This is the standard disclaimer. They don’t belong to me. This story is not intended to violate any copyrights held by Showtime/Viacom, MGM/USA, Double Secret Productions and Gekko Productions. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you to my betas Spacepixell, Loopy and Rponda, for all their hard work and efforts.

# 3 Paternal Instinct Series

By Amethyst

There it was again, that look in Daniel’s eyes. The one that said ‘fix it, find a way to make it okay.’ Those beseeching, soulful wise eyes that said, ‘tell me it’s all right’.

It was almost like the trust Charlie had once had in me, that ‘Dad was here and would make things better’ trust.

Only this time, it wasn’t going to work.

This time the pleading eyes thing wasn’t going to wash. This time, Daniel was going to get exactly what he deserved. Starting with a taste of it right now.

"Ouch! Jack?" What the hell are you doing?

"Ouch! Ouch! Jack! OWW! " I can’t believe you just hit me.

"OWWWWWW! Stop! OWW! That hurts! Jaaa-ck." You don’t really mean that. I didn’t do anything wrong!

"It’s supposed to hurt, Daniel. That’s what makes you not do things that make me swat you. It’s a formula that’s worked for ages. In fact, I bet you could tell me exactly what age it all started in. How long has this little form of persuasion been around for, Danny?"

Daniel tactfully ignored what he considered a rhetorical question anyway and launched a full protest as another heavier swat landed on the same spot as the last two.

"Ouuuuuuch! That stings. Your gloves make it hurt more than it’s supposed to. That’s not fair!" He turned sideways away from Jack and maneuvered up the six steps to the active Gate, hands subconsciously protecting his flank as he moved.

Making it to the top of the dais, he turned to complain one last time while he was safely out of Jack’s reach. It came out sounding suspiciously like a whining pout designed to get the last word into an argument he had no hope of winning. "And besides, I didn’t do anything wrong. You’re just feeling useless because there wasn’t anything here to kill."

With that brilliantly self-destructive comment, Daniel turned to hurriedly escape into the event horizon. Or tried to. A firm jerk of his pack and Daniel stumbled back to land unceremoniously on his tender backside at Jack’s feet.

One quick glance up told Daniel he wasn’t making it through the horizon just yet, and then maybe not in one piece. So close. He thought he’d had it timed better than that. Jack wasn’t nearly as slow moving as he pretended to be sometimes. Daniel made a mental note to remember that the next time he felt like being a smartass.

He closed his eyes and berated himself for malingering so much on the trip back to the Gate. He could have been the first one through if he hadn’t been so damn intent on seeing how far he could push Jack this trip out.

Ever since Daniel had been injured and lost on the planet with the giants, O’Neill had been insufferably dictatorial in making decisions about Daniel and Daniel’s personal behavior. O’Neill had imposed a curfew on Daniel’s working hours, denying the overachiever of his usual, draining all-night work sessions. He had even gone so far as to have Daniel’s computer access on base locked out from midnight to six a.m. every evening.

Jack had been completely uncompromising in the rules he had imposed on Daniel while the young doctor was staying at his house, which was every night.

Daniel’s dislocated and mangled shoulder still ached unbearably some nights and his injured ankle was stiff. Not that he admitted to either of these ailments when asked. And he was asked on a regular basis, by both Janet and Jack. He just kept denying it.

Jack had insisted that Daniel eat regularly and sleep a lot. And the meals had to be healthy and balanced and hot and the sleep had to be pain-free and all night long-with the lights out! In the beginning there were even scheduled naps the first few weeks at home. It was all ridiculous. Even if he did feel better and he had gained a few pounds that he had needed to put back on for a while now.

To top it all off, Jack had even threatened in so many words to enforce his unreasonable rules with the use of corporal punishment if Daniel didn’t get with the program. Daniel hadn’t believed Jack would actually go through with that outrageous threat. He was sure it was all bluster and bluffing. Jack often relied on his outstanding ability to intimidate to get his own way. O’Neill rarely had to back up his promises with anything more than a heart-stopping glare.

That’s what today had been all about. Daniel was calling Jack’s bluff. Today Daniel would get his life back the way he wanted it.

Of course, his father hadn’t lived long enough for Daniel to become a teenager let alone start acting like one. Or continue acting like one, as the case may be.

No matter how much Daniel’s thoughts and instincts strayed to thinking about Jack as a substitute dad, Jack didn’t have the right to act that way. Except maybe when Daniel was hurt or upset. Or maybe when he was feeling lonely or lost or scared. Okay, so maybe every other day Jack could act like his father, but not today. Today he was taking back control of his life.

While it was fine to push, wheedle, mock and pout when Teal’c and Sam were close by to cushion Jack’s response, but when suddenly all alone, sitting on his butt in the dirt at the feet of the angry, fed up, alpha male authority figure in his life, Daniel was swiftly rethinking his little moment of rebellion.

Exasperated with Daniel’s persistent lagging behind all day, Teal’c and Carter had nearly rejoiced at the sight of the Stargate as it came into view. After making sure their petulant, young archaeologist had managed to make it securely, if rather belatedly, into O’Neill’s protective perimeter on the steps to the gate, they hurried through after activating the wormhole.

Both were happy to leave behind the impending ‘Hurricane Jack’ that was brewing bigger and stronger with each minute that Daniel aimlessly dawdled and ignored commands to pick up the pace. Hurricane Jack was about to break all over the Shores of Daniel. Teal’c had no trouble convincing Sam not to become a potential casualty of the approaching storm. Or, as Teal’c silently mused, witness to the physical damage the tempset was sure to leave behind— on someone’s behind.

Slightly startled at the force with which he hit the ground, Daniel blinked up at Jack from under thick lashes, giving him his best innocent ‘what did you do that for?’ look.

Jack took in the doe-eyed look of confusion and hurt on the surprised face staring up at him from thigh level.

There would be no mercy, no reprieve and no second thoughts. At least on Jack’s side of the decision. Daniel wasn’t going to get to vote on how he felt about it.

"Oh, I can think of something to kill right here, Daniel." Jack’s soft growl made the tinge of color in Daniel’s cheeks disappear. Hitting the release clips that held his pack on, Jack dropped it to the ground and laid his P-90 to his free side with deliberate casualness as he positioned himself on the top step beside Daniel.

Stunned, Daniel just raised his eyebrows and crinkled his nose in confused surprise. It wasn’t until Jack reached over and released the clips to his pack, too, that he suspected he should be making more of an effort to put distance between himself and Jack.

Without another word, Jack wrapped his hands into Daniel’s vest and heaved. He met no resistance and the slight body sailed into place face down across his waiting lap. One arm wrapped tightly around Daniel’s middle. Like the good fighter pilot he was, Jack didn’t hesitate to zero in on his intended target. He poured every ounce of pent up frustration and aggravation from the last 24 hours into his swing. His target started to squirm and shout within the first minute of the spanking. Jack had a lot of pent up emotions to release.

The surprise kept Daniel speechless for several moments. The realization that Jack had been serious, that Jack would follow through with more than just an intimidating glare, that Jack truly was a man of his word rocketed through Daniel with every jarring spank to his backside. As was typical for Daniel, he was learning in an unconventional manner, this time starting from his butt up to his brain.

"Ouch! Augh! Jack! Jack? JACK!"

SWAT!

"You’ve been begging for this all,"

SWAT!

"day,"

SWAT!

"long,"

SWAT! SWAT!

"little boy."

SWAT!

"While I can’t deliver,"

SWAT!

"the spanking you deserve right now,"

"I can do a little attitude adjustment,"

SWAT!

"So that no one else has to deal with it after we walk through that Gate."

SWAT! SWAT! SWAT!

"Auuuuugh. Stop. I’m sorry. Auuugh, ouch, OW! I’m s-sorry, Jack. I didn’t mean it."

SWAT!

"Well, I did."

SWAT! SWAT!

"I meant what I said. You chose to break the rules, then I chose the punishment."

SWAT! SWAT!

"And you can look forward to more once we’re home."

SWAT! SWAT! SWAT! SWAT! SWAT!

Daniel felt Jack release the firm hold on his waist and he scrambled to get to his feet. The sharp sting in his backside screamed at him with every hurried movement. Daniel stepped back from the close proximity of his punisher and tried not to make it too obvious he was rubbing at the fire in his butt.

Jack strapped back on his pack and looked Daniel in the eye, conveying the depth of his displeasure along with a promise of more to come without using a single word.

Daniel tried unsuccessfully to rein in his hurt five-year-old pout.

With a graceful economy of motion, Jack snagged Daniel’s pack in one hand and Daniel’s arm in the other. They were all stepping through the Gate before one tender-bottomed archaeologist knew what happened.

For once Daniel was at a loss for words to deal with one of the newest and most dangerous situations he had encountered off-world or on, the infamous Colonel Jack O’Neill in full blown, pissed-off, pushed to the end of his rope, paternal mode. Daniel was suddenly very happy there would be lots of people waiting on the other side of the event horizon.

**********

"Wipe that pout off your face, young man. Nobody put you in this position but you." Jack crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the doorjamb. He watched Daniel slowly gather up his pajamas and wordlessly head off towards the bathroom. Not that Daniel wanted to be wordless, but as clueless as the young genius could be, even he could see that a misplaced word right now would bring the earlier promised retribution sooner than later. That was to be avoided at all costs. Later was bad enough.

It wasn’t that Daniel thought his behavior today didn’t deserve what Jack was planning. It was that Daniel never thought his behavior deserved the same kind of response that Jack did. But then teenage boys rarely thought their father’s idea of just punishment was just. Even if Daniel wasn’t technically a teenager and Jack wasn’t technically his father, their current attitudes, both mental and emotional, put them in that place.

It had been only 6 weeks ago that the two of them had come to an understanding about their relationship. The hole left in Jack life when his son Charlie had died was rapidly being filled by one lost and lonely, young archaeologist who needed stability and guidance in his traumatic short life.

Similarly, Daniel had desperately needed someone to soothe the aching void and heal the substantial damage left behind by the sudden death of his parents, the cruel rejection of his grandfather and the years of growing up living on the fringes of a normal family life as a fostered outsider.

They had found that together they were better. Together, Jack and Daniel were whole. And when combined with Teal’c and Sam, they were a unique family, special, talented and strong.

But that didn’t mean it was easy or that the road they chose to travel was smooth, especially for Daniel. With little experience to base ‘normal’ family interactions on, he was frequently stumbling to find his way. Daniel’s biggest hurdle was his tendency to forget that he was an important part of the ‘family’, if not the hub of it. The others centered their efforts on their desire to provide a stable, loving, accepting atmosphere for Daniel, each relishing their new bond and special role in his chaotic life.

And now, Daniel was chaffing under the unaccustomed collar of family caring and love.

The bathroom door closed a little harder than it needed to. Jack couldn’t resist a smirk at the mumbled, but quickly delivered apology that filtered through the door. Daniel might be a defiant little shit right now, but he wasn’t crazy. A little more petulant acting out and Jack would make damn sure the boy didn’t sit for a week, mission or no mission tomorrow. All things considered, he just might do that anyway.

When Daniel finally emerged from the bathroom, he found his room empty. Seeing a golden opportunity to evade Jack and the coming ‘discussion’, Daniel slid into bed and turned off the light. Nervously darting his blurry gaze around the darkened room, he didn’t have long to wait before a deep, carefully neutral voice from the open doorway made him jump, despite all his efforts to keep that from happening.

"So it’s ‘Daniel coping mechanism number four’ tonight, is it? And here I was all excited about being treated to number two."

Reluctant to let Jack know he wasn’t really asleep, but too curious to do otherwise, Daniel lifted his head and stuttered out a confused word. "W-what?"

Jack walked into the room and dropped down onto the bed, flipping on the bedside lamp as he sat. "You know, Daniel. Coping mechanisms numbers one through ninety-five from Daniel Jackson’s manuscript of survival strategies. This is number four—avoidance. Pretend the problem doesn’t exist until people give up in frustration and stop hassling you about it, or let so much time pass that a new problem takes first place and the old one is forgotten." Jack watched a flash of guilt flicker across the young man’s face.

"I was expecting good old number two. The one you have perfected to an art form—sidetracking. You know that one too. That’s when you dive into a conversation and twist the discussion around until everyone forgets what the point of it was because you’ve slipped another item onto the agenda right under their noses. Sidetracking them from making a decision you don’t want made about the main topic. Nobody does it better than you, Dr. Jackson."

This time the lower lip got a work out as Daniel struggled to keep himself from letting loose a smartass comment. The recent memory of being a smartass off world still throbbed a bit too much in his own ass for a repeat performance, just yet.

"This one is just old reliable number four—avoid facing or thinking about a problem at all costs, if possible. Sorry, Daniel that’s not going to happen tonight."

Jack tugged firmly at Daniel’s shoulder. With a deep sigh, Daniel turned over onto his back and gave Jack his patent grimace and squint to convey his displeasure. "Talk to me, Danny."

"I’m fine, Jack. Really, there isn’t anything to talk about."

"And number one comes rolling out right on cue. I don’t want to hear it, Daniel. Lying is on that list of things that’ll get your wings clipped, remember?"

Daniel averted his gaze and chewed on his lip for comfort, silently praying for Jack to take the hint and let him get some sleep.

"Don’t you wanta know what number one is?" Jack teasingly shook Daniel’s blanketed knee closest to his hand. "Come on, it’s gotta be killing you not to ask. Want me to tell you?" A small shrug of shoulders was the only indication that Jack knew he wasn’t talking to himself. "Okay then, since you begged so nicely, I’ll tell you—silence. The classic ‘I’m fine’ that’s supposed to shut up everyone. Daniel Jackson’s greatest weapon in his arsenal of ways to cope with life without really coping."

Daniel’s eyes darted up to flicker a quick glance at Jack. Expecting to find anger or even disgust, he was surprised to find a half-amused, patient expression on the older man’s face. Unnerved by the unexpected reaction, Daniel fidgeted in place under the covers. A small movement meant to distance himself from Jack was aborted before he’d traveled two inches away when Jack leaned over him and rested a restraining arm on the far side of Daniel’s slender body, effectively aborting any and all attempts to withdraw. A steely look of determination glinted in the dark brown eyes above him, making Daniel swallow hard.

"Well, silence is going to be in short supply around here in about two minutes, little boy. Either you start talking, face up, or you start shouting, face down, but there will be a conversation here. It’s up to you whether I’m looking at your face or your butt while you do it. What’ll it be, Danny?" Jack let the full weight of his resolve shine down into the conflicted face grimacing up at him.

Jack was determined for Daniel to open up. Daniel needed to talk. The young genius had taken insolence and impertinence toward Jack and the rest of his team members to new heights over the last few days and Jack was calling him on it before they walked through the Gate on something more serious than a botanical recon survey like today.

Tomorrow SG-1 was off on a mission to a new gate address and Jack had to know all of his team was ready. Daniel’s disregard for the chain of command wasn’t something new, but his blatant rudeness and exaggerated absent-mindedness yesterday would be a potential hazard on a serious mission. One that endangered the whole team, not just inconvenienced them. This little tantrum was over, as of right now, one way or the other.

Daniel thought about all the conflicting feelings that had been running through him the last few months. Not just through his head, but through his entire body, making him ache with pain sometimes, making him flush with joy other times, even making him light-headed with confusion but inexplicably happy at times.

It felt strange to feel these things. They hadn’t been a part of his daily life for so long he’d forgotten how to deal with them. The faint memory of feeling this way when his parents were alive teased at the edges of his most secret and cherished remembrances.

And Daniel knew he shouldn’t be feeling this way. He didn’t deserve this. He couldn’t afford to get used to these feelings, this comfort, this sense of belonging, of being loved and valued for himself. Soon enough Jack, Teal’c and Sam would realize he wasn’t worth all the effort. He was too much work, too hard to handle when his moods of melancholy struck, too much to put up with when he turned surly and uncommunicative, when Daniel began to do things to deliberately stop the formation of attachments.

Life had always, without fail, left him on his own. He knew from experience it was better, safer, less painful if he stayed alone. Daniel Jackson just wasn’t worth the emotional investment. Daniel had accepted it, and pretty soon, Jack would too. Probably in about five minutes, if Daniel worked this right. Then both their hearts would be safer and their lives simpler.

All he needed to do was to keep Jack at arm’s length a little longer and Jack would tire of having to fight Daniel at every step. They all did. Every family, every single time, without fail. Even though Jack was better than all the other substitute families put together, even he would only take so much shit.

Daniel bit his lower lip harder to hold back the desperate words that silently screamed at the back of his constricted, dry throat. He stared silently down at his hands, watching them fidget with the binding on the edge of one of the blankets draped over his body. Five more minutes of silence should just about do it and Jack would walk away for good, Daniel knew it.

It seemed, however, one Jack O’Neill didn’t.

Totally oblivious to the convoluted logic swirling around in his charge’s head, Jack did what Jack did best when he didn’t know the rules to the game. Jack made his own. And it didn’t take five minutes either, for him to share them with a surprised and disbelieving Daniel. Of course, Jack’s idea of sharing was a little one sided. He shared his frustration, his right arm and his lap. Daniel got to share his backside.

Pulled out of bed and upended over a pair of hard, muscular thighs, Daniel gasped at the disorientation the sudden movement caused.

"Okaaaay then. Your call, Daniel. We do it the easy way then. Let me know when you’re ready to try the harder but less painful, ‘face up and talking with words’ approach instead." Jack ran a warm hand briefly over the young man’s trembling back in reassurance. "But either way, I’m going to be right here for you, Danny boy."

As soon as his pj bottoms were pushed down to his thighs, the first ten spanks landed hard and fast. Daniel could only gasp through their rapid delivery and fight to settle the dizzying bewilderment that swept over him. Jack hadn’t walked away like the others did. He hadn’t sighed or shrugged or yelled or cried or quietly just disappeared.

Jack was definitely here and it looked like he was planning on staying. Daniel’s stomach flipped over at the thought. Jack was staying. He wasn’t throwing him away, he wasn’t giving him up, and he wasn’t going to let him go. Daniel would have laughed out loud in relief if he could have caught his breath long enough to do it. His relief was hastily pushed into a hidden spot in his heart to be savored at a later time as the reality of pain filtered through his confusion.

The flat of Jack’s hand coupled with his powerful arm continued to ‘talk’ to Daniel’s backside taking over Daniel’s focus. Each jarring spank forced Daniel to hitch a breath and grunt out a small protest at the burning sting that was rapidly blooming into a full fledged blaze in his hindquarters. Daniel hoped tomorrow didn’t include a lot of sitting. For once, Daniel decided to make it a short conversation.

"Okay, Okay. Jack. Stop! I’ll talk." Daniel tried to squirm around to look Jack in the face, but the restraining arm around his waist held tight. Fat, hot tears of pain and joy rolled unchecked down his face.

"You’re sure? You’re ready to talk without the bullshit and silences and the sidetracking and the lying?" The hard edge to the man voice left no doubt in Daniel’s mind that he had better be prepared to talk fast and talk honestly.

"Jack." Yes. I’ll tell you what’s wrong. I will. Honest!

"Let me think about it."

Daniel squirmed a little more while Jack sat and thought about it. After almost a full minute with no response, Daniel couldn’t stand the suspense of worrying that the ‘talk’ with his backside would resume.

"Jack?" What’s going on?

He twisted his neck around to catch a glimpse of Jack smiling at him.

"Jack!" You’re just trying to torture me!

"Daniel." Behave yourself. You’re not in a position to complain about anything right now.

