His eyes fluttered open threatening to close once more. It was only with distinct effort that he managed to keep his heavy eyelids from shutting. He looked forward and cringed. Grey material. He could feel a pillow under his head. At least that was a good sign. Several seconds of confusion of where he was passed until his memory began to work again. That’s right….he was in a van heading up-north. He lifted his head slightly and saw the back of Jack’s head in the driver’s seat and Teal’c in shot gun. As he raised his head a little higher, he could even see Dr. Frasier’s blue car up ahead. His head fell back heavily as that tiny effort from his neck muscles cost him much precious energy. He now remembered how tired he had been when Jack and the rest of the sg-1 team had picked him up from his apartment what couldn’t have been – he looked at the car clock- TWO HOURS AGO?!?! He had fallen asleep for two hours? He must have been more tired than he had originally thought. Of course, it was all in good reason. Sg-1 had had a tough week. Not only did they end up stranded on P3S 525 for three days due to a horrendous lightning storm, but when they had returned to the base, they didn’t even have the time for a well - needed shower before the general ordered them and two other sg units to retrieve sg-6 with whom they had lost radio contact and was now a day overdue. By the time they had retrieved the missing team, who, by the way, had been late due to heavy hangovers following a massive party on the assigned planet, Daniel returned to his office only to be welcomed by tons of artefacts with attached notes. They each read something similar:

To each of these a name would be signed with their sgc units. Daniel’s eyes began to close as he remembered the sleepless nights that he had been working on these translations. Infact, he couldn’t even remember the last time he had really slept in the past week. That’s why he agreed so eagerly for this weekend in the country. Of course it had taken some effort on Cassandra’s and Jack’s behalf in order to get him to agree, but only when he was finally convinced, did he realise how much he needed this break.

Daniel slightly grinned as he remembered exactly what Jack had meant when he said that he had ‘taken care of it’. When he had returned back to his office after a much needed coffee break, all the artefacts that he had been working on were completely out of sight. He had looked all over the base; the labs, the infirmary, and he had even gone as far as to look in the male bathrooms (knowing Jack, anything was possible). Of course, it was to no avail. Daniel shook his head in disbelief with the memory and looked to the seat in front of him. There, Sam was completely asleep in a half-sitting half slouching position. Her pillow had fallen from her head a long time ago and her head now leaned crookedly on the seat. Her hair was slightly dishevelled, an event that rarely occurred and was extremely uncharacteristic, and she too looked like this was the best sleep that she had got in the past few nights. A warm feeling of satisfaction enveloped him as he realized that he would have a great time this weekend. What could be better than spending the weekend with your friends somewhere in the woods far from any signs of civilization?

________________________________________

"All right sleepy heads, wake up!!!" Jack frowned as he got no response from the two limp bodies each taking over a long bench of the van. He stretched back as far as possible from the driver’s seat and gave the sleeping Carter a little shove but received no response. Jack looked at Teal’c who sat next to him and shrugged. He took out the keys from the ignition and pressed on the automatic alarm button of the black control device of the car that made a handy key chain. The car- alarm blared in the peaceful winter day. Both Daniel and Sam woke up from their peaceful slumber; two heads popping up from their perches.

"Now that’s what I call a wake-up call. Good morning kids." Jack looked at his two team members with a satisfied grin. Daniel stretched his arms and yawned but before he was able to make another move, the van door slid open and in ran Cassandra. She jumped into the car and grabbed Sam and Daniel’s hands as she pulled them out of the vehicle.

"Common…you have to see the house. You are going to love it!" she exclaimed as she almost made Daniel trip.

"Cass, let our guests first get settled in before giving them the tour okay?" Janet said but couldn’t hold back the smile.

________________________________

The arrangements were as such: Jack and Sam would share the guestroom, Cassy would share the same room as Janet, and Daniel would take the couch in the living room while Teal’c would take the floor. Teal’c claimed that the floor was perfect for his meditation; a state of mind that was equivalent to sleep for Jaffas. The house was Swiss-style made up of mostly Cedar wood. It had two-floors consisting of a fairly large kitchen, living room, T.V room and a couple of bedrooms and matching bathrooms.

