• Season 7
• SUMMARY : Daniel faces an unexpected threat that could destroy him.
• PG [Hc] [A] [D]

Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter and Dr. Jackson stood silently in the gateroom as they waited for the fourth member of their team to appear.

The Colonel looked from Carter to Daniel, but they quickly looked away. He wasn't surprised when Daniel was late getting himself to the gate room. In fact, he was more surprised when he was on time. But Teal'c? The man had an internal clock. He was never late. Until now.

"Well. This is different." He turned his attention to Major Carter. "Anybody seen Teal'c since he was in the infirmary getting his post-mission exam?"

Sam looked up and glanced over at Daniel, who just shrugged, then diverted her attention back to her CO. "No sir. I'm sure something important must have come up."

Just as she finished defending their fourth, Teal'c strode into the gateroom right up to the end of the ramp where the others stood waiting.

"I regret that I was not here at the appointed time, O'Neill." Teal'c nodded in Jack's direction and then faced the wormhole ready to begin their mission.

Jack studied him for a moment, then glanced at Daniel and Sam, before motioning to Sgt. Davis to dial them up.

"Glad you could finally join us, Teal'c. Ready campers?"

Daniel's mouth dropped open as he stared at Jack. He glanced at Sam but she just grinned as puzzled as he was, before heading up the ramp after the Colonel. He was amazed that Teal'c had gotten off so easy. He looked over at Teal'c who was waiting to follow him up the ramp. He was sure he could see the faintest hint of a grin on his usually stoic face.

~^~^~^~

They emerged from the wormhole and stopped dead in their tracks looking from one to the other as their faces scrunched up in disgust.

"Eww. What's that smell?" Daniel said as he pulled the front collar of his t-shirt up over his nose.

Sam was trying to keep her lips closed tightly so she wouldn't breathe the stench in through her mouth. She quickly covered her nose and mouth with her cupped hand. It was all she could do to keep her breakfast from reappearing.

Jack had smelled a lot of disgusting odors in his day but this definitely without a doubt had them all beat. "The MALP didn't tell us this planet was stinky. Did it Major?"

Major Carter hated worse than anything to have to answer because that would mean opening her mouth. Just the thought of getting that stench inside her mouth made the bile burn in the back of her throat. She kept her lips pressed tightly together and answered with a throaty negative, "Uh uh."

Jack looked at her quizzically. "What was that Major?"

She shook her head from side to side in a negative answer but saw that he had already turned his head in the other direction. She glared at the Colonel. He was just gonna keep on until she breathed in a mouthful of the rank odor surrounding them.

"Carter?" he repeated as he looked around the vicinity of the gate platform.

"No, sir." She answered and then immediately screwed up her face. Oh man, she knew it. Now she could taste it. She flashed a brief glare at her CO then turned to look at Teal'c and Daniel. She stared at Daniel and became concerned when his face started taking on a definite reddish hue. She stepped over to him and saw his eyes were squeezed shut. She placed her hand on his arm. "Daniel?"

He jumped at the unexpected touch and his eyes popped open along with his mouth. "Sam! Jeez!" He was almost gasping for breath. "Oh gross!" He said irritably as his face twisted into a grimace. "Great!"

"Daniel, are you all right?" she asked.

"I was. Sort of. I guess.... I'm not now."

"Were you holding your breath?" She asked incredulously, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice.

"You got a better idea?" He pulled the bandana out of his vest and pressed it over his nose but it was too late. He turned his back to her as his stomach rebelled. After a few dry heaves he straightened up and took offered canteen from her. He took a sip and swished it around before spitting it out on the ground. This is one day he was thankful he hadn't bothered to eat.

Jack stepped closer to Daniel and laid a hand on the top of his shoulder, grinning mischievously.

"Daniel. You know, you can only hold your breath for so long before you pass out?" Jack was really proud of himself. He'd kept the urge to laugh at bay which was more than he could say about his 2IC. She had turned her back on them and he could tell by the way her shoulders shook that she was doing a lousy job of controlling her muffled laughter.

Daniel took another mouthful of water from the canteen, wiping his mouth with his sleeve and sniffed the fabric. Had that stench already saturated his clothing or was it simply that it was so thick in the air, in his mouth, his nose, his lungs that it's all he could smell now? He glared at Jack, then pulled a peppermint out of his pocket, unwrapped it and shoved it into his mouth before rolling the wrapper into a tiny ball and flicking it at Jack, smiling.

Jack turned to look at the M.A.L.P. "Daniel, you might as well send this useless hunk of junk back home." He wondering briefly if odors could travel through a wormhole and whether the gateroom would be getting a nice little present in a few minutes.

Sam had heard the Colonel's disdain for the MALP whenever they seemed to run into angry natives which the MALP had not detected. But it was only a machine doing what it was programmed to do.

"The MALP isn't programmed to detect odors, sir. It's only capable of detecting temperature, seismic activity, analyzing oxygen and other gases, sir." She coughed, tasting the stench of the planet coming back up from her lungs and glanced down again at the MALP. After this even she had to admit the probe was long overdue for some improvements.

"O'Neill. Something approaches." Teal'c pointed in the distance. "There."

The rest of the team looked in that direction at a distant cloud of dust slowly making its way towards them.

Jack pulled out his binoculars then Sam got hers out of her pocket as they focused on who or what was heading in their direction at break neck speed.

"What is it, Jack?" Daniel squinted trying to make out what it was.

Jack watched the advancing dust cloud for a minute trying to determine any potential danger.

"Daniel, dial it up and let General Hammond know we might be back in a hurry, and send the MALP back through." Jack couldn't make out just what it was that was coming at them in an awfully big hurry but he was getting more and more edgy by the second.

"What do you think, Major?" He asked as he continued to watch through his binoculars.

"I don't know, sir. It looks like it could be some sort of large animal. It doesn't look human to me."

Jack had one hand holding the binoculars and his other hand was squeezing his P-90 as he watched whatever it was steadily approach. It was still far enough away that they weren't in immediate danger but it appeared to be picking up speed. The dust cleared around the unknown object for a few seconds, just long enough for him to make out a shape.

"Crap! Get that MALP through now, Daniel!"

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing, sir?" Sam lowered the binoculars to get a better idea of how close the giant creatures were. What she saw was several more of what appeared to be gigantic bugs advancing from several more directions. She'd seen a lot of strange sites on their missions, but this was right up there at the top of her list of the most unusual.

Daniel watched the MALP disappear through the wormhole then turned and looked in the distance as what looked like hundreds of huge alien insects running viciously toward them.

Daniel's eyes were beginning to water. "Is that smell actually getting worse?"

Colonel O'Neill had seen enough, they were so out of here. "Okay, everybody back home."

~^~^~^~

General Hammond had automatically called for a medical team when SG-1's code came through only minutes after going through the Gate. He was relieved but puzzled when all four of them appeared, upright, and in one piece looking as healthy as they had when they'd left. He met Colonel O'Neill at the end of the ramp.

"Report, Colonel ?"

"It seems the planet has a bit of a bug problem, General."

General Hammond looked at the other members of SG-1. They looked a little green around the gills but they didn't add any details. He looked back at the Colonel. "Explanation, Colonel?" He asked as he caught a whiff of a horrendous smell and he absently rubbed at his nose.

"The planet has big, huge, gigantic bugs, General. Mean looking bugs. Carter was actually speechless. Weren't you Major?" Jack saw the General's nose start to scrunch. "Oh, and it stinks, sir. Really, really, ...really bad." He said grinning. "Permission to go... burn my clothes, sir."

~^~^~^~

Daniel and Sam walked down the hall in the direction of his office discussing the planet they'd just visited, all be it, very briefly.

"I must have washed my hair at least a half dozen times and I swear, Daniel, I can still smell that place on me. I'm glad I don't have a date or anything tonight."

"Why do you think it smelled so bad?" Daniel asked, then grinned and added, "the planet, not your hair."

"Who knows?" Sam answered. "They could be an alien form of stinkbug for all we know. You know, I've heard the government has been experimenting for years trying to develop a malodor, a really offensive odor, to use as a non-lethal weapon or a crime fighting tool."

"I thought stinkbugs only smelled bad if you squashed one."

They reached Daniel's office and he opened the door and stepped inside.

She laughed as she followed him inside. "The stinkbug thing was just an example, Daniel. But we are talking 'alien' bugs here. Maybe they stink all the time. If it's purpose was to make people stay away then they certainly accomplished that."

She followed him over to the coffee maker. "Maybe the government should find out how to contain and control the odor on that planet and use that for a weapon." She added, snickering.

"Want a cup?" He asked as he motioned to the extra mugs.

"No thanks. I've got to get back to my lab. Maybe we shouldn't suggest to anyone about the 'malodor' weapon potential of that planet, though. Knowing our luck, we'd be the ones who would have to go back."

"My lips are sealed." Daniel made a zipping motion across his mouth.

Sam chuckled. "Sealed as in 'no air reaching your lungs while you're holding your breath' sealed?"

"Ha. Ha." Daniel had been holding his breath, but not closing his ears. He'd heard the conversation between her and Jack while he was trying to keep from breathing in that stench. "No, sealed as in 'trying to answer your commanding officer with your lips glued shut' sealed."

She playfully smacked his arm and glanced over at the worktable. "Wow. Looks like SG-9 brought back lots of goodies for you to look at."

Daniel set the mug down and walked over to the table. He picked up a statue, turning it around in his hands. He laid it down and ran his fingers over the writings etched in the smooth, dark surface of the tablet lying there.

It looked like some form of trinium, except that this was much blacker. He glanced over at Sam unsure whether he had said that aloud or not, then his attention was drawn to another artifact.

He picked up the ornate box, surprised that it was not nearly as heavy as he thought it should have been. The box was about twelve inches square and four inches tall. The top had writings written in an oval shape. And at first glance they were similar if not exactly the same language as those on the tablet.

He ran his fingers over the intricate carvings. Sgt. McCleary had sent pictures of some of the artifacts they'd accidentally stumbled upon on their last mission. As soon as he'd seen the photos and some of the footage they had shot in the buildings, he'd implored General Hammond to permit SG-9 to bring back as many specimens of this ancient culture as possible. When Daniel had recognized the writing as similar to that he'd seen on Ernest's Planet he'd been waiting anxiously to see them. Now that he was actually holding them in his hands he was awestruck.

Sam stepped closer trying to see what had him so captivated. "What is it Daniel?"

"Oh. Uh. It's a box, Sam" He answered, never taking his eyes off the treasure from the past he held in his hands.

She looked at him and grinned. "Have fun." She patted his shoulder and walked out of the room, stopping at the doorway. She turned around and looked back at him as he laid the box down and picked up the tablet taking it over to his worktable. He sat down on the tall stool and laid the artifact down carefully on a cloth and began studying the writings with a magnifying glass. She smiled at the familiar sight. This is one thing she had missed so much when Daniel had been ascended. Grinning to herself, she stepped out into the corridor to head for her lab.

~^~^~^~

Daniel had been diligently transferring the writings to paper for hours. He laid the magnifying glass and pencil down and rubbed at his tired eyes. He stood up, holding his arms above his head, stretching his stiff muscles. He was excited about the artifacts SG-9 had brought back. It was one of the rare opportunities he'd had to study the languages of the original four races.

He looked down at his watch. Only 8:00? It seemed liked he'd been at it a lot longer than that. As he stared at the watch he noticed the seconds were not changing. He tapped the face with his finger then held it to his ear. Time for a new watch evidently. He took the useless watch off and put it in the drawer. Maybe he could get by with just getting a new battery for it. He looked up at the clock on the wall. 3:35? ...In the morning? No way. That couldn't be right. Could it? Well, it was no wonder he was stiff from sitting so long.

He glanced down at the tablet trying to decide whether to go on home or work a little longer. He ran his fingers along the grooves of the carvings. He was always in awe of pieces of the past that had survived thousands, even millions of years. And who knows how long he would have the artifacts before they were shipped off to Area 51.

Decision made, he stepped over to the coffee maker and poured the remainder into his mug then started a new pot. He took a long sip then set his mug down on the table. He pushed the cloth wrapped tablet to the side and picked up the box.

The box was unusual in that it was too large to have just been a collection of writings like the tablet. There were no buttons or openings that he could see. The language covering the box appeared to be similar to that on the ancient tablet. He was intrigued as to why a planet that had at least for a short time been inhabited by such an advanced race was now deserted. He was hoping the artifacts would shed some light on the mystery. Picking up the magnifying glass and pencil he went back to work.

The writings on top were written, going around in an oval shape. He could make out a few of the words from what he'd studied from the many diaries Ernest had kept and from the time the knowledge of the Ancients had been downloaded into Jack's brain. And some of the words he...well, just knew. Possibly souvenirs from Oma.

