PART EIGHT

Daniel felt useless, and hated it almost as much as the fact that he'd emptied his guts on the ground, instead of reaching out to comfort his friends. Jack had done that, and done it pretty damned well. As if trying to make up for that lack on his part, he'd assisted with the preparation of Tula's body for the funeral fire. He was the one who ended up approaching Jack on using some of the firewood for the pyre. The Tahatans never put off a funeral; in the heat of the day, and even the night, leaving a body was to allow the flesh to putrefy—something that was taboo.

Jack had been dealing with some last minute preparations when Daniel approached and waited. When he was done and alone again, he turned to him and said, "You're thinking too much, Daniel. Stop it, that's an order."

There was a coldness in those dark eyes that transported Daniel back a year. Back to the SGC the first time around, when he'd turned around and found himself facing a man who embodied the ruthless indifference he'd always hated about the military. He hadn't known at the time that the automaton part of Colonel Jonathan 'Jack' O'Neill only appeared when he was strangling a whole bunch of emotions. Back then, it had been grief over the death of his son. Now, he guessed it had to do with the senseless murder of a little girl, thrown in with the peril to his team and a whole bunch of people he'd shouldered the responsibility of protecting.

Daniel chuckled, a dry mirthless sound, and realised Jack was right; he was over thinking and all over the same thing.

"I'm sorry, Jack," he said and spread his hands in a helpless gesture. "I should have listened to you."

The mask didn't crack. O'Neill merely cocked his head, "I'm constantly telling you that and you have an irritating habit of proving me wrong. What's so different this time?"

"If we'd left when you said, none of this would have happened."

"Ah," was the reply, "What is it with you and Sam about hindsight, today?" Jack didn't wait for him to reply, "Look, you laid out a case and I accepted it. It's the best we can do." He shrugged, "Stargate travel is a risk, and this mission proves that the risk isn't always just to us."

Having said that, he bent down and picked up an MP5. After checking that the gun's magazine was fresh and the safety was on, he pushed it into Daniel's hands.

"What are you saying?" Daniel asked, "That we shouldn't let that bother us?"

Irritation chased some of the cold away temporarily. "No, Daniel. I'm saying that we fix things here and next time we make sure we have the local folklore straight before we go diving into any dark places. It's called a learning curve. I'm sure yours is practically vertical."

"Oh!" Back to feeling like an idiot, Daniel shook himself and got to the point of his coming over. "They need some of the wood for a funeral pyre for Tula."

Jack was taken aback, "Now?!"

"It's their custom not to wait. I don't think we should get in the way of this one."

Now the mask cracked a little. Daniel watched as dislike of the idea chased its way over Jack's face. "Oh fer…," hauling a breath, he grimaced and waved a hand at one of the wood piles, "Fine. Tell them to take what they need. I guess a fire's a fire when what we need is light."

"I guess you're right," agreed Daniel dully, turning away with the rifle clutched in his hands.

Tension and nerves left a pall over the village as night-time enveloped them in a shroud of menacing, smothering black, coated with a thin veneer of silver from the full moon. The hissing crackle of the numerous fires drowned out a lot of noise, leaving only the occasional terrified, muffled weeping to seep out of the communal hut. The inability to hear any approach was nerve-wracking, but a necessary trade-off for being able to see.

Tula's pyre provided the most light. Sam kept her back to it with the transmitters for the claymores and C4's firmly in her grasp. The claymores were set to go off if they were tripped, but she had an override if necessary. Sitting inside a triangle of overturned canoes with the rest of her team, she blocked out the acrid smell of burning flesh and kept her attention where it was needed, focused on the forest and Colonel O'Neill.

Jack, she corrected herself with a pang.

No matter how much her logical, scientific mind insisted she dismiss it as lunacy, Sam couldn't quite forget the sorrow in Janth's face when he warned her about what might happen to the man next to her; the same one who could very well end up holding their lives in his hands. After an internal debate that still resulted in no definitive answers, she made the decision to stick close to him when she could. So had Teal'c and between them they'd watched, and in her case dreaded, any sign of…madness, or whatever the heck else might happen.

