. The paper he had drawn on belonged to Lord Evander. The pens, the books, even the clothes he wore weren't his.

He would accept his new placement with stoicism, even if he was given to the strangers in exchange for their weapons. If that was what his master needed him to do, then he would do Lord Evander's bidding with his head held high.

A note of thanks. He could do that. It was appropriate to do that. Though he may be leaving, Danil wanted Lord Evander to understand that *he* had been happy here. He actually had to search through the piles to find a clean sheet of paper and a pen, then sat on the stool and stared at the empty lines.

The room around him changed, the air became cooler, the clothes on his back morphed into heavier, coarser material, and his eyesight crystallized to take in a place that wasn't his room, nor any room in the manor, and he reached out in curiosity to touch an artifact sitting to his right. The pain in his head was swift, blinding, and severe enough for the room to tilt on its axis.

The floor was damp against his back and he coughed, rolling onto his side, then to all fours until he finally found the strength to pull himself upright with the aid of the chair and the desk.

Whatever the strangers had given him to mask his illness so they could draw him away from Lord Evander had worn off and he stumbled to the couch. As he stretched out to rest for just a minute, the idea of the thank you note became overshadowed with the insight that Danil liked this house, this room, and Lord Evander's company, and maybe if he pleaded and groveled, his master would take pity upon him and reconsider.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was happy he would not be forced to sup with Colonel O'Neill and the other members of his party. The family of the boy they had saved had invited them to a dinner in their honor, and he had seen in their eyes their desire to decline, but he knew O'Neill couldn't back down without appearing ungrateful.

Evander ordered a simple dinner to be brought to his quarters for him and Danil. A quiet dinner without interruptions would be a pleasant way to spend the evening. Hopefully Danil would feel well enough to participate in a game of cribbage, because he had grown accustomed to their nightly games and missed them tremendously since Danil had fallen ill.

However, upon arriving at his rooms, he was furious. Danil wasn't in his quarters and all his personal servants hung their head and shrugged when asked where he had gone to. Evander ranted and yelled about their lack of concern regarding Danil's illness.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Danil only escaped Evander's reprimand about sick people wandering through cold, damp halls because he was sleeping. The exhaustion that Danil had insisted didn't exist had obviously caught up with him, and Evander smiled indulgently at the snoring man sleeping on the large couch Evander had insisted upon for Danil's outer room. There was always the bed but he had often entered Danil's rooms to find he'd spent the night stretched out on the then undersized couch instead of on the comfortable bed. His feet had hung off the end, books and papers strewn around him.

Not anymore. Now the piece of furniture that Danil occasionally slept on was oversized, taking up a large portion of the room. Evander sighed in exasperation when he saw that Danil had curled himself into a tiny corner of the couch. Obviously, the man's old habits were hard to break.

He lit the lamps around the room and for the first time noticed how barren it was without the flowers, too bare for Evander's preferences. And while he would have liked just to leave both the room and sleeping Danil at peace, he could not. The emptiness of the room brought back too many painful memories and he chuckled as he made the decision to reorganize the now neat stacks of books and papers. He was just beginning to scatter the books in Danil's preferred filing arrangement when he found a piece of paper on the desk, written by Danil's hand, containing just a greeting. The name was unfamiliar, the words scripted with precision and care and without the sloppiness that was usually evident in his notes. A bolt of unexpected jealousy and fear shot through Evander.

It was no longer important that Danil was sleeping and he grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him until he awoke, shoving the paper under Danil's nose as his eyes slowly opened.

"What's the meaning of this?" He knew his fury was disproportionate to the crime but he was unable to help himself.

Bleary eyed, Danil blinked at the paper, then slowly took it from his grip and studied it, one hand holding the paper, the other hand pressed against his right temple, a sure indicator he had a headache. "I don't remember writing this."

Evander snatched it away from him. "Do you deny that this is your handwriting?"