He turned it over to see if anything was written there, too. There were symbols but they were different somehow. He flipped it back and forth a few times to compare the two. That was odd. Evidently it was the same language, actually it looked like they might be the exact same words on both sides except those underneath were a mirrored version of the writings on top.

He turned it back over and as he did the box shifted and slipped from his fingers, dropping onto the cloth. He heard a faint 'click', and a hidden seam along the top of the box popped open.

Daniel jumped up and flung his hands out away from the box and stared at it, waiting to see if anything else unexpected was going to happen. After a minute he sat back down on the stool and picked up a pencil, slipping it into the newly opened seam as he tried to pry it up to look inside.

He lifted one side up and opened it the rest of the way. Looking inside, he saw a partial reflection of himself staring back. He opened the other half of the lid and looked down at an oval mirror set in a narrow frame surrounded by alien writing.

He reached in and picked it up. The reflective surface had the appearance of being almost liquid. As he looked at his reflection it was hypnotizing. It felt almost as if he could drown in the mirror's liquid pool if he looked at it for very long. As he stared into the mirror a wave of vertigo swept over him.

He tore his eyes away to shake off the feeling of disassociation, and turned the mirror over to see if there were any writings on the back. The frame began to feel warmer in his hands and his eyes began to grow heavy with needed sleep. He laid the mirror back in the box and closed his eyes as he lay his head down and fell into a deep sleep.

~^~^~^~

"Carter, have you seen Daniel?" Jack had called him several times the night before with no luck.

She slowed her stride to let him catch up with her. "No, I haven't, sir."

"He did go home last night, didn't he?"

"I don't know. He got some artifacts SG-9 brought back from P4X-929 to study and he was pretty wrapped up in them when I left him in his office yesterday."

They walked down the corridor toward Daniel's office and when they reached the closed door they stopped and listened.

Jack turned the knob and they peered inside. Daniel was sound asleep with his head down on the table. "Just as I thought. Burned the midnight oil again." He said quietly.

Sam looked at Jack and grinned. "Not really surprised, are you, sir?"

"No Carter."

"You're not going to wake him are you?"

Jack stared at the sleeping man and looked at her. "If I wake him up now he'll just start working on those rocks again, won't he?"

She grinned. "Most likely, sir."

Jack pulled the door closed carefully. He looked down at his watch.

"The briefing isn't for a few more hours. Maybe since he's getting some sleep he'll actually be on time."

She grinned and chuckled before turning to go. "We can always hope, sir."

~^~^~^~

General Hammond strode into the afternoon briefing where SG-1 was scheduled to discuss their next mission. His eyes searched the room as he walked up to the table.

"Where's Dr. Jackson?"

Jack and Sam exchanged glances, each knowing that their absent archaeologist was probably still caught up in studying the artifacts brought back by SG-9. Or still asleep.

"General. Maybe I should hunt him down and drag his scrawny civilian behind, to the briefing, sir?"

General Hammond hid a grin as he listened to Colonel O'Neill. "I guess you'd better, Colonel. We'll postpone the briefing for one hour." He turned and walked back to his office, shaking his head and grinning.

Jack, Sam, and Teal'c stood up. "Do you want me to come with you sir?" Sam knew Jack had a lot of patience for Daniel's obsessive fascination with artifacts, but she also knew her commanding officer didn't like it when a briefing had to be rescheduled. So if she didn't sound enthusiastic to join him in his retrieval of Daniel... it was because she wasn't.

"No, I'll take care of it, Major." Jack turned and walked out of the briefing room on a mission to extract one very absent archaeologist.

~^~^~^~

The flash of a weapon blast shot out toward him and Daniel jerked himself awake. His arm flung out, knocking the empty mug off the table and it shattered onto the floor. His eyes darted around the room, confused momentarily as to where he was. His heart was pounding in his chest and his brain felt like he'd had some of Janet's mind numbing pain killers. Jeez, what a dream.

He remembered working on the translations but he couldn't recall when he'd fallen asleep. The few hours he had slept though, had been anything but restful, as bizarre dreams played over and over in his mind.

He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands trying to force his eyes to focus a little better, feeling lines and creases along the side of his face. He looked down at the half-opened ornate box holding the mirror. He picked it up looking at his reflection staring back at him. Running his hand along his face, he had evidently fallen asleep on the closed top half of the box because he had impressions of the carvings along one side of his face.

He laid the mirror back inside, slipping part of the cloth it had been lying on, inside one of the seams before he closed it the rest of the way. He remembered it slipping out of his hands so maybe it had opened then, he thought. Everything was so fuzzy. He looked down at his wrist, then remembered his watch had quit the day before. Squinting up at the clock on the wall, he picked up his glasses, slipped them on and looked again.

// Oh crap! // He was late for the briefing. Again. Jack was gonna have a fit. He jumped up and rushed to the door as fragments of the shattered cup crunched under his boots. He yanked the door open and ran right into Jack almost knocking them both down.

"Whoa there. Where's the fire?" Jack grabbed Daniel's shoulders and steadied him.

"Sorry Jack." Daniel straightened his glasses and backed up.

"You missed the briefing." Jack started to make a sarcastic remark since he'd come all the way up here to chew someone out, but stopped himself as he studied the haggard appearance of the man before him. "You feelin okay? You look terrible."

"Gee. Thanks, Jack."

Daniel turned around and walked back into his office over to the coffee maker but saw it was empty.

He busied himself with making another pot, then stood with his back to Jack waiting nervously for the inevitable speech about punctuality.

Daniel waited a few moments, not hearing the expected lecture, but feeling eyes boring into the back of his head.

"General Hammond is angry."

It was a question and a statement. He didn't dare turn around to meet Jack's eyes for fear that he would see the irritation on his face that he knew he had every right to see there.

Remembering the shattered cup littering the floor, he turned around, dragging the wastebasket over and knelt down picking up pieces of ceramic and dropping them in.

Jack continued to watch then stepped around so he could see Daniel's face. "He wasn't happy about it. Neither am I. He postponed it for an hour. Think you can manage to make it to that one?"

Daniel picked up as much of the remnants as he could by hand and stood up, stepping over to the freshly brewed coffee. He picked up an old cup from the shelf, peering inside it, then wiped it out with a napkin. He slowly filled the cup, cringing at Jack's words, but knowing that it could have been a lot worse. "Yeah, I..uh..I'm really sorry, Jack. I'll go grab a shower and get woke up. I'll be there on time. I promise." He quickly walked out of his office with his coffee in one hand.

~^~^~^~

Daniel turned off the shower and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his waist. He pulled another one off the rack and rubbed it briskly over his hair as he walked out to his locker. That's all he'd needed. Just some caffeine and a cold shower and he felt like a new man. All be it a very chilly, somewhat fidgety, new man.

He finished drying off and opened his locker. He quickly dressed in his BDU's and sat down on the bench shoving his feet in his boots. Suddenly the room shifted sideways as he steadied himself, holding onto the edge of the wood. Concentrating on keeping his eyes open, he stared across the room trying to focus on something solid and unmovable, hoping it would stop the rest of the world from tilting. A few minutes passed and he felt like he was on solid ground again. He wiped the beads of sweat out of his eyes. How could he be sweating when he still had goosebumps from the shower?

He bent down to tie his boots and noticed his hands were shaking. Holding his hands out in front of him, he stared at them, clenching and unclenching them a few times. Nervous energy was buzzing through his fingers and it was really uncomfortable. Squeezing his hands into fists and releasing them didn't help. He wiped his moist palms on his pants and finished tying his boots. Maybe cold showers and too much coffee first thing when you wake up wasn't such a good idea after all, he thought.

~^~^~^~

The mission was supposed to be short and sweet. Retrieval of a downed UAV. Which everyone knew was one of Jack's most favorite things to do. Right up there with cleaning the refrigerator after he'd been gone on an unexpectedly long mission that lasted longer than his expiration dates. That and scraping bird droppings off his shiny just waxed truck. After walking almost five hours following the locator beacon, they discovered the downed UAV lodged in a big pool of thick mud.

Jack stepped up to the edge of a large pit filled with a thick slippery looking substance. It didn't appear to be over three or four feet deep and there were buzzing insects flitting around, landing occasionally on the thick surface. He stood staring out at the slime with his arms crossed for a moment then he rested one arm on his P-90 and waved his other hand in the direction of the downed bird. "Well, Major. She's all yours."

"Sir?"

Colonel O'Neill turned around and stepped over to a nearby boulder and sat down. He looked up at his 2IC who was still staring at him. He cocked his head and looked at her through his dark sunglasses. "Why are we here, Major?"

Sam looked questioningly at her other teammates and back to her CO. "To retrieve the UAV, sir."

"And why, exactly, do we need to do that?"

She wasn't sure where he was going with the odd questions but she'd play along. "To study the data it recorded before it went down, Colonel. The readings it took on this planet could be valuable."

"And who, here... raise your hands...is going to be studying it?" He glanced briefly at Teal'c and Daniel then his gaze finally settled on his 2IC.

She looked around at her team mates making a mental note to kill Daniel who was trying his best to stifle a laugh. And as for Teal'c, well, she could tell he was stifling a laugh, too, somewhere under that stony exterior.

She slipped her hand up and then down quickly, not knowing if he was serious or not about the hand raising request. "That would be me, sir."

Jack then motioned again with his hand toward the UAV about four yards from the edge of the mud slop and nodded at her as if to say, "It's your toy, you go get it."

She unbuckled her P-90 as she continued to glance around not seeing anyone else preparing to help. She laid it and her backpack on the ground. She wondered if this perhaps had anything to do with the fact that the last UAV SG-1 had retrieved had become a temporary home for a swarm of alien bees. It wasn't her fault that they evidently preferred the human male species since she was the only one who wasn't stung repeatedly. Okay. She guessed this was their way of getting revenge. She looked out at the crippled craft determined to show them she wasn't stooping to their level.

Taking the rope out of her pack, she made a loop at one end and started tossing it out, trying to snag the wing sticking up out of the thick brown sludge. She finally hooked it on the umpteenth try, tossing a triumphant glance at her team mates, and started tugging at it to dislodge it.

"Way to go, Sam." Daniel told her, very impressed.

Jack couldn't help but laugh. "Well well. Cowgirl Carter. Where did you learn to lasso like that? I thought you were a city girl."

She ignored the comments and finally had it a few yards from the edge when Daniel was overcome with guilt and walked over beside her. "Need some help, Sam?"

She glared at him and stubbornly turned her attention back to the UAV, and kept pulling. "No thank you Daniel. I think I can manage by myself." She tugged and tugged and realizing it had evidently gotten caught on one of the downed limbs in the mud pool, she readjusted her grip and prepared to yank it loose.

She silently counted to three and yanked with all her might. It came up out of the mud with a slurping sound and landed with a thud right in front of her right after she had lost her footing and fallen on her backside. The thick slimy mud covering the UAV was slung off the fiberglass body of the craft and spattered everywhere.

She could hardly see through her tear filled eyes she was laughing so hard as Jack, Daniel and Teal'c stood staring at her with stunned mud covered faces.

~^~^~^~

Sam was the last one back to the campsite. At least she'd been nice enough to let the men get cleaned up in the stream first. Of course they had twice as mud on them than she did so it was the least she could do. Now as they all gathered around the campfire heating up their MRE's and drinking coffee, the atmosphere was relaxed. They had all gotten a good laugh from the mud slinging incident although she was definitely going to be watching her back for a while just in case any of them tried to get even. Maybe she could convince General Hammond that SG-1 should probably not be assigned any "retrieval of scientific equipment" missions for awhile.

She grinned to herself then looked around the campfire noticing someone missing. "Where's Daniel?"

Jack motioned back toward one of the tents. "The kid looked like crap, even Teal'cs unique coffee wasn't keeping him awake. I told him to go get some sleep before he fell off his log asleep into the fire. And before you say it, Carter, yes I made him eat......sort of."

She stared at him not saying a word.

Colonel O'Neill finally looked up at the eyes he could feel boring into him.

"All right. He talked me into letting him take his MRE back to his tent to eat..... I stepped in it behind the trees over there when I went to take a leak."

Sam chuckled at the lengths Daniel would go to, to get out of eating the MRE's. Not that she could really blame him. She glanced down into the foil packet and sniffed. She stared at it then decided she wasn't that hungry herself.

"Is there something wrong my calculations in the caffeine drink I prepared, O'Neill?" Teal'c inquired.

"No, no,no, Teal'c. Daniel likes it nice and thick like that. Doesn't he, Carter?"

She glared briefly at her CO then quickly glanced down at her watch, "Wow, Look at the time. I'll take first watch, if that's all right, sir?" She was already standing up and putting away her garbage before even hearing his reply.

"O'Neill, I do not believe DanielJackson has left the SGC for the past two nights. Is it possible that he is burning both his candles?" Teal'c added, concern in his voice.

Sam straightened up and looked at her as she suppressed a laugh. Jack briefly glanced at her with an amused expression, then with a serious voice that impressed even her he told Teal'c, "I think what you mean is "He's burning his candle at both ends" Teal'c."