Wiping tiredly at his wet face, Daniel sighed in defeat and relaxed against the firm support of Jack’s body. Half a second later he was pulled up and settled back down on the bed, back pressed up against a pile of pillows in front of the headboard. He hissed as his hot, aching butt pushed into the sheets and struggled briefly to reposition his clothing back in place.

Jack patted the blankets back down over Daniel’s body and again leaned forward resting his weight on the arm placed on Daniel’s far side. It was an intimidating yet reassuring pose. It left no doubt in either of their minds as to who was in control of the situation while giving both of them a sense of closeness, of connection, without saying a word.

"Comfortable?" Daniel froze in his efforts to find a less painful spot to rest his weight on his sore butt and grimaced at Jack. Jack had the audacity to give him a crooked smile of amusement.

"Oh, sorry." The unrepentant tone was accompanied by a widening smile. "Okay, sooo— talk. You can do this. I so know you know how to talk, my little linguist." Jack’s weathered, handsome face took on an open, expectant expression. He was prepared to listen and was determined to find out the cause of Daniel’s recent run of adolescent behavior before he would even consider taking SG-1 through the gate.

Daniel squirmed a moment longer then wrapped both arms around his middle. Jack frowned at the familiar gesture of self-comfort, but was pleased that it was a fairly loose hug. Jack would make sure Daniel got a real hug before he left the room. For now, Jack knew Daniel was fortifying himself so that he could talk.

"I-I’ve been…. Everything has been going so… That usually means… I mean… You, Teal’c, Sam, …being part of a family again…" Daniel hung his head and clenched his eyes tightly to regain some measure of control over the emotions and words that were pouring out at warp speed. "I get… worried."

"Let me take a guess. Afraid we’ll go away like everyone else has? That we’ll get tired of the geeky, young genius that can learn every language in the universe except ‘military’?"

"Jaack." You know I can’t speak every language.

"Dan-ielll." Humor me. I’m making a point here.

"We used to have a lost and found box back at the orphanage. I-I always kind of felt like a-a mismatched glove that kept getting put back in the box. People would try it on, but it never seemed to fit anyone or be quite what they were looking for. So I—it went back—it went back into the box until the next person who wanted me—it… to fit their lives came to try it on. Until it grew too old to be of any interest or value anymore and got thrown out of the box altogether. Alone again, no match, no home, no one that cared because it wasn’t useful or cute or decorative anymore."

Daniel chewed at his lower lip and wrinkled his nose up in the attempt to stop the tears that began to trickle down his heated cheeks. "I was always just the not-quite-right, mismatched glove in other people’s lives." He darted a frightened glance up at his rock of stability in his short, chaotic life, anxious to see how Jack was taking all of this, but he was having difficulty seeing through his tears.

"I got tired of being thrown back, Jack. And scared of waiting to be thrown back. I… just… I get… scared." The last word was barely a whisper, croaked out along with a silent sob that shook Daniel’s whole body.

Jack leaned in closer and wrapped his arms around the slender form, holding on tighter when Daniel relaxed immediately into the embrace. Long moments passed with the only sound in the house being the muffled sobs and gasps that were intermingled with soft gentle sounds of comfort and love.

"Trying to throw yourself back before I decided I was done with you first?" A small nod brushed hesitantly against Jack’s damp shoulder. "Think it would hurt less that way?" Another terse nod. "Did it work?" This time a decidedly negative shake vibrated against his chest. "Kinda thought not. In case you were wondering, I think my hand fits your butt the way you fit into my heart. Like a glove, Danny, just like a glove."

"Jaa-cck." That doesn’t make any sense. But I love you, too.

Daniel’s watery smile and sudden snort of laughter made Jack grin with delight.

"Dan-iel." Me, too. Live with it.

"And hell, I only use one hand on your butt, so who needs a pair? I’m damn happy with just the one. It’s God damn perfect for us."

Jack ran a hand through Daniel’s hair, ruffling it and annoying the hell out of its owner. He playfully pushed the young man’s head down deeper into the pillow and leaned over to plant a quick kiss on the top of Daniel’s forehead.

"Hell, You’re not a single glove anymore, Danny. You’re part of a family, a complete set. Teal’c can be your scarf, ‘cause I think he wants to strangle you sometimes, and Carter can be the hat, ‘cause she’s too damn smart not to be the head thingy. Maybe one with a tassel on the end of it." A wicked gleam came into Jack eye as he mentally envisioned his own personal version of what he was describing. "Make that two tassels." Catching Daniel’s disbelieving look, Jack cleared his throat lightly and banished the picture in his head of his second in command with tassels that weren’t anywhere near her head. "Never mind, no tassels."

Daniel snorted a small chuckle through his tears. "I so don’t want to know." Growing serious again, Daniel looked up at Jack through tear-spiked lashes. "What’s that make you?"

"Me? I thought that was obvious. I’m your other glove, Daniel. Older, more worn than you are, not even made from the same fabric, but I’m the one that’ll be there to hold onto you when you need me. Whether it’s to wrap around you, to comfort you, or to swat your six to make you listen to reason. Your mismatched glove has a home, Danny. Remember that, no more trips to the box. Ever."

Another ruffle of spiked hair brought the predictable grimace. "Okay, Jack. I get it. Again."

"You’d better. We stick together. That’s what we ‘tight-knit’ families do." Jack tossed out the lame joke with his usual deadpan delivery that was ruined when he smirked in delight at the sound of Daniel’s soft groan of exasperation. He turned off the light and rose from the bed, pausing to stop by the doorway.

"Get some sleep, Daniel. Tomorrow is coming up fast and SG-1’s going to need its linguist at full speed when we hit that new planet."

"I’m halfway there, Jack. If someone would let me get some peace and quiet, I’d be asleep by now." Daniel’s voice was actually drowsy and muted by fast approaching sleep. Emotions drained the young man like nothing else did.

Jack whipped around to pause in the doorway when Daniel whined under his breath, "And if I wasn’t in pain."

Jack put a growl into his tone and knitted his eyebrows close in a scowl. "Watch it, little boy. You’re not that far off the hook. I have a pair of those leather gloves I wore off world in the closet if I need them."

"I’m asleep." Daniel’s reply was crisp and clear and fast.

"I though you might be. Night, Danny." The growl was still there, but Jack’s tone had taken on a rough, raw quality that showed how much the earlier conversation had stirred up his own emotions of family and loss. After a tiny pause a very soft and shaky reply came back at him.

"Nigh’, da’." A light snore followed the mumbled declaration a heartbeat later.

Jack pursed his lips to stop the smile on his face from breaking out into a grin that would probably crack his face open. He was pretty sure that last word had been a slurred proclamation of fatherhood being bestowed on him. He softly closed the bedroom door and leaned his head against the cool wood. "Damn straight, Danny, damn straight."

********

SG-1 walked through the gate at exactly 0800 earth time and into a pitch-black dawn of the planet P34-H78. The planet had the dubious distinction of spinning so fast on its axis that night morphed into day and day into night in the span of twenty seconds each day virtually eliminating the transition between twilight and dusk, darkness and the dawn. The days were also only seventeen hours long in earth time. The team had calculated their arrival time to make the most of the short hours of daylight.

The MALP survey had encountered evidence of a massive energy emission on the planet. SG-1’s mission was to find it, learn about its source of power, if possible, and meet and greet with the people responsible for its construction if they were there.

It was sure to be a Carter/Daniel joy fest, something for each of the scientists to get excited about. It would be up to Jack and Teal’c to watch their sixes while the two of them oohed and ahhed over their discoveries. Even the possibility of discoveries made the two of them gush.

A few minutes into their trek, Jack watched Carter slide up close to Daniel and nudge him with the elbow of the arm that cradled her P90. "Hey, Daniel? Are you feeling all right?" His wide-eyed look of confusion made her hasten to clarify herself. "You’re walking kind of stiff. Slower than normal. Is your back sore?"

Just my backside, thanks for noticing, Sam. "No, no, I’m fine."

Daniel gave her a tiny smile and ducked his head, embarrassed at the sound of Jack’s voice saying ‘Daniel coping mechanism number one’ echoing through his mind. A quick glance at Jack let him know the colonel was hearing every word. A warm flush tinged his cheeks. "I’m…I’m a little stiff this morning. I couldn’t get comfortable last night." Daniel threw another shy glance at the back of Jack’s head. "I woke up …achy in a few places." He smiled reassuringly at her concerned expression. "I’ll loosen up on the walk. Thanks."

"As long as you’re sure you’re okay?" Her perceptive glance told him she wasn’t buying his explanation entirely, but she was willing to let it slide if Daniel was all right with things. She returned his shy smile of pleasure at her concern, her face crinkling around her eyes, softening her intense expression and offering unconditional comfort to the young man.

"I’m good. And Sam? I’m sorry about yesterday. I know I was being …irritating and difficult. I’m sorry." Daniel couldn’t stop himself from casting a peek over at Jack. The half-smile on the colonel’s face as he turned to face them under the pretext of scanning the surrounding area let Daniel know he had heard his apology and approved.

"Apology accepted. Don’t worry about it." Sam touched his arm and tilted her head to one side, running an appraising glance over his slight frame. "I could tell you were in a better frame of mind this morning. Even General Hammond commented. I’m not sure I would have noticed how stiff you were if he hadn’t drawn my attention to it."

"General Hammond?" Daniel had to fight to keep the squeak out of his voice.

Sam nodded and swung back into position in the line that they were weaving across the rocky hillside, eyes wandering over the terrain instead of Daniel, missing his moment of sheer panic.

"He thought you were having more trouble than usual sitting still during the briefing. I told him you were just anxious to get through the gate. It’s been weeks since you were on a mission and I know you were excited about the pictures of the monolith by the gate the telemetry sent back. He even said something that made me chuckle."

"He did?" Suddenly feeling nauseous Daniel swallowed several times. The memory of squirming uncomfortably in the thickly padded briefing room chair popped up in clear, crisp detail in his mind. No matter where he had rested his weight, after several minutes his recently spanked backside had started to burn from the pressure and he’d had to reposition himself or get up.

Attempting to retrieve his sixth cup of coffee, more for an excuse to leave his seat then for a need or desire for more caffeine, although that was a plus, Jack had silently reached out and gently but firmly pushed him back down into his chair. The unhappy furrowing of Jack’s eyebrows were enough to let Daniel know not to get up again. Daniel had no sooner resumed his seat than Teal’c had wordlessly reached across the conference table and plucked his empty coffee cup from his grasp.

A quick glance around the table had shown that Sam was fighting to keep a smile from forming on her lips, and General Hammond was attempting to ignore the entire exchange, but the understanding, indulgent look on his face gave him away. The blush that stained Daniel’s face burned almost as much as the redness that blazed in his bottom half.

Sam nudged him playfully again and chuckled. "The General said your squirming reminded him of when he was a boy and his father had ‘tanned his backside’." Sam chuckled again, completely missing the look of panicked horror that crossed Daniel’s face.

"I just can’t picture that. I mean, General Hammond as boy! And one that needed that!" She threw Daniel an embarrassed look and hurried to clarify her point. "I mean, it’s just that he’s always so mature and responsible, it’s hard to imagine him as reckless or impetuous, even as a child. But I guess that’s how young boys learn to grow up to be mature, responsible Air Force Generals." Her smile widened and she picked up her pace a bit when Daniel returned the grin. In the space of a few strides, Sam caught up with Jack and the two of them wordlessly flanked Daniel while still keeping several feet ahead of him.

Rubbing absently at his aching backside, Daniel concentrated on calming down the surge of embarrassment and fear that had welled up at the thought that the General had known about his reason for not being able to sit still comfortably. Jack would never say anything to embarrass him at the SGC, but Hammond was a smart, observant man. Daniel would have to be more careful around him.

Giving his left hip another covert rub, Daniel turned to find Teal’c in his usual position behind him. The Jaffa graced the young man with an amused, but understanding look along with a meaningful glance at where Daniel’s hand was. Daniel bashfully dropped his hand and gave Teal’c his best repentant puppy dog look.

"I want to apologize to you, too, Teal’c. About my attitude yesterday."

"Indeed. You have been exceptionally abrasive for the past week, DanielJackson. It is a relief to see you have ‘adjusted’ your unpleasant attitude." Teal’c allowed a tiny bit of a smile to tug up the corners of his mouth at the pink blush that colored Daniel’s cheeks.

"Well, I had help." Still unhappy over the intensity and continued lingering effect of Jack’s eager assistance in his ‘attitude adjustment’, Daniel muttered the comment out loud before he could stop himself. Horrified at his admission, Daniel closed his eyes and grimaced, berating himself for the slip of his tongue. "Crap." Jack’s influence was beginning to show.

Catching himself as he stumbled over a rough spot in his path, Daniel reluctantly blinked open his eyes and whimpered. "You know, don’t you?"

A slight inclination of Teal’c’s regal stance in affirmation was all it took to make Daniel’s stomach plummet to his toes. "Oh, God." Daniel fidgeted with his glasses and tried unsuccessfully to form a few words of denial before stammering silently to a halt. His eyebrows arched repeatedly up and down as he nervously swallowed in a familiar gesture of unease as the humiliated young man attempted to cope with the new turn of events. "Teal’c, I-I--."

Teal’c tilted his head slightly to one side to better be able to drop his glance down to indicate Daniel’s lower half. "I take it the ‘adjustment’ was sufficient?"

Mouth twisted in a wry grimace, Daniel nodded, sourly mumbling yet another telltale, familiar phrase before thinking. "Oh, yeahsureyoubetcha." Two Jackisms in a row only re-enforced the evidence of who exactly had helped Daniel ‘adjust’ his attitude yesterday.

Daniel sighed in defeat. He was pretty sure Teal’c accepted, even approved of, how things were between Jack and him. But knowing that just made it all the more embarrassing. Daniel sighed again and shook his head. Alpha males are all the same. Only warriors like Teal’c and Jack would think whomping on someone’s backside was an effective way to communicate with them.

He rubbed at his sore butt again, a little less self-consciously this time. Daniel grudgingly admitted to himself that he actually did pay closer attention to what Jack was saying when he was upside down over Jack’s lap than at any other time the older man was speaking. Except maybe when there was gunfire or zats going off around them. "Well, Teal’c, then you won’t be surprised if I don’t sit down a lot this trip."

"Would this be as a direct result of the exceptionally large amounts of caffeine you ingested during this morning’s briefing or should it be attributed to O’Neill’s assistance with your ‘adjustments’? I have heard O’Neill comment on many an occasion that the coffee at the SGC is extremely potent."

"Oh, it is. But believe me, Jack’s swing is even more potent." Daniel winced and tried not to squirm.

Teal’c nodded in regal approval "Indeed. A responsible father must have a firm and steady hand. I trust O’Neill was thorough." Teal’c pinned Daniel a steely gaze. "However, should it become apparent that he was not, I will gladly offer my assistance in helping to further ‘adjust’ any lingering inadequacies in your behavior. I am quite experienced in such matters."

Daniel’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in shock. If he was expecting sympathy, he should have tried Carter. He blinked several times to be sure he read the expression on Teal’c’s face right. Finding nothing but unwavering certainty, Daniel sighed and mumbled under his breath to no one in particular. "For crying out loud. This is just not fair." Daniel could almost feel the scarf that Teal’c represented in Jack’s version of their tightly knit family unit wrapping snuggly around his neck. Perhaps too snuggly. He hurried to catch up to the others, seeking the imaginary relative safety of Jack and Sam’s presence.

*****************

Three clicks from the gate, a large imposing building came into view. Carter immediately pulled out her handheld scanner and gleefully confirmed that this was the origin of the unusual power source they had detected earlier by telemetry.

O’Neill watched his 2IC, absently thinking that Carter practically qualified as an energy source herself when she was radiating with excitement at the thoughts of the coming scientific discoveries she might encounter.

Jack twisted his mouth into a wry smile as he contemplated what it would take to get that much enthusiasm out of her if the subject wasn’t scientific in nature. Maybe he could convince her he was interested in a ‘biology’ experiment. Suddenly hit with the realization of how inappropriate his daydreaming was, on world or off, Jack snapped back into Colonel mode and counted heads. Seeing one dog-eared, boonie cap too far out of his immediate sphere of influence, Jack didn’t hesitate to verbally retrieve it.

"Daniel! Get your butt over here. Behind me. Carter, take point. Teal’c, you’ve got our sixes. Stay close. That means you, Daniel. Civilization coming up at twelve o’clock. Stay alert. Come with, kids."

Jack waited until Daniel stiffly jogged over to his side and then motioned for Carter to lead on. Noticing Daniel’s flushed face and the shy, apologetic flittering of his eyes, Jack reached out and squeezed the back of his archaeologist’s neck, kneading the tense muscles under his hand for a moment before returning his grip to his P90. "Stay with."

A brief nod of agreement calmed Jack’s overprotective instincts down to just under the ‘deadly force required’ limit. Jack had suspected that the first few times SG-1 went off world again after Daniel had been so badly injured would be hard. And it was. Damn hard. Shifting consciously into a tight military mind frame, Jack carefully slipped ‘family of loved ones’ back into its proper pigeonhole and concentrated on his ‘team of professionals’.

It took them several moments to reach the outer perimeter of the building. It was a single structure, gleaming tall and white against the colorless backdrop of the barren, rocky hillside. Huge by anyone’s estimate, the building appeared to be the size of several city blocks. No opening or windows could be seen. The only marking on the entire structure as far as they could see was one massive, arched doorway etched into the smooth façade directly ahead.

As they neared the markings, Daniel stepped up his pace, eager to get a closer look at the drawing. Unable to detect anything more than the faint outline of an archway and several leaf-like designs entwined around the arch, Daniel reached out to run a hand over the edges of the carved stone. His hand stilled in midair as a fingerless glove closed over his wrist in a firm, unyielding grasp.

Looking up, Daniel watched Jack hold an admonishing finger in the air as he carefully enunciated each word. "Ah, ah, ah, Daniel. Don’t touch an-y-thing. Nada. As in leave your hands in your pockets. Look at it, talk to it, breath on it, take pictures of it, but do—not—touch it. Got it?"

"Jack." It’s just a wall. You worry too much.

"Daniel." With damn good reason. "For crying out loud. I don’t want to hear it. Do not touch. Period."

Daniel stepped back from the wall and threw Jack a sour look. Pulling his camera from one of his many pockets, he began to film the etching, intent on figuring out the reason for its sole placement on the smooth, seamless stone wall. Never moving the eyepiece from his face Daniel called out to the person he knew would be behind him without even looking. "Teal’c?" The air shifted to his right and the Jaffa’s silent presense quickly shaded Daniel from one side. "Would you stand next to the side of that carving so I can get some sense of dimension on tape? Please."

Teal’c’s long-suffering expression was barely discernable from his everyday expression, but Daniel had enough practice to recognize it. Just as Daniel lowered the camera to tease his ever present bodyguard as Teal’c moved next to the symbol, the carvings behind Teal’c came to life.

"Oh, my God." The awe and wonder in Daniel’s voice drew Sam and Jack’s attention, both knowing that tone from their youngest team member meant mayhem was inevitable.

Teal’c spun around and forced Daniel away from the wall by the sheer momentum of his body. Planting himself between the wall and Daniel, the warrior activated and pointed his staff weapon at the designs that had come to life.

"For crying out loud, Daniel, I told you not to touch." Worry and concern clung to every gruff word Jack yelled as he raced back to Daniel’s side and Teal’c’s from where he had been investigating the edges of the fortress walls.

So transfixed by the sight before him, Daniel didn’t even bother with an indignant sputter. "I didn’t. I think it was Teal’c." Peering over Teal’c’s tense shoulder, he watched the fascinating light show evolve.