"This is perfect Janet. Exactly what we needed." Jack said as he collapsed on the couch and stretched his arms behind his head.

"It was my idea!" Cassy exclaimed frustrated that her mom was getting all the credit.

"Thanks Cass, it was a great idea." Daniel joined Jack on the couch.

"How about some coffee or tea before we start preparing for some dinner?" Janet asked as she took the coffee out of the grocery bag that she had brought along.

"Sure, I’d love a coffee…I can’t seem to keep my eyes open." Sam said as she moved to help Janet with the groceries.

"Tomorrow, we’ll have so much fun. We’ll build a snowman and then we’ll go tobogganing and then we can have a snowball fight and then…" Cassy jumped up from her seat and grabbed a chocolate bar before Sam even had a chance to put it away.

"Whoa, Cassandra, slow down. We aren’t as young as you are. We’ll do as much as we can but not all tomorrow. There is just so much excitement that us adults can take in one day." Janet had to explain.

"Hey, speak for yourself. I’m not the old hags that you guys seem to be. I’ll go with you Cass." Jack sat up and grabbed Cassandra and lifted her up on the couch while he succeeded in tickling her.

"Okay, enough play. Before we do anything go unpack, young lady." Janet looked at her daughter sternly to show that she definitely meant business. The young girl grunted and trudged up the stairs towards her room where a full suitcase of clothes awaited her.

"So…now what?" Jack asked.

"Now, we relax and take it easy." Janet took a seat while taking a testing sip at her coffee.

"Well I noticed that there’s no cable so the game’s out of the questi…Teal’c, you okay?"

Jack creased his eyebrows as he watched the large man examine the cookoo clock on the wall. His face was peering through the hole while his hands were behind his back; the typical Teal’c stance when he felt like examining some foreign object.

"You might not want to stand so close…" Jack attempted to warn his friend but it was too late. As the clock struck eight o’clock, the small chick popped out of it’s hole and poked Teal’c in the forehead as it exclaimed its traditional song: "COOKOO…COOKOO". By the time Teal’c even knew what had happened, everyone was already on the floor laughing hysterically.

"What did I miss?" Cass came running out of her room.

"Teal’c just discovered the cookoo clock." Daniel managed to explain through struggling breaths of air while he continued to laugh. Cass simply crossed her arms in obvious anger, "I don’t get it…stop laughing…stop laughing." Teal’c was the only other one who couldn’t seem to find anything funny.

" This item attempted to attack me, I do not understand the humour in all this."

"Teal’c, it’s just a clock…it’s supposed to do that…it announces the beginning of a new hour…oh, never mind." Jack was attempting to explain but finally gave up when the only reaction he got from the large Jaffa was the raise of an eyebrow.

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"I hate gin" Daniel threw his cards on the table towards Jack. This was the sixth time in a row that he had lost and now Jack was giving him an evil laugh as he collected everybody’s cards for a seventh round.

"Well, so far, Daniel’s in last place, Teal’c’s tied with Janet in fourth place, I’m in third, Colonel, you’re in second and Cass, you’re in first. Way to go girl." Sam nudged the 12-year old whose smile was as wide as ever.

"Why don’t you come sit next to me?" Daniel smiled at Cassandra.

"I think it’s time for all of us to hit the bed. It’s already twelve o’clock and we have a very long day tomorrow." Janet said as she tried to stifle a yawn that was threatening to come out. Nobody protested as they each got up and picked up any empty plates left on the table and brought them to the kitchen.

______________________________________

Daniel was fast asleep on the couch. Something or someone was nagging him to get up. It took a few seconds for his body to follow what his brain was telling him. Open your eyes! His eyes fluttered open to see Cassandra’s face.

"Wake up Daniel!" she whispered. She was on her knees in front of the couch. He looked past her to see that Teal’c was still ‘asleep’.

"What time is it?" Daniel managed to at least keep his right eye from closing. His voice, on the other hand, sounded like a frog.

"It’s seven thirty. I’ve been up since six thirty. I’m really bored."

"So you woke me up to…?"