Danil sat up but kept his gaze downward and shook his head.

"Please explain to me what the words 'Dear General Hammond' mean?"

"I can't. I don't know anyone by that name." Danil took a deep breath and Evander stood by unsympathetically, watching him as he fought to bring his coughing under control. Danil wiped his sweaty forehead with his shirtsleeve. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Evander flung the paper at Danil.

"For causing you anger. For being sick. For failing you in some manner that I'm not aware of." Danil picked up the paper and began to fold it. "I remember sitting down—" Danil folded the incriminating paper in half. "To write you a note—"

"My name appears nowhere on that paper."

"I'm not lying." Danil folded the paper again. "I was going to thank you for being my Master—" He looked up at Evander with sadness. "I know it is presumptuous to ask but will you share the reason why you're sending me away? If it's because I've done something wrong, I'll correct it." He swallowed loudly. "But if it's because you need to exchange me for the weapons the strangers carry I'll understand, because the protection of this village is your primary concern."

"Danil?"

"If need be, I can be ready to leave at a moment's notice—"

Evander left the room and returned with the blanket from Danil's bed. Danil was bereft and with precise movements, he placed the quilt around his slumped shoulders, chastising him gently. "You've been sick, you're still not well."

"Is that the reason?" Danil drew the blanket tightly around his shoulders. "My sickness?"

"No. No."

"I'd be willing to lend my services anywhere in the manor you desire—" Danil shifted and even in the dim light Evander saw the blush of embarrassment stain his face as he worried his bottom lip. "I can pleasure you, if *that's* what you desire."

Danil's gaze was focused on his groin and it was Evander's turn to be embarrassed. There was no heat in his gaze, just fear. But it was more than fear, Danil was terrified of being sent away, and from the comfortable way the fear seemed to settle around his shoulders like the blanket, Evander knew that this wasn't the first time in Danil's life that he had faced this situation.

"Do you know why you're here, Danil?" Evander sighed and dropped down on the couch next to him. "No, I guess you wouldn't. I was lonely. Horribly alone after my wife died. Like the albernets, the birds I pointed out to you by the lake, we mate for life, and there was to be no other in my life after she joined the afterlife. I missed her friendship, her intelligence, her quick wit, her words of wisdom, her guidance. She was my friend. I lost my best friend. Celibacy could be dealt with but my mind was dying."

He grabbed Danil's chin and forced him to meet his gaze. "I desire you here." He tapped his temple and then the area over his heart. "And here. You have kept my mind strong and my heart open and fair. You are not going anywhere. Not to another part of this house, nor with the strangers. *I* will not allow it. I will not lose my best friend again."

"I do not mean any disrespect, my Master, but those words are in direct contradiction to the emptiness of these rooms."

"Ahhh, I see."

"I don't."

"The flowers aided in making you sick. The strangers explained to me they are called allergies and there is a particle in the flower, barely visible, that caused your itchy eyes and sneezes. So I had them removed."

"Even the yellow buds by the bed?"

Evander nodded, not really understanding Danil's obsession with those yellow tinged flowers. "Yes, even those. While you were in my rooms I had your room cleaned from top to bottom. The papers, books—"

Danil's smile was hesitant. "It doesn't even look like I was ever here."

"Thankfully, we both know that isn't true."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Catlike, Danil stretched his body awake. The brightness of the sun bled through his closed lids and as much as his head hurt and there was still the residual malaise in his bones and joints, he was content after his conversation with his Master last evening.

They had eaten dinner and played two hands of cribbage before Lord Evander had forced him to bed when he'd fallen asleep waiting for his turn. He felt ashamed for thinking he wasn't wanted in this house but it was strangely comforting, though somewhat awkward, when his Master revealed personal thoughts.

The only thing that clouded Danil's happiness were his dreams of a place that was vaguely familiar while he slept but whose images refused to follow him coherently into the waking world.