Blue-white light flowed from the bottom of the deep lines in the marble-like stone, growing and climbing up the arches and through the intricate twisted design, adding more symbols and writings as it raced through the solid rock. More and more symbols began to glow and with each new marking, Daniel’s excitement grew.

Arriving through the gate earlier, Daniel had been drawn to a three-foot tall, single stone tablet that had been placed directly in front of the gate dais. Its placement was obviously meant to give the tablet significance and the message it carried was undoubtedly of importance to any expected visitors to the planet. Daniel just couldn’t figure out why.

The text wasn’t Goa’uld or Asgard or any of the other alien languages Daniel had come across in their limited explorations so far. Even Teal’c didn’t recognize it. But the more Daniel stared at it the more a faint sense of familiarity tugged at his subconscious. Frustrated with himself, he had been resigned to copying down the text, both in long hand and with rubbings to be puzzled over at a later time. Now it seemed that time had arrived. The symbols from the tablet were being eerily reproduced on the wall carving.

Unhappy with the growing intensity of the light, Teal’c nudged Daniel further away. Refusing to be protected from what he saw as merely a message from this planet’s inhabitants, Daniel attempted to shift to one side of Teal’c and step around him. Sensing the move, Teal’c spun around and wrapped one arm around Daniel’s waist, picking him up and carrying him several feet away. The moment they were twenty feet away from the wall, the message stopped forming and began to fade away, silencing Daniel in mid-irate protest. "Teal’c! I’m not in any--."

Sam came to a skidding halt beside the three others and stared in amazement at the wall. "Sir, look. The symbols, they’re disappearing. It’s like the power suddenly shut off before it was finished."

Daniel watched the last of the blue light course down to where the earth met the wall. Inspiration struck and Daniel turned to his burly companion. "I think it was reacting to Teal’c. It didn’t glow when I was standing there or when Jack came over. But as soon as Teal’c stepped near it, the message started. Maybe it responds to something in Teal’c. Like his symbiote maybe?"

"Is that possible? It’s a stone wall."

Sam tilted her head in thought and nodded slightly in absent agreement. "Yes, if there is a chemical sensor imbedded in the particle makeup of it, it is possible, sir. It may be reacting to that or the levels of naquada in his blood. Like mood ring stones react to levels of saline and heat on the surface of the skin."

"Mood rings, Carter?" Jack’s tone left no doubt what he thought about the subject.

"We were all teenagers once, sir." Sam beat back a smile.

"I’ll bet yours was always stuck on brainy." His overly serious expression of mild confusion threw her self-restraint out the window. The smile broke through.

"Brainy is not a mood, sir." It was hard to be exasperated and amused at the same time.

"Speak for yourself, Carter. I occasionally get in the mood for brainy things. Then I go spend time with Daniel and I snap right out of it and go back to being normal."

"Hey!" Affronted, but still too interested in the wall puzzle to put up much of a fight, Daniel settled for mild indignation. "I guess I know where to go if I get in the mood for insipid conversation."

"I rest my case. What kind of word is insipid? Now I ask you, who uses that in everyday conversation. Brainy people, that’s who. Who wouldn’t need normal after a couple of hours of that?"

Sam giggled and shook her head, dismissing both men from her immediate thoughts. She cautiously moved closer to the wall now that the energy had leeched away. "It wouldn’t take much to check out Daniel’s theory, sir."

Jack tipped his head questioningly at Teal’c and the Jaffa took up the challenge.

Releasing his hold on Daniel, Teal’c stepped away, but not before growling a soft command in Daniel’s ear. "Stay." Unfazed by the hurt expression the young man gave him, Teal’c walked slowly over to the silent structure. As he approached, the wall again began to glow and sizzle as blue-white light flowed in its nooks and crannies again. Planting himself a few steps inside an imaginary perimeter where the light started working, Teal’c watched as the entire archway came alive with energy.

When the archway was completely illuminated and no deadly beams of energy engulfed or attacked the Jaffa, Daniel looked to Jack for permission to get closer. He got a reluctant nod and a raised finger signaling caution. Nodding his understanding, Daniel moved to stand in the middle of the doorway arch, straining to remember why the symbols were so familiar yet not.

Teal’c moved closer to Daniel in his usual protective stance, stepping in front of him again as the archway shimmered. Unexpectedly, its etched seams began to part and a portal through the twelve-foot thick stone was revealed.

Carter and O’Neill immediately moved in front of Daniel, one on each side of him, weapons drawn and ready. Teal’c moved to his usual place behind Daniel. Teal’c was so close, Daniel could almost feel the body heat of the large Jaffa.

As a singular unit, SG-1 advanced through the entrance, the military members alert and ready for confrontation while one young archaeologist was practically bouncing with excitement over this newest development. The entire archway was etched with designs and symbols and Daniel’s enthusiasm grew in direct proportion to the increase in written evidence of an advanced culture being present.

"Daniel, stay close and keep your hands in your pockets. Let’s go meet the wizard." Jack cautiously advanced further into the tunnel.

The archway delivered them out into a massive, domed room decorated with exotic plants, crystals and brightly colored pillows arranged artfully around the room. Several conversation areas were isolated at different corners of the room with one large area being devoted to what appeared to be a low conference table surrounded by dozens and dozens of plump pillows and low stools.

"Everybody stay close. No lone exploring. They opened the doors, so someone knows we’re here. Let’s wait for them to come to us."

"Yes, sir." Carter nodded and continued surveying the room, eyeing the gorgeous array of textured and beaded fabrics surrounding the hall along the way.

"Indeed." Teal’c never let his eyes wander from examining the walls looking for hidden seams and passageways.

"Um, what? Oh, right." Transfixed by the writings scattered around the walls and ceiling, Daniel blinked in confusion, only pulled halfway from his thoughts and speculations. He wasn’t even sure what he was agreeing to, but saying yes seemed like the answer Jack was looking for, so like the good little soldier he was playing, he said it. The extra long stare from Jack made him wonder for a brief moment what he had promised before he got caught up in the mystery of the etchings again.

At the far end of the room stood another gigantic archway that led to a smaller room. A shimmering, thin, translucent silver veil of some type of fabric hung across the entrance to the room. Through the veiled archway they could see a slab of black granite-like stone that towered over a large pool of still, pale-blue water. The slab was covered by the same intricate symbols that Daniel had already decided was a written language.

Amazed at the sheer size and imposing presence of the monument, Daniel was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Ignoring his cautiously exploring teammates, he slowly approached the veil, straining to make out the details of the room through the thin, shifting barrier.

Just as his hand passed through the archway and reached out to push aside the gossamer veil, a bright light engulfed his entire body. Daniel Jackson, archaeologist and linguist of twenty-three different languages stood helplessly within the beam’s warm grasp, unable to speak, unable to cry out, unable to warn SG-1 of his fate.

*********************

Jack gripped his P90 more firmly and cautiously scanned the room for signs of life, hidden or otherwise. Multiple areas around the room were curtained off with miles and miles of thin silk-like fabrics in a rainbow of soft, soothing colors. Although the fabrics were completely transparent they gave the illusion of privacy and intimacy to each of the small sections. Shouldering aside the layers nearest the walls, Jack appreciated the sensuous texture of the fabric as it brushed against his cheek, without actually registering the fact in his conscious thoughts.

Still concentrating on finding a warm body to talk to, Jack was suddenly assaulted by a burst of near-blinding brightness to his left. Turning, gun raised, instincts on high, senses tuned to his team, Jack swore at the sight that greeted him. Trapped in a beam of shimmering green light, surrounded from head to toe in the archway leading to the next room stood a panicked Daniel Jackson.

Daniel twisted and turned, pushing frantically at an invisible wall that appeared to be created by the light. Daniel’s mouth moved, obviously calling out for help, but no sound escaped his prison. He shoved his shoulder against the restraining force field when his pounding fists had no effect.

Jack raced to Daniel’s side, noting that his youngest had ventured through the opening that led to the next room alone. Both Carter and Teal’c were on opposite sides of the expansive hall, nowhere near their wandering archaeologist. So much for listening to Jack’s command to stick together and wait. When would the brat understand orders were meant for everyone, especially him?

Seeing the panic on Daniel’s face begin to increase, Jack yelled to him while he tried unsuccessfully to breech the beam with the barrel of his gun.

"Hold on, Daniel." Daniel’s wide-eyed face blinked back at Jack from behind the shimmering light. The boy’s complexion was ghastly in the soft green glow, fear evident in the blue eyes magnified by the lens of his glasses that were slipping down his nose. Jack rested a hand palm side out on the invisible wall of energy and spoke confidently to its willing prisoner. "Calm down, Danny. We’ll have you out of there in a minute."

One of Daniel’s hands moved to instantly cover Jack’s from the inside, unable to actually touch, but giving the younger man a sense of connection to the man on the other side.

Jack raised his voice to a rough commanding growl. "Carter. Teal’c." Before the words left his mouth, they were by his side, their own hands tentatively pushing at the energy field, testing its power and adding their physical comfort to Jack’s.

Daniel responded to their presence, taking a few deep breaths and allowing his heart to slow down its pounding rhythm. Realizing he could hear Jack, but that he couldn’t be heard, he stopped trying to talk with words and opted for hand signals.

Jack stared in confusion at the rapid hand movements. Daniel was trying to convey some piece of information he obviously thought was important, but Jack couldn’t guess what it was for the life of him. "What the hell is he trying to say, Carter?"

"I have no idea, sir." Carter shrugged after a moment of watching Daniel and began to examine the floor and surrounding walls of the archway for a way to shut the beam down.

Teal’c merely raised his eyebrows at the young man’s antics and proceeded to manually attempt to find a weak spot in the force field. He pushed and prodded at every inch of the shimmering wall.

Daniel tried to mime that touching the veil apparently triggered the beam. The rest of them would fall prey to the trap themselves. He had to warn them. His actions became more pronounced as his teammates worked their way closer to the veil.

Oblivious to the danger Daniel was frantically trying to warn them about, Jack pushed his way around the cylinder of light. Never taking his hand off of the beam, he shifted the veil away with his shoulder and shrugged if off his back like a barely felt breeze.

Daniel froze in mid-hand signal, his expression changing from frantic to shocked disbelief as he watched Jack and then Teal’c breech the veil and the archway without incident.

Jack caught Daniel’s sudden stillness and narrowed his eyes in concern. Frightened and silenced, Daniel looked impossibly young and lost to Jack. "Daniel?" What? Are you all right?

Daniel heaved a sigh of exasperation, widened his eyes and blinked like the familiar habit would clear his mind as well as his sight, and dropped his hands uselessly to his sides. Perplexed and confused, he soundlessly worked his mouth, unable to find the right words to voice his jumbled thoughts then halting in mid-attempt when he remembered he couldn’t be heard anyway. Looking up into Jack’s unhappy face, Daniel shook his head and shrugged his hunched shoulders.

Carter stood up from her inspection of the flooring and sighed. "I don’t see anything that looks like a control panel or a triggering mechanism, Colonel. I’m guessing it’s controlled remotely. I think we’ll have to find help to get Daniel out, sir."

Teal’c walked around from the far side of the beam. "Possibly a strike directed at the top of the beam with my staff weapon would disable the device. The ceiling is extremely high. I believe the distance would pose little threat to DanielJackson."

The Jaffa’s displeasure over his inability to free his self-appointed charge was evident in the way Teal’c’s mouth formed a tight, thin line across his seemingly neutral face. The slight downward turning of the corners along with a miniscule lowering of his eyelids spoke volumes about the level of distress he was experiencing.

Jack cast an inquiring glance at his 2IC. Carter shrugged and looked up, calculating the distance and the force of the staff weapon’s energy. "I think it could work. Most energy fields will short circuit if the weapon pulse is large enough. Daniel should be safe as long as he isn’t touching the beam when Teal’c fires. That’s assuming the beam is just surrounding him and isn’t solid." Carter craned her head back to try and get a good look at the point on the ceiling where the beam touched it.

"And if it is?" Jack appeared to be only mildly concerned with the possibility of Daniel being zapped during the rescue attempt. The unconcern was false, but the anger behind it wasn’t.

"I’d say he’ll get quite a tingle from it, sir." Carter struggled to hide the small smile that tried to push its way onto her lips.

"Oh, he’s going to get a tingle all right, Carter. A whole lot of them. It just may not be from this." Jack gave the object of their discussion a hard, grim look that promised of many unpleasant things to come.

Used to Jack’s heartfelt and sincere, but meaningless threats of violence against Daniel’s person, Carter just chuckled and shook her head, not catching the pleased look that passed over Teal’c’s face at O’Neill’s cryptic words. Out of Carter’s line of vision, Teal’c momentarily risked leveling an amused, slightly raised eyebrow at O’Neill.

Daniel darted his eyes nervously to one side and then back at Jack, shifting his feet restlessly in the small circle of freedom he had available to him. Unconsciously, Daniel altered his position so that his backside was as far away from Jack as possible in his present confinement. He couldn’t slink away, but he could take consolation in the fact that at least Jack couldn’t reach him either. Yet. Jack had already proved that being off world didn’t mean Daniel’s butt was safe.

Now that Jack knew Daniel was unharmed, the reason he was imprisoned was beginning to take a front seat in the colonel’s mind. Daniel had disobeyed a direct order and wandered off mere seconds after being warned not to. Granted, it was possible, no probable, that Daniel hadn’t even heard what the colonel had said, but he had acknowledged the command and given everyone the impression he had heard and understood. Jack added lying to the mental list of transgressions.

"Let’s get Daniel out of there. Daniel, stand in the center of the circle. Don’t touch the beam, okay?" Jack waited for Daniel to signal he was ready. He touched the beam with his hand again. Lowering his voice to a husky growl, Jack let its soothing tones reach through the barrier to flow over his youngest and comfort him with the only thing he could. "It’ll be okay, Danny. I won’t let anything happen to you. Hang in there, big guy." Jack’s gaze softened and Daniel swallowed down a sob, blinking back a tear at the love he saw in Jack’s eyes and heard in his comforting voice.

Daniel extended his fingers to briefly touch the point where Jack’s hand rested then he shifted to the center of the ring of light and wrapped his arms consolingly around his middle. Giving a quick nod to signal he was ready, he tightly closed his eyes and gritted his teeth to keep from crying out in fear at the last moment.

Satisfied with Daniel’s position, Jack stepped back from the force field, Carter at his heels. Jack raised one finger in the air and glanced at his waiting brother. "Go."

The staff weapon sprang to life at a touch of Teal’c’s practiced hand. Just as the charge activated and the weapon readied a booming voiced brought a startled halt to the rescue attempt.

"Cease. That is not necessary. Your child is unharmed. He will be released and returned to you. Violence is forbidden here."

Jack, Carter and Teal’c turned as one at the sound of the authoritative voice. Hurrying from one of the veiled areas came two men clad in silk robes and turbans, looking like something out of the Tales of the Arabian Nights.

The man who had spoken was imposing in his manner, authoritative and confident, a sultan look alike in his rich colors and fancy robes. Tall and dark, his face was covered with a short, dark beard, piercing black eyes that seemed to convey little or no emotion beyond anger that the hall would be violated or disturbed.

The second man trailed a few paces behind the first, the traditional role of servant or guard. Though well muscled, broad and taller than the first, this man had an air of understanding and openness about him, a gentleness that was reflected in his slate blue eyes and the casual, easy grace of his movements. The man looked quite capable of violence, but he also had the appearance of a man who rarely liked or needed to resort to it.

Jack stepped forward and met the small party of two head on. "Who are you? Better yet, get Daniel the hell out of there and then tell me who you are." Jack gripped his P90 tighter to his chest in the effort not to train it on the strangers. "I want him out. Now." O’Neill let the full force of his unhappiness radiate from his hardened covert ops practiced stare. "If you don’t allow violence here then explain why you imprisoned one of my people?"

The first man stilled his approach and sighed dramatically. "He has not been imprisoned. He was detained for his own protection. The young are not allowed in the temple room. The room is sacred. Only the guardians of the chosen are permitted to view the tablets of Marr and bathe in the Pool of Blessings. The pool is deep, the water deadly to the very young. The scanner detected his slight age and his solitary status as he attempted to enter the temple room. It rightly contained him until adults could retrieve him and remove him from potential harm. There are many children such as he in this place. Your child is uninjured, I assure you."

With a wave of his hand the beam shut down and Daniel was left standing in the archway, confusion and amazement clearly written on his expressive face. Daniel swiftly moved a safe distance back into the main room with the aid of Teal’c’s strong right arm. Daniel practically flew through the air from the force of Teal’c’s ‘help’ and before he got his bearings again he was standing beside a bristling, protective alpha Jack, his arm still gripped in the Jaffa’s own version of a short leash.

Daniel absently noted that he might be losing the feeling in his lower arm and hand if Teal’c didn’t relax soon. He was relieved to out of the beam and close to his family. Even invisible walls can make a frightening cage. The touch of a warm hand to the back of his neck startled him from his uneasy thoughts.

Jack gripped Daniel’s neck and pulled the younger man close to his side, an uncompromising stare bored into Daniel’s face forcing his darting gaze to still and meet Jack’s. A small nod and a mumbled, "I’m fine, really," settled the older man’s instinct to defend, down to a less than lethal level. Just.

Daniel refocused his energy on the people standing before him and forced himself to extend a hand in greeting. Every one in the room noted that the young man keep his body behind Jack’s even as he started his usual ‘meet and greet’ dialogue.

"Ah, Hi. Hello. I’m Daniel Jackson. This is Colonel Jack O’Neill, Captain Sam Carter and this is Teal’c. We’re explorers from a planet called Earth. I’m sorry about the intrusion. I didn’t realize it was a temple. I’m not completely familiar with the writings on the walls, although I actually think I have seen them before. I-I just can’t remember where." Daniel flashed his self-depreciating smile at the two men and pulled his body in closer to the center of his team, arms automatically wrapping around his waist when he wasn’t gesturing to the etched markings. "They’re really quite fascinating. I’d love to be able to take a closer look at them. If I could just place where I know them from, I’m sure I could translate them." Daniel barely paused to catch a breath in between sentences. The note of awe and excitement in his voice made the taller of the two men smile softly despite the fact that neither man made any effort to acknowledge Daniel’s overtures.

"Get used to it, he does that a lot. Maybe a quick reading lesson would be a good thing. At least then he’d know where you have the ‘do not enter’ and ‘no one under 18 allowed without a parent or guardian’ signs up at." Jack’s serious deadpan delivery pulled a grin from Carter, a disgruntled huff from Teal’c and an indignant dirty look from Daniel. Their hosts merely exchanged confused glances and smiled benevolently.

"Yes, well. I’m sure the child will be more cautious in the future. I am Talmac, headmaster and Keeper of the Temple of Marr. This is my most trusted advisor and Temple disciplinarian, Draco." Talmac pulled his right arm to his chest, fist over his heart and bowed deeply from the waist. Draco mirrored the gesture.

Jack tipped his head to one side and pursed his lips, silently mouthing ‘all righty then’ before saying a curt perfunctory, "Hey," punctuated with a short hand wave.

"I see your Jaffa carries the mark of the Gods. You are most welcome visitors. How may we help you?" Talmac was put at ease by the presence of the large Jaffa warrior, but he was beginning to suspect that his visitors were not aware of the temple function. Indeed they were not even aware it was a temple, so they could not know its purpose. He would need to proceed cautiously. In the distance, the sounds of playing children began to echo off the stone walls.

"Is that children I hear?" Sam canted her head to one side and glanced down a hallway that had appeared in the flawless wall.

"Of course. The Temple of Marr is a school. Our students are very young. That is why we have safety features like the force field in place. It would not do to have one accidentally injured. They are the best and the brightest of their kind. In the Temple they are given every educational advantage and taught all that is of value to those they will return to serve. You may meet with them during the mid-day meal if you would like." Talmac keep his expression open and sincere.