Teal'c raised his brow and looked at him quizzically. "One cannot burn but one side of a candle, O'Neill. As the wick on the underside would cease to stay lit."

"You sure know your candles, T."

Sam's thoughts turned to Daniel. She was concerned about his unhealthy nocturnal habits, of course, but she couldn't very well condemn him. She too, had pulled her share of all-nighters, although not quite to the extremes that he did on a regular basis. She tried to think back the last couple of days whether she had seen Daniel in the commissary or seen him eat anything but a power bar or two when they were off-world. She couldn't think of any. How he managed to stay lean and strong was beyond her. Maybe he was one of those people who, totally unaware, ate while they were asleep. She chuckled to herself deciding that that theory wasn't possible since to sleepwalk one would actually have to... sleep.

~^~^~^~

Jack liked to take the last watch. That way he wouldn't be so groggy when they had to break camp and head out early in the mornings. And for some reason right before dawn was usually the time when "undetected life forms" liked to hit their camp. The temperature on the planet had been at least up in the 70's when they'd arrived but it had cooled off considerably during the night.

It was odd how different the planets could be, with the exception of trees, of course. On earth he would be hearing the usual night sounds of crickets and tree frogs, maybe a wild coyote or an owl. But here it was silent. The only sound was the crackling of the wood as it burned in the middle of their campsite and what sounded like his 2IC softly snoring from her tent. She never did believe him when he told her she snored. One of these missions he was gonna borrow Daniel's digital recorder.

The heat from the fire felt good against the chilly night air. There was something about a crackling fire that made you feel warm even when you were covered in goose bumps from head to toe. One of the reasons he'd built a fireplace in the family room of his house was the way a cozy fire was one of the few things that actually helped him relax.

Suddenly a blood-curdling scream broke through the night. He jumped to his feet, his hands tightening around his weapon. Sam and Teal'c came rushing out of their tents stumbling to their feet just as another scream filled the air. They all realized at the same moment where the scream had originated from.

Jack rushed over to Daniel's tent and yanked the flap aside. He slipped inside on his knees beside Daniel's sleeping bag and watched as the young man yelled something in some language Jack couldn't possibly understand. He yelled out again and swung his arms at an unseen threat. Jack ducked just in time then quickly grabbed his flaying wrists and pinned them to the ground as he knelt over him.

"Daniel! Wake up!"

Another stream of unintelligible words filled the tent as he turned his head from side to side struggling to get loose from Jack's grasp, his eyes open but unfocused.

"Crap! Daniel wake up!" It was all he could do to hold him down.

"Teal'c! Get in here!"

Quickly the large man slipped in beside Jack, seeing DanielJackson trying to wrestle out of Jack's grip. "How may I assist, O'Neill?"

One of Daniel's arms broke free and just missed Jack's head. "I don't know. Slap him or something."

Teal'c raised a brow and looked questioningly at Jack. "Are you requesting that I physically assault DanielJackson?"

More moans and garbled words filled the small space. "You got a better idea Teal'c?" Daniel's arm swung out wildly knocking the flashlight out of Teal'cs hand and it rolled casting flickering shadows in the confined space.

Teal'c looked down at his terror-stricken friend, paused, then his booming voice filled the tent. "DANIELJACKSON, YOU MUST AWAKEN!"

Daniel bolted upright, knocking Jack backwards, as he looked around frantically.

"Crap, Daniel! What was that?" Jack felt around for the flashlight trying to keep his eyes on Daniel. He finally located it and pointed it at him. He started to speak but stopped when he saw Daniel, his knees drawn up to his chest with his arms wrapped around them, shaking all over.

Jack glanced at Teal'c and they exchanged puzzled looks. Teal'c tilted his head to the side and raised his brow and Jack shrugged his shoulders. Neither one knew how best to handle the incident they had just witnessed. Jack motioned for Teal'c to wait outside. He nodded and slipped out of the tent, lowering the flap behind him.

Jack watched helplessly as Daniel continued trembling. Whether it was from the cold or fear, maybe a little of both, he couldn't tell. He scooted over beside him. He'd seen him have nightmares before but this was a doozy. If Daniel had only yelled out words in English instead of who-knows-what language, maybe he would have a clue as to what had triggered the latest scarefest.

Jack laid his hand on Daniel's shoulder feeling the body still trembling beneath his fingers.

"Daniel?"

"I'm fine, Jack." His muffled shaky voice could barely be heard.

"Right."

After a few moments Daniel turned away and slid back down into his sleeping bag, wrapping it around him.

The silence became more and more uncomfortable as Jack gently lay his hand on the sleeping bag covering his still trembling friend. The occasional quivers slowed steadily until the shaking ceased. He didn't know whether to press the issue or let it go until morning, which, as he looked at his watch, was not far off. He rubbed his hand over his face. All of a sudden he felt worn out.

"Daniel?"

The sound of Daniel's breathing was slow and steady as quiet snores began to fill the tent. Jack crawled over to the tent opening and stood up taking one last look before he closed the flap.

What a night. Or rather morning. He looked over at the fire and saw his other two team mates staring questioningly at him as they sat with their sleeping bags wrapped around their shoulders drinking what smelled like coffee. He adjusted the brim of his cap and gripped his P-90.

"He's asleep. I'll check the perimeter.......We'll pack it up when I get back and head home."

~^~^~^~

Dr. Frasier pumped up the blood pressure cuff once again and slowly let the air out as she listened intently. Once it was done she ripped the Velcro cuff apart and folded it, laying it down on the gurney as she kept an eye on her patient.

"Your blood pressure's a little high, Daniel. Anything happen on the planet that I should know about?"

"No. Not unless you mean something like Sam throwing mud all over us." Daniel replied, hoping his teammates hadn't mentioned to her his bad dreams.

Janet grinned. She had already heard three different versions of the UAV story.

"Well, that's not exactly what I meant. I was thinking more on the lines of something stressful that might have affected your blood pressure."

"Well, if you'd seen the look Jack gave Sam after that mud hit him..."Daniel stopped when he realized his attempt to draw the subject away from himself wasn't working.

Janet stood there, staring at Daniel with her 'I'm-not-buyin-it' look and just waited while Daniel squirmed.

"Uh. Sorry. Let's see, stressful?...Nope. I can't think anything...Can I go now?" He started to move to the edge of the gurney but was stopped by Janet's hand on his arm.

She liked to think she could read SG-1 pretty well by now, and something about Daniel was just not quite right, although she couldn't seem to put her finger on it. He was a little too fidgety. Even for Daniel.

"When is your next mission?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. That's when it's daylight on PRY-849."

"I'll check it again tomorrow, then. If you notice anything unusual before then I expect you back here and get it checked out."

"Sure." Daniel hopped off the table, glad to finally get back to his office.

She watched him rush out of the infirmary.

~^~^~^~

Sam walked into the commissary and picked up some fruit salad and a muffin before heading over to the coffee machine that ran 24 hours a day here. She saw Colonel O'Neill sitting by himself and he nodded to her. She took her coffee and snacks over to his table and sat down across from him.

"Sir."

"Carter."

"Where's Daniel and Teal'c?"

Jack swallowed the bite of peach pie before he spoke. "Teal'c is helping Siler move some things to get ready for the big gate overhaul. Daniel should be finished with Frasier by now but I haven't seen him since I left him in the infirmary. He's probably holed up in his office again."

Neither one of them had brought up the incident with Daniel on the planet and she wasn't sure if she should now. The walk back to the Stargate had been filled with forced words and uncomfortable silences.

"Do you think they'll have the gate put back together by the time we get back from our seven-days of downtime?" Jack asked.

"Well, they've been getting things prepared for weeks so that any delays should be minimal. There's no reason why the new iris shouldn't be in place in the time allowed. The crew doing the maintenance on the gate system can work concurrently with the crew replacing the iris. They're going to be working around the clock, so, yes sir, to answer your question, it should be finished well before we get back."

Sam took a bite of her muffin and looked around the room as she washed it down with her coffee. She looked back at her CO across the table from her. "What are your plans for the week the gate is down, sir?"

Jack stared down into his coffee cup. "I'm going to the cabin. Not to fish though. The roof needs fixed before cold weather sets in." He looked up to meet her gaze. "And you, Major? Big plans?"

"Not really 'big'. I haven't seen my two nieces in ages and since I now have a nephew as of two months ago, I'm anxious to do my 'Aunt Sam' thing." She grinned and lowered her eyes. She had thought about sticking around the base and watching the repairs but had decided to get away for a few days instead.

Jack stood up and took his jacket off the back of the chair and put it on. "Well, I'm gonna head on home. I'll see you at the briefing tomorrow. And if you see Daniel before you leave tell him to go home."

~^~^~^~

Daniel strode quickly to the elevator and punched the button several times waiting impatiently for it to reach his floor. His fingers tapped nervously against the wall. That was the last time he was answering his office phone until he was finished translating the artifacts. If anyone needed him they'd just have to take a number and wait till he had time. He'd been back in his office barely an hour when the phone started ringing off the wall, or rather off his desk.

He was finally beginning to make some progress in the translations and it seemed that this was the day that everyone needed him to read something or explain something. How could he get any work done with all these interruptions?

The doors finally opened and he glanced briefly at the airman who stepped out as he rushed in. He hit the button for his floor, leaning back against the wall as it ascended floor by floor, wiping the sweat from his face. For some reason he had been too warm ever since he'd come back from their mission this morning. A headache was beginning to settle around his temples, too, and he let his head rest back against the cool steel surface and closed his eyes.

<<DANIEL >>

As soon as he heard his name echo around him he jumped, his breath catching, as his eyes darted around the small space, already knowing that no one could possibly be there. He watched uneasily as the numbers ascended slowly one by one and he gripped the wall bar with sweaty palms.

The doors finally slid open and he rushed out of the elevator glancing back a few times as he hurriedly made his way down the corridor to his office. He stepped inside and quickly closed the door, locking it behind him. He pressed his back against the door as his eyes darted around the office, and listened as his heart pounded in his ears. He ran a shaky hand through his sweat dampened hair and tried to slow down his breathing before his heart pounded out of his chest.

// Jeez. What's the matter with me? //

He walked over to the coffee maker and poured the leftover cold coffee into his mug with shaking hands and zapped it in the microwave while he started a new pot. He sat down at the table of artifacts he'd been working on. His attention was drawn to the mirror once again and he sat the cup down and lifted the frame up to examine it closer. He'd already translated a small part of the inscriptions on it and on the tablet.

<<<DANIEL >>>

He jumped, almost dropping the mirror, and looked nervously around the room. He squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. The headache was getting worse. Grabbing the bottle on his desk he shook a couple of aspirin out in his hand and swallowed them.

// Get a grip, Daniel. //

He laid the mirror down and stepped over to the coffee maker, filling his cup the rest of the way. He held the cup in both hands letting it warm his chilled fingers, still glancing around nervously. It was strange how one minute he seemed hot and the next he was freezing.

Walking over to his computer he sat down to check through the notes he had compiled about Ernest's planet. Hopefully if he focused on the translations again it would help calm his frayed nerves. Assuming he didn't have any more interruptions to break his concentration, that is. He glanced over at the phone, then reached over and turned off the ringer.

~^~^~^~

Daniel struggled to focus. The sound of the alarm clock screamed at him through the fog saturating his brain. He had made sure and set the alarm on his desk just in case he fell asleep in his office again. Which, of course, he had. Their next mission wasn't scheduled until shortly after noon but the briefing would start in just a little over an hour and he wasn't going to be late again.

He finally lifted his head up and squinted around the dimly lit room with one eye. He rubbed his eyes and looked down at his wrist before remembering he still hadn't bought a new battery for his watch. After a pot of coffee he might be able to get both eyes to stay open. After two pots he might even be able to get his legs to work, too.

He had stayed up until almost 4:00 in the morning. That was the last time he remembered checking the time anyway. He hadn't slept but a few hours but his sleep was still filled with bizarre dreams.

After starting the coffee, he picked up the notes he had scribbled sometime during the night. Looking them over while the coffee brewed, for some reason he didn't remember writing some of them and yet it was his handwriting.

The further he got with the translations the more excited he became. The ancient tablet told of a device, possibly a weapon, at the very least a deterrent, to fight the Goa'uld. From what he could determine so far, the device, whatever it was, actually was intended as a tool to keep the Goa'uld away from the meeting places on the planets where the Asgard, the Nox, the Ancients, and the Furlings would gather. But for some reason they'd abandoned that plan and altered the technology to develop the weapon described on the tablet. All he had to figure out now was what the device was, where it might be located, how it worked, and why they gave up on it...Sure...piece of cake.

He stepped over and filled his cup, looking up at the clock on the wall. He figured he had time to shower and hopefully get a lot more awake before the briefing.