He opened his eyes, shading the brightness from searing his sensitive eyes, and smiled at the two tiny yellow buds in the container on his nightstand. He truly had found happiness, a feeling that for some inexplicable reason, felt alien to him.

"Good afternoon!" Janilisse burst around the screen with a big smile carrying a tray of food.

"Afternoon?" He threw back the covers, horrified that he had slept so late.

Janilisse pushed in his direction with the tray. "Get back into bed. Lord Evander thought it best if you rest up the whole day."

Danil smiled at the joke. "He didn't say that."

Janilisse put the tray on the bedside table. "He did."

"No." Danil slid his legs off the side of the bed. He wanted a bath, clean clothes, and there was work to be done.

"His exact words were, 'Danil is allowed up to wash, he is to have lunch. But any and all research, work, or anything else he deems *must* be accomplished today will be done from his bed'."

"He said that?"

Janilisse nodded vigorously. "Followed up with he would murder anyone, Danil included, if his order was disobeyed."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jack was frustrated. Okay, he had passed over the frustrated boundary about twenty minutes ago and was now in the completely pissed mode.

"We want to take Daniel home."

"He is not yours."

"Nor does he belong to you," Teal'c pointed out.

Jack pounded the table, ignoring the raised eyebrows of reprimand from his teammates. "We're offering you our weapons, supplies, scientists to show you—"

"Sir?"

He gave Carter his best 'not now, we'll discuss this later' stare. "Things you've never dreamed imaginable in exchange for Daniel."

"He is not Daniel. His name is Danil—"

"Yeah, Evy, say it enough times and even *you too* will begin to believe it."

Lord Evander shot up out of his chair. "I have done nothing but shown you hospitality, open my home to you—and I get repaid with rudeness. If this is an attribute of your people, the ones you want me to trade with, then I believe we have nothing more to say to each other and my guards will escort you to the gates."

"Wait—I apologize—I'm sorry."

"Do you really? Or do you want to stay here just for Danil?"

Jack drew a deep breath and ate crow. "I apologize for my rudeness and *my* attitude but I will be truthful and tell you that we're also here for Daniel."

"Your truthfulness is appreciated, O'Neill, but be forewarned, Danil is not going home with you."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Would it be possible to speak with you, Lord Evander?"

Evander nodded at Teal'c, waved his scribe away, then motioned for him to enter.

"I do not believe you to be evil or heartless. You are a stubborn man, unwilling to bend in areas you believe to be right. As is O'Neill. You are simply fighting on different sides of the fence, trying to hold onto what you both believe belong to each."

"You do say your mind, don't you?"

"This situation reminds me of a story I have read from the Old Testament of the Tau'ri's Holy Bible, about a wise man named King Solomon. He had two women come before him with a child. Both of these women claimed to be the child's parent and demanded the child. The King produced a knife to sever the child in half so both mothers could share in the child. One woman stepped forth. She said she would rather the child remain safe and live with the other woman than be cut in two so both women would be satisfied. The king knew at that moment the identity of the true mother."

"Yes, I have heard that fable. Danil recounted it to me."

"I am not as wise a man as this King Solomon but I can only hope Danil is not the one who will be sacrificed due to both your stubbornness and O'Neill's."

"Have you come here to argue?" Evander got up from the chair and walked to the front of his desk, crossing his arms, facing Teal'c. There was no fear as he confronted the Jaffa. "I have said all that needed to be said."

"The man you call Danil belongs to neither you nor O'Neill."

"I beg to differ. He is mine. He bears the mark of my house."

"And he bears the scars from the Tau'ri home world. Those are not marks of ownership; they are the marks of his life. The mark that Danil now wears is from a life *you* have chosen for him."

"Danil is happy."

"Why would he not be? You have given him a roof over his head, food, warmth, but more importantly, you have given him a place to study, and a person to learn with along with unlimited time in which to accomplish it."