Jack nodded. "Cool. Yeah, okay. If we’ve got time, why not? I get along great with kids. Ask Daniel."

Carter muttered what was to be the first of many pointed comments over the length of their stay. "Similar interests and attention spans, sir."

Daniel let a small snicker escape his lips before biting down on his lower lip to stop it. "We’d like to be able to sit down and talk together. Learn about your people, and your culture. We have many things we could exchange, science, medicines, technology." Daniel warmed to his subject letting his excitement and interest lead the way, never noticing the way neither of the two strangers made eye contact with him or answered.

Carter, however, did. She stepped forward and brushed against Daniel’s side in a subtle show of support for the young man’s words. "We couldn’t help noticing the immense amounts of energy this place must need to provide light and heat and security for a dwelling this size. We’d be interested in learning about your technology, maybe trading ideas and theories, sharing what we have that your people could benefit from, as much as the things you have that our people could benefit from."

Her bright, intensely intelligent gaze almost made Talmac’s mouth water with delight. "We should endeavor to discuss the possibilities, Mistress."

Sam started to correct the man, insisting on her rank when the futility of the effort struck her. When in Rome. She settled for a muted smile and nod of her head.

Talmac’s interest and attention shifted back to the obvious leader in the group. "Colonel O’Neill. If you and your wife would accompany me to a place were we can discuss these things in peace and quiet, away from the children, we will begin. Your Jaffa may attend as well. The child will have to remain here with Draco. No child is allowed in the inner Chambers of Words."

"Whoa, whoa there, Sultan, I mean Talmac." Jack had to force himself not to show his delight at the shocked wide-eyed expression that hit Carter’s face like a ton of bricks at Talmac’s assumptions. Jack knew better than to let anyone think he was sleeping with his 2IC, even if the idea secretly appealed to him, and the guy thought the two of them were cozy in the blissful state of legal matrimony. ‘We’re not a married couple. Carter’s—"

The color drained from Talmac’s face and his voice rose two octaves as horror raced across his dark features. "You are not bonded? The boy is the product of an unblessed union? He is a blasphemy, an unclean abomination? He can not be in this temple. You can not be in this temple. The Temple of Marr has been soiled, the blessing---."

Talmac’s frenzied hysterics escalated. Draco drew a short dagger out of the hidden folds of his robe and silently took up a defensive stance at Talmac’s side, ready to banish the outsiders if their demands to leave the Temple were not met.

Jack had no choice, but to intervene with some fast-talking nonsense before bloodshed occurred. All three of them backed up and surrounded the object of Talmac’s tirade, none to gently pushing Daniel into the center of a controlled huddle.

"Wait! For crying out loud, listen to me. You…misunderstood me. Daniel is the product of a legal marriage. He’s been baptized and…and everything. When I said we weren’t…that Carter and I weren’t… a m-married couple, I…I…I meant….I meant...thaaat…" Jack shot Carter a pleading look and furiously worked to correct the problem. She widened her eyes and gave a minute shrug, her own razor-sharp mind drawing a blank on the subject of Daniel’s paternity and her own supposed involvement in it. Jack plunged back into the fray, empty-handed and floundering. "That we…don’t…do things…..without Daniel along. We don’t like to think of ourselves as just a couple anymore. We’re a…family, a single-family unit. House, dog, two car garage, Jaffa,… the usual. Daniel is definitely…our…ours and…we are definitely…mar-bond—together. Carter was… assigned to me…legally…by the man who …assigns…units…family units…where we come…from." Jack cleared his throat twice and idly picked at a nonexistent thread on his sleeve, avoiding any and all eye contact with his unusually silent teammates. Even Daniel was stunned speechless. Jack just hoped it would last.

The sound of Jack’s expected life span shortening was clearly heard in the air along with a sharp intake of air from Carter’s direction. Teal’c murmured a soft condolence that Jack would be missed and Daniel merely hissed in pained sympathy. Jack threw them both a dirty look before braving a glance at his …wife.

The intensity of Carter’s glare made Jack swallow hard and pray to God that her retribution wouldn’t be worse than their present situation was. Maybe he couldn’t out think her, but he did still out rank her. It was the only thing saving his hide at the moment. That and the issue of Daniel’s continued safety. God, he hoped he’d remembered to pack chocolate.

Talmac immediately calmed down, a fisted hand still clenched at the folds of his robe over his heart, his color rapidly restoring itself at the news of the misunderstanding. "It is my turn to apologize, Colonel, Mistress, Master Teal’c and, of course, young Daniel. I fear it is a language difficulty when new visitors enter our world. Not all of our words hold the same true meaning to others as they do to us. I should have been more patient with your explanations. Forgive me." Talmac and Draco gave another of their floor sweeping bows.

"Hey, no problem. It happens." Jack grimaced at Carter’s unhappy, but resigned expression while the two harem boys were checking out their slipper tops. Thankfully Daniel had enough sense to stay silent and out of harm’s way. He had cautiously moved to stand behind Teal’c. Jack again wondered about the chocolate bars. A bribe was definitely going to be needed if he even wanted to make it to the gate on the trip home.

"Then, if we are of an accord, let us retire to the Chamber of Words." Talmac gestured towards the far wall where a section of the seemingly seamless wall parted to reveal a hallway.

Daniel’s natural curiosity and indignation at being classified as a child, to be left behind during the part of the mission that was his specialty, overrode his admittedly weak sense of self-preservation and tact. "Jack! I’m not going to stay behind like some insolent child being punished for bad behavior. I’m the linguist here. It’s my job. I should be there during the talks."

"I know that, Daniel. But in any situation like this you know its best to give in to the cultural mores and values of the people we’re attempting to negotiate with unless it risks someone’s life. You’ve told me that a dozen times. I think I just forfeited my life a few minutes ago in exchange for protecting yours. So calm down and just accept it. These people look at you as too young and inexperienced to be included in formal discussions, and that’s it." Jack could see the hurt and disappointment in the young man’s face and body language. The familiar wrapped arms and strained swallows as Daniel pushed back the rejection in the message that he wasn’t good enough to do the job. His job.

Jack sighed and rested an arm across Daniel’s hunched shoulders, rubbing gently at the tense neck under his hand. "Take the opportunity to learn about them from the kids. Explore the kiddie palace. Work on figuring out the symbols, get Draco to talk to you. If anyone can beat down a person’s resistance to conversation, you can. If only to make the other guy tell you to shut up."

A small smile peeked up at him through long shaggy bangs and Jack couldn’t resist the need to ruffle the hair back out of Daniel’s face. "Besides, it looks like we’ll be sitting on the floor for these talks, and I’m not so sure your butt could tolerate it. Mine’s already numb at the thought of it. All you need to do to prove their estimation of your age is to squirm through hours of negotiations like a five year old on caffeine overdrive."

Serious blue eyes cast a hard glare up at Jack. "And whose fault is that?"

"Yours." A warning glare made Daniel’s mouth snap shut and his eyes darted away. "You were the one with the attitude problem. I just helped you adjust it, little boy, and I’ll do it again if this conversation doesn’t come to an abrupt halt right now. We have a job to do. Go research the species, play with the kids, or work on learning the language. Use that overdeveloped brain power of yours."

One last ruffle of hair and Jack turned to find Draco waiting and listening nearby. "I’ll be less than pleased if he isn’t right where I left him and in the same condition I left him in when I get back." Jack tipped the end of his P90 in an unsubtle threat and walked away to join the others, never tearing his eyes away from Draco’s until he was forced to enter the hall.

Draco smiled and bowed his acceptance of the challenge. He admired a man who was confident enough to offer open threats in such a casual, assured tone. The hard, unforgiving stare in the brown eyes promised retribution from the very depths of their owner’s soul. This young one was indeed much beloved to inspire such deadly affection. Draco grinned wider and shepherded his newest charge reluctantly toward the children’s playroom.

*************

It had been long years since someone had crossed the portal to their planet that was not versed in the ways and purpose of the Marr, but it did occasionally happen. In any case, Talmac knew it would be best to entertain the visitors, let them see the temple and most of what it had to offer, then send them merrily on their way, blissfully uninformed about the Marr and the way of the Blessing.

This group was obviously a family of explorers. Their leader was strong and more cunning than he let on. Talmac could see it in the steady brown eyes that never wandered from his and Draco’s positions, even when Talmac had purposefully separated them by wandering while he talked. The graying, brown-haired man merely divided his attention equally between them and silently signaled the Jaffa to cover Draco when the distances became too great. He possessed a power beneath the casual facade of humor. Its energy had practically blinded Talmac when the man vented his anger and outrage at the containment of his child.

The woman was also very aware of the tone her male counterpart set and appeared quite comfortable with the weapon in her hands. Though beautiful and youthful in her years to have given birth to the young one in their protective midst, she too possessed a cunning edge to her graceful bearing. A worthy mate for the alpha male. He had chosen well.

If there was one thing Talmac appreciated, it was good breeding stock. After all, it was his job. This pair of warrior explorers made him feel giddy at the thoughts of their mating. Oh, to be a pillow in that bed. Talmac absently wiped non-existent drool from one corner of his mouth, hiding the gesture in a casual stroking of his carefully trimmed beard.

The Jaffa was a prime specimen of muscle and strength, his characteristic expressionless stare honed to deadly menace, being both intimidating and aggressive without so much as a blink being expended. Talmac found himself regretting the fact that he could not obtain a specimen of each of their reproductive cells for the blessing ritual.

The product of the humans’ union was handsome, the blue eyes startling in their coloring, even more so than his mother’s were. The boy’s long, shiny hair appeared to be changing from his mother’s blonde to his father’s brown, as human children were known to do as they matured. His build spoke of the mother’s slenderness and both of the parent’s taller statures.

His body language and actions told of enthusiasm and intelligence ruled by impulsive, barely restrained curiosity. A keen mind burned behind the slightly smudged lens that protected the youth’s eyes, magnifying the child’s natural innocence and impetuousness to the measuring eye of a trained observer. When maturity peaked, this one would be an impressive asset to his people. If he lived that long, that is.

No wonder the family had obtained a Jaffa to guard their offspring. The reckless rarely achieved adulthood in any species. It would be a pity to waste the product of such a magnificent coupling. Hopefully the parents knew the meaning of discipline in their household. Despite the fact that the youth had been literally bouncing on his heels with impatience moments ago, the boy had seemed quite cowed when he had been released from the energy beam. It appeared the boy practiced the ability to merely ignore those things not to his liking. They must indulge him too much.

Talmac seated himself at the head of a long, low square table and indicated pillows scattered around the edges for his guests to sit on.

Jack stifled a groan and momentarily wished Daniel were the one suffering through hours of talking and cultural tiptoeing around potential disasters like the married thingy. Who knew the Marr were part of the moral majority? More importantly, how long were his knees going to take the abuse of sitting on the floor? Right about now he would prefer to be the one off playing with the children in the Temple.

Tearing his mind back to the matter at hand, Jack smiled weakly at the indicated seating and lowered himself down onto a pillow. He managed to mute the low grunt of pain that escaped when one of his kneecaps banged the table edge. His pained grimace was meet with an overly sunny smile from Carter as she gracefully folded her long legs Indian style and sat down across the table from him.

**************

Draco walked over to the entrance to what was apparently the ‘kiddie palace playroom’, as Jack had called it. He turned to make sure Daniel was following him. A frown of disappointment marred his sharp-angled face when he noticed the young man still stood frozen to the spot where he had left him. He motioned for Daniel to follow, his gesture full of exasperation and amusement.

It seemed the child was not happy to be left behind nor was he used to it. Draco watched Daniel look longingly toward the hallway the others had disappeared down, then heave a sigh, adjust the object on his face, and trudged toward the children’s hall. Draco waited until the boy walked past him before entering the great room. The entrance to the room disappeared back into stone as silently as it had appeared. So silently Daniel didn’t even notice it.

The room was covered in bright colored veils and curtains. Every available space was used for low tables and pillows. On many of the pillows were perched small children, most appeared to Daniel’s untrained eye to be around the age of 7-12 years of age. There seemed to be an equal number of boys to girls. If Daniel had to pick one trait that stood out in all the children, he decided it would be that they were all beautiful. Dark hair, fair hair, redheads and blondes, all with smooth, beautiful faces and tall, graceful bodies sat, stood or walked around every corner of the room. There were easily a hundred children here.

Draco’s deep, but soft voice shook Daniel from his thoughts. "You may go anywhere in this one room. Play with anything that is contained within. All other rooms are forbidden to you at this time. Do you understand?"

Draco pointedly ignored Daniel’s impertinent question. "Although they rarely have visitors, the children will welcome you."

Daniel squinted up at the guardian and tilted his head in confusion. "Do they live here? All the time? Don’t their parents ever visit them? I mean, they’re very young."

"As are you, child. Not everything is easily understood when you are this age. Your parents can explain it all to you when they are done with their discussions with Talmac."

All around them kids began to gather and sit quietly nearby, listening and watching the newcomer with great interest.

"Yeah, riiight." The condescendingly tolerant smile on Draco’s lips made Daniel want to punch out the man’s lights, but he settled for giving him a shy, innocent smile of his own hoping to draw more information from the guardian. "About those discussions…how long do they usually last? Do you have guests here often? Talmac recognized Teal’c as a servant of the Gods. Do Goa’uld visit here? Are you expecting some anytime soon?"

Daniel nervously cleared his throat and fussed with his glasses, pushing at the nosepiece to set them more firmly on his face.

Brow furrowed in concentration, he waited expectantly for an answer to any one of his questions. What he got was a pat on the head and snort of laughter.

"You are very curious and bright. I’m sure you will be able to find many here that will enjoy your company while you await your parents return." With that blatant dismissal, Draco turned to walk down into the sea of children.

"Ex…excuse me, I…Would you…" Another pat on the head stopped Daniel cold, but his temper flared to white hot. "’Cuse…me." His words trailed off as Draco’s back receded across the room.

Daniel’s face pinched tight in anger. He squinted to try and keep the haze of red that matched his temper from his vision.

Unfazed, Draco casually made his way to the far side of the room towards a group of boys gathered around one low table, talking to each child he passed, his deep voice soft and playful. Daniel could tell by the bright smiles and easy answering voices that the large imposing man was well liked and respected by the children. Not a single one looked afraid of him.

Spying a group of older boys openly staring at him, Daniel wove his way through the throng of small bodies to stand next them, making sure he said hello and smiled at each child he passed. He would need all the good graces he could muster if he managed to pull off what he wanted to do.

The tallest of the boys moved forward a little at Daniel’s approach, a small smile on his handsome young face. Dark-haired with eyes so dark brown in color that they almost looked black, he was quite striking. His slender frame was dressed in emerald green and silver robes.

When Daniel stopped before him, the boy raised his fist to his chest and bowed in the traditional form of greeting Daniel had seen Talmac and Draco use earlier. Daniel smiled his first genuine smile since entering the temple and nodded as the five other boys behind this one imitated the welcome.

"Ah, hi. Hello. I’m Daniel Jackson."

"I am called Odnalro. Welcome to the Temple of Marr." The boy moved aside and indicated each of his companions with a swept of his arm. "This is Mod, Naes, Hajile, Yllib, and Oggiv. Are you new to the Temple? Will you be staying to be trained in the ways of the Marr for a new master?" The boy’s words were direct and uncensored, but Daniel couldn’t help feeling there was an underlying message behind the words. "If so, as one of the oldest you should get to know us. We are the oldest ones left."

One glance around told Daniel Draco was still out of hearing distance. "Ah, no, no. I’m not staying. Ah, we’re just visiting. I’m just waiting for Talmac to finish discussing things with the leader of my unit."

"They sent you here while the olders talked. They sent you to be with the other children and you are not pleased." Odnalro gave Daniel a knowing smile that brought a pink flush to the archaeologist cheeks.

Daniel gave a small snort of defeat at his needless attempt to save face and nodded. "Ya think?"

Odnalro nodded. "I think, yes." The unnecessary answer to Jack’s standard ‘duh’ rhetorical question made Daniel laugh out loud.

"You’re right. It’s a little embarrassing. I’m considered an adult where I come from. At least by most people. Not by Jack, but I think I could be a hundred and Jack would still treat me like a child. It’s difficult to tolerate being excluded from things. Learning about new planets, cultures, languages and people is my job and Talmac won’t let me." Daniel rubbed absently at his head, distantly aware that a headache was forming behind his eyes. "I don’t even know why. What made them decide that I was too young?"

"Oh, that’s easy." Oggiv dropped down onto a pillow and the rest of the boys followed suit. Daniel picked a cushion near the middle and sat down Indian style. "The veils told them."

"The veils? You mean the miles of fabric out in the main hall?" Daniel blinked several times to clear his memory trying to think if he had noticed anything strange about the light wispy curtains of cloth. They were everywhere, so numerous that he had brushed up against several on them just walking across the room. And the last one he had touched had set off the security force field.

"Yes. They scan for certain chemical levels in your body. They can tell if you are young or old. If you’re young, you get sent here and it locks you out of special rooms. If you try to enter a blocked room, a force field captures you and holds you until Draco comes and frees you. Then you get punished."

Daniel tilted his head to one side and picked up on the thread Oggiv had left off with. "Punished? How? I got caught in an energy field earlier and nobody punished me for it." Did this planet practice the same theory Jack and Teal’c subscripted to for attitude adjustments as well, he wondered.

Mod answered this time, his tone taking on a cocky, know it all attitude, clearly getting into the conspiratorial mood of the conversation. "Whatever fits the deed. Restrictions of privileges, extra school assignments are Draco’s favorite punishment. He probably expects the olders with you to punish you. You don’t want to know what he does if it’s really bad." A note of uncertainty wavered in the boy’s voice.

"What does he do?" Daniel swiveled his head around to look at Mod.

The boy blushed and ducked his head sheepishly, his bad boy bravado suddenly disappearing into thin air. "We don’t know. No one has ever done anything really bad."

"No one’s been caught you mean. Remember? When we tested Oggiv’s theory about the veils. We walked right through the scanner and into the Chamber of Blessings and back out. Nobody ever found out about it." Hajile beamed a satisfied grin of adolescent triumph at his cohorts and they all basked in the knowledge they had gotten away with breaking a major rule and no one was the wiser.

"You know how to get past the force field? Into a room? Without being trapped?" All three questions pulled a nod from six bobbing heads. "God, wouldn’t I love to get into the Chamber with that tablet. There’s something about these symbols that is so familiar, but I can’t seem to get it. I…I think if I could get a closer look at the tablet in the next room, I could translate it. It would probably tell us more about things than anyone is learning in the ‘Chamber of Words’." There was a distinct tone of bitterness in Daniel’s words.

Despite all his best efforts, a lingering resentment at being told he couldn’t do his job ate away at the insecure, young linguist. Daniel couldn’t help thinking that if he found out more about the planet on his own than the rest of his team found out through the meetings Daniel had been denied attendance to, he could reestablish his value to them all. Not that Jack didn’t value him, he knew Jack did, but it never hurt to remind the overprotective colonel that Daniel was a capable professional, too.

"The tablet contains the Way of the Blessing. It is the sacred language of the ancient Marr. No one besides Talmac knows what the tablet says." Naes piped up, pleased he could add something to the conversation with this interesting newcomer.

"Wellll, I speak 23 different languages. That’s my job. I figure out languages and learn them pretty quickly." Daniel smiled in his self-depreciating way and shyly looked down to hide his embarrassment over what seemed like bragging to him. "It’s just a natural talent I have. One of the few talents I have." The last was whispered mainly to himself, but the boys heard it. "I think I could do the same here. Learn the language, I mean. But I need a closer look at something with a lot of repetitive symbols and actual text to figure it out. The Tablet is perfect for that."