The not knowing was driving her crazy. In her pocket, she had a syringe full of enough sedative to down an elephant, if it became necessary.

Not that she believed in things that went bump in the night, she assured herself. What she did believe in, however, was being prepared for all eventualities, no matter how bizarre. She hadn't believed Tula was in danger and look how that had turned out. Pain and guilt bloomed. Like Jack had said, justice would have to wait for its turn after survival was accomplished.

Jack…

She didn't want to think about what she'd have to do if the insane happened; if she had to use the sedative, and it didn't work. But she forced herself to and figured dealing with the pain of that action would take a lot of working through before it eased, if it ever did. Damn! Why did she always fall in love with the ones that made a vortex seem stable? As awful as it sounded, at least to her, she'd realised the exact state of her emotions and feelings for O'Neill on the numb walk back to the village, with his arm supporting the small of her back and refusing to be put off by her stiff shoulders and cold silence; coming straight after the nightmare of finding Tula, it had been a blow. Sam had wanted to deny it, had been desperate to in the circumstances, but she hadn't had the strength left.

It was, she realised, a little pathetic that her defences had crumbled almost the instant he'd changed his attitude to her. For Sam, the single saving grace was that no one else but her knew it, or that she had feelings for him. Somewhere between the start of this mission and today, grudging respect and unwilling attraction had slowly morphed into something powerful and gut-wrenching. That had been the slow crumble. Today had finished the job. Basically, he'd offered support and held her up just because he could. Needing it or not, she'd loved him for that.

Of course, none of that would matter if they didn't survive the night.

Comforting thought…not.

Seconds, minutes, hours ticked by with nothing happening except for nerves being slowly and remorselessly stretched. Then, dangerously, boredom set in. Seeing spots from staring at nothing for too long, Daniel took off his glasses and rubbed his aching eyes. He was doing that a lot he realised, and made a mental note to get a check-up.

"I don't know about you guys," he said, slipping the glasses back into place, "But this waiting is driving me crazy. Has anyone considered that we might be wrong in believing anything this…whatshisname…Janth told Sam?"

"And that would be called the best case scenario," Jack pointed out dryly. "Personally, I won't mind having egg on my face come morning if nothing happens."

"If you're getting bored you can always add more wood to the fires," he suggested, adding tongue-in-cheek, "The one closest to the tree line is getting a bit low."

"Oh, hah hah!"

"I know what you mean, Daniel," Sam intervened with a brief flashing smile in his direction. "The trick is to keep your line of sight moving, and try to keep your mind occupied without losing focus."

O'Neill shrugged, "I just empty mine."

Teal'c's "As do I," saved him from some smart remarks about empty being his usual state of mind.

"Do you ever get bored, Teal'c," asked Jack, genuinely curious and to cover his own edgy nerves.

"No."

"Never?"

"No."

"Cool."

An explosion to their left, followed by another two, one after the other, brought the conversation to a grinding halt.

Sighting the rifle towards where the first boom had come from, Sam said tersely, "That was the claymores, guys. I think we can forget about eggy faces."

"Ah, well, that officially ends my boredom," quipped Daniel, picking up his MP5 with suddenly slippery hands. It didn't go unnoticed.

"Careful which way you point that," said O'Neill, not looking at him as he did the same as Sam, "I don't want to have to explain getting shot in the butt by friendly fire."

"I'll do my best," retorted Daniel, adopting the same position and praying he was only joking, "But no promises."

The forest seemed to erupt. Counting them was impossible, because out in the open they were simply too damned fast. Shooting at them was also tricky for the same reason. Within seconds of first being sighted they were gone as if they'd never been. "Clever bastards!" muttered Sam tightly, ceaselessly searching through the rifle's scope for even a hint of one. "They're inside the perimeter now, except instead of charging, they've gone to ground. Smart, very smart."