~^~^~^~

Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter met at the door to the briefing room. They walked in and nodded to Teal'c who had already taken his usual seat at the long table. It wasn't until they'd gotten closer that they noticed Daniel was already there, with his head down, resting on his hands that were folded on the table in front of him.

They looked at each other, surprised to see Daniel early for a change. They took their seats to wait for General Hammond. Major Carter, who was seated next to Daniel reached over and lay her hand on his back whispering his name.

"Daniel?" She said softly as she tried to wake him before the General came in. She leaned closer and squeezed his arm. "Daniel?"

His head popped up and he looked around at the faces staring back at him. He rubbed his eyes with his palms and put his glasses on, sneaking another glance at his teammates who were still watching him.

Jack leaned forward to the man seated across from him, studying the dark circles and sheen of perspiration covering his face. "Don't tell me you slept on the base again last night."

"Okay... I won't." He picked up the cup in front of him on the table, took a sip and made a face at the cold bitter brew.

"Daniel?"

"Jack?"

"You do realize you have a house to go to now, right?"

Daniel looked blearily at Jack and rolled his eyes. "Gee. I'd forgotten that, Jack. Thanks for reminding me."

"Did we not sleep well last night, Daniel?" Jack leaned back in his chair keeping his eyes focused across the table.

"WE?" Daniel stared at Jack. "I slept fine. I wouldn't have a clue as to how well YOU slept though." The last thing he was in the mood for was Jack's twenty-questions this early in the day. At least he guessed it was early. He seemed to be losing track of time without a watch. And for some reason he was having a bad streak of luck in that department lately.

"I'm here early, Jack. I thought you'd be pleased."

"Oh I'm pleased as punch, Daniel."

General Hammond strode into the room interrupting any more discussion as they got down to business discussing the next mission just hours away.

~^~^~^~

Dr. Frasier looked over the chart once again, re-checking the numbers. She looked up at Daniel who was waiting for clearance to go get suited up for the mission. She realized it was the last mission SG-1 or any of the SGC teams would be on for another week, but it didn't hurt to be cautious.

His blood pressure was still higher than normal for him. Not anything alarming, just elevated. But what had her concerned was the five pounds he'd lost since she had seen him two days ago. Of course she realized he could have been leaning a little too much to one side on the scales or had something in his pockets two days ago that he didn't have now, for all she knew. Although he acted almost jumpy she assumed it was nervous energy due to a lack of proper sleep. The dark circles under his eyes told her more than she would have gotten from direct questions, she was sure of that. Not enough reason to ground him, but enough reason to keep an eye on him.

Daniel looked up as she made her way over to stand in front of him.

"Am I done?" He looked expectantly at her waiting for her to dismiss him so he could get ready for the mission. "If I'm late, Jack'll kill me."

"You're clear to go, Daniel, but.." She held her hand up to stop him from taking off before she finished. "But I'm concerned about a few things on your tests. Did you know you've lost five pounds in the past two days?"

"Well...No...But what's the big deal?"

"Probably nothing, maybe something. Have you noticed any unusual physical symptoms lately?"

He thought for a moment. He was incredibly groggy when he first woke up in the mornings, but he assumed that was due to a simple lack of sleep. Some pretty brutal headaches. Other than that he felt fine. Better than fine actually. He'd had an incredible amount of energy lately which is why he'd been able to stay awake and work on the translations for more hours that even he normally could have. The other stuff, the voices, the bad dreams. He really didn't think it would be a good idea to mention any of that right before a mission.

"I feel fine, Janet. Are we done?"

She stared at him. He certainly sounded okay. A little too caffeinated she would guess but that was nothing unusual for Daniel. She looked back down at his chart. Maybe she was overreacting.

"All right, Daniel. But as soon as Cassie and I get back I want to do a full blood work-up on you. Promise me you'll let me know if you notice anything before then. Okay?"

He jumped off the table and was half-way out the door before he stopped, turned around to answer. "Sure."

~^~^~^~

SG-1 stepped through the wormhole for what would be their last time for another week. All off-world teams would be returned by the following morning and the gate would be shut down so that a newer, stronger iris could be installed on the Stargate plus some long overdue maintenance.

"Ahhh. Smell that fresh air." Jack made a big show of taking a deep breath and patting his chest. "Yes sir. There's nothing like a visit to planet stinky to make you appreciate clean, fresh, sweet-smelling air again."

Daniel stepped up beside him. "You do realize, Jack, that trees are nature's air filters. If it wasn't for all these trees, this planet might be stinky too." He just couldn't resist ribbing Jack about his aversion to the almost universal presence of trees on nearly every planet they visited.

Jack pulled his sunglasses down and peered at Daniel over the lenses. "Well. Somebody seems to be feeling their old snarky self again."

Sam smiled. It was good to hear her team mates joking around again. She'd been concerned about Daniel ever since his nightmare had awakened them on their last mission. The past few days he'd looked exhausted. But at other times he seemed to be bursting with energy. So she was relieved that he sounded a little more normal even if he did look like something the cat dragged in.

This last mission before the gate closed for repairs was a simple one. The collection of samples- soil, water, rock and vegetation, and after an overnight stay, head back to the gate first thing in the morning.

After a four mile hike from the gate they heated up some MRE's, and after a brief rest, they started to work. Teal'c stood on the highest rise of the hill watching for any unexpected dangers and assisted wherever he was needed. Sam collected samples from several of the more unusual plants. The soil, although not a possible source of Naquadah, showed properties that she was certain would keep the scientists back at the SGC buzzing for months. Jack and Daniel were busy busting rocks to bring back fragments for study.

After six hours with very few breaks, they were all a tired bunch. So when Colonel O'Neill told them to call it a day he got no argument. Not even from Daniel. They sealed all the samples in the airtight packs so everything would be ready to go the following morning when they headed back to the gate.

After the tents were set up, the fire lit and burning brightly, they gathered around to eat more MRE's. Daniel had eaten a few bites when the others were watching then laid it aside in favor of the coffee that he hoped would keep him awake through the night. None of his teammates had mentioned the incident a few nights ago, but he certainly didn't want to risk a repeat performance. The bizarre dreams he'd had the past few nights when he'd fallen asleep in his office had made him edgy when he got sleepy. Memories of the dreams made him fight his bodies need to sleep every night for hours until he simply dropped from exhaustion.

Sam finished her meal and put the empty container in a bag to dispose of later. She looked over at Daniel who was sitting with his cup held tightly with both hands staring off in the distance deep in thought.

"Daniel. Have you made any more headway with those artifacts SG-9 brought back?"

He looked at her, his face blank for a few seconds, until her words registered. "Um, yeah. Actually I think it might lead us to a weapon to fight the Goa'uld." He could almost feel Jack's eyes perk up at the mention of a possible 'weapons'. The one thing that always got his attention.

"Daniel? Are you holding out on us?" This was the first Jack had heard about a weapon.

"No Jack. I didn't really even want to tell you that much until I could get farther with the translations. But since you'll be away all next week I thought I'd throw you a bone."

Jack faked a hurt surprised look "Well, if you're gonna throw me a bone, Daniel, at least give me something to chew on, will ya?"

"So far, all I know is that there was some kind of device that targets the Goa'uld's symbiote. I don't know what it is, where it is or even what it does yet, Jack."

"Well, I guess we all know what you're gonna be doing on our week off then, huh?" Jack had asked Daniel to go with him up to his cabin but not even the promise of no fishing had persuaded him. Now he knew why. Daniel could be like a pit bull when it came to his rocks. He would probably work all week long and Jack wasn't too crazy about that. Even if it did involve cool weapons.

Daniel had every intention of finding the answers about the device and the civilization who left it there, while he had some serious time off. Maybe he could actually get some work done since he wouldn't have his friends popping into his office several times a day to see if he's eaten or slept. No, this time no distractions.

"What about you, Teal'c? You're going to visit your son aren't you?" Daniel asked, kind of hoping all three of his teammates would be away from the base for the next week. Teal'c could be just as motherhenish as Jack at times.

"You are correct, DanielJackson. I will depart shortly after we return to the SGC in the morning."

"Sam? What about you? What are you doing on your time off ?" Daniel hadn't heard her say a word about her plans.

"I'm flying to my brother's house to do some serious spoiling of my nieces and my new nephew."

Jack dumped the leftover bit of coffee out behind him and stood up stretching his tired achy back and shoulders. If he never saw another rock again it wouldn't be too soon.

"Well as much as I'm enjoying this quaint little exchange of travel plans, we'd better call it a night kiddos. I want us all up, ready to head out, at first light. Teal'c, you take first watch. Carter, you're next, then Daniel. I'll take last." He turned toward his tent noticing Daniel stifling a huge yawn. He walked over and stopped beside him reaching down and patting his shoulder. "Get some sleep, huh?"

~^~^~^~

Daniel had managed to stay awake throughout the night on the planet, by no small feat, and not have another nightmare. But he had to admit, he was really beginning to feel the effects of his lack of sleep by the time they got back to the gate the following morning. Even while he was taking a shower he had to make sure he didn't stand too long in one position or he would feel like he was going to doze off. He was relieved when General Hammond let them off this time without the usual post mission briefing in lieu of a written mission report before they each left the base before the end of the day.

Once they'd seen Teal'c off in the gateroom, Jack had offered Sam a ride to the airport. Jack was driving to his cabin after dropping off Sam so they all said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

Janet had even reluctantly taken a few days off at Cassie's insistence. They were going up north to a concert Cassie had really been wanting to attend and they planned to shop and sightsee for several days. She had told him to check in with Dr. Warner while she was gone.

Daniel felt like a kid being left home alone for the first time. The solitude that loomed ahead of him was almost intoxicating. Of course, he would miss his 'family', but even families needed time apart from one another once in awhile. He had prepared for the quiet week ahead. A stop at the store had replenished his stockpile of candy bars and coffee and he'd even splurged and bought a new watch.

He went to his office, closed and locked the door and made a fresh pot of coffee. Then he settled down to work on the translations for the rest of the day, even all night if he wanted to. That thought put a smile on his face as he got out his pad of paper and pencil and anxiously went to work.

~^~^~^~

The next few days went by in a blur as he copied the writings on paper and researched the translations. Cross-referencing the symbols from his research took hours but he seemed to require less and less sleep. He was filled with so much nervous energy which could only be harnessed with completely focusing. Which in this case was the translation of the tablet, box and mirror. His nerves got so jumpy at times though that he would have to do sit-ups till he dropped or paced for hours until he'd worn some of the edge off and he could get back to work. That slowed his jittery nerves enough so he could focus once again on translating the artifacts.

After the first day no one had come around to bug him. Since almost the entire mountain was on stand down, only those down on level 28 working on the Gate and a sparse skeleton crew were on the base.

~^~^~^~

The first thing he noticed when he opened his eyes was the lamp on his desk flickering, casting the room in blinking shadows. He wiped his hand across his face surprised that he was covered in sweat. He tried to push away the cobwebs in his head but it almost felt like he was drugged. It was easy to feel disoriented deep in the mountain with no natural light to help mark the passing of time. But this was more than that. A brief shiver of fear ran down his spine when for a few moments he couldn't remember what day, week or even year it was. He took a deep breath and blew it out as he looked around the room trying to gain some sense of reality.

He sat up straight, sensing someone else in the room with him. He picked his glasses up with trembling hands and put them on. Even though he didn't see anyone, his heart was racing, expecting someone or some thing to jump out at him at any moment.

Keeping his eyes on the flickering shadows around the room, he slowly stood up and turned on the light switch beside him on the wall. The room was flooded with bright light and he turned off the faulty desk lamp. He looked down at his watch and stared, noticing the numbers weren't flashing. Holding it out in front of him, he stared at incredulously. He couldn't believe another watch had bit the dust. He yanked it off and threw it across the room.

Suddenly the light bulb in the ceiling light buzzed and he heard a 'POP', as the bulb went out, casting the room in darkness. Feeling along the length of the table his fingers found the drawer and he pulled it open and reached in feeling around for the flashlight. Once he'd found it he switched it on.

He found his bottle of aspirin and shook a couple into his hand and swallowed them with the coffee he had been subsisting on for the past several days. The headaches were getting worse and he laid his head down on the desk to wait till the throbbing eased some.

He sat back down wearily. After resting his eyes a few minutes, he sat up suddenly and grabbed the flashlight and aimed it at the papers littering his table. After shuffling through several he found the ones he'd been translating the mirror with. An idea had come to him. He started matching the symbols he'd translated in the order they appeared around the outer frame, laying them out on the floor in a similar oval shape. When he had finished he stood up and studied the ring of papers.

Muttering to himself, slowly the pattern of the symbols started making sense, and he grabbed his notepad and started writing. If he started with the word at the top of the frame then went to the word on the other side of the frame opposite of it, then went to the word at the right of that one, then opposite again, then moved to the word to the right of that one. and so on...the string of words began to take on meaning. The message was in a pattern to avoid detection.