"Play outside. Beautiful snowflakes are falling. It’s beautiful! You have to come outside with me. I knew that you would be the only one who wouldn’t yell at me for waking you up. Come on, let’s go." Cassandra started to pull on Daniel’s hand that wasn’t covered by the blanket.

"Okay…just give me a second." Daniel tried his best to smile even though he would have loved to just roll over and go back to sleep. Just before he was about to get up, his face turned slightly red with embarrassment as he realized that he only had his boxers on. "Uhm, Cass, you think you can just give me a bit of privacy so that I can get dressed? In the meantime, why don’t you put on your snowsuit?" To Daniel’s relief, Cassandra was already making her way towards the entrance of the house and out of Daniel’s field of vision. He quietly got off the couch and made his way to his bag of clothes that he had stuffed into the closet. He pulled out a pair of jeans and a warm sweater and went to join Cassandra. By the time he reached her side, she was already dressed in her blue snowsuit that was probably brand new judging from the tags that were still stuck to her hat and jacket.

"Here, let me get that." Daniel tried hard not to laugh as he pulled off the tags. Just before he reached out to open the front door, he remembered to leave a note so that the others wouldn’t worried. He told Cassandra to wait as he tiptoed his way to the kitchen. He shook his head in disbelief at the loud snoring sounds coming from Jack and Sam’s room. How could Sam sleep through all that noise?!? He grabbed a pen and quickly scribbled down a note which read that he was going to go for a walk with Cassandra and that they wouldn’t be too long.

Outside was very cold. As they made their way across the large field that was next to the country house, Daniel cursed himself for not taking his gloves. As least he remembered his scarf. Before another thought could enter his mind, he felt something cold hit his head. A snowball! So, she was a sneaky little fellah. He bent down to pick up his own snowball and in doing so, another snowball missed him. He threw his snowball at her back as she was desperately trying to roll another one. In her panic, she wasn’t even close to getting the form of a ball so she settled at just throwing whatever her hand could grasp. By the time she got up, Daniel was out of sight.

"Daniel?…Where are you?" Cassandra felt a tinge of fear; she was never really alone before in an unfamiliar place. "DANIEL?" Worry was starting to creep in. But before she could do anything about it, she felt a snowball hit her in the back. She turned around and saw Daniel crouching behind one of the trees of the large forest. Cassandra’s worry immediately melted away. She ran in his direction but swerved away as if hinting to Daniel to chase her. He got up from his hiding place and began to run after her. They ran through the trees with ease. The snow was high and fluffy and the weather was warming up.

"Cassandra, slow down…seriously, I can’t keep up." Daniel yelled with a slight smirk on his face that she couldn’t possibly see from where she was. She stopped running and made her way back towards Daniel. Daniel began to pant heavily as if out of breath. When she was close enough, he pulled his hand out from behind his back to reveal a massive snowball. Before Cassandra could make a move, it was already smooshed all over her new hat. She leaped to the floor grabbing Daniel’s legs and bringing him down with her. They both laughed as more snow was thrown.

______________________________________

Janet woke up to see that Cassandra’s bed was empty. ‘She’s probably downstairs drawing in the kitchen’ Janet thought to herself. She climbed off her bed and made her way downstairs where Teal’c was still in his meditating position on the floor. She knew that Sam and Jack were still asleep judging from the snoring. Speaking of which had kept her up for a couple of hours before she was finally able to fall asleep! As she crossed the living room, she noticed that Daniel was gone as well. It was when she had reached the kitchen when she found the note. She read it and smiled to herself as she looked at her watch. Eight fifteen. She pinched her nose and sighed as she reprimanded herself for waking up so early. ‘Might as well start preparing breakfast’.

________________________________________

Finally, when they were both much too exhausted to continue their little battle, Daniel and Cassandra made a truce and decided that a nice walk in the forest would be perfect. As they walked, Daniel asked Cass about school and the kids there. She told him about the boy she had a crush on. She also explained how he always picked on her and that Janet told her that it was his own way of showing her that he liked her. Daniel smiled at the comment. He looked at Cassandra and realized that he was happy that she had woken him up. He loved spending time with her. He looked at his watch and frowned. Ten o’clock? Boy time really flew.