Gun smoke drifted between them. Jack swore. He had a feeling Sam was right and a smart critter was a dangerous one, besides the teeth. Also, his ankle was itching like crazy again, inside and out, and climbing his damn leg. What the hell was that about?! Something close to fear skittered up his spine.

"Blow the C4, too," he ordered.

She looked askance at him, but didn't waste time with a protest. A push of a button set of another round of explosive booms that hurt both eyes and ears. The tree line on all sides, already set back from their efforts earlier in the day, disappeared in a wall of pluming, mushrooming fire. Balls of howling flame catapulted inwards and were met with a hail of bullets.

"Good call, Colonel," shouted Sam, aiming to be heard over the clamour, "It looks like they were coming in waves and we just caught the second one."

"Jesus! It's like being stuck in Dante's inferno," yelled Daniel.

The C4 had done more than blow up some of the enemy, it also acted like floodlights illuminating the whole area between the burning forest and the village perimeter.

"I see them," yelled Sam, "Dead ahead."

They all did. It was a bit hard to miss the hunched shapes that gave up on crawling closer on their bellies and started to hurtle straight at them.

By the sounds from the rear, the same was happening back there, too. Firing with studied precision, Jack warned, "Brace yourselves, kids. This is where it gets interesting."

Squeezing off short bursts exactly as he'd been instructed, Daniel found himself getting sucked in by the simple act of seeking, shooting until something went down and then searching for another target. The fact that the targets were getting dangerously close barely impinged on his consciousness, until a hard hand yanked him up by his vest strap and hauled him backwards. Staff blasts kept up a repeated backdrop as Jack, face red and eyes blazing, yelled, "I said fall back, Daniel. Do it now!"

Scrambling over the canoes, they ran at full pelt for the fall-back position; further on, there were more canoes arranged to give them an unlimited field of vision. By the time they reached it, the creatures had already skirted their first one. By the sounds of their savage, reverberating snarling, they were pissed at being thwarted of victims. Jack, Daniel, and finally Teal'c vaulted over and landed inside. "Fire in the hole," hollered Sam as she lobbed a grenade. The first set of canoes was blasted to hell along with a number of the beasts.

Jack whirled in time to see a pair sneaking up behind them from inside the village. He let rip, as did Daniel who turned at his shouted warning. "God! How many of them are there?" he yelled, trying not to feel hopeless.

From all around screams, moans and blood curdling snarls joined the gunfire and the crackle of burning wood. "Just keep shooting until I tell you to stop," snapped Jack. The automaton was fully in charge. Going down on one knee, he kept up a methodical line of fire that managed to stem the tide. Sam and Teal'c set themselves up at their backs and did the same from the opposite direction. It was less easy now as humans raced by, running from things that leapt and tore at their throats.

Wherever she looked, Sam saw mangled bodies. She wasn't sure but she thought she saw a man, minus most of his legs, desperately crawling away to hide, and die. Swallowing back bile and terrified of what she'd see, she risked a quick glance towards the communal hut and relaxed, seeing that the men guarding it had not given way; the creatures it seemed were more interested in the outer defenders initially. That strategy showed an intelligence that was frightening if she stopped to think about it. She didn't.

Catching something furtive out of the corner of her eye, Sam whirled to face the threat just as one of the creatures leapt at her. She got a flash of hate-filled eyes, gnashing teeth and then a massive, blood streaked underbelly. Still squeezing the trigger, she went down under its weight, managing to jam the MP5 into that snapping mouth before it could complete its lunge for her face. It was impossibly strong and suffocatingly heavy. The rifle began to crumple and her arms were nearly pulled out of her sockets trying to hold on. Certain she was doomed and expecting to feel the agonising rip of something sharp, the next thing she knew it was being flicked off her. It landed a few feet away and twisted itself back on its feet frighteningly fast. Looking up, she saw Teal'c spin his staff weapon back around to blast it mid-flight.

There was no time for thanks or shock. Rolling back to her feet, she yanked out her side-arm and began firing.