Evander seemed taken back. "If you value Danil as much as you and your friends claim, he should have had all of those things, and more."

"I believe a small part of our friend is happy here, Lord Evander, because you ask nothing from him except happiness. I cannot betray the confidence of a friend but there have been many obstacles for DanielJackson to overcome, yet he has never backed down from a confrontation, even when it meant placing his own life in jeopardy."

Evander nodded in pleasure. "He is a brave man."

A slightly bowed head was his response. "I am proud to call him friend."

"As am I."

"There is something you need to be aware of, Lord Evander. DanielJackson had just recently been returned to us after spending a year offworld assisting—"

"Is that supposed to provoke sympathy in me, Teal'c?" Agitated hands smoothed down already pristine robes. "He was away for a year, you allowed him to leave? You, who claim to be his friend, allowed him to leave?"

"We allowed nothing. The decision to leave was his. Again, his life, *his* choice."

"Did you and O'Neill drag him back to the Tau'ri home world?"

"DanielJackson returned to us for reasons we do not yet understand. As here, his memory had been erased but we believe he chose to return to us. And while he may not remember his time away from us, we, his friends can recall with crystal clarity how much he was missed."

A wonderful prezzie, sketched by Wilma

"I have heard enough," Lord Evander stated with a wave of his hand. "If anything, you have convinced me that Danil does *not* belong with you and as such, we have reached, what Danil calls an impasse."

Teal'c got as far as the door before he turned to face Evander. "You demanded truth and respect from O'Neill yet you do not ask the same of yourself. I think the time has come for you to look in the mirror."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He pleaded a headache and excused himself from dessert. Jack knew that he really wasn't fooling anyone, least of all Evy, but no one stopped him and he did the appropriate groveling and bowing before leaving the dining hall. Two wrong turns later, surprisingly, found him standing in front of Daniel's door. An amazing coincidence and since he was here—

Jack pushed the door open and tiptoed past the older woman snoozing in the outer room. The ante room was empty and noiselessly, Jack peered around the screen. Daniel was sleeping on his side, his face buried in the binding of an opened book, and Jack smiled when Daniel rubbed an itchy nose against the pages, crinkling and bending the paper sacrilegiously.

He was itching to touch, to adjust the blanket the way Daniel liked, to smell him, inhale deeply the essence of what was Daniel, to kiss him. But no, there would be none of that, so Jack shoved his hands deep into his pockets and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, forcing himself to be satisfied with just looking, which was a hell of a lot easier than thinking he was dead.

Daniel snuffled, a familiar, comforting sound of a man who needed a dose of antihistamines and a tissue, and who definitely shouldn't have a vase of freshly cut yellow flowers by his bedside.

If he could just get around the bed to grab the vase, he would be able to–

"You need to leave."

Jack fixed a charming smile to his face before turning. "Lord Evander."

Lord Evander had pulled himself up to his impressive height and for the first time, Jack got a very visible and very obvious display of the muscles that were well hidden under the man's robes. The attempt to intimidate Jack fell on blind eyes; he had Teal'c to thank for that, but at this point, with a list of his transgressions a mile long in Evy's mind, keeping silent was probably the smartest thing Jack could do.

"We will not discuss why you are here in these rooms. We will not again talk about your disrespect of my house. I am giving you until this time tomorrow to present to me an equitable agreement of trade."

There was nothing this planet or these people had to offer except Daniel, but Jack had enough sensibility to keep his mouth under lock and key for once.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The walk to the dining hall was a solemn affair. Jack had gone to sleep on the wrong side of the bed and awakened the same way. Teal'c was lost in his own thoughts and Carter and Chandler had burned the midnight oil, grasping at straws for a planetary treaty that would force Evy's hand into returning Daniel. But they had come up with nothing, nada, zip, and with each step they made to the dining hall the clock was ticking, bringing SG-1 closer to the inevitable decision of leaving one of their own behind.