"Cass, we should start making our way home. Everyone is going to be worried."

"A little longer. Please Daniel! At least lets get to the stream." Daniel contemplated and decided that the stream couldn’t be too far now judging from the sound of the flowing water.

"Alright, only until the stream and then we turn back. Okay?"

"Sure…Come on!" Cassandra, with a new burst of energy began to run down the path of the forest towards the sound of the rushing water. She nearly fell as she tripped over a large rock that protruded out of the snow.

"Cassandra, stop running. There are rocks and it’s getting icy. Cass stop!!!" She was running too far ahead now to even hear Daniel’s warning. Daniel began to run after her despite his leg muscles warning him that they were too tired.

_____________________________________

Janet looked at her watch for the twelfth time in a minute. It was already 10:05. Where could they be? Sam looked up from her eggs and pancakes seeing the concern in Janet’s eyes but did not say anything.

"They’re alright Janet. They probably just lost track of time. Hey, you know Daniel! He’s probably found some interesting rock and is boring the hell out of Cassandra with one of his lectures as we speak." Jack said as he wiped his mouth from the maple syrup.

"You’re probably right." Janet attempted to smile but failing miserably. "It’s just that it’s really cold out and what if they got lost? I’ve gotten lost plenty of times in that forest…" Sam put her hand on top of her worried friend’s arm in an act of friendship.

"They’re fine Janet." Janet simply nodded, got up from her seat and put her plate in the sink.

"Teal’c, you can’t eat a pancake like that. Dipping is for McNuggets or…or… for french fries. You don’t dip your pancakes into the maple syrup." Jack attempted to explain.

"Then how does one eat this pan-cake?" Jack leaned forward and grabbed the syrup.

"Like this." He poured the maple syrup all over the pancakes, drowning them in the brown liquid. "There, now try it." Teal’c bowed his head in gratitude and took a bite. Immediately, his face scrunched up into a scowl.

"This method of yours, O’Neill, renders the pan-cake much too sweet ."

____________________________________________

Daniel was running as fast as he could with as much energy as he could. His heart was pounding out of nerves rather than from exertion. The path was very narrow and dangerous considering if one slipped, he or she would roll down a steep hill where sharp rocks could do serious damage.

"CASSANDRA! STOP!" His voice was sounding desperate now. Sometimes kids just don’t know when to stop playing around. He was almost sure that she thought they were playing tag. But before he could here an answer, Daniel felt his body twist in a weird fashion as his shoes were not prepared for the large patch of ice directly under him. As he felt himself fall, the only thing that entered his mind was the word SHIT! His back hit the floor heavily but with the added momentum of his previous running, it didn’t take him long to realize that he was rolling off the path and down the steep hill. He was rolling at a terribly fast speed downwards. He wondered how he felt relief that he had not gone over any large rocks at a time like this but the relief just as quickly ended. He was heading right for a large thick tree. He closed his eyes not knowing what else to do. He waited for the impact. He opened his eyes right before he heard a loud CRACK. A shrilling scream filled with pain and terror escaped his throat as the pain followed the crack. All temporary numbness was quickly replaced with gut-wrenching, hand clawing pain. He desperately tried to stop screaming and only managed to bring it down to occasional whimpers. He knew that he had collided into the tree. He could feel the trunk of the tree against his back. He closed his eyes. ‘Okay, you definitely did something to your back Jackson. That crack did not sound good.’ But something else was bothering him. His stomach was stinging uncontrollably. ‘Open your eyes and look, Jackson. It’s the only way to find out what else you did to yourself.’ He opened his eyes and looked down at his abdomen. Panic took over. A sharp pointy pick of wood that was a part of the trunk stabbed him in the back where he hit the tree. The pick was so far in that he could even feel its presence internally, in his stomach. His mouth opened to scream but no sound came out as he reached out and tried to grab onto anything that could give him support as he began to hyperventilate. The only thing available was the snow as he clawed his fingernails deep into it. More panic seized him when he realized that the snow in hands and all around him was dark red.