Time had no meaning inside the village, only kill or be killed. Hours passed in a blur. As such, the sudden cessation of sound was shocking in itself; however, the silence wasn't complete. Sobbing, keening, moaning and all manner of human sounds of distress continued unabated, but the snarling had gone and with no targets left to shoot, so had the bursts of gunfire. Smoke drifted through the embattled village like grey-cloaked wraiths, their long wispy fingers curling around the dead with loving attention. Hearts pounding with adrenaline, wide, darting eyes stinging with the sweat that dripped down from their brows, the survivors waited for the scene to re-erupt, mocking the faint hope that it was over.

They'd become separated when the creatures changed strategy and directed their attention to the communal hut. The Tahatan men defending it did their best with flaming torches, spears and machetes to beat them back. Seeing them struggle, SG-1 had gone to join them.

Now, exhausted, they re-grouped. Daniel said it aloud first, "Is that it? Is it over?"

"No idea," muttered Jack "We can hope, but—"

"I'm all clear here," said Sam, wishing the ringing in her ears would stop. "I don't see anymore of them. What about you guys?"

"It would appear that the creatures have retreated," Teal'c added, "Although that may simply be a ruse designed to have us believing such and so dropping our guard."

"Okay," said Daniel, digesting that pessimistic statement. "So, now what do we do?" He still held the MP5 ready to fire, only now his arms began to tremble as reaction set in.

A hand pushed the rifle down, forcing him to relax his stance. "Now we wait for dawn," Jack told him. "If they don't attack again before then, I think it's safe to assume we've got them licked. Then we go find Janth and his people. I want that crystal back."

"If there are any people left to find," said Daniel, too tired to be logical about it, or realise the nerve he was stomping on. "Janth wasn't lying about the attack, so maybe he was telling the truth about that, too."

Pinning him with a filthy look, O'Neill bit back a retort and turned away, tossing over his shoulder as he did, "Try and get some rest. If anyone wants me, I'll be over there snacking on some little kids."

They watched him go and Daniel felt even worse when Sam and Teal'c stayed silent. Damn! "I forgot about that. Me and my big mouth, huh?"

Shoulders drooping, Sam sighed and raked a trembling hand through her hair to push it away from her face. "I'll go after him."

Teal'c stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm, "No, I will go."

The warning clear in his expression killed her protest before she could utter it. She knew what he was thinking; she was the one who'd started this suspicion when she'd come back from her meeting with Janth. Her company was probably the last thing Jack needed. Nodding, she stepped back to stand beside Daniel. "Let us know if you need us."

"I will do so, Dr. Carter." With that, he inclined his head and then strode after Colonel O'Neill.

Dawn had given way to clear blue skies. Chirpy birdsong and the hustle and bustle of nature in the treetops over their heads followed SG-1 as they made the trek once again towards the caves. After the night they'd just had, it was surreal to say the least. The closer they got, the grimmer they felt. It was a silent foursome that stopped beside the stream and stared at the body snarled in some shrubs on the other side.

There wasn't a great deal left of it. The tattoos running up the spine and radiating outwards was all the identification they needed. "Looks like he overestimated how pleased his gods would be with his gift," said Daniel, dispassionately.

Splashing over, O'Neill turned him over with one boot, twisting his lips in disgust at the sight of a man with half his face missing. They'd got him good. "Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," he said without a shred of compassion.

When the others joined him, he looked over at Sam, recognising the regret that passed over her face that someone else had got to the priest first. "He got his just desserts."

"Justice has indeed been served," added Teal'c beside her.

They were each offering comfort in their own way. Touched, and forced to swallow back some swelling emotions, Sam kept it simple. "I know. Thanks, guys."

She was the first to turn away. "C'mon, let's get this over with."

With rope tied around their waists, O'Neill went first with Carter behind him. Teal'c remained at the top with Daniel. They were under explicit instructions to haul her back out if Carter gave them the instruction. Jack had wanted to go in alone, but Sam had given him a look that warned of upcoming insubordination if he didn't change his mind. Her argument that she had a better chance of negotiating with Janth than he did was also valid enough that he couldn't just dismiss it.