It was easy for the boys to hear the longing and desire to prove himself in Daniel’s frustrated, soft sigh that followed. What child didn’t want to show their elders they were capable and smart? What authority figure wouldn’t be impressed with initiative and diligence from a subordinate?

A conspiratorial glance flickered among the group of youngsters and landed on Daniel. A thread of building excitement rippled through the huddle of young souls.

Odnalro’s sweet smile turned sly as he drew Daniel’s attention back to him. "We can get you in. Into the Pool of Blessings Chamber."

"You can? Without triggering the force field? How?" Daniel’s eyes widened. He ducked his head, looking at the boys over the top of his glasses, mouth slightly parted in surprise.

"It’s easy really, but it will take all of us to do it. It’s right there." Odnalro nodded and glanced at the archway forty feet away that led into the Blessings Chamber, heavy burgundy veils draped across the twelve foot opening.

Yllib shifted closer to Daniel, dropping his voice down to a mere whisper. "Pretty soon we’ll be expected to lay down and rest. Most of the young ones fall asleep then, they don’t know how to keep the slumber chimes from invading their heads like we do. We’re older." Youthful pride showed in Yllib’s every gesture and words making Daniel smile just a little at the bravado.

"We’ll have to wait until Draco is out of the room after that. He usually gets called away to attend to official matters before too long, especially if Talmac is busy elsewhere like today."

Hajile leaned closer and added his own words of sage advise. "Then we’ll have to move quickly. They’ll never suspect a thing."

"Are you sure? I don’t want to get any of you into any trouble on my account." Anxious, but wanting to be fair, Daniel could barely keep the desperation of his voice.

"We did it before and didn’t get caught, I don’t see why today should be any different." Oggiv grinned and looked to each of his companions for support, receiving it full force from the enthusiastic group of youths eager to partake of some mischief making. Children were children everywhere it seemed, no matter what planet they lived on.

Daniel’s rational mind formed a mature argument for why they shouldn’t risk it. He almost had the words out when Mod tapped his shoulder. "Oh, you’ll have to remember not to touch the water. There’s a teaching that says that ‘true understanding of the words of Marr can only be seen through the eyes of the Pool of Blessings’. We think something lives in it."

Daniel’s eyes widened and his mouth popped partially open in surprise. "In the pool?" Six heads bobbed in agreement at him. "Oh. Well. Okaaay." Daniel cleared his throat and shot another glance over to the very thin, shimmering curtain of mere fabric that separated them from the pool chamber. He swallowed and readjusted his glasses. "There’s no need for us to test that theory today. I…I just won’t go near the pool, that’s all. Riiight. Ah, thanks for the warning."

Mod slapped his shoulder and grinned. "It would be difficult to keep this a secret if you get eaten while you’re there."

Daniel slowly smiled at the joke and twisted his mouth into a wry expression of amusement. "Ya think?" His grin widened at the six simultaneous responses of, "Yes, we think."

An unseen gong suddenly rang three times causing a scurry of activity all around them. The group of boys Daniel was with automatically stretched out and found comfortable spots to lay down in. An odd chiming drifted on the air, immediately capturing Daniel’s attention. He found it both soothing and lyrical. Oggiv motioned for Daniel to lay down and he did so, shifting gingerly to his side to remove his backside from contact with the firm cushions and floor. Soon the entire room was silent except for the soft shushing sound of slippers traveling slowly around the warm stone floor.

Draco eventually passed by their group. Looking up at the towering man, Daniel caught him looking directly at his face. When Daniel made as if to speak, Draco simply placed a finger over his own lips and murmured a firm, "Sshhhh," a gentle smile reflected in his eyes.

Taking the hint, Daniel obediently closed his eyes and lay his head back down until the sound of footsteps faded away. Or maybe it was actually Daniel that faded away, pulled down into a light sleep aided by the faint sound of tinkling chimes.

A small hand was shaking his shoulder urging Daniel awake.

"Jack?" He blinked the sleep from his vision and sat up, pushing his glasses back into place and looking around to regain his orientation.

"No, it me, Naes. It’s time. Draco’s been called away and none of the servants have stayed behind. Let’s go."

After a quick glance around to be sure none of the other children were aware of their adventure, Daniel quietly struggled to his feet. He cautiously followed the group of excited youths to the edge of the archway to the chamber.

"Now what? You never explained to me how we were going to do this."

"Only because you fell asleep. The chimes got you."

Daniel felt the heat rise in his cheeks as he blushed. "Well, they work pretty well. There’s a fortune to be had in sales of those things to daycare centers alone." Daniel bit his lower lip, a thoughtful pensive expression on his face. "Uh, if you happen to meet Jack this trip, don’t mention those chimes, okay? He’s a tall guy, brown hair, scowls a lot, always carrying a big gun. I have enough trouble with enforced nap times as it is without him getting a set of those things. Come to think about it, don’t talk to a big bald guy, either. Or—on second thought, just don’t mention them to anyone."

"Okay, Daniel, if you say so. Now we need to hurry." Bewildered, but unconcerned, Odnalro shrugged his shoulders then turned to face Daniel. "Can you control the beating of your heart?"

"Control it? You mean like alter it at will?" Odnalro gave a terse nod. "No, no, I can’t. Can you?" Odnalro’s dark head bobbed again, this time in the affirmative. "Do I need to be able to for this to work?"

The boy smiled and shook his head again, stepping close to the veils blocking the archway. He motioned Daniel over to stand in front of him. Odnalro placed one hand over Daniel’s heart. "No, but we can. The veils detect heartbeats and chemical levels. We’ll match our heartbeats with yours. If we all have one heartbeat, the veils see one person. If we press our bodies closely together, flesh to flesh, like this," He pressed the palms of their hands together, interlocking their fingers, "it will see only one person of many years."

"What about the chemical levels, the hormones and other things it uses to tell age?" Daniel watched as the remainder of the boys formed a line next to Odnalro. Each reached out to take the hand of the boy beside him, then closed his eyes. Odnalro made sure they were in line with the archway then pulled Daniel closer to him. "As long as we are of the same heartbeat, we think it only sees the sum of us, not the individual parts."

Daniel darted a look behind him at the room full of sleeping children, then nervously glanced at the still, blank faces of his companions in crime. "What… what are you doing?"

Barely moving a muscle, Odnalro whispered back. "Matching our heartbeat to yours. Be quiet and move when we move. You’ll be inside the chamber in a moment. Are you ready?"

Daniel swallowed hard at the mountain of second thoughts that piled up in his mind. What would the Marr say if he were caught? Would it affect negotiations? What would Jack say if he were caught? More importantly, what would Jack do if he were caught?

Just as Daniel decided that maybe this wasn’t the best way to prove his worth and abilities, Draco’s amused chuckle and condescending pats on the head pushed their way into his thoughts. He tightened his grip on the fingers firmly entwined with his left hand. "Ready. Let’s see what’s behind curtain number one."

A small tug on his hand signaled the start of their adventure and the boys moved as one to the veils. Without hesitating, they slipped through the opening, making sure a veil brushed over an area of bare skin on each of them. A second later, they were on the other side of the veil. No blue/green light shone down from above, no invisible walls of energy surrounded them, and no disapproving headmasters assaulted them. Best of all, no anxious, angry Air Force Colonels appeared out of nowhere to fret and worry and yell at them. They were home free.

Daniel opened his eyes and took in the sight of the large granite-like stone tablet towering over a placid, rectangular shaped pool of crystal clear, blue water that was situated at the very base of the tablet. Mesmerized by the glistening display of craftsmanship and ancient writings, he barely felt the loss of heat when Odnalro slipped from his grasp. A light tap on his shoulder startled Daniel back into focusing on his younger companions.

"Told you we could do it!" Oggiv smiled brightly, his young voice full of triumph at winning the first round in the game they were playing.

Hajile glanced meaningfully over his shoulder at the playroom, checking for possible witnesses. "We’ll come back when you’re ready to leave. It’s too suspicious if many of us are missing. You have until the noon meal. Someone will surely return by then. Work quickly and learn much, Daniel."

After taking a moment to synchronize their heartbeats, the small pack of self-satisfied youths disappeared through the barrier veil. Daniel watched as they carefully picked their way back to their previous spots and settled down onto cushions.

Odnalro paused a moment to wrap Daniel’s discarded vest around a pillow and position it partially behind a low table. He flopped the boonie hat on top of another small cushion at the neck of the vest and stood back to admire his work. From a distance the arrangement could pass as Daniel sleeping curled up. Dark eyes dancing with delight at the subterfuge, Odnalro grinned at Daniel. He took his place on a cushion, his eyes trained on the chamber opening awaiting Daniel’s signal to return.

Amazed, but delighted that the boy’s plan had worked, Daniel had to smile at their ingenuity. He doubted there were many opportunities for the growing boys to be free or wild in this structured culture. The opportunity for adventure, even a little one, must be a divine break from the monotony of everyday school life for them. Tricking the system of authority was a thrill unto its own when young. Daniel still enjoyed it himself, especially if the ‘authority’ was wearing an Air Force Colonel’s uniform.

Daniel shook his head to clear his thoughts, searching through his many pockets to retrieve his a pad and pencil. Walking to the water’s edge, he was suddenly reminded of Mod’s warning and took a cautious step backward. However, fear of an unseen, phantom danger couldn’t overshadow the excitement of being near a linguistic archaeologist’s dream. The myriad array of complex symbols and text called to him like a moth to a flame. Before too long Daniel was engrossed in the language of the people of Marr.

Half an hour later, frustrated to the point of a migraine headache, Daniel gave in to the need for caffeine. Kneeling before the tablet on the slender ledge that separated it from the pool, he pulled a candy bar from his pack. Disgusted with himself for the lack of progress he’d made, he turned his back to the stone slab and stared off into the beautiful, still water of the deep pool.

The symbols were so familiar, yet Daniel couldn’t place them. He knew he’d seen something similar in his years of language studies, something buried and ancient. More ancient than even Shau’ri’s native language had been. But the thin strand of memory that told him he knew this language wasn’t strong enough to show him the key. The vague, but sure feeling that the knowledge was there teased at the edge of his thoughts. Like Mod’s suspected water monster, thought to exist, but still forever unseen.

Thoughts of the water myth drew Daniel’s attention back to the pool. He remembered Mod’s words about the teachings and repeated them to himself. The boy had said ‘true understanding of the words of Marr can only be seen through the eyes of the Pool of Blessings’. He searched the surface of the pool looking for evidence that something had disturbed the calm water and slowly became aware that he did, indeed, see something in the water.

But it wasn’t a monster. It was the answer to his puzzle.

Daniel stood up and quickly strode to the end of the pool opposite the Tablet and stared into the water. Water so still, so clear, and so smooth, it was like looking into a huge mirror.

The thin strand of memory swelled and blossomed into a solid reality. There in the crystal blue water, ‘through the eyes of the Pool of Blessings’, shone the language of the Marr.

In his excitement Daniel began to talk out loud to himself. "Or more correctly, the now extinct Coptic language, a form of ancient Egyptian spoken in early Christian times and superceded by Arabic. My God, it was just upside down and backward the whole time. You just have to read it in the water, ‘through the eyes of the Pool of Blessings’. How stupid am I? I can’t believe I didn’t see it until now."

Excited and flustered, Daniel scrabbled for his notepad and pencil, then decided on his hand held recorder instead. Readjusting his glasses, he searched his mind for the right dialect and began translating the Tablet before him. He mumbled to himself occasionally, but most of his words were clearly audible throughout the vast room.

"Copts, no wonder they had a fit about whether or not my ‘parents’ were married. Talk about a strict Christian culture. No wonder they died out." Daniel clicked on the recorder and started a halting attempt at translating the symbols. "This is just a rough guess, but I think I’m seeing a reference to Apollinarianism here. We already know the Marr are familiar with the Goa’uld and Jaffa. Talmac recognized Teal’c as one and wasn’t afraid of him, so I’m guessing they’re friendly with the Goa’uld. Maybe this is Apophis. Interesting. I wonder what the Goa’uld would need a school for. They take their hosts already matured and educated."

Daniel squinted at the lines farthest away, turning his head slightly to focus better. After a few more moments of study he clicked the recorder on again and rested it near his mouth. "I’m getting something about the Marr establishing this school as a tribute to the Gods. They choose the best looking and the brightest of their children to be educated in the ways to serve their God. The way of the Marr. That doesn’t make sense. They aren’t training slaves or personal attendants here. Not with the kind of knowledge those boys are showing. Servants don’t need to know chemistry, bio-physics, astro-physics--."

An unwelcome idea suddenly occurred to Daniel. He slowly lowered his still running recorder to his side and stared at the Tablet, each word he gleaned from the text making the idea that much closer to a reality. "They’re training children to be taken as hosts for the Goa’uld. They’re offering them as sacrifices. Every single one of them will become a host to one of those snakes. Odnalro, Oggiv,…" Stunned disbelief made Daniel’s voice sound almost reverent, but the horror in his eyes quickly rescinded that impression.

Daniel was overwhelmed by the need to tell Jack about his discovery, before negotiations tied them to something that the SGC would never agree to deliver. He turned abruptly on his heel, frantic to leave this place and find his team, but was forced to an abrupt halt before he even took a step. A mere two feet away stood one extremely hostile looking, angry, turban-wrapped guardian.

Realizing the man had heard everything he had said, Daniel knew he was in deep trouble. Wondering just how much of this he could successfully deny, he casually brought his arms behind his back and slipped the tape cartridge out of the recorder. Sliding the small cassette up his sleeve, he prayed it wouldn’t fall out at an inopportune time.

Draco stared down at Daniel making the archaeologist squirm in place. Swallowing hard, Daniel tried the reasonable, adult approach. Maybe he was overreacting. Maybe they wouldn’t mind him flaunting their rules, trespassing into their forbidden sacred chambers, and learning their secret language.

Yeahsureyoubetchya. He didn’t have a prayer of surviving this.

"Ah, hi. Ahhh, I-I can explain. I can. Really. Would you like to hear it?" When the only response he got was Draco taking a step closer, Daniel decided to remind his stalker of the threat Jack made before leaving. "Ah, um, are my p-parents, ah, are they done yet? Is m-my dad available for a minute, maybe? Tall guy, big gun, likes shooting things? He, he gets cranky and bad-tempered when he sits on the floor for too long. Bad knees, comes with age. You might want to get him to discuss this little problem I’m having here."

Suddenly both of Daniel’s upper arms were locked in Draco’s hands, his grip painful enough to made Daniel gasp with the fierceness of it. The recorder was jarred from his hand, smashing to the floor in pieces. Draco began to shake his captive hard enough to send eyeglasses flying. A slight plunking sound told Daniel they had landed in the pool, but he had no time to protest their loss.

Voice low and menacing, Draco increased the intensity of his assault. Daniel head began to ache and his ears were ringing. "Stupid, stupid, child. Very bright, very clever, very ingenious, but very stupid. You can read the sacred Tablet. No one but Talmac is entitled to read the sacred words. They are only to be spoken during the ceremony of the Gift to the Gods."

"S-sssorrryy. Ssstooop!" Blood trickled down Daniel’s lip where his chattering teeth caught and tore the tender skin. It splattered in all directions with each new forced vibration of Daniel’s head.

"Sorry is meaningless, child. If Talmac finds out you have desecrated this place, by entering, by reading the tablet, by speaking the words out loud, he will see you put to death. Why do children always need to defy the very rules that are in place to keep them safe?" Draco gave an extra hard shake on each emphasized, angry word. Draco’s grip suddenly shifted from Daniel’s arms to his wrists.

A jerk that almost knocked him off his feet started Daniel on his way. Draco proceeded to drag him toward an archway on the opposite side of the room.

"Hey, wait, just wait." Daniel dug in his heels and tried to twist free of the iron grip.

"Be silent. You are in enough trouble as it is." Draco never slowed his pace or altered his long stride, towing Daniel along like a pull toy.

"Where are you taking me? I have some stuff here I’d like to--. Hey, stop dragging me. Okay, at least stop hurting me. Stop!" Daniel’s head spun as his position changed once again.

Twirling his young offender around until Daniel’s back was against his chest, Draco paused long enough to wrap a beefy arm around Daniel’s waist to restrain him. He clamped a large hand over the boy’s mouth to silence the loud cries, noticing the bloody lip for the first time. "Be silent. You haven’t even begun to feel hurt from me yet, boy. For that we need someplace more private." Draco bent his knees slightly, lifting Daniel off the ground, hand still clamped tightly across Daniel’s mouth.

As he was carried struggling past the archway he had used to enter the room, Daniel noticed a small crowd of bodies on the other side of the veil. Not sure if it would penetrate the barrier, but determined to leave something of relevance for Jack and the others to find him with, Daniel covertly tossed the tape through the archway. Thankfully, Draco seemed too intent on leaving as quickly as possible to notice the movement as any thing other than Daniel’s continual squirming to free himself.

Unable to see the archway for more then a few seconds, Daniel had no way of knowing if one of the older boys had seen him toss it or not. The only thing Daniel could see was a long dark hall before him, and even that cheery sight was blurry.

Unable to catch himself, Daniel landed hard. Face down, nearly smothered by the large number of silk and satin coverings on the huge bed, he bounced twice before he managed to turn over to face his kidnapper.

Draco completely ignored him, pacing wildly back and forth across the width of the bedchamber. Uttered oaths and words Daniel couldn’t translate, but was pretty sure he knew what they meant, flowed continuously from the guard’s mouth. Each new edict pushed the big man’s temper a notch higher until at last he turned to address his unfortunate captive. Just in time to catch Daniel making a break for the chamber door.

Daniel slid off the satin covered bed and hit the ground running. Whatever it was that Draco was mumbling death threats about, the future didn’t look good for one young linguist. Daniel knew he stood a better chance of surviving this if he could find Jack. Daniel never even saw the man move before he was bounced back onto the surface of the bed.

"All right, all right! Listen, I know you’re upset. I’m sorry I broke some of your people’s sacred rules." Daniel looked up into Draco’s increasingly stormy face and began to inch his way up the bed, away from the man. "And-and I admit I disobeyed a couple of other rules too, but you have to know what you’re doing here is wrong." Daniel passionate demand made him forget his anxiety of the moment and he moved to sit up to get closer to the man he was arguing with. Jack was convinced that the young man had no sense of self-preservation and Daniel was about to prove him right, yet again.

Draco stalked over to the side of the bed Daniel had inched over to, frustration and anger mixed with equal parts exasperation written on his face. "You know nothing of the Way of the Blessings. You are an outsider. A child even. It is easy for you to judge without knowledge of our people’s customs. Children need not concern themselves with the actions of their elders, boy."

Irate and indignant, Daniel began to shout, all caution and thoughts of escape set aside for the sake of defending the rights of the innocent children. Daniel couldn’t imagine sacrificing the boys he had met today and he had only known them a few hours. Draco had lived with them for years. "Somebody needs to be concerned. You can’t give these children over to the Goa’uld. You’re condemning them to a living hell."

Draco frowned and waved Daniel’s plea off. "They know what their fate is and all are proud to serve. None are here against their will."

"I don’t believe that. They’re too young to understand the full implications of what they’re letting themselves in for. This isn’t right. How could their parents do this? How can you?" The horror of what fate awaited these bright young children was reflected in Daniel’s blue eyes. "You’re monsters if you do this, knowing what will happen to them. Nothing but monsters."