Cassandra stopped running immediately once she heard Daniel’s screams. She quickly turned around and followed the sounds. She back tracked a few feet when the shouting stopped. "DANIEL!!! WHERE ARE YOU?" she yelled. When no answer followed her heart started to pound faster. "DANIEL, IT’S NOT FUNNY ANYMORE!!!" For five minutes she looked around frantically, scared to be left alone. "DANIEL…PLEASE ANSWER!!!" Her voice began to crack as she felt tears begin to swell up around her eyes. As she continued to backtrack, the colour blue of a jacket caught the corner of her eye as she turned the corner. She looked over the edge. The gasp that was begging to come out was caught in her throat. "Hold on, I’m coming down!" were the only words that she managed to scream down.

Daniel could hear Cassandra. With all the concentration possible, he managed to get his mouth working again even through the haze of pain. "No Cassandra, don’t come down here! It’s too dangerous. Just stay where you are!" The girl wasn’t listening. She was making her way down carefully but surprisingly quickly despite the steepness. When she reached Daniel, she didn’t know what to do.

"Oh my G-d…Daniel, what can I do? Oh G-d, don’t die…" she was muttering and crying at the same time, fear and shock apparent in her expression and voice.

"You …you have to go get help. Please go…go now." Daniel’s mouth was getting extremely dry.

"Daniel, I’m scared." Cassandra was now crying hysterically.

"Just, go get help. I promise you everything is going to be fine. I need you to stay calm Cassy. Be brave. I don’t blame you for being scared. I’m very scared right now too but I need your mother’s help right now. All you have to do is go back and tell her that I fell and that I need her help. Okay…okay?" Through sobs the little girl nodded her head and got up from the ground that now was becoming more and more red as the blood was spreading.

"Be careful!" he tried to yell after her as she was making her way back up the hill but he only succeeded in a faint whisper. He was getting very tired and cold too quickly for his liking. He only wished that he could believe his own words.

__________________________________________

Janet was pacing the floor. It was already five to eleven and no sign of Cassandra or Daniel. "I’m going out after them" she said as she determinedly made her way towards the front door grabbing her coat in the process.

"I’ll go with you." Sam said as she followed Janet. Nobody tried to stop them. Not even Jack which worried Janet even more. She opened the front door and stepped outside.

"OH MY G-D!!!" was all Sam heard before her friend took off. She hurriedly put on her coat and tied her boots and opened the door. Within seconds, she was running after her friend as fast as her feet could go. Cassandra was running and tripping as she tried to make her way towards Janet and herself. The sight that truly scared Sam to death was the girl’s pained and terrified expression and the blood that covered her brand new jacket. By the time she reached her, Janet was already asking her a million questions as she was forcing the girl to lie down. Cassandra was muttering words that she could not make out.

"Mom, stop! IT’S NOT MY BLOOD. It’s Daniel’s. We have to help him. He slipped and fell down a hill. Mom, you have to come." Cassandra grabbed her mother’s hand and started to desperately pull her.

"Wait, I have to get something first…" Without even finishing her sentence, she ran back into the house.

Jack was sitting on the couch trying to watch a scrambled sports channel when the front door flew open.

"Back alread…" he stopped himself from continuing as he saw Janet rush in, her eyes wide in shock and worry. "Janet, what’s wrong?" She wasn’t responding. He watched as she went into a small room that attached to the kitchen and came out with a med kit.

"Jack get me a blanket, a pair of gloves and a hat. Teal’c, call for an ambulance to come immediately." she ordered as she was running back towards the front door.

"Janet, what the hell is going on?!?!" Jack yelled after her.

"Daniel’s hurt. HURRY UP. I DON’T HAVE THE TIME TO EXPLAIN!" She was already out the door.

Immediately Jack got up and followed the doctor out of the house with the items that were needed while Teal’c picked up the phone and began dialing.

______________________________________________

Daniel was beyond freezing. His teeth were actually chattering. His hands were already numb from the cold and he couldn’t even feel his legs anymore. He felt mysteriously detached from his body. Luckily, since he had hit the tree lying down, the snow had numbed the pain in his back to a point where he could not even feel a thing. It was odd he thought. The blood would not stop flowing yet he could no longer feel the pain. His eyes began to close but he forced them open once more. ‘Don’t give up on me now Jackson. Cass went for help. It can’t be too much longer.’