Daniel had been easier to argue with. This was a two-man job at most and Teal'c's strength was needed to pull Carter clear if they were attacked in the tunnel. He'd only agreed she could come along if she accepted his order to cut the rope between them if that happened.

It didn't and they reached the bottom without mishap. Two flashlights probed the darkness. "Clear" said Jack, relaxing when she echoed him. Cutting them and the backpack that had been dragging behind her free, Sam took out the MP5's and handed him his. Hefting it and checking the ammo, he took off the safety and held out his hand for the still heavy pack.

Instead of handing it over, she shrugged it on, saying, "I can handle it, Jack, unless you want me to take point?"

He didn't, so he didn't make an issue of the pack. Twenty minutes later they reached the fourth cave. Two things were obvious before they even reached it; there was no stone blocking the way, and there was a light source just beyond an entrance that had been worn smooth by lots and lots of time.

From beyond it came a scrape and a whistling whine of pain. Jack was reminded of his ex-neighbours old Labrador. At the time, he'd half wished he could convince the stubborn woman to have the poor animal put down. Now, he planned to do it himself. Signalling for them to move slowly and silently, Jack led the way. The entrance itself was wide enough for two to pass, but the other side was a single ledge with steep slopes dropping on both sides. Single file it was then. He signalled for her to keep low and keep her eyes peeled.

The ledge itself was a slope that quickly led to level-ground and a chamber that was… he struggled for a way to describe it, then settled for techno-primitive. Technology, that even he could recognise as being far more advanced than Earth's, seemed to meld with the rock walls. Someone long ago had tried to liven the place up with some plants; ferns and lichen clung and crept everywhere, covering everything they could. It stunk to high heaven as well. Breathing through their mouths to limit the assault on their nasal passages, they used their flashlights to help with a sweep, probing the darkest corners where the wash of unearthly blue light didn't reach.

There were man-sized pods lining every inch of wall, providing the only other light source in the cave. While Sam hunted for a power source, as excited as a kid in a candy store, Jack played the flashlight beam over each one as he passed and came up empty. The ones that weren't lit were cracked and rusted. A few of those gave him a bad moment or two when he saw gaping eye sockets glaring emptily back at him.

Stopping at one, Sam gave him a shock when she brushed up close. Jumping a mile high, he hissed in an embarrassed breath. Her sympathetic and mildly apologetic glance did little to make him feel better. Clamping down on an oath, he gestured towards the darkened pod with its bony remains.

"Malfunction?"

Bending down to examine the controls on the foot of it, she straightened after a few moments and said, "Possibly, or sabotage. I can't really tell with all the damage."

"Over the years, more than a few of us have given up on life and used the stasis chamber to end the misery." A new, and to Sam at least, semi-familiar voice intruded. There was something not just different, but wrong with that precise speech pattern.

They spun, fingers curled around the trigger of their MP5's, searching for a body to go with the voice. "Janth?" asked Sam, taking a step forward to try and find him. "Come out, we won't hurt you."

Something moved, seeming to detach itself from the shadows created by a dip in the rock floor. It shuffled closer, nervously skirting their lights until it could no longer avoid them. The tattered remains of a long tunic and cloak couldn't hide the horrific reality that the hologram had been designed to keep secret.

"Oh my God!" exclaimed Sam, the colour leeching from her face.

Jack felt his guts twist and try to turn inside out. Oh Kerrist!

PART NINE

They hadn't really believed it. Stargate travel through a wormhole was comprehensible because, while out of their realm, it was based on real, measurable and provable scientific foundations. Goa'uld's were aliens, so their ability to take hosts and heal the human body was accepted based on physical evidence. With Janth's claims, they hadn't had anything accept the word of a stranger on a strange world.

Now they believed.

If you looked really hard, you could still see the humanoid aspects of the figure crouched a dozen or so feet in front of them. Matted hair and a smooth brow led to eyes that were shaped like a human, but the irises were amber and ringed with red. The nose was wide and almost flat, above a lipless mouth and protruding jaw. "I'm sorry to distress you with my appearance," said Janth. "Believe me, I can appreciate how monstrous I must look now."