He followed the same sequence until he reached the last symbol. As he hurriedly finished writing out what this part of the mirror said, he could feel his excitement build. He stared at the sentence he had written and read each word out loud to himself.

"The eyes are a mirror to the soul."

He quickly leafed through the papers lying on his desk that he had translated part of the tablet on. Finding the ones he was searching for, he read through the writings.

"Mirrors are the door through which death comes and goes."

He stared at the mirror lying so innocently on the wooden surface in front of him. It was the mirror. The mirror was the weapon.

"Mirrors are the door through which death comes and goes."

It was all getting clearer to him. The writings on the tablet had told of a device that 'reflects the inner soul and destroys the evil within'. But he hadn't found the right connection between the artifacts. Until now. He skimmed through the rest of what he had written and flopped back down on the tall stool, stunned.

The weapon that the tablet described, as destroying the evil within and causing death, had in fact been right here in front of him the entire time. He picked up the mirror studying it closely. How could such an innocent looking item be so deadly? What did it do? How did it work?

He was so close to figuring it all out. He rubbed at his eyes and picked up the notepad and pencil again and immersed himself once more.

~^~^~^~

After hours and hours of writing and pacing he had discovered more than he thought possible. The warning around the outer frame was written in a language that the Goa'uld could not possibly have known. It was a warning that if a Goa'uld looked into the mirror, the symbiote within them would be targeted and die. The mirror was an innocent looking weapon that used the vanity of the Goa'uld to destroy them. The Goa'uld were an notoriously vain race and they found great pleasure in seeing their own reflections. The innocent looking mirror was the perfect weapon.

He laid the papers down and looked away as sadness buried deep within him started clawing to the surface. If the device really worked....If it targeted the symbiote, much like Thor's Hammer had done, and if they'd only found the device sooner then maybe... maybe he could have saved Sha're...Skarra... Sarah.

He rubbed at his tired, gritty eyes. Eyes that hadn't had nearly enough sleep for too many nights in a row and that had read far too many words. He stood up and stumbled over to the bathroom door, opened it and stepped inside flipping on the light switch. At least one light in his office still worked.

He placed his hands on the edge of the small sink letting his head drop as he fought to push the memories away. He finally raised his head, seeing his reflection staring back at him made him gasp. He had not shaved, bathed, eaten, in...how many days? His sweaty hair stuck together in the front in spikes and deep dark shadows lay under his eyes that still glistened with unshed tears.

He turned away to the side facing the toilet and, unbuckled and unzipped to relieve himself and when he finished and started to button his trousers, he noticed how loose the waist had become. He pulled the belt together snuggly and fastened it with trembling hands. A fleeting thought came to him that he should be concerned with his appearance or the way his body was mysteriously shrinking sizes, or other things. Things that were off kilter, screwed up, but his mind was too fuzzy to hold onto the thoughts for very long.

He turned on the faucet and bent down, filling his hands with cold water and splashing it over his face. He looked back up and stared for a moment at the stranger in the mirror. Thoughts of Sha're with the symbiote inside her haunted him. Accused him. Punished him.

The stranger staring back at him had not been able to save her. To save anyone he cared about. Bringing his fists up he hit the glass as hard as he could watching as the mirror cracked. The moan that filled the small room echoed all around him. His image now stared back at him multiplied by each crack in the mirror making him appear fractured and misshapen. Now instead of one pair of eyes staring back at him there were several. Staring. Taunting. He turned and walked out, shutting the door behind him.

As his hand brushed the door knob it slid wetly over it. He brought his hand up and stared at the cut on the side of his hand. It almost felt as if he was looking at someone else's hand. He opened and closed his fist a few times watching the thin trail of blood run down his wrist. Blood on his hands. Sha'res blood. And so many others.

He wiped his hand on his pants and stopped as he heard the doorknob to his office jiggle. He froze, not moving a muscle until he heard the sound of footsteps walking away. He couldn't let anyone in here. They would take the tablet and the mirror away and he would never know if it could have helped save Sha're. Maybe even he could still save Sarah.

Picking up the mirror, the tablet, his notepad and pencils he crawled under the opening to the large desk with a flashlight to work so no one would see a light on in his office and interrupt his concentration..

~^~^~^~

It had taken another full day to translate the rest of the tablet. He would translate some symbols and scribble it down, but then he would forget where he had laid it and after searching through stacks of papers more times then not, he'd have to do it over again. He had gotten so frustrated at one point that he had crawled under the desk, sobbing hysterically for what seemed like hours until he had either fallen asleep or passed out. He didn't know which. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate and he feared it had something to do with the mirror. He was right. The mirror, the weapon, was slowly killing him.

From what he'd been able to decipher, one of the mirrors would be sent to a Goa'uld in the ornate box under the pretense that it was a gift. Of course, the Goa'uld were suspicious of any gift so they would have one of their servants open it first to see what it was. Since the device targeted only symbiotes, the non-hosted servant would not be harmed. The Goa'uld, believing that the gift was safe, would accept it and gaze into it, ultimately sealing their own fate.

But from what he could determine, the device had been found to have an unexpected detrimental effect on humans that had no symbiote in them. The Asgard or the Nox or one of the other four races had destroyed all of the mirrors they had yet to send out, except for this one. The tablet that was found with it was a record of the successes and failures of the device with warnings about the technology.

He crawled out from under the desk again and stumbled to his feet, grabbing the edge of the table when dizziness threatened to put him back on the floor. He forced himself to focus until the dizziness passed. He had to stay alert until he could figure out what to do.

He'd been able to hide out undetected in his office for several days by turning off the ringer on his phone so if it had rang, which he would bet it had, he wouldn't have heard it and so whomever called would assume he wasn't there. By leaving off the lights and locking the door it appeared he wasn't in his office. He had planned on studying the artifacts during his week off, but he certainly hadn't figured on hiding out to this extent. But since he'd discovered the device was harmful, it was a good thing he'd stayed somewhat reclusive.

Over and over he debated whether or not to call General Hammond. But he worried that once he let the General know about the harmful artifact sitting on his desk that he would send people in to retrieve it. He wasn't willing to risk anyone else being harmed by the device. He had unknowingly opened a kind of Pandora's Box and he would do every thing in his power to insure that no one else was hurt by his mistake.

The other phrases he'd translated were evidently related to each other but he couldn't pin down what they meant.

"the altar of reflection heals the shattered spirit"

"the room where no shadows fall"

What did it all mean? If he could have went to the planet himself he could have possibly made more sense out of it. Whether the cryptic writings described an actual place, he could only guess.

Maybe if he could get his mind a little clearer he could find something more on one of the other artifacts that were brought back from the planet with these. But as hard as he tried he couldn't hold onto his thoughts as they drifted through his head. He ran a shaking hand through his hair. If he could just rest awhile or eat something.

But any rest he'd had over the past several days hadn't been very beneficial, and any sleep he'd managed to get was filled with tormenting dreams. And he couldn't even remember the last time he'd eaten. He had no desire for food. Any hunger he'd had ceased days ago.

Jack would know what to do. Wouldn't he? If not, definitely Sam. He just knew she could figure it out...But they were gone and wouldn't be back for days. At least he was pretty sure it was days. He'd completely lost track of time since he'd hidden himself away in his office to study the artifacts. But even if Jack and Sam were here, he couldn't let them in and risk putting them in danger.

Frustrated, he tossed the pencil on the table as he sat down tiredly on the stool and flipped off the flashlight. The artificial light from the brightly lit hallway filtered through the plastic insert in the door casting his office in deep shadows. By the increasing sounds coming from the corridor it must be morning with a new shift coming in. There were actually a lot more footsteps and voices than he had been hearing for the past several days. Could it be that he had been here in his office for the entire week and the base was once again filling with people? Had it only been one week? It felt like forever.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly with his palms and grimaced when he brushed against the cuts on the sides of his hands. Something was definitely happening to him. Something bad. The device was distorting his mind. And, looking down at the loose fitting clothes and trembling hands, it was doing something to his body as well. He glanced at the door to his office. He had to make sure no one came near the device. At least he could save somebody, he thought, as he choked back a pathetic laugh. He wrapped his shaky hands around himself.

Staring at the door, he could hear footsteps and see shadows moving through the corridors. It was just a matter of time before someone forced their way in here. He had to stop them. At least until he could think clearer and decide what to do.

He stood up shakily, stepped over to his file cabinet and slowly started pushing it inch by inch toward the door. Once he finally had it blocking the door he looked around the room. His eyes settled on a stack of cardboard file boxes full of books and papers. He shuffled over, grabbed one with both hands and carried it over sitting it beside the tall file cabinet. He moved another half-dozen boxes, carrying them one by one over to stack in front of the door until they were finally all moved.

He slid down the wall onto the floor exhausted, wrapping his arms around himself. Looking over at the blockade, he decided it would have to do. He had no more strength to move anything else. Why was he suddenly so cold?

~^~^~^~

Jack stepped out of the elevator and headed to General Hammond's office. After a few days climbing around on the roof of his cabin hammering nails he was ready for a day of nothing more strenuous than lifting a beer and pushing buttons on his TV remote. Maybe he wouldn't be so sore if he hadn't spent the better part of a day on a planet busting rocks with Daniel the day before he'd headed up to the cabin to bust his butt fixing a roof.

After checking in with the General and taking a look at the new iris, he was going to drag Daniel out of his office. By force, if necessary. That would be the next stop on his list. He was stunned when he'd seen Daniel's car parked in exactly the same spot it had been when he'd left for his cabin five days ago. He was sure he'd find him holed up in his office surrounded by rocks and old dusty things.

As he neared the gateroom he heard loud voices and decided to check it out.

"Lieutenant Howard, frankly I could care less what Sergeant Woodward told you. I'm telling you I want that iris on and this gate up and running day after tomorrow. Is that understood, Lieutenant?"

Jack stepped out of the way just in time to avoid colliding with a very nervous Lieutenant. Hmm...Lieutenant Howard he presumed. He peered cautiously into the Gateroom seeing the General standing at the end of the ramp, hands on his hips staring at the Stargate. Jack stepped in and glanced around at the few faces in the room who looked up and silently nodded, but went right back to work.

He slowly walked over and stood to the side of the General and stared up the ramp. It was glaringly obvious what had caused the heated exchange of words. His eyes studied the ring which included only a partial iris and maybe half the chevrons missing. Well, it sure looked like nobody was going anywhere anytime soon.

The General didn't take his eyes off the gate for a few minutes then finally spoke.

"Welcome back, Colonel." General Hammond turned toward Jack. "We've had a few... problems while you were gone."

"Maybe I should have stayed here and helped repair the iris instead of my roof, General."

"I appreciate that, Colonel, but I don't think anything less than a house call from the Ancients themselves could have made any difference, but thanks just the same."

"Problems getting parts, sir?"

"Something like that." General Hammond motioned toward his office and they walked in that direction as they talked. "The routine maintenance we were going to do while the iris was being replaced turned into anything but. Glad to have you back on base, Colonel. You know, you don't have a mission briefing until Monday. Assuming the gate is functional by then, that is."

"Anything I can do to help, sir. Just ask." He followed the General into his office. "Major Carter could probably fix whatever it is. Has she checked in yet?"

"No. I haven't heard from Major Carter or Dr. Jackson yet Colonel. As you probably know, Teal'c is still off-world and until we get that gate running that's where he'll be staying."

Jack's eyebrows went up at the mention of Daniel. "You haven't heard from Daniel since we left?"

"That's right Colonel. Is there a problem?"

"It's just....I saw his car still parked in the lot in the same spot it was in when we left the other day. I just figured he must have stayed here and worked on his rocks and stuff."

"Well, I assume he must have left the base and went somewhere while SG-1 was off. He hasn't answered his phone and his office has been locked. No one's seen him for days."

"I certainly hope so, sir. That boy works too hard."

"Not unlike some other members of SG-1, Colonel."

Jack gave him his best surprised look. "I don't know you mean, General?"

General Hammond grinned. "You're dismissed, Colonel. I'll see you back here on Monday... I hope."

Jack grinned, turned around and left the office. All he wanted to do now was stop by the store for beer and snacks and head back to his house to get ready for the games he taped while he was gone. He wondered where the heck Daniel had ventured off to.

"Colonel!" Sam called out as she saw him heading down the corridor toward the elevator.

Jack turned around at the sound of his name. "Carter. When did you get back?"

"Actually I came here from the airport, sir. Have you heard about the problems with the Stargate?"

"Uh huh. Just spoke to the General. I'm sure he'll be glad to see you."

"Well, I'm not sure if I can help or not."

"Right...Oh, I think you'll do all right. By the way, did Daniel tell you where he was going this week?"

"No sir. The last I heard he was anxious to work on the artifacts SG-9 brought back. Have you checked his office?"

"No, but the General said his office has been locked up and he's not answered the phone." Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't think Daniel's car has been moved since we left. Isn't that a little odd?"