_______________________________________

Cassandra was leading the way. Tears were still falling down her cheeks but she quickly wiped them away remembering Daniel’s words. "Be brave." Within a few minutes, they had reached the spot where Daniel had tripped.

"He’s down there!" Cassandra pointed.

"Oh G-d! Daniel! DANIEL!" the doctor shouted as she sat on her but and started to desperately make her way down the hill. Sam and Jack did not wait to follow.

"No Cass, stay here. You did great, but we need you to stay here for now while we help Daniel." Jack whispered to the girl when he saw her about to follow them down. Jack looked back at Daniel who was lying on the ground, his back was against the tree. ‘What did you get yourself into this time Buddy.’ Jack thought to himself as he forced his eyes to tear away from his friend’s figure lying in a pool of his own blood. He had to concentrate on making his way down.

Daniel’s eyes were half closed. He was trying with all his effort to keep them open. As he tried to look up at the top of hill to see if anyone had come, he found that his neck muscles would not allow any motion. In fact, his whole body was completely stiff. To his surprise, a huge brown boot came into his field of vision. ‘Funny’ he thought ‘I didn’t even hear any footsteps.’ That worried him even more. Not only was his vision beginning to deteriorate, but now his ears weren’t working properly. It took a lot of concentration on his behalf to finally hear Janet’s muffled voice.

"Daniel…can you hear me. Talk to me Daniel." Janet was now touching his arm yet he couldn’t feel a thing. Janet frowned when she got no response. However, it relieved her to know that he was still conscious and aware.

"His lips are blue. He’s cold." Sam’s voice was not stable at all.

"Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. Sam and I are going to hold him down while Jack, you are going to grab his shoulders and pull quickly so that we can free his back from the tree trunk. Be sure not to twist him in any sort of way, I think he may have broken his back during the collision. Jack, on the count of three." Jack looked at her and nodded nervously. " 1...2…3" Jack pulled quickly as Daniel’s back was freed from the wooden pick. With the release of the pressure, more blood continuously flowed from the wound. Daniel’s hand desperately grasped at Sam’s arm as he squeezed his eyes closed and managed to grind his teeth as the numbness was replaced by uncontrollable pain. Sam merely stroked his hair to show him that she was there for him. Janet immediately took out a heavy cloth and ordered Jack to press as hard as he could onto the puncture on Daniel’s back to lessen the loss of blood. Janet put the hat on Daniel’s head and put the gloves over his hands that were now swollen from the cold. She wrapped the blanket around Daniel’s shaking form and then turned to Jack. "Do you think you can carry him back or…" Jack interrupted her before she could give an alternative.

"Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it." Jack looked as serious as ever.

"Even though he shouldn’t be moved in this condition, we have to get him to the ambulance. Can you carry him all the way there?" Jack nodded. "Okay, careful with his back when you lift him, good…like that." Janet looked up to her daughter who was standing at the top of the hill, her face filled with worry. "Cass, wait till Sam climbs up and then go back to the cabin with her okay?" The little girl nodded and waited patiently as Sam began to make her way back up the hill giving Daniel a kiss on his forehead before doing so. Janet looked back at Jack. " Now, follow me. I know a short cut from here. I guess getting lost here finally did pay off." Janet began to run in a slow jog with Jack, Daniel in his arms, not too far behind.

Daniel was becoming extremely pale and Jack could feel the wounded man shaking through the blanket. As Jack continued to jog after the petite doctor, he whispered in Daniel’s ear, "You’re going to make it buddy. Just hang on a little longer."

________________________________________

Teal’c felt helpless. He hated waiting in the house when a fellow friend was hurt and in danger. He tried to calm himself but the police made that nearly impossible when they had told him that due to the location of the cabin, it would take about twenty minutes to half an hour to get there depending on the road conditions. The front door pushed open as Janet ran into the house without even bothering with her shoes and jacket. Teal’c’s face frowned when he saw Jack run in after her holding Daniel who was wrapped in a grey blanket.