Evy had been right on one account, SG-1 needed to return home. The search for the Tok'ra woman had been a bust and there was no reason to remain here any longer, not to mention the fact they were overdue.

It was obvious that Evander was striving for intimacy with breakfast, a smattering of guards and a round table. The food was buffet style against the wall and from what Jack could see, the overabundance of eats was a tad nauseating.

His team was battling Evander's personality but the man had charisma and charm; he was intelligent and well versed. His only short coming, as far as Jack could tell, was that he also *had* Daniel. Daniel appeared rough around the edges, better, but still infirmary material and Jack was grateful when Sam offered him a handful of meds after an excessively long coughing fit. He buried his face in his plate of food when Daniel turned towards Evander, asking permission. This was so wrong on so many levels and Jack cringed, embarrassed for Daniel.

Permission granted, Jack counted to ten before looking up and he caught Daniel's gaze following a servant who had just placed a platter on the buffet table. Daniel turned a blinding smile toward Evy who responded in kind, then followed it up with a nod towards the display of food. "Get one for me also, Danil."

There was no counting to ten this time. Jack got up and followed Daniel rather than stay behind and throttle his highness.

He pointed to the plate Daniel held filled with a pastry stuffed with bright purple fruit. "What the heck is that?"

"These?" Daniel grabbed one and popped it into his mouth while Jack waved away a cloud of powdered sugar puffing out in all directions. "Fellousch." Daniel licked the purple fruit off his fingers, his tongue swiping away any escaping piece. "Sweet, really too sweet for breakfast pastries—it's the cook's specialty."

Daniel moved the plate away from Jack's inquisitive fingers. "They're too sweet for you, Jack. Try those cookies over there, with the—"

"How do you know what I like and, what did you call me?"

Daniel grimaced and blinked at Jack, as if he couldn't process the question. He coughed, wheezed, and Jack grabbed the plate of pastries from Daniel's shaking hands and all but threw it onto the sideboard. "You called me Jack."

"Nonono." Daniel shook his head in adamant denial, trying to back away from Jack who was holding Daniel's hands in a death grip. He did a little dance, a bit of fancy manoeuvring to position their bodies so Lordy wouldn't be suspicious.

Daniel whimpered and ducked his head, an all too familiar expression of pain contorting his features.

"Damn it," Jack hissed. He fought the urge to drag Daniel to Evander to show him exactly what untreated allergies could do, especially in the light of that stupid vase of flowers last night. "The pills that Carter gave you will kick in. Give it a moment or two. The yellow roses in the vase by your bed—"

"Roses?" Wide eyed, panting, Daniel stared at Jack.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, the flowers—yellow—vase—any of this sounding vaguely familiar?"

"Rose? Is she...?"

Jack grabbed Daniel's upper arms and gave a slight shake. "My mother? You remember my mom?"

Jack could literally feel the tremors build in the muscles he held in his hands. "Your mom's gonna kill us," Daniel whispered, his gaze locking somewhere over Jack's right shoulder so intently that Jack dropped his hands and followed Daniel's line of vision, expecting to see either some eminent danger, or worse, his mom standing behind him.

He turned back just in time to see Daniel's eyes roll up into his head and his reflexes were quick enough to grab him, then lower the shaking body to the floor. Instinct took over. Jack slid Daniel away from the buffet table legs, turned him on his side, grabbed a folded napkin off the table, shoved it Daniel's mouth, then yelled for help.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Do you mind if I stay and read over Doctor Jackson's notes?" Chandler had a large stack of papers in his hands and he turned to Jack with a hopeful look. "You don't mind, do you, Doctor... Danil?"

Before Jack could answer, Daniel had joined Chandler and began flipping through the pages until he pulled out one particular page. "You might enjoy reading this – it's about the wildlife here on the planet and the Wyvair you managed to kill." Daniel shyly glanced at Evander. "I could stay and show you—"

"Danil, you know what we agreed." Evander gently extracted Daniel's hand from the notes and pulled him away. "We're all going outside for dinner, remember?"