"I don't know. Maybe he got a ride home, sir."

"I suppose so. I called his house a couple of times yesterday before I headed on back here though and no one was home."

"He probably just decided at the last minute to take off somewhere. If I see him or hear from him I'll let him know you're looking for him."

"Well. I'm heading home. I guess I'll see you tomorrow Carter."

~^~^~^~

Had he been sitting on the floor for minutes? Hours? Days? All he knew for sure was that he was in deep trouble. He had to get his mind clear enough to think about how he was going to keep whatever it was with that mirror from doing any harm to the rest of the base. He couldn't stay locked in here forever. He just needed to think. Why couldn't he think?

He slowly got to his feet and reached over and picked up the ornately carved box he had put the mirror back into. That's the trouble with weapons. There are always innocent people who end up getting hurt. Not this time. No one else was going to get near the mirror.

He glanced over at the coffeemaker. He hadn't made any coffee all day. He tried to lick his parched lips but he didn't have enough spit to even do that. Suddenly he heard a noise at the door and he froze.

~^~^~^~

"Carter, I just want to take a quick look around his office and see if he left any clue as to where he's been for the past six days. For cryin out loud. He could have told us if he'd had plans. Did he think we might not worry about him?"

"Maybe it was one of those spur of the moment things, sir." When Sam suggested that Daniel probably left some clue as to where he went, it didn't dawn on her that he would actually go find Siler and get the key to unlock Daniel's office. She felt uncomfortable invading his personal space with him not around, but she knew that the Colonel was just concerned and also a little bit curious, too.

"Ten minutes," Jack told her as he pulled the keys out of his pocket trying to remember which one Sgt. Siler had told him was the key for Daniel's office. "I'll only snoop around for ten minutes and if I don't find out where he went, I'll..... not kick his butt when he gets back from wherever he went. How's that?"

Finally finding the right key he slipped it in the keyhole. He turned the knob and pushed at the door but met with resistance. He pushed harder, hearing things scraping the floor on the other side, until he finally had a space of a few inches. He slipped his hand through the narrow opening he'd managed to create, to the wall where the light switch was. He flipped it, then flipped up and down several times.

"What the devil is wrong with this door.... and what's with the lights in here?" Jack leaned against the door and shoved harder until he'd managed to open it most of the way.

The room filled with dim light from the brightly lit corridor, casting more shadows around the room. As he and Sam stepped in and their eyes adjusted to the dimness they could feel papers scrunching under their boots.

"What the..."

They both saw the man across the room at the same time standing, unmoving in the shadows.

"Hey! Who are you? What are you doing in here?" Jack squinted to make out the face.

Sam could faintly make out the shape of a flashlight laying on the desk next to her so she slowly moved a few steps and picked it up. When she switched it on and pointed it in the direction of the intruder, her and Jack were both stunned at who they saw staring back at them.

"Daniel?" Jack was shocked, not wanting to believe that who he was looking at was in fact their Daniel.

Daniel flinched at the bright light as it momentarily blinded him. He held up his hand to shield his eyes, gripping the alien box to his chest.

Sam could hardly believe her eyes. "Daniel? Are you all right?" But she could see even in the shadows that he was far from all right.

"Ja'ck? S-s-am?" Daniel's voice came out sounding weak and hoarse and he tried to squint to see across the room. Then suddenly remembering the danger his friends were in he took a step back, clutching the box tighter to his chest and holding his other hand out with his palm up as if he could push them out of the room. "You...you have to get out of here... now!" He was frantic now with fear.

Jack was still so shocked at Daniel's appearance that he was at a loss for words. The man standing before them was pale and thin. The scruffy unshaved face and the dark circles framed his eyes that were now filled with terror. Jack didn't know what he'd expected to find when they'd come to his office, but this definitely was not it.

Jack glanced over at Sam seeing the worry mirrored in her face. He pushed the door open the rest of the way, casting a puzzled look at the boxes and cabinet that had been blocking the door, bathing more of the room in soft light.

"Daniel?" Jack slowly took a step and Daniel immediately backed up further away.

"Daniel? What's goin on?"

"Ja'ck... Listen...you and Sam... are in danger. You've got to get out of this room, now." Daniel pleaded, his throat barely able to get enough moisture to speak and his words were intermingled with evident breathlessness.

Sam looked down at the floor at all the papers, some scrunched some just scribbled on wondering what on earth had happened in here. She looked back up at Jack and saw him motion with his head and mouth the words 'Frasier' to her. She nodded and quietly slipped back out the door.

"Daniel. Why are we in danger?" Jack asked him gently drawing Daniel's attention back to him and away from Sam's sudden departure.

Daniel was growing more frantic every second that Jack was this close to the mirror. He didn't know if even the distance across the room was safe enough for his friend. He couldn't take that chance. He had to convince him to leave. He put his hand out to the wall as a wave of dizziness washed over him, squeezing his eyes shut for just a moment before finding something to lock his eyes on to keep him grounded.

"You don't... understand. Ja'ck The mirror... It's dangerous. Now... please. Just... just go." He inched along the wall sliding his hand along the surface to keep himself upright as he tried to get more distance between himself and Jack.

Okay, now. Daniel was really beginning to scare him. "Daniel, I'm not leaving you." Jack said firmly. He picked up a book from the table and opened it taking a slow step closer as he talked. "Have you been here, in your office, all week? Everyone thought you'd left the base. Even Hammond." He started slowly flipping through the pages hoping to distract him as he slid his feet closer, inch by inch so as not to startle him.

Daniel kept his eyes glued on Jack's every move. As much as his blurred vision would allow anyway. His eyes darted around the room trying to find a way to get out and get the danger away from Jack. He saw the bathroom door a few more feet away and he slowly started moving in that direction.

Jack heard a slight noise behind him and he turned and saw Sam who nodded so he knew Frasier was nearby. He quickly turned his attention back to Daniel who was leaning heavily against the wall now like he could pass out any second. He laid the book down and took a step closer. Suddenly Daniel's eyes met his in terror and he watched as Daniel swung the bathroom door open slipped inside and slammed it shut. Then he heard a click as the lock latched.

"CRAP!" Jack was over at the door in a flash as he slammed his fist into it and twisted the doorknob even though he knew it wasn't going to open for him. He glanced back and saw Sam looking in worriedly. He turned toward the door once more, laying his palms against the wood.

"Daniel. Open this door. Let me help you." Jack pleaded.

"Go away!... Please... just.. go away."

Jack was afraid to try to bust down the door. The room was so small he could very well end up hitting Daniel and so that wasn't an option.

"Crap!" Jack walked back to the open doorway and met Sam there. He looked out into the hallway seeing Frasier and her medical team waiting a few doors down with a gurney. He strode quickly down to Frasier and she looked up at him worriedly.

"Colonel?" Dr. Frasier asked. "What's going on with Daniel?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Doc. Evidently he's been holed up in his office all week while we were gone and nobody knew he was here. He looks like he's really messed up but I have no idea why." Jack scrubbed his hand through his hair. "He's locked himself in the restroom. He keeps saying something about us being in danger... I don't know."

Janet was getting that sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She has just gotten back to the base herself this morning. To think that he'd been here all this time alone, and from what she was hearing from the Colonel and Sam, very ill, made her shudder.

"You've got to get the door open, Colonel." Frasier told him. "He may need medical attention right away."

Jack looked up just as General Hammond walked out of the elevator at a quick pace. "Colonel O'Neill. Is it true? Doctor Jackson has been here in his office all week and he's taken ill?"

Jack glanced back down the hall at Daniel's doorway, knowing he needed to get back down there as soon as possible. He turned back to address the General. "That's what it looks like, General. Right now I need to get back in there.... Siler has all the master keys, right? Even for the bathrooms?"

"I'm on it, sir." Sam said and she rushed off to the nearest phone.

"What now, Colonel?" General Hammond asked.

"I'll try to talk to Daniel until Siler gets here with a key." Jack said and he quickly turned and rushed back down the hall.

Jack walked into the paper strewn office over to the bathroom door. He leaned his ear toward it and listened.

"Daniel. It's Jack. How are you doin' in there?"

"Jack?...No!... I told you to go away...please." Daniel pleaded.

"Daniel, tell me why you want me to leave."

"It's the mirror...the one SG-9 ...it's very... dangerous."

"What makes you think the mirror's dangerous, Daniel?"

"translation...what it is...what ..what it does...Oh God!... please Jack... go...no one else.. hurt."

Jack glanced back at the doorway hoping to see Siler with the key. He was growing more worried by the second. Daniel was really sounding bad. What was taking Siler so long?

"Did the mirror hurt you, Daniel?"

"Yes. Look at me...Well...no... guess you can't.... just.. trust me. The mirror was...built by one of the...four races...kills the snake...the box, I opened it... didn't know..." Daniel was beginning to feel weaker and his line of vision was getting darker around the edges. "They found out...it hurt... humans ..with no symbiote."

Jack was getting increasingly anxious as he listened to the voice on the other side of the door get weaker and weaker. He just wanted to reach through that door and pull him out.

"Stay with me, Daniel."

"Ja'ck?"

Jack laid his forehead against the door, wanting so badly to be on the other side. "Daniel? Siler will be here any minute with a key. Just hang in there, okay?"

The sound of shuffling came from the small room.

"Ja'k?"

Suddenly loud thuds came from the bathroom.

"Daniel! Daniel can you hear me? Come on Dan..." Jack turned quickly at the sound of footsteps as Siler came rushing into the office, followed by Major Carter, Frasier and her team along with General Hammond.

"Hurry! I think he's down." Jack stood beside Siler as he watched him turn the key, then he grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge. At least the lights were working in the small room. He managed to push it a few inches and look around the door seeing Daniel lying in a crumpled heap. Jack squeezed in through the narrow opening stepping carefully around legs and arms splayed out.

As soon as he slipped inside the tiny bathroom he could see that Daniel's head was lying in a pool of blood, and he knew Daniel was in serious trouble.

He managed to step over him and get behind him on the floor with just barely enough room to slide down to sit on the cool tiles. He lifted Daniel's head carefully off the floor and into his hands. He looked around for a towel or something but the paper towel dispenser was too far up on the wall.

"Daniel?" Jack had never seen anyone so pale unless they were..... He moved one blood soaked hand to Daniel's neck as he felt around for a pulse. His fingers were slippery as he moved them here and there willing himself not to panic. Finally he felt a beat and then another as he kept his now shaking fingers pressed against his neck. He looked up as Dr. Frasier poked her head in.

"Colonel?"

"He's alive but he's bleeding bad."

Doctor Frasier slipped through enough to hand Jack a thick pad of gauze "Hold it against the wound and apply pressure."

Jack could feel the lump on the back of Daniel's head swelling as he pressed the pad where it appeared the most blood was coming from. He barely heard the voices barking orders about getting the door off the hinges. The next thing he knew, the door was being lifted away and Doctor Frasier was down at Daniel's feet, almost straddling him, with her stethoscope pressed against his chest.

"He's going into shock." She turned to the two medics who were waiting for her word. "Okay, let's get him out of here, now!"

She stood up and backed out of the way as the medics knelt down on each side of the doorway. They each grabbed one of Daniel's legs and started slowly sliding his body out of the small, cramped room as Jack held the blood soaked pad against his head. Once he's cleared the doorway, a backboard was lowered to the floor beside Daniel as Janet took charge of moving her patient.

"Colonel, hold his head while my medics tilt his body so we can get the backboard under him. You just keep pressure on that wound. Okay. Easy now." She watched as Daniel was slowly and gently situated on the backboard. And the gurney was rolled into the room, he was lifted up and placed on it

Doctor Frasier held the stethoscope against his chest briefly then ordered them to move.

Jack held Daniel's head keeping pressure on the head wound with the pad against it in the elevator down the corridors, all the way to the infirmary. It wasn't until Doctor Frasier put her hand on his arm and told him they would take over, did he realize they were finally there. He backed up out of the way as the flurry of activity around the pale figure lying ton the gurney began in earnest.

Doctor Frasier checked his pupils while another nurse removed the blood-soaked gauze and applied a pressure dressing against the cut on the back of his head. Another nurse was busy cutting away the clothing as still another was inserting an IV.

Jack started to scrub his hand through his hair but stopped when he saw the blood covering his hands. A lot of blood. Daniel's blood. He stared at his hands then looked over at the gurney as an oxygen mask was placed over his nose and mouth, then as the nurses moved around busy hooking up monitors he saw the almost naked body lying so pale against the stark white hospital sheets.

The sheet covering his body had slipped down and he saw how sunk in his stomach was and how his hip joints jutted out. He stared unbelievingly at the weight Daniel appeared to have lost. Then his eyes met Doctor Frasier's and they locked, each one shocked by his appearance and then just as suddenly she looked away and busied herself once more caring for her patient, ordering tests, re-checking vitals.