Draco stared at Daniel a full minute before the anger drained from his face and was replaced with a resigned determination. "You are like our children here, bright, inventive, curious, too curious. You deserve to grow up to serve your people well, as ours do. I am not a monster, but I am in charge of discipline here. Talmac would kill you for this, boy. I don’t think it’s necessary to be so extreme. But… you may wish I had left you for Talmac when I’m done."

Daniel’s ankles were suddenly locked in an iron grip that Draco used to drag him to the end of the bed. Unable to find purchase in the silky sheets, Daniel’s body easily rocketed down into Draco’s waiting arms.

"Stop. If you would just listen—hey!" Flat on his back one minute and moving through the air the next, Daniel found himself stretched across Draco’s hard thighs, both wrists pinned behind his back in one large, hot, sweaty hand.

"What do you think you’re doing? Stop it. Let go of me. We can talk about this. STOP IT!" Daniel’s long legs kicked out, looking for something solid to brace against for leverage. They instantly found themselves trapped by one of Draco’s powerful thighs. Daniel shuddered, but refused to cry out as something thin and supple landed hard on his khaki-clad butt.

The pain was amazing, the blow heavy and stinging, leaving a burn that made Daniel think of sulfur igniting at the end of a match. A burst of agony followed by a bright flare of roaring flame that disrupted every skin cell it came in contact with. By the second blow he was gasping raggedly. The third brought out the first of many cries of distress. Before the tenth landed, Daniel could barely think, the panic of not being able to catch his breath making him lightheaded and nauseous. After one desperate scream of, "Jack!" Daniel’s ability to cry out disappeared with his last normal breath. Tears streamed from his blurry eyes, making the colorfully decorated room swim like a kaleidoscope.

When the final blow landed, Daniel was beyond reason. His lungs screamed for air, his throat felt unbearably tight and painfully dry, and his swollen, still leaking eyes throbbed painfully. Speech was impossible. Sometime during the flogging, Draco had released Daniel’s wrists and he now clutched desperately at anything his hands came in contact with. Daniel’s body trembled and shuddered uncontrollably, nerve impulses scrambled by the torturous paddling reed Draco favored.

Time had lost definition. Daniel had never felt more out of control or lost in his life. He had no control over his body’s reactions and was helpless to stop the needy whimpers and sobs that were beginning to work their way out of his constricted throat. Whimpers that mutated into disjointed cries of agony as he was moved face down, onto a softer surface. He buried his face in the surface under him, thankful for the darkness that eased the throbbing behind his gritty eyes.

One corner of his brain that was functioning rationally prayed the beating would end soon, his body’s fried nerve endings denying the fact that the punishment had indeed stopped. The act itself had ceased, but the punishment Daniel had received would continue for days. Every turn, every movement, every flex of a muscle would re-ignite the fire in his backside. Even breathing did it.

The great gasping sobs Daniel was forced to take rocked his entire body in the effort set up a regular rhythm that didn’t leave him dizzy and frantic for his next breath of air. Daniel dug his fists into the fabric under his hands. He twisted them into its folds to anchor himself and stop the spinning sensation in his head. He flexed one leg to ease the strain on the abused muscles of his lower back, crying out at the agony the small movement produced. One hand flew to cover his burning cheek only to be instantly torn away at the increased agony the act caused.

Daniel slipped the offending hand up and buried it in his long hair, pulling hard at the strands to try and divert his pain receptor’s attention for a brief moment from the tortured flesh of his backside. Unable to compete with the intensity of the flogging pain, Daniel gave up and gave into the reality of his condition. Sobbing uncontrollably, he let himself slip into misery. Sleep claimed his exhausted mind quickly, a soft, but distinct murmur of "Jack," his last audible thought.

Draco silently watched the suffering boy deal with the unexpected punishment. He had been harsh, he knew that, but Talmac would demand that and more once he learned of the youth’s actions. It was better that he punish the child severely now. Talmac would then be less inclined to demand the usual death sentence for such transgressions.

The child was an outsider, without knowledge of their laws and customs. His death wasn’t necessary. And if Draco was any judge of character, the boy’s father was going to be inclined to want their deaths for this punishment alone. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if Talmac insisted on the child’s life as payment.

These outsiders were obviously a military culture to begin with. This wasn’t worth starting a war over. Their leader had barely lowered his weapon the entire time he had been here, let alone put it down. They were aggressive, curious creatures. Good attributes for making war and making love, but little else.

Mating between two warriors such as this boy’s parents was usually fierce and productive. Listening to Daniel whimper and sob in his sleep, Draco idly wondered if the parents had more unruly children at home. He laced the short, reed-like crop back into place on his waistband, automatically testing the ridged implement’s flexibility as he did so.

Sitting beside a huddled Daniel, Draco draped a comforter over his shivering body. He smoothed the hair back from a sweat-slicked cheek, brushing the strands back until Daniel’s temple was exposed. Removing a thumbnail-sized black disc from a thin compartment in his thick, ornately jeweled waistband, Draco pressed it firmly into Daniel’s skin, forcing yet another ragged whimper from the traumatized young man.

With a grunt of satisfaction, Draco rose from the bed and retrieved a set of chimes from a cabinet in the room. He paused a moment to adjust their frequency to match Daniel’s brain wave patterns then placed them on a stand beside the bed. Soft, dulcet tones began to fill the room.

Daniel’s unconscious mind responded to the soothing sound. Tension flowed out of his huddled frame, and he visibly relaxed into the bed, his breathing becoming less rapid and strained. Harsh sobs tapered off to become low moans, and little gasps and sniffles, but they never ceased entirely.

Although his actions had been harsh, Draco felt they were justified considering the severity of Daniel’s offense. Now he just needed to convince Talmac it was enough, and the boy’s parents that it hadn’t been too much. His next problem was the need to keep the parents occupied for several more hours before he could release the boy.

Draco reminded himself that the female of most species was usually more dangerous than the male when their children were at risk. With this pair, he doubted there would be much of difference between them in the risk of being assaulted over this. Then there was the Jaffa to deal with as well, the large, heavily muscled Jaffa.

Heaving a long-suffering sigh, Draco locked the bedchamber and went in search of Talmac, puzzling over the mystery of how the boy had managed to enter the Blessings room without the scanners realizing it to begin with.

****************

Jack tried to covertly stretch his legs without looking like he was restless. Even though he was very restless. Sore and stiff, too. His knees weren’t fond of sitting still for any length of time, no matter what the position was, but Indian style was torture under the best of conditions.

Talmac had been talking in circles for what seemed like days. He skirted questions about the Marr’s origins with lengthy dissertations on ancestry. He blatantly ignored ones about why the temple was so near the gate. He gave enough tidbits of information about the energy fields and the technology that protected and fueled the temple to keep Carter interested and Jack quiet. He talked endlessly about the training of the children at the school and the value of discipline and obedience in the young. At least there, he had Jack and Teal’c’s attention, if not full agreement. Spacing out on sheer boredom, Jack hadn’t quite caught the entire lecture about paddling and temporary nerve cell disruption, but he hadn’t liked the sound of it. Didn’t these people think a paddling hurt enough without adding biological engineering to the process?

A long morning dragged into a longer afternoon. Draco had briefly interrupted the meeting midway through their session. He and Talmac excused themselves, but shortly after he had departed, Talmac returned, a tight, wooden smile on his dark face. Once Jack thought about it, the look wasn’t really all that different that the one Talmac wore normally. This one was just less sincere. Jack hadn’t thought it possible, but the discussion became more vague and rambling from that point on.

By mid-afternoon hunger started interfering with comfort and Jack suggested a break. He was anxious to check on Daniel and see what the young man had learned. Jack didn’t feel they were learning anything here. Besides, a Daniel out of sight for long, was a Daniel on the verge of trouble.

Talmac clapped his hands together three times and a bevy of female servants appeared carrying trays of food and drink. Jack had never been so glad to see a group of giggling women before in his life. The barely-there harem outfits the young women wore might have had something to do with it, but he wasn’t betting on it. Jack sighed audibly, ruefully thinking it was a sorry day when he thought standing up was more enticing a notion than scantily clad young women.

"Speaking of Daniel…" Jack looked up and caught the confused glances of everyone at the table.

"We’re weren’t talking about Daniel, sir--, dear. We’re discussing energy field stasis." Carter threw a panicked sideways look at their host, then turned exasperated wide eyes on the colonel. "Talmac was promising us specifications, documents, diagrams. Important, concrete information, finally, s-, sweetheart." Carter’s smile was as false as Teal’c’s tiny smirk was real. Jack was sure Teal’c’s eyebrow had actually wiggled when the Jaffa had raised it its usual micrometer.

Jack gave Teal’c an unforgiving glare then turned a small, contrite smile on his lovely …wife. Wow, hard to even think those words. "Yes, I know. But Daniel’s important, too, dear. Let’s not forget about our youngest." Jack gave Talmac a mildly condescending look. "Career women. You know the type. They get so excited about their little scientific projects they forget all about the kiddies."

Ouch. "Frostbite" and "Carter" were going to be synonymous for Jack before this trip was over. Jack shrugged off a sudden shiver as he imagined his flesh prickling under Carter’s icy stare. Rolling his shoulders to shrug off the chill, Jack muttered, "Must be a draft in here. Are any of you cold?" Jack looked at his companions’ silent, uncomprehending stares and cleared his throat. "Never mind." He switched his gaze to Talmac saying, "I thought we were joining the kids for lunch. I’d like to check in with Daniel."

"The children are all resting, including yours. Surely you would not disturb their slumbers." The dark face took on a solemn expression. "Growing minds and bodies need it. Let us eat and relax before we resume our discussions." The servant began heaping food on their plates and filling their cups with a thick, dark red wine.

Jack popped a few pieces of what tasted like grapes in his mouth and exchanged concerned glances with Carter and Teal’c. "Actually, I really want to see Daniel. He can nap at home. Besides, he hates it when we leave him alone too long. He’ll be acting out for weeks after this if we don’t at least check on him." Jack rose to his feet, hearing his knees popping loudly as he stood. Teal’c and Carter hastened to follow his lead.

Talmac remained seated. "I assure you all, they are in good hands. We have much to discuss yet. Our--."

"No." Jack cradled his P-90 suggestively and allowed his face to harden into a determined glare. "I want to see Daniel. Now. Not in a few minutes, not a few hours, but now." Jack saw the flicker of indecision cross the man’s face and read the unhappy look in the dark eyes. "Okay, Carter, Teal’c. I gotta bad feeling about this. Let’s get Daniel. Discussion’s over."

Talmac appeared genuinely flustered and upset by the sudden turn of events. "Gentlemen, Mistress, please. I have no idea what you’re talking about. I have only acted in good faith. I’m sure your young one is fine."

"I believe you are correct, O’Neill. It appears we are being detained under false pretenses." Teal’c and Carter dropped into defensive mode, weapons raised and attitudes hyper alert.

"Yes, sir." Sam turned her blue-eyed, icy glare on Talmac, causing the man to slowly lick his lips. Coupled with a smoldering look from his black, hooded eyes, the gesture looked perverse. Sam raised her own weapon and allowed all the disgust she felt to show on her face. She was rewarded by Talmac freezing in mid-lick and swallowing hard, his eyes darting rapidly up to gauge Jack’s reaction to his unthinking show of lust at the sight of the beautiful, female warrior in dominant mode.

Jack merely leaned forward to get into the sitting man’s face and coldly told Talmac, "I’d let her beat the crap out of you for that, but I think you’d enjoy it too much." Talmac flushed and shifted the folds of his robes to conceal more of the front of his body. Jack grimaced in disgust. "Make a move like that on her again and I’ll personally take you so far over the edge that pain really will be pain." Jack narrowed his eyes and butted Talmac’s chest with the tip of his rifle. "And you’d better hope Daniel is where I left him."

Talmac gave an indignant huff. "I assure you, Colonel, he is with the other children. Draco has been personally safeguarding him."

A slight wave of the colonel’s finger, and Carter and Teal’c broke off in separate directions and the three of them began the trip back towards the main room at a fast clip, checking hallways and rooms as they worked their way down the hall.

Talmac hastily rose from his cushion and followed. "I can assure you, he is in good hands. Draco would make certain your child was well cared for, no matter what unforeseen circumstances arose."

Jack stopped in tracks and spun on the flustered man. "What kind of ‘unforeseen circumstances’? What’s happened to Daniel?"

"To my knowledge, nothing has happened to him. If something had, I would have been informed."

Jack got up close to Talmac, literally in the dark man’s swarthy face. "You’d better hope so." With a small shove from his hand on the other man’s chest, Jack stalked away.

Talmac rocked backward, regaining his equilibrium before chasing off down the hall to catch up. He pulled up short when he bounced off a solid wall of immovable muscle. Teal’c had stepped in front of Talmac to silently convey his stoic displeasure at the new turn of events.

"If harm has befallen the boy in any way, Talmac, ten times that which befalls him will be returned to you. That is, if O’Neill permits you to remain alive." Teal’c merely stared, one corner of his mouth faintly curled in disgust, until Talmac edged around him and hastened down the hall.

The three SG-1 team members covered every inch of the path leading back to the main hall. No room was left undisturbed. Servants and teachers slowly joined the group trailing behind the outsiders until a harsh word from Talmac sent them scrambling back to their duties.

Arriving at the main hall, Jack dismissed the empty chamber and barreled into the palace playroom, stopping only when he realized there were over a hundred young faces staring up at him with mixed expressions of fear and curiosity. He slowly wove his way through the scattered cushions, checking for the one face that he most wanted to see. "Daniel?"

Catching sight of a patch of standard issue fatigues by a low table, Jack called to the others to join him. "Carter, Teal’c. Over here, I see him."

Talmac followed, indignant and haute. "I told you, nothing was amiss. As you can see, your son is merely resting, along with the rest of the children. Please, let us return to our task and allow them to return to theirs."

Ignoring Talmac, Jack strode nearer calling out to his youngest as he approached. "Daniel? Danny. Daniel." Still thirty feet away, Jack realized something wasn’t right. Holding up one hand, Jack stopped Teal’c and Carter from coming any closer. Teal’c took great relish in restraining Talmac from interfering.

Edging his way through the small group of lounging older boys who seemed reluctant to let him near his quarry, Jack finally managed to kneel beside the familiar vest and crumpled boonie cap. With a grunt of surprise, Jack pulled the hat and vest from around the cushion it was arranged on. "Sweet." He cast an admiring glance around the circle of expectant young faces closest to him. "Clever. Whose idea was it? Daniel’s?"

Several pairs of nervous eyes shifted to look at one of their companions. The guilty party grinned at the compliment, sitting up to face the stranger Daniel had told them about. "It was my idea. It worked very well, Jack, did it not?"

O’Neill raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You know who I am?"

"Daniel told us of you. I am Odnalro." The boy’s quick smile and trusting manner charmed Jack.

From the front of the room, Talmac nervously called out to Jack. "I must protest your interrogations of the children. They are but innocents, they have nothing of value to tell you."

Teal’c shifted his impressive bulk more fully in front of Talmac as Carter turned her glare of contempt up to full power saying, "You really are anxious to lose your tongue, aren’t you, Talmac." The man paled enough for her to see it beneath the olive complexion.

Jack ruffled the boy’s thick dark hair. "Since it looks like you’ve been covering for him, do you know where Daniel is?"

The boys exchanged glances between them and then cast their eyes downward to study the patterns of the fabric beneath them. Jack gently used one finger to tip Odnalro’s face back up. After a moment of indecision and quick glance at his headmaster standing so very close to him, the youth barely whispered, "Draco might know." Wide, pleading eyes locked on Jack’s, begging the man to understand the message. Draco might know. Draco would know. Draco had Daniel.

Suddenly finding his courage, Talmac darted around the living barrier blocking his path and raced to Jack’s side. "Really, Colonel. I must insist the children be left out of this. Your presence and behavior is frightening them." Talmac clapped his hands and several servants raced out from the corners of the room to attend to him. "Return the children to their classrooms. Stay with them, none are to be allowed to roam the halls or to be on their own. Hurry."

Jack stood, Daniel’s discarded belongings dangling from one hand. "Talmac, where the hell is Draco? I want to talk with him, now. I left Daniel with him. You said he would protect him and now Daniel’s missing and so is Draco. Where is he?" Teal'c and Jack moved to flank the dark headmaster, using size and anger to sway the man into assisting them as quickly as possible.

The headmaster merely cocked his head arrogantly to one side and stared Jack in the eye, all earlier playacting of the nervous, hesitant, schoolteacher gone. "I have no idea. As you know, I haven’t seen him since early this morning. If you would be so good as to wait here, I’ll have my staff search for him and your child." Talmac waved off three staff members who had lingered nearby and the men hurried away, apparently to do his bidding.

"I really must protest, Colonel. Your child appears to have deliberately wandered off. He was not to leave this room. He was told that. You were told that. When he is found, I’m afraid I must insist that you leave the Temple immediately. Perhaps future contact with our people should be made without the addition of children in the visiting party. Your child isn’t very well behaved. A little discipline will do him good." Talmac’s smug, condescending tone grated on every nerve Jack had.

"You’re right. Sometimes Daniel isn’t very well behaved, but that’s okay, because he gets his manners from me." Jack gripped his P-90 tighter and set off for the next chamber, shoving a surprised Talmac aside in the process. "Come, kids. Find Daniel. Tear the place apart if you have to. Just make sure none of the kids are in the way."

Teal’c matched the brisk, curt pace Jack set, following the irate man into the Pool of Blessings Chamber. Talmac was close on their heels while Carter grabbed Daniel’s vest Jack had tossed to the floor. Searching through the pockets she noted Daniel’s usual notepad and pencil were missing, as well as his voice recorder. The young archaeologist had gone prepared to find data worth recording, wherever it was he had disappeared to.

Oggiv whispered in Odnalro’s ear and both of them stole a quick glance at Carter. Odnalro moved quickly to Carter’s side as a servant tried to guide the group towards the archway leading to their classrooms. "The servants say Daniel belongs to you and Jack." He shoved a small fabric wrapped parcel into Sam’s hands and closed her fingers tightly over it. "A gift, to honor your beauty. It is for your eyes alone, Mother of Daniel." Multiple young faces gathered around a surprised Carter, heads bobbing in agreement, solemn faces painful in their sincerity.

Sam gave them a hesitant smile and tipped her head in agreement. She was confused, but willing to play along, convinced that more than a childish game was going on. Daniel had interacted with these boys before disappearing. Maybe they knew something she didn’t. Slipping the gift into a vest pocket, she nodded thoughtfully and hurried after her CO and Teal’c.

*************

Jack used the end of his P-90 to shove aside yards of gauze veiling to clear a path into the Pool of Blessings chamber. Ignoring Talmac’s indignant protests, he and Teal’c began to search the perimeter of the room, moving inward in ever decreasing circles at a rapid pace. Outside of the pool of water, the engraved stone slab and a few scattered pillows and plants, the room was bare except for the ever-present veils.

Jack stopped beside the tablet that Daniel had been so fascinated with when they first arrived. He glared at it, hoping to glean some clue as to where his youngest had disappeared. Teal’c joined him and they exchanged frustrated glances. The language was completely unlike anything either of them had seen before and whatever clue it may have held was destined to remain a secret from them.

Carter arrived at Jack’s side and lightly touched her CO’s arm, her voice pitched low to prevent from carrying in the cavernous room. "Sir, Daniel’s recorder and notepad are gone from his pockets. That tells me he went off to investigate something on his own. Something he shouldn’t have, or he wouldn’t have needed to use the ruse with his hat and vest."