Bent arms and clawed hands had been hugged tight to a concave torso. Now, one of those hands scrabbled to find more tattered rags to pull over himself. His useless attempts to find more cover to hide hit Sam harder than anything else could have. Thoughtlessly, she moved closer. "Let us help you."

His reaction was startlingly instant. Yelping as spasms seemed to seize him from her proximity, Janth scrabbled back until he could go no further. "Do not come closer," he yowled. "Please, please do not come any closer. I can control it better during the day, but you have to understand, your scent…" he trailed off with a whimper.

Appalled, they watched as bones seemed to shift and swell under yellowed skin. Sickened, Jack brought his gun back up and reached out to yank Sam back with him. She didn't resist. "Where are the rest of you?" he asked, going into a cold sweat at the idea of being cornered in here with a whole bunch of them. He'd had a taste of that the last time and wasn't keen on a repeat. Numb from the battle he hadn't really cared, but now, seeing this 'thing' that had once been a man, woke him up to a few facts. He wanted to kick his own ass for allowing Carter to come down here with him.

The trembling stopped enough for Janth to lift his head and answer bluntly, "They are all dead."

"All of them?"

He nodded, "At night and especially during a full moon, we cannot retreat from the blood-lust once it is upon us. They kept attacking the village, and you, until there were no more left." Janth held up one of his arms so they could see the welts and open wounds marring the skin, "I restrained myself so that I could not follow the call."

It was what they'd hoped and yet…

"Now, see, that's what I don't get," said Jack, lowering the gun again only to toss up his hands, "Why don't you hold a grudge over that? They were your friends, your own kind."

"Why would I, when I am partly to blame?" was the question he received in return. "I knew that given sufficient warning you would be able to fend us off. I like to think that in their right minds, they would be glad to be delivered from this…" a claw took in the hell-hole they'd called home.

"You arranged this, didn't you?" Sam realised, "That's why you got all confessional."

"They were planning to attack the village anyway, for the reasons I told you. I simply took advantage of an opportunity to end our reign of terror," he admitted. Coming from who it did, the statement held a trace of nobility that was oddly poignant. "We should have ended it long ago, but unfortunately the instinct to survive is a stubborn and powerful one."

"We can help you if you let us," Sam repeated her earlier offer, ignoring Jack's look of sheer disbelief. She hadn't figured out how yet, but she was willing to give it a try.

"You cannot help me," Janth countered sadly. His head tipped back, the eyes closing as the raspy, grating voice grew stronger, "We were left with all the equipment we would need to try and reverse the change and failed. It is irreversible. Once the code has been altered, it cannot be changed back. Worse, it is like a disease itself, encroaching more each time we transformed. Eventually, we gave up hope and what little humanity we had left."

"What about me?" asked Jack stiffly, sly tendrils of horror and fear snaking between each vertebrae of his spine, "Am I gonna turn into something like you?" The time when he could deny and reject the idea as ludicrous was well and truly over.

At his question, those eyes opened once again and seemed to suck him in while Janth stared at him silently. "It has been 36 hours now, has it not?" At his nod, the matted head with the too long neck, tilted thoughtfully. The scientist buried in the broken man was still very much alive. "What are your symptoms?"

"My heel itches, so does my leg," Jack forced himself to say with a shrug that belied his tension. "And I had a fever the night you took Carter."

The eyes blinked. "That is all?"

Sweat broke out on Jack's back and his heart was thudding with a terror the likes of which he had never felt before. Training and his own contrary nature made him hide it and he shrugged again. "Yeah, that's all."

"Strange," said Janth, clearly surprised, "and you come across as an aggressive man. An alpha male if ever I saw one."