~^~^~^~

After what seemed like hours, Doctor Frasier finally came out to the waiting area where she knew she would find the Colonel and Sam. As she came through the door, two pair of eyes immediately looked up at her.

She tucked a strand of hair back out of her eyes and gripped the chart she was holding as she looked up into eyes filled with worry and fear.

"Daniel has just returned from having a CT scan. He does have a concussion but thankfully no fractures. He hasn't regained consciousness. He lost a lot of blood very quickly which is not that unusual with head injuries. We've given him a unit of blood and have more standing by. We're replenishing his fluids as quickly as we can. He was severely dehydrated when he was first brought in but that's improving."

She paused as she gathered her thoughts together and looked down at the chart in her hands.

"I'm concerned with some of the test results I've gotten back so far. When we ran a CBC some of the results came back so extreme that we ran them again, only I added a few more tests. To be perfectly honest I've never seen results like this before. His red blood cell count was elevated which could be the result of severe dehydration. He has a significantly low platelet count which can affect his body's ability to clot, which contributed to the excessive blood loss.

His glucose levels are unusually high and when I checked further I found some of his other hormones levels are all over the place. His TSH, Cortisone levels, calcium are all indicative of multiple endocrine system failure."

Doctor Frasier looked up at the eyes listening intently, waiting for her to assure them all would be well. Which she wished she could do, but in this case she was afraid she was out of her league.

Jack crossed his arms in front of him as he tried to keep his uneasiness from showing.

"So. Doc. Is he going to be all right?"

She turned the chart over in her hands and took a deep breath, looking up at the Colonel who was still staring at her.

"I'm placing him in the ICU when he gets back from the lab so he can be monitored more closely. Frankly, I'm concerned with how Daniel could have deteriorated to this state so rapidly. I'm trying to treat the symptoms one at a time, but I have to be honest with you, there are so many different things going on here that there's a real possibility his body won't be able to fight them all at the same time."

The silence that followed was so thick with worry and fear that you could almost feel it cover them all with a dark cloud.

"Doc, Daniel said something about some artifact he was working on, that it was dangerous. Do you think that has anything to do with him getting sick?" Jack asked.

"Janet, he mentioned a mirror that SG-9 brought back What if one of those artifacts from PHK-797 contained some alien organism or some other substance?" Sam added.

"Well, it certainly wouldn't hurt to check it out. At this point I'm grasping at straws." Doctor Frasier admitted.

Jack turned to Major Carter. "Didn't General Hammond have Daniel's office sealed off?"

"Yes sir, he did, but If I could just hurry in and out I could gather up his notes and maybe I can figure out what he was working on when all this happened to Daniel."

"No one goes in that room until there's no threat, Carter." Jack told her.

"What about a Haz-Mat suit, sir?" Sam asked.

Jack thought briefly then gave her the go ahead to get General Hammond's permission.

~^~^~^~

Daniel at first could only hear the steady beat of his heart as it was amplified on the monitor. He concentrated on each bleep until he started noticing other sounds and feelings.

The sound of low muffled voices faded in and out and his body felt as if it was floating on a cloud. He let himself drift along enjoying feeling nothing until he floated close enough to the surface to begin to feel the pain in the back of his head. He tried to move his hand up to feel what was wrong there that could hurt so much, but his limbs refused to listen. He heard a moan and wondered who or what could be hurting so badly.

~^~^~^~

Jack sat next to Daniel's bed thinking back to when he'd walked into Daniel's office earlier. He still couldn't get the picture out of his head of Daniel lying in a pool of blood and the tremendous amount of that same blood that he'd had on his hands from Daniel's head wound. He could still hear the sound of Daniel's voice as he begged him and Carter to leave. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw a slight movement from the hospital bed. He stood up, still holding the limp hand in his and leaned over watching closely for some sign.

Suddenly he felt it. The hand he held twitched the tiniest bit and he squeezed it gently hoping to keep the connection open somehow. As he watched the still too pale features he saw his eyes flutter and heard a soft moan.

Jack hurriedly pressed the call button and leaned closer calling Daniel's name.

~^~^~^~

The sound of heels clicking grew nearer as Doctor Frasier quickly darted into the ICU glancing at the Colonel as she took her place beside the bed.

"He was trying to wake up, Doc."

She took a look at her patient who was still moaning slightly and his eyes were fluttering as if he was trying to make the unwilling eyes open. She took her penlight out and shone it into each eye. Each time he tried to turn away from the bright light without success.

Finally the moans and movements stopped and his breathing steadily grew more regular as he sank back into a deep sleep.

"When is he gonna wake up?" Jack asked quietly.

"I'm sorry." Janet was doing her best to stay detached to a certain extent, but with each passing hour she was finding it harder and harder to not feel like her heart was literally being cut out each time she entered the ICU.

"Why don't you get some rest, Colonel? You've been here all day. Take one of the VIP rooms and I'll call you if there is any change."

~^~^~^~

Jack strode down the corridor in search of Dr. Lee's office where he knew Major Carter and the other linguists and any one else who might have some knowledge of the ancient language, would be working on a solution. As he neared the offices he could hear several voices, each one spouting their theories and ideas. He didn't want to leave Daniel but he had to DO something to try to help him. Either that or he would be putting his fist through the next wall.

He came to the doorway and stood there watching them talk until finally he rapped lightly on the door frame. They looked up as he walked in.

"Major. Anything yet?" Jack asked hopefully.

Sam paused then turned to face her CO. "Possibly, sir."

"Well, let's hear it." Jack crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. He had a feeling that if he sat down it would be too hard to get up. He hadn't realized just how tired he was.

"Well, according to Daniel's notes, SG-9 found a mirror on PHK-797 and brought it back to the SGC, to Daniel's office a little over a week ago. I believe it's what caused him to become ill, sir." Sam told him.

"How Carter?"

"Well, I'm not completely sure myself, but according to his notes, the mirror was designed to destroy the Goa'uld symbiote. The technology is from the original four races. Evidently the mirror came in a special box," she picked up the picture from the table and handed it to him.

The box which Daniel unknowingly must have opened. "The mirror would be delivered to a Goa'uld as a gift. In this box. The Goa'uld would have one of his servants open the box to make sure it was safe and since the servants have no symbiote, it would have no affect on them. The Goa'uld would then accept the gift, gaze into the mirror and the symbiote would be targeted and over a matter of hours, would die."

She looked up from the notes to see if he was following her so far.

"So why do you think it hurt Daniel, Major? He doesn't have a snake."

"Exactly, sir. There was also a tablet among the artifacts that was actually a sort of record of their experiments with the device. According to Daniel the technology was abandoned when it was discovered the mirror had a harmful affect on non-symbiotic humans as well. It just took longer for them to feel the effects."

"What 'effects' are we talking about here, Carter?" Jack asked worriedly.

Sam looked over at Dr. Lee who glanced briefly at the Colonel before giving her a nod. She took the papers from Dr. Lee's hand and walked over to her CO. "We think the mirror holds some advanced alien technology that we haven't come across before that attacks the human body's endocrine system. Which in turn adversely affects every major organ in the body."

She leafed through the papers until she found the one she was searching for and held it out to Colonel O'Neill. "See these symbols here and here? Dr. Lee believes these are almost identical to those found in ancient mythology. Each one stands for one of the endocrine glands.

The symbol here that looks like a circle with an arrow sticking out of one side, is known to represent the adrenal glands. This is the symbol for the pituitary gland, the one that looks like a lightening bolt. And from the some of the descriptions on the tablet of how some of the humans died who came in contact with the mirror, it's consistent with disorders of these glands, sir."

"What has Frasier said about all this? If this is what's affecting Daniel, then she can treat it, right?"

"Well, Colonel. I haven't talked her yet. We..." she glanced at the others, "were still discussing Daniel's notes."

"So, let's go see Frasier."

~^~^~^~

Janet flipped through the pages from Daniel's chart looking over the test results to see if they would be consistent with the theory the scientists had come up with about what was slowly killing her patient. And sure enough it did all fit. If the alien technology targeted the endocrine system somehow, then the weight loss, the elevated blood pressure, dehydration, the fluctuating body temperature, the blood tests that had been so perplexing, and all the other symptoms that kept cropping up, all would be consistent with multiple endocrine disorders. She looked up at the group sitting around the briefing room table.

"What do you think, Janet?" Sam asked expectantly.

"Well, this would certainly explain Daniel's physical symptoms. How certain are you about this, Sam?" Janet and General Hammond and Jack looked at her, waiting for her reply.

"From what we've read from Daniel's notes, it's the closest possible explanation." Sam told them.

Doctor Frasier closed the chart and slowly laid it down on the table in front of her, then clasped her hands together and rested them on the desk as she decided how to proceed since this new information had come to her attention.

Eyes glanced anxiously around the room as an uneasy silence permeated the room. Colonel O'Neill cleared his suddenly dry throat and turned to Dr. Frasier.

"So...Doc...You can treat this endo thing, right?"

She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "Colonel, if we were dealing with one, maybe two endocrine disorders at the same time it would be a challenge to treat successfully, but it could be done." She paused. "But if what Sam says is true, we're talking about multiple gland failure. The thyroid, hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal glands, and that's just a sample of the possible organs that could be affected. Each one of these glands produces their own chemical that is necessary for the body to function properly. When just one of the endocrine glands for some reason produces too much or too little of a hormone it can cause a multitude of problems, most of them serious, some of them life-threatening."

"Janet?" Sam tried to calm the quiver in her voice, "What are you saying?"

Doctor Frasier looked at her with eyes shining bright with emotion, and then at the others. "All I'm saying is that Daniel's chances of recovery are lessening with each hour. I'll do what I can to treat the most serious symptoms, but to reverse complete endocrine failure......" She slowly shook her head as her throat somehow refused to work.

The silence in the room was suddenly broken by General Hammond. "Is there any way to undo what the alien device has done to Doctor Jackson?" He looked around at those gathered at the table.

Sam thought for a moment. "General, there could possibly be some technology on the planet where the device was found that could reverse this. I know its a long shot, sir, but..."

General Hammond raised his hand to gently stop her. "Major, are you forgetting, the repairs on the Stargate are not expected to be finished until the day after tomorrow?" He turned once again to Doctor Frasier. "What is your prognosis, time wise, for Doctor Jackson?"

"With careful monitoring and treatment he may have a few days. But this is a device we've never encountered before, sir. I'm only giving you my best guess. He could just as quickly take a turn for the worst and...."

Sam had an idea. "General Hammond. I could look over the tapes SG-9 made while on the planet so that when we do get the gate open, we might have more of an idea of what to look for. And Dr. Lee and his assistants are more than willing to help, sir."

"All right, Major. As long as you can do this without going into Dr. Jackson's office again. It is off-limits until we have a better idea what we're dealing with. All right people. That's the plan then. As soon as the gate is ready you have a go to return to the planet. And Colonel, you'll take SG-9 with you. Dismissed."

~^~^~^~

Jack hurried out of the briefing room to get back to the infirmary and as he neared the ICU he heard a bustle of activity going on around the corner in Daniel's room. He stepped out of the way just in time as a nurse came out of the room in a rush and fled past him down the hall carrying some vials of blood. He walked past the closed door on into the observation room overlooking the intensive care unit Daniel was presently in.

He walked in and went straight over to the glass window just as Dr. Frasier rushed in to the room below. Her eyes met his for a brief moment, and then the rush of activity continued. He stared at the pale figure lying on the bed as a nurse pressed a piece of gauze against the limp arm where yet another blood sample had been taken. He'd overheard one of the nurses say that Frasier had told them not to put the typical band-aid on Daniel every time they took his blood because they were having to stick him so often to keep tabs on the continually fluctuation levels in his blood. The nurse turned and hurried out after getting instructions from Dr. Frasier.

Jack's eyes found the heart monitor and he stared at it as the line continued to move and spike. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the one thing that reassured him that his friend was still alive.

~^~^~^~

Doctor Frasier glanced up at the observation room and walked out snapping the gloves off and untying the gown and tossing it and the mask into the bin. She didn't know which symptoms to treat first. The fever? The dangerously high blood pressure? His kidneys which were in danger of shutting down? His heart was showing signs of the strain on his system. It seemed like there was a new crisis every hour. And with each crisis he became weaker, his body too tired and overwhelmed to fight so many battles all at once.

She walked up to the observation room and paused outside the door taking a deep breath before going in.

~^~^~^~

Jack rubbed his hand over his face then and pressed his thumbs against his eyelids as if that would stop the trail of tears that had escaped. He heard the door open and quickly swiped his face with the back of his hand. before turning toward the door as Doctor Frasier stepped in and closed the door behind her.

"Colonel."

"Doctor."

She walked over to the window and stared out into the room. "He's a fighter, sir." She said softly.

Jack turned back to the window. "Yeah. He is. He's the strongest person I've ever known."