"Teal’c, clear away the kitchen table!!!" Janet ordered as she took out a needle from the kit she was carrying. Teal’c, with a strong sweep of his hand, cleared the table as dishes and a flower vase hit the floor and broke into pieces. No one seemed to notice. Jack laid Daniel down on his side so that his back was facing the doctor. She lifted a part of the blanket that covered his thigh and gently injected the morphine into his thigh muscle. Janet threw away the cloth that was soaked with blood and threw another one at Jack.

"Keep pressing on the puncture. Teal’c, where the hell are the ambulances?"

"They should be here any moment Dr. Frasier." Teal’c explained, his expression more grim than regular.

"Daniel, you have to keep your eyes open." Janet bend down so that she was face to face with Daniel who was now deathly pale. Daniel’s eyes opened at her warning.

"I’m just really…"

"What, I can’t understand what you’re saying Daniel." His eyes closed once more. "Stay with me, Daniel!"

"Tired…I said I was tired…I woke up early this morning…" He smiled at Janet as his eyes began to close once again. Her heart jumped as she heard the door open.

"Janet, the ambulances are here!" Janet heard Sam’s voice scream. Within seconds, paramedics came in with the proper equipment and began to work on Daniel. Jack stepped back a few steps and watched in utter disbelief. He looked down at his own hands that still held the soaking cloth that had now turned red. His hands shook and he dropped it to the floor where the broken shards of glass from the dishes and vase lay. Within seconds, Daniel was on a stretcher and already being carried outside towards the waiting ambulances. Without being aware of it, hands guided him into one of the ambulances. Only when the paramedic slammed the two doors in the back and yelled "GO" to the driver, did he finally come out of his trance and allowed the tears fall.

________________________________________

Daniel awoke from a consistent noise that even outdid the beeping noises of the hospital monitors. Snoring!!! ‘Boy can Jack snore!!!’ he thought to himself. He groggily opened his eyes and was shocked to see that it was Sam who was sleeping on a chair right next to him.

"She refused to leave your side." Daniel turned his head to see Jack smiling at him. "Boy, who would have guessed someone as small as her could snore that loud huh? She kept me awake all night in that cabin." Daniel began to laugh.

"Jack, don’t make me laugh…it hurts." He attempted to say between laughs.

"Sorry". His smile faded to reveal a serious expression. "You know, you really got us worried back there. Especially Cassandra. I don’t know what happened but she claims it was her fault."

"Not at all Jack. I just slipped and fell."

"Well, she claims you fell because you were running after her. Anyhow, she’s too scared to visit you. She thinks you’re mad at her."

"Where is she, Jack?" Daniel asked with concern.

"In the hallway sleeping on Janet." Jack said as he got up from his chair. "I’ll go get her. I think you should have a talk with her." A few moments later, she entered the room. The moment she saw Daniel on the hospital bed, she started to cry.

"I’m so sorry, it’s all my fault…" Daniel reached out and touched her cheek.

"Cass, you had nothing to do with this. What does Jack always call me?"

"Clumsy…uhm…accident prune?" Daniel smiled.

"Accident prone. It means that I always manage to get myself into trouble no matter where I am or whom I’m with. So, this is just part of my character Cass. It’s not your fault at all." Cassandra stopped crying and looked up.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really, come on…let’s see a smile on that beautiful face." Daniel wiped her tears away with his thumb as the little girl began to smile. "There we go. Nothing to worry about." A knock at the door interrupted them. "Come in" Daniel called out. One of Dr. Frasier’s nurses entered holding a handful of artefacts. "My artefacts! Oh my G-d. Where did you find them?"

The nurse put them down on the table next to the hospital bed.

"One of the nurses found them in the women’s bathroom. She figured they belonged to you." The nurse smiled and walked out. Daniel began to laugh and shake his head in disbelief.

‘The women’s bathrooms! Of course! Why didn’t I think of that before? That’s it. I’m going to get Jack for this!’ Daniel thought as he continued to laugh.

"What’s so funny?…Daniel!…I don’t get it!…No one ever tells me anything!" Cassandra angrily got up and stomped out of the room as Daniel continued to laugh, not just because of the prank that Jack had pulled on him, but for joy that he was still alive to get back at him.

© January 12, 2000 The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa’uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.