After the sweat, horror and sheer bloody murder of the last few days, Jack abruptly forgot about training and simply lost it. "Excuse me? Can I have a decoder ring here? What the hell are you talking about?" By the end, his voice was hoarse enough to crack. He made a move, as if about to stride over, but checked himself. "Will you stop with the damn riddles and just spit it out for crying out loud. Am I okay, or not?!"

If he could have, he would have made his feelings on the subject a heckova lot clearer. As it was, he wasn't insane enough to risk another bite. His trigger finger got itchy though.

"I cannot give you a definitive answer, Colonel," replied Janth, gasping as he was seized by another, stronger spasm that had him writhing on the floor. Thinking that he was actually going to lose the battle, O'Neill jerked his head to Sam to edge over to the exit. Thankfully it passed. When it was over, it left Janth weak. Tiredly, he warned, "And please control your temper. Like hunger, negative emotions can bring out the worst in me."

"Why did you bring aggression into it?" asked Sam, trying to understand, "Does that affect the process?"

"After we realised our colossal mistake and began to monitor those affected we found the more aggressive the personality, the quicker the change. The fact that your angry friend here is showing little symptoms over a longer period of time…well, let us just say it is a good sign," having said that, he warned, "But, you will not know for certain until the full 48 hours have passed."

Sam looked over at Jack, hope unfurling at the positive news. She saw some of the tension leave his body—some, but not all. She understood. None of them could completely relax until every doubt was erased and only time would do that. Thankfully, it was a short time. By dusk tonight they'd know and she had a feeling in her gut that she wouldn't be needing the sedative, or the more drastic measures she'd been dreading.

In the middle of a bout of cautious optimism, she recalled the Tahatans and their wounded. Her mind wiped, unable to guess how many could now be at risk of this nightmare. "Jack," she said urgently, "The wounded."

His shooting glance and brief shake of his head told her he'd already considered it. Then he turned back to Janth to ask, "Where does this leave you? You're alone now. What will you do?"

His expression was carefully blank, but Janth saw through it and chuckled, "You do not have to worry, Colonel. I have already made arrangements to end my life and destroy any and all possible contagion left by us. Everything you see here will be gone. Your arrival gave me the final impetus I needed and I thank you for that. Despite appearances, I feel somewhat human again. A feeling I thought never to regain."

Guessing what he meant, Jack relaxed enough to say calmly, "Don't mention it. Except before you do whatever it is you plan to, I'd like the crystal back for the DHD."

"Will you swear to me that you will not attempt to leave this planet until it is certain that you are not afflicted?"

"You have my word," said Jack. "Trust me, the last thing I want is a bunch of you guys around, tearing up the local Wal-Mart. And the same goes for the Tahatans, too, if any survived being mauled." He looked at Sam when he finished with, "We'll do whatever we need to do to contain this and make sure it ends with you."

FOUR DAYS LATER

General Hammond heard the knock on his door and despite the briefing only being over an hour ago, he knew who it was. "Come in," he called out and folded his hands to rest on top of his desk. Exactly as he'd expected, Jack O'Neill stepped through and then shut the door behind him. Regardless of the ordeal he'd just been through, his 2IC looked the way he was beginning to suspect was normal for him; a spare wheel without his gun, a mission and somebody to argue with.

He restrained his smile, just barely. "Stand easy, son."

The stiffly held frame relaxed back into a rangy grace that suggested, or rather mislead, an observer into thinking he was harmless, "Thank you, sir."

"You've been through a hell of an ordeal, Jack. I told you to go home and rest. Do I have to make it an order?"

"Ah, no, General, you don't, and I'm just on my way."

"Well, thanks for stopping by to say farewell."

Grimacing, O'Neill dipped his head to look at his boots, "That's not precisely why I'm here, sir."

"No?" Hammond quirked a brow "Then what is it?"

"It's about Dr. Carter, General. I just wanted to let you know that I'm happy to keep her on the team." With both hands shoved into his pockets, he shrugged, "She comes in handy occasionally."

"Oh, she does, does she?" George, not fooled for a minute by the nonchalance, began to enjoy himself. He sat back and tapped his fingers together. "I noticed she gave you a few odd looks during the briefing. Skip a few details did you, Colonel?"