They both stood, staring down at Daniel, each lost in their own private pain.

"I need to make a few calls to some specialists I know and check on the latest blood tests." She turned to the Colonel whose eyes were still glued to the room below. She reached over and gently squeezed his arm then turned and walked out.

~^~^~^~

Jack listened to Major Carter and Dr. Lee as they each took turns excitedly telling the small group of hastily assembled people their latest discovery.

"And you found this out, how?" Jack asked.

"It was right there on the video SG-9 took in one of the buildings on the planet, sir." Sam said excitedly. "The tablet said something about a healing room. An 'altar of reflection that heals the shattered spirit'. Dr. Lee thought he could see some writing on a pedestal in one of the rooms. So we ran the tape through and magnified the area and that same exact phrase was written along the sides of this pedestal. "

Sam looked around at the faces as they all focused on the photo projected on the wall. She excitedly pointed to the long mirror lined pedestal in the center of a brightly lit room. "The tablet also spoke of a special room. A 'room where no shadows fall'. When I spoke with Sgt. McCleary he told me about a room that I might be interested in checking out. It was illuminated continually all the time his team was there, He said it looked brighter than daylight because the floors, the walls, and the ceiling were lit up somehow from underneath the surface so bright that you wouldn't have been able to have seen your shadow. The pedestal is in that room. It's there. I'm sure of it."

Everyone turned to the General as he spoke. "Good work Major. Doctor Lee. Sergeant Siler has assured me the Gate should be operational sometime this evening. As soon as they run the diagnostic checks on it, you have a go to P4X-929. Colonel O'Neill you'll take SG-9 with you. Good work people. You're dismissed."

~^~^~^~

Jack walked into the infirmary already kitted up and ready, just waiting for the go ahead as soon as the gate was checked out. He glanced down at his watch. Siler said forty-five minutes to an hour, so he laid his vest and pack down on the floor by the doorway and stepped over to Daniel's bed. He nodded at the nurse as she looked up at him. She stood, nodded and left the room, giving him some privacy.

If anything, Daniel actually looked smaller in the bed amongst all the wires and tubes, than he had just a few hours ago. Jack moved the chair closer and sat down tiredly. He leaned his elbows on his knees and rested his forehead on his clinched fists. He felt a nervous tremor flutter through his gut. He could almost hear some imaginary clock ticking off the few precious minutes or hours they had left to find a way to reverse this.

He raised his eyes and looked at Daniel as he lay unmoving. The only assurance that he was still alive was the steady beeping of the monitor. The sound which also reminded him of that imaginary clock ticking away toward death. Jack covered Daniel's hand with his own and spoke softly, although he knew no one would hear.

"I'm sorry, Daniel. I wasn't here when you ...maybe if I'd been here.... If I just hadn't left to go fix that stupid roof........" He lowered his eyes again and squeezed them shut.

"You've gotta hang in there Daniel. Carter and Dr. Lee, they think they've found something on that planet that will fix this. But you have to stay with me. You can't d.....can't go anywhere, you hear me? You gotta fight this thing, Daniel."

~^~^~^~

Doctor Frasier hung up the phone on yet another of her fellow colleagues who could only wish her luck along with their apologies that they couldn't help more. She closed the chart and got up to go check on Daniel. It had been another long day already. Taking blood every two hours to monitor the many chemicals and hormones that were fluctuating wildly was a necessary evil. She knew the nurses were feeling badly for having to stick Daniel so often. It was the only good thing she could see about his continued lack of consciousness.

She pushed on the door to the ICU and stopped when she saw Colonel O'Neill sitting by Daniel, his head bowed low holding his hand. The lump grew again in her throat as she looked at these two men, so different and yet so close.

She took a deep breath and stepped in, closing the door quietly behind her. He looked up at her and then quickly looked away, clearing his throat.

"Colonel."

"How's he doing?"

She paused, "I'm afraid he's not doing very well, sir."

He just nodded, not taking his eyes off his friend.

"The gate should be ready any time."

"That's good, Colonel."

He stared intently at Daniel. "Is he gonna hang on till we get back?"

My God, what could she say? That she was surprised he'd held on this long? That wouldn't do either of them any good.

"If anyone can, he can." She softly replied.

The uneasy silence that was filled with so many unsaid words was finally broken by a light knock on the partially open door by one of the nurses. "Doctor Frasier, there was a call from General Hammond. He wanted me to let Colonel O'Neill know the gate will be ready in fifteen minutes."

"Thank you, nurse. Has Doctor Jackson's last blood tests come back yet?"

"No Doctor. Would you like me to check on them?"

"Yes, would you, please?"

She turned back to the Colonel who was fiddling with the blanket, twisting it in his fingers. She glanced at the monitor and stared at the readings not liking what she saw. She stepped closer to the machine as the spikes from the EKG started becoming erratic. She went over and pulled her penlight out of her pocket shining it in each of his eyes.

Jack looked at her worriedly. "What is it? What's wrong?" He asked as he stood up beside the bed.

"His heart is weak, sir." She placed her hand on his forehead, feeling the cool clammy skin and wiped the sweat dampened hair back gently.

"Tell me he's gonna survive till we get back, right?" Jack said fearfully.

"I..I just don't know, Colonel. I'm sorry."

Jack stared at Daniel and the monitor that told him each second he was still fighting to hang on.

"Can he make it through the gate?" He asked suddenly.

She looked up at him questioningly. "I don't know. Why do you ask?"

"What if we take him with us through the gate to that room Dr. Lee seems to think might make him better?"

She ran all the potential obstacles through in her mind but they were all possible to overcome. She weighed the danger of doing nothing until the teams went to the planet, returned, and then if they thought they'd found the answer for Daniel, taking him back through the gate to the room Dr. Lee spoke of.....That would all take time. Time she doubted Daniel had in his favor. Or letting the Colonel take him through now with a chance that he could be healed.

"Only if my team and I go with him, Colonel." She said firmly.

"Can you have him ready to go in ten minutes, Doc? I'll clear it with Hammond." He turned and was out the door before he even heard her answer.

~^~^~^~

Colonel O'Neill stood in the Gateroom with Major Carter, SG-9 and Teal'c who had dialed though right after the gate was back on-line and had finally been able to return. Jack glanced up nervously to the control room as they waited for Dr. Frasier and her entourage consisting of herself, her medical team and Daniel.

Sgt. McCleary still wouldn't make eye contact with him because of the guilt he felt for bringing the artifacts back through the gate to Daniel. He would try to have a word with him when they got back to the SGC, assuming that he would be in a forgiving mood when that time came.

Suddenly a flurry of movement caught his eye as two medics, with Dr. Frasier following behind, entered, pushing a gurney with Daniel now dressed in his BDU's.

Jack motioned for Sgt. Davis to dial them up as he stepped closer to the stretcher laying on top of the gurney. He glanced over at Dr. Frasier. She looked up at him and said, "I think Daniel would have a fit if we made him walk back through that gate wearing only a thin hospital gown, don't you Colonel?" She grinned, hoping to give him something positive to hang on to.

Jack nodded, thankful for her words and laid his hand on Daniel's shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze as he looked down at him worriedly, then as the seventh chevron locked and the wormhole burst forth the medics picked up the stretcher from atop the gurney and followed SG-9 through the gate, along with Dr. Frasier, followed by the rest of SG-1.

~^~^~^~

SG-9 along with Teal'c went on ahead the short distance to the building they believed held the room Dr. Lee saw on the videotape. Doctor Frasier kept a constant eye on her patient who was being carried by the two medics. She on one side and Colonel O'Neill on the other.

The crackle of the radio broke the silence.

"SG-9 to Colonel O'Neill, Do you copy?"

"O'Neill here. Go ahead McCleary"

"We've located the room Colonel. Take a left when you enter the building and bear left until you come to a set of steps. The room is at the top. You can't miss it."

"Roger. We're on our way."

Jack looked over at Doctor Frasier who as much as she tried to hide her worry, the look in her eyes told him things he didn't want to know. As they came up to the wide doorway, Major Carter went in first leading the way, followed by the medical team carrying Daniel, and lastly Colonel O'Neill.

~^~^~^~

The medics carried the stretcher up the steps leading to the brightly illuminated room right behind Major Carter.

Sam entered the room, nodding at Teal'c who was standing just inside the entry way, and let her eyes take in the alien décor .The Sergeant was right about one thing. You'd have to be blind to miss it. The entire room glowed.

"Wow. This is amazing." Sam said to no one in particular. But her next thought was of how much Daniel would love to see this room. She glanced back at the stretcher that had been lowered to the floor, as Doctor Frasier re-checked her patient. Colonel O'Neill was standing looking down at the pale, still form. He looked over at her and as his eyes met Sam's he quickly looked away. Seeing the glistening in her CO's eyes made her struggle to get her own emotions under control once again. Squeezing her eyes shut briefly then she opened them to see several other pairs of eyes staring at her, as if waiting on her to do something.

Finally Colonel O'Neill spoke.

"What now, Major?" He asked.

She looked around and saw the pedestal in the center of the room and started toward it. She recognized the writings along the base that Dr. Lee had finally translated to mean "the place where no shadows fall." She turned to see Colonel O'Neill standing beside her, also staring at the long mirrored surface.

"So... Major. This is it, huh?" Colonel O'Neill asked with a slight quiver in his voice.

"Yes, sir."

"So. Daniel's gotta lay on it or something?"

"Yes sir. I believe so."

"We'd better do it then." Jack paused briefly and then turned and walked back to where the stretcher lay. He looked down at Daniel then started unfastening the P-90 from the front of his vest. He handed the weapon to Sam.

He motioned to the two medics. "Bring the stretcher over here." He waited for them to bend down and pick it up before turning and going back to the center of the room. He motioned for them to stop beside the table and Jack, putting one arm under Daniel's shoulders and the other under his knees, picked him up and gently laid him down on the shiny surface. He slipped his arms out from under his knees and then carefully slid his arm out from under his shoulders as he held his head. He laid his head down gently and looked up at Major Carter and Doctor Frasier standing across from him.

"Now what?" He asked.

"Now I guess we wait, sir." Major Carter answered.

~^~^~^~

The room was eerily quiet. The only sound was the unsteady breathing coming from the body lying on the mirror in the center of the room. Jack paced along the short distance just outside the doorway at the top of the steps. Major Carter thought the device would probably work better without anyone in the room except the one who had been damaged by the alien device.

Doctor Frasier and the two medics were sitting on the steps waiting and hoping that the stretcher leaned up against the wall wouldn't be needed on the way back to the Stargate. SG-9 took up positions around the building and Teal'c stood at the foot of the steps keeping watch along with Major Carter. They glanced at the Colonel and then at one another, each knew how much Daniel meant to the Colonel and each could feel the tension emanating from the pacing man.

Colonel O'Neill stopped and glanced into the room again, then turned to his 2IC.

"Are you sure this is gonna work, Major?" He asked again.

"If the translations Daniel finished before he collapsed, and if Dr. Lee got the other translations correct, then yes, sir."

He just stared at her. "If, Carter?"

"Dr. Lee and the other scientists are almost positive they have it right, sir." she replied.

"See it's that 'almost' part that I just...." He turned around quickly as he saw a flash of light engulf the room behind him and he had to shield his eyes to try to peer into the blinding fog that had permeated the entire room.

Major Carter and Teal'c hurried up the steps right behind Jack and tried to see into the room with hands across their eyes but also couldn't make out anything beyond the doorway.

"Is this supposed to be happening, Major?" Colonel O'Neill asked.

"I hope so sir." Sam told him hopefully.

Doctor Frasier was on her feet waiting on whatever was happening in that room to end so she could get in there and check on her patient.

Then as suddenly as it had appeared, the bright light flashed out, leaving the room in its original incandescent glow. Colonel O'Neill stepped into the doorway, looked around, then rushed over to the mirrored pedestal. He looked down at Daniel as the color started to come back into his face and then he watched as Daniel's lips moved.

"Ja'ak?"

Colonel O'Neill leaned down as Daniel swallowed and one eye opened just a slit.

"Hey Daniel?"

"Too...bright."

Colonel O'Neill glanced up at Doctor Frasier who was pressing the stethoscope against Daniel's chest and they both smiled. Tired, relieved smiles.

She took the stethoscope away and nodded at the Colonel just as Daniel tried to sit up. Colonel O'Neill put his hand behind Daniel's back and helped him upright and gave the back of his neck a slight squeeze. Daniel squinted his eyes and looked around.

"Uh... Jack? Where are we?" Daniel asked.

"We're in the land of Nod and you just woke up." Jack exchanged grins with the others gathered around.

"What?"

"Never mind," Jack said as he squeezed Daniel's shoulder. "Let's just go home."

fin.

© February 2004 They don't belong to me, but a girl can wish, right? Another long Danny Whumper. What can I say? I couldn't write a 'drabble' if you paid me. Thanks again Lenya for a top-notch beta.