Jack sighed, knowing Carter was right. Daniel wouldn’t have been able to resist investigating the Temple when left to his own devices for hours on end, especially if his alternative was forced "quiet time" with the kiddies. Even operating at his usual sleep deficit, Daniel resisted any form of downtime if he could be working. The kid had a definite defect in the guilt overload department. Jack suspected it had more to do with Daniel needing to prove himself, to establish his worth and value since he wormed his way onto the team than actual guilt, but Jack had learned on Abydos never to underestimate the young man.

"You’re probably right, Carter. This room is the one he wanted to be in so bad he could taste it. It’s also the one room he knew he couldn’t get into."

Teal’c studied the room. "Indeed, O’Neill. I have observed DanielJackson’s single-minded determination undermine the strongest of authorities, yet it still can not disable force fields."

Sam nodded, letting out her own exasperated sigh of defeat. She racked her brain for possible scenarios that would allow a determined Daniel a way into the forbidden room past the force field. She shifted her gaze off Jack’s worried, truly unhappy face to focus on the pool. The still, crystal-clear water reflected the pale blue of the ceiling and walls, giving the pool the illusion of a solid surface, almost to the point where a person could walk on it. Sam absently scanned the water looking for an imperfection in the illusion and finding one.

"Sir. At the bottom of the pool, A pair of eyeglasses."

Turning to stare at the pool, Jack immediately found the telltale eyewear. They hadn’t seen a single man, woman, or child on this planet that wore lenses. The round lens and slightly bent gold frames were Daniel’s. Jack had no doubts about it.

In anticipation, Teal’c moved to stand close to Talmac to prevent the man from escaping the colonel’s wrath. Talmac acknowledged the maneuver with a disdainful sniff and unconcerned glare. Teal’c mused that Talmac might have more courage than he gave him credit for. He was going to need it.

"All right. That does it. Teal’c, Carter. We’re done making nice." Jack strode up to the scornful man. "I want Daniel back and I want him now. I want to talk to your man Draco and I want both of those things in the next 60 seconds."

"Or what, Colonel? Is our technology of no interest to your people? Do you not wish a trade agreement in the future? Do you risk an alliance between your people and mine over what is probably a small misunderstanding? Will your kind storm a Temple full of children?" Self-righteous and smug, Talmac wore his audacity like a shield of honor, making the three team members bristle at his willingness to use the children as an excuse instead of taking responsibility.

Jack took a deep breath to steady his anger. "No, we won't involve the children, but what we are going to do is search this place from top to bottom, sacred chambers or not, until Daniel shows up. We'll worry about an alliance after we find Daniel. And if we don't find him, I'm sending for re-enforcements through the gate to help take this place apart piece by piece until we do. Starting now." Jack turned on his heel and ploughed through another veil-covered archway, Carter on his heels.

Teal'c paused a moment to pin Talmac in place with a disgusted look. "On my home world, one who would hide behind a shield made of children is no longer considered a man. And he is relieved of all body parts that might allow others to mistake him for one. I believe it is a reasonable practice. I will make O'Neill aware of it." Pleased at the sudden paleness of the man's coloring, Teal'c merely narrowed his eyes slightly and jogged after his teammates, leaving Talmac to clutch nervously at his robes before following him.

*************

The eleventh door they tried was locked.

They had moved from the main chambers that had no doors, to the private chambers that did. It was the only door they had found in their search that wasn't readily accessible. Even private bedrooms of the servants and staff, as well as the ones belonging to the children had been unlocked. Many of the doors didn't even have locks on them.

Pressing an ear to the wood panel, Jack heard the faint melody of the same kind of chimes that he heard in the playroom during the children's naptime. He turned to Talmac. "Open it."

"I don't have the key. It is a bedchamber for guests to the Temple. It is unoccupied at present, which is probably why the staff has locked it. I will send for a key." Talmac reluctantly signaled one of the waiting staff who trailed behind the marauding entourage.

"Don't bother." Jack's smile was more of a grimace. "I have a universal key right here. Opens just about every door with just a touch." Jack immediately used the butt of his rifle to smash the ornate door handle off of the heavy door. One swift kick from his right foot and the door swung noiselessly inward.

The sight that greeted Jack filled him with fear and relief. Draco stood hovering over a prone body that was stretched out in the middle of a large bed, its identity hidden by Draco's body and a number of satin comforters and pillows.

Startled by the sudden influx of unwelcome witnesses, Draco quickly pried the memory disc from Daniel's temple, leaving a circular, reddened patch on his skin. Draco jerked away from the bedside to stand beside Talmac. The two men exchanged guarded looks and Draco gave a covert, negative shake of his head, mouthing the words, "Too soon."

Talmac pressed his lips into a thin, unhappy line.

Draco's departure from the bedside revealed the top of Daniel's head and a little of his face.

"Daniel." Jack moved quickly to take Draco's place, Carter making it there a second behind him. A gentle touch to the still figure's cheek reassured Jack that the young man was alive. Jack let his hand slide down and feel the puff of warm air as Daniel breathed. Not trusting any forthcoming explanations about why his handsome, naïve, young archaeologist was found in a locked room, unconscious in a bed, Jack lifted the comforter to be sure Daniel was fully clothed. Noting the mildly rumpled state of Daniel's uniform, Jack was relieved to see the high-topped boots laced and all the buttons and fasteners in place. He shot Carter a questioning glance.

Carter continued assessing the unconscious youth, a frown slowly taking over her concerned face. Daniel's pulse was steady and slow, very slow. His respirations the same, slow and regular. His skin felt warm to the touch and his nail beds blanched quickly. However, his pupils were both dilated and slow to respond to the small penlight she flashed in them. Most importantly of all, Daniel refused to react to any stimulus. The young man just continued to sleep.

"I don't know sir, he's not responding. He isn't waking up." Carter gave Daniel's shoulder another rough shake and he flopped bonelessly onto his back, eyes closed and mouth partially open, limbs completely relaxed and limp. "I think he's more unconscious than asleep, sir. Something's knocked him out. I can't find any evidence of a head injury beside this small, reddened patch, so I think he's been drugged. Whatever it is, he is totally out of it, sir."

Jack turned to face Draco. In two strides he was in Draco's face and had the man's robes twisted firmly in his one hand. Pulling the unflinching man still closer, Jack tightened his hold until the fabric twisted into the flesh of the henchman's neck and unnecessarily began yelling in his best Commander tones guaranteed to send experienced soldiers running for cover. "What is he doing here, why is he locked in here, and what did you do to him? Obviously you didn't take my earlier warning seriously. You should have."

As calmly as possible while having his air intake restricted, Draco formulated a reasonably logical lie to explain the situation. "He is here because he did not feel well. The room was locked to prevent any staff from disturbing him while he slept and he sleeps so deeply because of the chimes. They allow him to relax and put him into a deep slumber so that his body and mind can rest. He is unharmed, Colonel." These people wouldn't find out about the boy's punishment he had delivered until the young man awoke, which would hours from now, or when a complete physical examination of his body was done.

When the boy awoke, if the memory disc had enough time to work properly, he wouldn't remember the tablet, reading it, or Draco punishing him. Yes, the boy's backside would be unbearably painful for several days to come, but he wouldn't remember the harsh spanking.

Draco felt that was a pity, really, the unruly child could benefit from some discipline. But then the disc hadn't been allowed to remain in place for the needed period of time. It was doubtful if the memory wipe had worked completely.

Allowing a warrior culture any amount of access to the knowledge the boy had learned from the tablet was risky. They did not serve the Gods, despite the presence of the Jaffa. If they didn't serve the Gods, they were destined to become enemies of the Marr.

"What kind of 'not well' was he? What did he complain about? Why didn't you come and get us?" Carter ran her hand through Daniel's hair and over his face, again checking for a fever. "What's this red mark on his temple from?"

Jack stared into Draco unperturbed, pointedly silent face and slowly loosened his hold on the man's clothing. When the hold had loosened enough that Draco felt comfortable again he replied to Carter's questions.

"He said his head hurt. The noise of the other children bothered him. I offered this room to him for quiet. He accepted. I don't know what the mark is from. He didn't mention it to me." Draco exchanged satisfied looks with Talmac.

"Shut the damn chimes off. Carter, can Daniel be moved?" Jack was edgy and Draco's vague explanation wasn't making him any less tense.

"I think so, sir. He doesn't appear to be injured that I can see. Just out." Sam began removing the blankets and pillows surrounding their teammate, checking for broken bones as she uncovered each limb.

Jack nodded and glanced at Teal'c. "Teal'c, think you can carry Daniel as far as the gate?" Jack wordlessly accepted the staff weapon that was handed to him.

Teal'c moved Daniel's unresisting form to the edge of the bed in one smooth maneuver. He effortlessly slid the long, slender body up and over his shoulders into a fireman's carry. He paused briefly when a whimper escaped the youth as he placed a hand on Daniel's backside to steady his weight. When Daniel quieted, Teal'c moved out of the room with his treasured burden. Sam followed, weapon at the ready for any interference.

"Colonel, a moment, please." Talmac's grating voice pulled Jack to a reluctant halt.

"I'm not buying the load of crap your man here is selling, Talmac, so just give it up. None of this explains why Daniel's glasses are in the pool or why no one came to tell us there was a problem with him to begin with. Our 'talks' are on hold indefinitely until this whole fiasco has been sorted out. I'm not risking any more personnel until then." Jack made to turn away but Talmac stepped around him, a beseeching expression on his face.

"Please, Colonel, I do understand. I had no knowledge of Draco's actions." Talmac shot Draco an accusing glare. "I assure you, if I had been, you would have been informed of your child's illness. You are wise not to risk any more of your people until you feel it's safe. I am offering to accompany you personally to your gate and continue our talks there. You have made the effort in good faith and I would like to return the gift." Talmac saw Jack's resolve waver in the face of the unthreatening gesture and the promise of the amazing technology he had seen in use here. "Surely, our people can find things of mutual benefit. Your wife seemed eager to learn more about the energy field we use."

Swallowing down his first impulse to flip the man off, Jack slowly nodded in agreement. "Fine, but only you. And if my boss doesn't want to talk when you get there, you come straight back here, no arguments. Understood?"

Talmac nodded solemnly, masking his delight. He needed to make sure the boy had no memory of the events that lead to all of this. If he did recall anything when he awoke, Talmac would deal with it somehow. Despite his appearance of a smug politician, he was a formidable fighter. When dealing with alien cultures, he had found over the years that it was always wise to keep a few details hidden.

"I understand and I accept your terms. Shall we?" Talmac gestured after the retreating forms of Jack's comrades.

Jack graciously waved an arm in a sweeping gesture to indicate that Talmac should lead the way. Once the swarthy man had moved to the doorway, Jack turned back to face Draco, a large smile on his face. "Oh, hey, I almost forgot. Thanks for taking care of Daniel for me."

Without waiting for a reply, Jack landed a crushing roundhouse punch to the man's jaw. The satisfying thud of Draco's body and head meeting the floor hard, put a little of the sparkle back in Jack's eyes. Flexing his aching hand and muttering 'ow, ow, ow, ow", he joined the rest of his family for the trip home.

Jack even consoled himself with the knowledge that Carter would be too concerned over Daniel to attempt to kill her CO on the way. If she killed anyone it would likely be Talmac.

God damn it, he did love being 'married' to the woman.

*************

Dr. Janet Fraiser started to pull the curtain back around Daniel's bed, blocking him from the anxious view of his teammates. The sight of the suffering young man caused Jack's temper to flare. He wordlessly stopped Janet by standing in the path of the curtain, effectively stopping both the barrier and the doctor. Rank had it privileges, if he didn't push too hard.

Daniel chose that moment to whimper in pain, rolling fitfully from his side, where Janet had propped him at the end of her examination, to his stomach. He curled into a ball, arms automatically drawing up to wrap around his middle for comfort. Barely awake, Daniel pushed his face into the thin pillow and quietly began sobbing. A muffled voice croaked out Daniel's usual one word plea for reassurance and protection. "Jack?"

At the sound of his name, Jack was at Daniel's side, skillfully having maneuvered his way around the diminutive doctor with an ease that spoke of long experience. Easing down onto the bed, Jack first wove the fingers of one hand through Daniel's long, disheveled strands of fine hair, then leaned down to whisper into Daniel's ear. "Hey, Big Guy, it's okay, I'm right here. Ssshh, Danny. You're home now. Everything's gonna be okay. Just rest. You're safe."

Daniel leaned into the warmth of Jack's hip and thigh by his side, turning his head deeper into the caressing fingers in his hair. A deep sigh of relief escaped him as he relaxed into the familiar, wanted presence, along with a low moan. "Head 'urts. M' butt's 'n fire." Tears rolled out of his closed eyes. Jack watched as one ran down the bridge of Daniel's nose to drip onto the pillowcase, his anger growing with the spreading stain of wetness.

Jack threw Janet a questioning, demanding looking. Janet exchanged unhappy glances with Sam and Teal'c, hesitant to discuss a patient's condition openly. At the worried and resolute expressions on all three soldiers' faces, she sighed in defeat then nodded at Jack, saying, "He's suffered injuries in both areas. I've given him something to help with the pain. He should be asleep in a few minutes, Colonel. We can talk then."

Jack tilted his head in acceptance of her brief explanation and decided to hold off on asking her what kind of injuries Daniel had suffered until his youngest was truly asleep. Retribution would have to take second place to reassurance and rest.

"Sshhh. I'm here and I'm going to stay right here. Go to sleep, Danny." He slowly threaded his fingers again and again through the soft strands in a mesmerizing, hypnotic rhythm that had never failed to send Charlie off to sleep within moments. It had the same effect on Daniel. The younger man drifted off under Jack's tender care with a last ragged sigh, as Janet, Sam, and Teal'c silently watched. When Jack decided Daniel was fully asleep he rose from the bed, catching Carter's eyes as he did so, slightly abashed at the tenderness and pride that shone in her decidedly misty eyes.

"You do that very well, sir." Carter let a shy smile of approval grace her lips.

Jack cleared his throat nervously and stuffed his hands in his pockets, momentarily dropping his gaze to the beloved person on the bed before meeting her soft gaze again. "Lots of practice with Charlie. It works on kids of all sizes. Daniel's just taller than he was." Jack darted a slightly embarrassed look over at Janet. The knowing smile on her face eased his discomfort a little and he shrugged his shoulder. "Hey, so I love the kid. He needs somebody to look after him."

Teal'c eased his 'brother's' discomfort with his usual soft spoken words. "Indeed, O'Neill, as we all harbor deep affection for DanielJackson, I am most anxious to know why the boy is in such pain. We found no marks or injuries on his body beyond the small reddened area on his temple."

Jack regained his mental balance now that the spotlight of the two perceptive women wasn't shining so brightly on his personal actions and emotions. "Exactly what kind of injuries are you talking about, Doc? He's in a lot of pain."

Janet stepped further away from the bedside and her audience obediently followed her. Once they were what she considered a safe distance from her patient, she turned and gave them all a stern look. "I usually wouldn't discuss this with anyone outside of the Colonel and General Hammond. But since Sam and Teal'c were with him when this happened and I don't know how this is going to affect him in the days to come, I'm dropping procedure and letting you all know in strictest confidence what I found during my examination." Janet sighed and crossed her arms over her chest in a gesture that the team had come to learn meant the doctor was containing her personal feeling and making sure she remained in clinical mode.

"I found only two areas of physical evidence of injury. The first being the reddened circle you've seen on his right temple. Evidence shows something was attached, embedded in his skin there. There is evidence of nervous tissue having been disrupted. Something like energy pulses was assaulting his nerve endings. Scans show there isn't any hemorrhaging or brain damage present. The puncture wounds made by the device go very deep, deep enough to have made contact with his skull."

"Why?" Jack looked from the doctor to Carter, expecting one of the learned ladies to come up with a suitable explanation for him. He was disappointed when Janet shook her head.

"I have no idea, Colonel, none at all. Apparently, it's alien technology I haven't seen yet."

Sam got that look on her face, the one where her brow furrowed and her eyes squinted like she was seeing something through a distant looking glass and the image wasn't clear enough for her to see all the details yet. The look that said she was in theoretical mode. The look Jack dreaded with all his heart, but had come to appreciate just the same.

"We access brain wave patterns with ECG electrodes in much the same way, Janet. Maybe they were studying or recording Daniel's brain wave patterns. Talmac did tell me those chimes that put Daniel to sleep were specifically set to match Daniel's brain receptors."

Jack frowned at that and knitted his brow together in thought. "When did he tell you that?"

"On the way to the gate, sir. I asked him about them." A slight blush colored Carter's cheeks telling Jack there was more to the story than his 2IC was sharing.

"I thought you weren't talking to him. Not after that lip licking thing back on the planet." Jack mimicked Talmac's earlier actions a little before catching himself.

Sam's color deepened at the interested and surprised look Janet gave her. "Well, sir, it was really a tiny, little threat--request on my part. I may have insinuated that if Daniel didn't regain consciousness soon, it was completely possible those chimes would end up inserted somewhere on his person where the sun doesn't shine."

"Sweet. He's afraid of me?" The pleased look on Jack's face was to juvenile for her to comment on.

"Ah, no, sir. I told him I would do it." Carter blushed and fidgeted, waving her hands in front of her nervously, head tilted to one side as if trying to look at the situation from a different angle would improve it. "And-and he may have heard something about," Sam coughed and cleared her throat delicately, "something about choking on it."

Jack's pleased look turned into delight before he swallowed it down, giving Carter a respectful nod and knowing smirk. "You probably made his day, Carter. The man will be having wet dreams for weeks to come." Startled at his own bad choice of words, Jack apologized. "Sorry, ladies. Carter, the guy has the hots for you." Jack gave Janet a guileless look. "What can I say, the guy gets off on dominant women."

"Yes, sir. I got that." Carter gave her CO a sweetly biting smirk and said, "But I reassured Talmac that you, the father of my children, all twelve of them, would be available to assist me if I had any trouble inserting things."

Jack caught Teal'c's eye. One of the Jaffa's eyebrows actually visibly rose in a graceful arch, the equivalent of laughing out loud for Teal'c. Janet merely opened her eyes wide in disbelief and tilted her head questioningly at Sam, who smiled mysteriously back at her, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"I'll tell you all about the Colonel's and my 'marriage' later. Promise." Sam felt the embarrassment was worth the pained grimace that O'Neill graced them all with.

Janet blinked hard and muttered, "Wouldn't miss it for the world." Janet shook her head to clear her thoughts then got back to business. "Daniel's other injury is a bit more hidden than the first. You won't find it unless you get a view of Daniel's backside. His right hip has bruises in the shape of what look like finger marks. Like someone, someone large, held onto him tight enough to leave his handprint on Daniel's skin." Janet paused a moment to evaluate the others' reactions, noting how the Colonel straightened up and seemed to inflate a size larger with rage. Sam grew more concerned and Teal'c's presence just seemed to darken and expand around him.

"The most extensive injury is to his buttocks. They're bruised. The pattern of the bruising indicates a thin rod of some kind was used to beat him. The lines follow a regular path from the small of his back to the top of his thighs, fifteen distinct marks. Although the skin hasn't been broken, it's abraded in several areas. But that's not what's giving Daniel so much pain. The bruising isn't much worst than a paddling would cause, but whatever the person who did this used on Daniel, the device has the ability to deliver some sort of energy impulse when it meets the skin. Every cell in the nerve endings along the path of each strike has been traumatized. It's like they've been inflamed and disrupted from inside the cell. A few have even ruptured. They'll take more time to heal than the others will. That's what's causing Daniel's pain. It's agonizing to have the pain receptors in nerve cells directly affected. He won't be sitting comfortably for awhile, I can tell you that."

Sam managed to find her voice first. "A spanking caused this?"