Not that he could imagine what else could have gone wrong without anybody being culpable for it; so much tragedy that even in hindsight had been unavoidable. Despite that, he knew most of his flagship team held themselves responsible, not the least of which for the fatalities amongst the natives. He held a report in his hand from Dr Frasier that confirmed that some of the Tahatans had poisoned themselves rather than risk turning into something less than human. They would never know if that had been necessary or not. He didn't relay that information; it could wait until after they'd had some time to recover. He would be surprised if they didn't already suspect it.

On the other side of his desk, unaware of the things passing through his superior's mind, Colonel O'Neill feigned innocence, "Not in the least, General. You know me, straight as a dye. I would never do that." He paused, thinking about it, "Abydos was the single only ever exception to that, I swear."

"Good to hear," Hammond coughed, "And yes, I do know you, Jack, and just a little more than you think."

"Sir?"

"Never mind." Hammond waved a hand towards his door, "Go and take that leave, Colonel, and I'll see you in two weeks."

Daniel ambushed him outside the General's door. He was lounging against the opposite wall and straightened when Jack stepped out.

"Daniel," he greeted, with a question in his tone, along with a dose of resignation.

In response, Daniel waved a hand at the door he'd just exited from. "Anything for us to worry about?"

They began to walk down the corridor. "No," said Jack. "I was merely advising the General that I'm happy to keep the team as it is."

"Oh, so, does that mean you're seeing Sam as more than a geek now?"

The signs were all there—wide eyes, hands in pockets, blandness in every line. Jack wasn't buying it, "Don't start on me, Daniel."

Daniel pretended not to know what he was talking about. "Start what?"

"Whatever it is you mistakenly think you want to start when you really don't," he countered.

"Okay," Daniel conceded, "But, you do know this is the direction to Sam's lab, right?"

They stopped outside it. "Since we're here, I'd have to be dumb to deny that fact." He held up a hand, "I may not be the brightest bulb in this particular box, but that doesn't mean I avoid all labs."

Following him in, Daniel muttered sotto voice, "Just most of them."

"Hey guys," said Sam brightly, blinking when Teal'c turned up a few moments later. Her smile turned quizzical, "Okay, what am I missing here?"

Teal'c quirked a brow, "If you are searching for something, I am happy to assist. However, as I understand it, O'Neill wishes for us all to eat."

There was a confused pause, "Eat what?" asked Sam.

"Anything," said Jack, "Although I have a hankering for some Mexican myself." He shrugged, "I just figured you guys might be hungry for some good ole' Tauri food after being in quarantine for the last four days."

Sam was nonplussed, "You want us to all go out to a restaurant?"

"Yeah, I think we deserve a little fun now and then, breaks up the mayhem."

Their eyes met and a frisson of awareness rocked her to her toes. They'd been through hell and back with the last mission. The worst part had come after the battle; Janth had been as good as his word and they'd heard and felt the explosion that destroyed the caves, sealing them for good. That hadn't been the end of it though. After that, they'd brought in a medical containment team. No matter what they'd been expecting, it hadn't been to find all of the wounded dead on the second day of quarantine. The rows of white shrouded bodies waiting to be burnt would stay in her mind, all of their minds, for a very long time.

She could see it in his eyes, along with a plea that she go along with his plan; he needed this as an antidote to the horror and wanted it for them all. Sam didn't have to force herself. She really wanted to go. Before she'd even thought it through, she was taking off the safety goggles and turning around to shut down her laptop. Work could wait. "Lead the way," she said, "Although, I need to get changed first."

His smile, complete with dimples, did all kinds of weird things to her stomach. "No problem, we have time."

"Uh, no, we don't actually. I have work, Jack—" Daniel began.

Leading the way out the door, Jack cut in, "You had work. Now you have fun, Daniel. That's an order."

The banter continued all the way down the corridor and Sam's grin just got wider with every word of snark not aimed her way. Their first team night out was off to a great start.

THE END