Daniel immediately lowered his head and mumbled something, following submissively behind Evander. Jack clenched his teeth in anger, hating to see the man he loved so compliant.

"Chandler," Jack said, waving his hand expansively at the comfortable chair by the den's window, "enjoy yourself." Jack smirked at Evander's dark look – 'see, big guy, my people might be under my orders, but they have free will'. Well, to a certain extent, Jack amended as he hurried to catch up with Evander and Daniel.

"Why can't we do this supper thing inside?" After the allergy attack Daniel had been through, the gardens were the last place Daniel should be frequenting.

"Danil has been ill; he needs sunshine to put color back into his cheeks."

"Yes, he has been sick. He needs rest and should still be in bed, not traipsing all over the place."

"He needs sun, wind, and fresh air."

"Not with all that pollen floating around out here." Jack glared at both Daniel and Evander, who despite his constant haranguing hadn't listen to a word he'd said all afternoon.

"Danil no longer has a fever and his breathing is already much better. He simply requires a change of scenery."

"He had a seizure, for crying out loud! He should be in bed. Resting." Jack glared at Daniel who was studiously avoiding looking at either of them. His pale face and shaking hands belied how recovered he was.

"He is fine. Look at him. He's fully recovered from his fit."

Despite his words, Evander walked close to Daniel, matching his slow pace. Jack and the rest of the team followed the two through the elaborate gardens. Jack glowered at the plants on the grounds but as Evander motioned for Daniel to take a seat beneath a shady tree where their meal was being set up, he realized there were no blooms anywhere nearby. He turned and checked out the whole garden, as far as he could see. Not a spot of color, not a hint of perfume. Somehow Evander had all the plants removed for Daniel's benefit. He sighed in exasperation, then glanced at Teal'c and Carter when Daniel coughed.

"All of this," Jack gestured with his hand for emphasis, "isn't going to do Daniel a lick of good since pollen also comes from trees and grass."

Daniel ducked his head down, not meeting anyone's gaze, while Evander straightened and stared Jack down.

"Enough with your talk of plants and things floating in the air making him sick. If you don't wish to eat with us, then go away." He waved his hand in a shooing motion.

Making a small tsking noise with his lips, Jack sat down in the warm grass, next to Daniel. As usual, Daniel appeared nervous around Jack and was constantly looking to Evy for approval and guidance. Once everyone had settled either on cushions or on the grass itself, servants came out of the house bearing trays laden with food.

As they doled food out into plates and ate, Jack noted that although Daniel had piled stuff onto his plate, he wasn't eating, being far too busy trying to stifle coughs. He took his glasses off, removed the sunglasses clipped to the lenses, and massaged his forehead with two fingers.

"Still got a headache?" Jack asked softly, wondering if he had fully recovered from his episode of this morning. Jack knew people usually didn't bounce back this easily from a seizure.

Daniel gave Jack a sidelong glance and frowned. The lines on his forehead squished together and stayed like that for far too long.

"Like a nail in the head," Daniel replied just as softly after a moment.

Jack's guts clenched at the familiar words uttered only a few months ago when Daniel had recovered from the multitude of aliens that had inhabited his brain. Then he realized Daniel didn't want Evander to overhear him admitting to feeling unwell. He wondered how often Daniel hid his headaches from his supposed master and why was he confiding in Jack.

Jack turned to Carter but she was already fishing a blister pack of painkillers from her vest pocket.

"Here." She surreptitiously handed two pills to Daniel who swallowed them with a gulp of juice.

Jack took the last bite of fruit from his plate and placed the empty dish on the ground. He took Daniel's untouched plate and placed it over his own. A servant picked both up seconds later.

Evander took his time with his meal and Jack suspected he was deliberately postponing the time for talk. Instead of growing angry, Jack leaned back against the tree trunk and watched