Janet shook her head emphatically. "No, Sam. This wasn't a spanking you'd give your kid when they misbehave. This was a beating. Don't confuse the two. A spanking is delivered out of love and caring to help teach discipline to someone who can't seem to learn any other way. I can remember being given one or two of them myself growing up." Janet shook her head, her eyes growing cold and hard with suppressed anger. "This was a beating given with the intent to do harm, both physically and emotionally. I can't imagine a recipient of one of these beatings ever wanting to experience it again. I know I wouldn't. Daniel was beaten by someone who didn't care about the damage they inflicted on him. He was assaulted, Sam, not chastised."

"Is Daniel going to be okay?" Jack's concern was as raw and visible as an open wound.

Janet understood that deep unnamable ache that a parent endured each time their child suffered. Jack's need to father the naïve, inexperienced, young linguist was plain to anyone who spent more than ten minutes in their company. Daniel returned Jack's affection in like strength with his own need to be loved unconditionally and accepted for the unique individual he was.

As different as they were, they complimented each other on several levels. Jack brought stability, discipline and love into Daniel's life and Daniel gave Jack a purpose, a reason to be more than a hardened, combat officer. Daniel gave Jack a reason to care again. They brought a sense of family into each other's lives, and graced Sam and Teal'c with allowing them status within the tight-knit circle.

Janet smiled when she considered the fact that even Hammond and herself had been granted visitor status there, too. She wondered if Daniel ever thought of her as a maiden aunt.

Sam let out a soft sigh as her gaze darted over to the slumbering form of her 'little brother' turned 'son' for a day. She lingered over his smooth youthful face, seeing the occasional small grimace of pain in the fine wrinkles at the corners of Daniel's eyes and the thin press of his dry, chapped lips.

They had left Daniel alone, unprotected and defenseless. While they had been sitting, talking and eating, Daniel had been suffering a severe beating at the hands of some cold-hearted being for reasons that had yet to reveal themselves. If there even was a reason. Maybe whoever had done this had just enjoyed doing it.

Sam was sure Draco was responsible. He was the one who was found with an unconscious Daniel. He lied about why Daniel was separated from the others and was hidden away, locked in a distant chamber. He was the school's disciplinarian and a physically powerful man.

Sam was startled from her guilty contemplation by a strong hand on her arm. She looked up to see her CO sharing her worried inspection of Daniel. Her level of caring and concern for the young man were matched by his own and augmented by a huge dose of anger that made his soft, brown eyes darken.

Jack looked down at her and they exchanged a look that said they both knew how deeply the other cared. Proper or not, regulations be damned, SG-1 were family. Even if the edges of their complex relationships were unconventional, undefined and shifting, they always loved each other.

Today, Jack and Sam had become 'parents' however temporary and they both secretly cherished the roles. Husband, wife, son and Jaffa, the typical SGC all-American family. Jack thought he really should consider buying that dog. But first he had a little fatherly business to attend to. "Carter, stay with him. Rub his back if he gets restless. It helps when he's upset, even if he's sleeping. I'll be back shortly. Uncle Teal'c, wanta join me?"

"Indeed, O'Neill, I would be honored to accompany you on your quest." A knowing glint of anticipation lightened the big Jaffa's mood.

Sam and Janet traded amazed and amused looks as they both moved closer to Daniel's side. "Where are you going?" Sam looked a little put out at being left behind.

Jack continued out of the room, but walked backwards to face the women as he answered. "Questioning my time away from home already? I guess that means the honeymoon is over." He was rewarded with a snicker from Janet and an exasperated sigh from Carter. "A little family business. We're going to find Talmac. I'm going to check him for size for those chimes. Be right back, dear wife of mine. Take care of the children while I'm gone. All twelve of them."

Sam started to deliver a quip back to her irrepressible CO, but stuttered to halt when she overheard Teal'c ribbing Jack with a muttered comment about "Twelve children, O'Neill. It is understandable that CaptainCarter considers you experienced in assisting with any act of 'insertion'." Jack's retort was lost as the two males turned down the hallway.

Janet gave Sam's bright red complexion the once over with a critical eye. "I'm not waiting for later to hear about this 'marriage'. Spill it."

With a sigh that turned into a shy smile, Sam settled herself at Daniel's side, stroking his back as she quietly related the mission's pitfalls to her friend.

*********

Jack slipped past the ever-watchful eyes of the nursing staff and quietly walked up to the bedside. His face creased into a tender smile at the sight of a sleeping Daniel and a drowsy Carter snuggled together on the thin infirmary bed.

Carter was hunched over in the hard-backed chair, head resting on her folded arm on the mattress near Daniel's chest, eyes closed in a restless doze. Her right hand lay splayed over Daniel's left shoulder, alternately rubbing or twitching against him, still offering a comforting anchor to tie Daniel to home.

Moving with all the stealth he had honed over the years, Jack glided up to Carter's side. He leaned down next to her ear, but still what he judged to be a safe distance away from her right hook. "Fall asleep babysitting, Carter? What will the neighbors say?"

The deep warm tone of Jack's voice startled Sam. She jerked upright, nearly smashing Jack in the nose as she straightened. Expecting her reaction, Jack darted clear of the impact and moved around so his 2IC could see him. The bright smile that greeted him increased the wattage of the one his own lips carried.

"Sorry, sir. It was so quiet in here I must have drifted off."

Sam hid a yawn behind her hand and looked Jack over with an appraising eye. "Did you find Talmac? What did he have to say about Daniel's injuries?"

Jack snorted and lost his smile. "The weasel had already turned in for the night. General Hammond put him in one of the VIP rooms with a guard and granted the creep's request not to be bothered until the morning."

"He probably knew you'd be after his skin once a doctor got a look at Daniel." Sam dropped her gaze back down to the person in question as Daniel let out a small whimper. She automatically began to gently rub long strokes up and down Daniel's back.

"He likes it better if you rub in circles. Let me show you." Jack gestured to Sam to get up and she reluctantly stood up, leaving her hand in contact with Daniel until Jack had seated himself in her place. She felt Jack's hand slid over hers, holding it in place when she tried to step away.

"Just leave your hand there. Do it like this." He slowly moved both their hands in increasing circles over the tense muscles underneath. Within moments Daniel seemed to relax further into the mattress and the hard muscles under their hands felt like warm molding clay, supple and malleable.

"See? He's used to me doing it. Told me once it's one of the few memories he has of his father, the way his dad used to lull him to sleep on restless nights when he was too full of energy and excitement to settle down enough to rest." Jack blushed a little at the sweet look of endearing affection on Carter's face. Her very close and stunning face. Jack swallowed hard once and looked away, deciding to study the small slice of Daniel's face he could see from his position instead.

"He depends on you. You're the first thing he calls for when he's scared or hurt. If you're nearby, he knows everything's going to be all right. That's a lot of faith, sir. A lot of trust and love." Sam withdrew her hand and straightened up, but refused to put any amount of distance between them.

Jack looked down at the sleeping young man under his hand then back up at Carter. He looked her straight in the eye, sincere gaze never wavering, holding her own soft expression captive in a moment of silence until he made a decision on how to respond. His voice was low and husky with emotion. "Daniel deserves the best I have to give him. He's responsible for my still being alive, in more ways than the obvious ones. I love him and need him just as much as he loves and needs me. Maybe more. He's not always happy with me, or the way I show my love sometimes, but he respects it. He's at the center of our little family's life, Carter."

Sam automatically responded to the husky, nearly seductive tones of Jack's voice, making her answering comments just as soft and intimate sounding. "Our family life?"

Jack nodded, eyes still locked on Sam's face. "Yeah. Danny and I discussed this already. He's the son, Teal'c's his uncle, on his father's side. I'm the dad and you. Our little family. Kinda," Jack cleared his throat, but didn't look away, "kinda like I told Talmac."

Reading the unspoken message in Jack's unguarded expression, Sam allowed herself to peek into the man's heart and soul he had just laid at her feet. "So……I'm the mom?"

"Kinda." Jack felt his heart twist a little in his chest at the pleased little smile that tugged up the corners of Carter's mouth. "Daniel's having trouble getting over the big sister thing, but I think he'll get there over time."

"So if… you're the dad and I'm the mom, that makes us…?" Carter tilted her head to one side and watched a bead of nervous sweat pop out on Jack's upper lip.

"Parents." He tone was now husky and playful, trying to draw out the little battle of wits as long as he could.

"Partners." The thoughts of licking that tiny bead of sweat off his lip distracted her for a moment. Sam stepped a pace closer to him.

"Ah…yeah." Jack compounded Sam's problem of control by licking his lips, absently catching the drop on his own tongue.

"Like a… couple." Sam ran her tongue over her own lips purposefully mimicking the Colonel's unwitting seductive move.

"Just like a couple." Jack stared at Carter a moment longer. "If you'll have us." He let his sincerity and devotion register with the perceptive woman, hoping it would be enough to let her know how he felt, how he saw her, thought about her and her place in his world, if she wanted it. Apparently, she understood because she was coming closer to him.

Sam stepped into Jack's personal space and laid her hand back down on his, which was still resting on Daniel's back. A flirtatious glance from under her lashes made Jack return her soft smile with a delighted grin of his own. "You'd better show me how to do that back rub again. Moms need to know these things about their kids."

For long moments, a sleeping Daniel was treated to a single, warm, loving gesture made up of two hands and two hearts in perfect synchronization.

***************

By mid-morning, Daniel woke up to the familiar sight of Jack dozing at his bedside in a hard-backed chair. Sam was perched on the edge of his mattress, lazily rubbing soothing circles over his back, just the way Jack usually did. A sudden burst of warmth and comfort shot through Daniel, feeling a sense of security in having both of them near. He knew Teal'c was somewhere close, mediating and resting while the others took their turn at the watch.

Daniel realized this was becoming a far too frequent event. So frequent, in fact, he almost expected to see them each morning when he awoke in his own bedroom. That was unsettling.

But more unsettling was the fact that Daniel couldn't remember why he was in the infirmary to begin with. He had a faint throbbing on the right side of his head and a heavy, dull burning in his backside, but neither discomfort was great enough to warrant an infirmary visit, let alone an overnight stay. He searched his memory for an explanation until the throbbing threatened to become a full-blown headache.

"Daniel?" Sam paused in her gentle motions and shifted to one side on the mattress so she could touch Jack's leg and wake him. "Colonel? He's awake."

Sam's soft, clear voice reminded him he wasn't alone. Daniel decided forego the headache and just ask one of the two other people who should know the answers to his questions.

Daniel groaned softly at the thought of the coming effort he would have to expend, but forced himself to flop over onto his back to talk anyway. As soon as his bottom settled onto the mattress the groan became a near-shriek of pain. Daniel instantly rolled away to escape the pain, nearly falling out of the bed.

"Jack?" Fear and confusion turned the name into a strangled cry of panic.

Strong arms wrapped around Daniel's chest and waist, pulling him back to the center of the narrow bed. The arm on top of him released his waist to allow a hand to settle into his hair, massaging his scalp, while deep, low tones Daniel assumed were words filtered through the blinding haze of the intense pain. Firm warmth was pressed up against part of his back and he gradually relaxed into it as the pain faded to an uncomfortable, but tolerable burn. The low tones began to take shape, turning into the familiar and needed voice of the man he looked to for strength and safety. The man he thought more and more often of as his father.

"Jack?"

"Right here, Danny. I got ya. Just relax and don't move. You good like this?" The firm, confident tone of Jack's voice helped ease some of Daniel's panic.

Daniel swallowed hard, taking several deep breaths to gain control of himself, pushing hard to think clearly. "Yeah, I'm…I'm fine now."

"Dan-iel." Bullshit. I can feel you shaking.

The hand in his hair gave a lock of the fine strands a firm, but gentle tug to get his attention.

"Jaacck." Okay, but I will be fine…later… I think.

Daniel reached up and locked a hand onto the arm still around his waist. "What's wrong with me? What happened?"

A small commotion behind him startled Daniel and he stiffened in Jack's embrace, too afraid to move to see what was going on.

Jack felt him tense up and hurried to ease the vulnerable young man's mind. "Don't worry, it's just old Uncle Teal'c and sweet Cousin Janet sailing to your bedside. That yelp must have carried to the top of the mountain, Danny-boy."

Despite his discomfort and embarrassment over the situation, Daniel managed a small snicker at the familial titles Jack had bestowed on the two new visitors to his cubicle.

"Hey, I at least wanted to be an aunt." The disappointment in the doctor's voice was genuine and unmistakable. She rounded the bed and brushed a hand over Daniel's pale cheek noting the chill of his skin. Her crisp voice was professional and authoritative. "Let's get him settled comfortably as possible and covered up. He's a little shocky from the sudden intensity of the pain."

Jack looked up at her concerned face and nodded, working his arm out from under Daniel. "Whatever you say, Auntie J."

Janet rolled her eyes at him but her tiny smile of delight and self-satisfaction made the Colonel flash a flirtatious wink at her. The tough, petite doctor blushed far easier than Jack had expected.

A sharp pinch to his back, near where Carter stood close enough to his side that he could feel her body heat, made Jack flinch. He looked back over his shoulder and gave Sam an apologetic smile and a slow wink, but this one held a genuine promise in it. A very brief, soothing touch on his back rubbed the ache away and brought a blush to his skin, just not to his face.

Jack cleared his throat and turned his attention back to Daniel, ignoring the slight grunt huffed on his other side. Jack didn't dare look at Teal'c right now. The Jaffa had walked in on Jack and Sam rubbing Daniel's back together last night and Jack had been treated to any number of raised eyebrows and teeny, tiny smirks from the warrior since then. One wrong, teasing word from Teal'c right now and Jack knew he would be a bruised pincushion before the day was over.

Jack felt shudders run through Daniel's slender shoulder as he made to step away. Daniel's hand clutched desperately at him as he tried to ease his arm away. He didn't miss the sharp intake of breath as Daniel struggled to keep silent about his needs. Deciding to work one handed and allow Teal'c and Sam to aid in the effort, Jack kept his hand on Daniel's head and used his other to tuck pillows and blankets around the tense form.

They worked together to prop pillows behind Daniel's back that Sam and Teal'c snatched from unoccupied beds, then added two more layers of the thin, cotton, military issue blankets to the young man's coverings. Within a few moments Daniel was positioned and covered as comfortably as they could make him.

Janet crouched down by his face and looked critically at the furrowed brow. "Do you need something for pain, Daniel?"

"NO. I just woke up. I don't want to be put back to sleep again. Jack, what happened? I don't remember getting hurt. When did we leave the planet?" Confusion and no little bit of fear were pushing Daniel back into a panic. Waking in a place other than the last known location he remembered being in was unnerving Daniel. Not only didn't he remember how he got home, he couldn't remember being hurt. No battle, no attack, no capture, not even an accident graced his hazy recollections. Daniel's brilliant mind raced over memories and details of his last conscious thoughts and nothing triggered any sudden inspirations. He felt lost and adrift, like a part of him had been stolen.

"Jack, Sam? Somebody tell me what happened. When did we come home? Why am I here? I can't remember anything that happened after we went through the gate. Jack" Help me.

Daniel's voice was breathless and pleading, so like Charlie's had been when the boy would come into his parent's bedroom after a nightmare seeking reassurance it was just a dream.

Responding immediately to the tone, Jack sat down on the edge of the bed, displacing Janet from her crouch by Daniel's side. "Hey, slow down there, Big Guy. You're safe." He quickly ran a hand up Daniel's arm and grabbed the back of Daniel's neck, ruffling hair as he went. "We don't really know what happened. Not exactly. We found a Temple on the planet. The people call themselves the Marr. We separated for a while and when we found you, you were unconscious. Teal'c carried you back through the gate and Doc Fraiser," Jack cast a small smirk in Janet's direction, "oh sorry, Auntie J here has been keeping you hostage until you woke up."

"Why does my backside hurt? It felt like I turned over onto a bed of hot coals instead of the mattress. What happened?"

Seeing Jack at a loss to explain the medical nature of the injury, Janet stepped back up to the bed so Daniel could see her clearly. Putting on her best friendly physician face she tried to be as reassuring as possible but knew Daniel was too intelligent for her to gloss over the facts too much. "You were assaulted, Daniel. Beaten, really. I think less modern terms for it would be flogged or caned by a thin, flexible rod of some kind. Wherever it touched skin, it had the capability to disrupt and damage the nerve cells it came in contact with. While the blows themselves were hard enough to bruise you, the nerve damage is what's giving you so much pain. It's increased when any amount of pressure in placed on the affected area. But don't worry, Daniel, the damage isn't permanent and as long as you promise to take it easy, no pressure on the injured tissue, I'll even release you from here in a few hours."

"He'll be good, Doc, I'll make sure of it. He'll have lots of time to recuperate." Jack gave Daniel a reassuring smile. "On my couch."

"Who did it? Why? What did I do wrong?" The need to understand was important to Daniel. If he couldn't remember what had happened, at least he could try to assign the event to a logical explanation of why.

The scientist in him needed to understand, if not accept the reason another being would attack him like this. Did he breach some taboo, insult a cultural icon, break a sacred law, misinterpret a symbol, misspeak a language. He was looking for anything that would give him a clue so that he wouldn't repeat the same offense again, endanger the team again, ruin a mission with his ineptitude. Maybe next time there would be more dire consequences if he didn't learn from it now.

"Nobody said you did anything wrong, Daniel. Nobody knows what happened. The guy that was with you, Draco, said you got sick and needed to lay down. Remember him?" Daniel gave a single negative shake of his head. "Too bad. We didn't know what had been done to you until we got back home. I left Draco on the floor in the room we found you in, but his buddy, the old headmaster Talmac, is here talking with General Hammond. I haven't been able to get my hands on--, ah, talk to him, since we came back to earth. But I will." Jack glanced at his watch and stood up, giving the head under his hand a final ruffle and shake. "The general is expecting me in about twenty minutes. I'd better freshen up a bit first. Maybe find my brass knuckles."

He gave Daniel the once over, trying to decide if the still unsettled younger man was okay with his absence. "You don't remember anything that happened?"

"Not after making planet side. Nothing. I'm sorry, Jack." Guilt and embarrassment clung to Daniel's voice and pale face. "I didn't mean to ruin things."

"You're not responsible for any of this Daniel. I don't care what Talmac or Draco says, so stop worrying about it. And stop feeling guilty." Jack bit back his anger. It was for Talmac, not Daniel. "I have to go. I won't be long. Good old Uncle Teal'c and Mom will stay with you."

"This is kind of scary, Jack, you don't know I didn't do something wrong. I could have…….MOM?" Daniel darted wide, surprised eyes between Jack and Sam, taking in the blush that colored Sam's cheeks and the tiny, pleased smiles on both of their faces. "Exactly how long have I been asleep?" Daniel asked suspiciously.

Carter tactfully ignored Daniel's sarcasm. "Actually sir, I thought I would take some time to take a closer look at the gift one of the children on the planet gave me before we left. I haven't really inspected it yet."

Her guilt-ridden glance told them how much it had cost her to put her personal feelings for the young man before her usual steadfast dedication to duty. "I wanted to be sure Daniel was all right first." The pleased look on Jack's face instantly made Sam feel a little guilt was a small price to pay to have that soft, warm look in his dark eyes directed at her.

An audible sigh from Daniel broke the moment. "Jaaack." There are other people still in the room, guys.

"Daniel?" Ya think?

Jack suppressed a grin at the second long, frustrated sigh that escaped the now restless young man. "Okay. Carter, you go investigate the 'what's it' the kid gave you. I'll try getting another crack at Talmac and Teal'c--."

"I will remain with DanielJackson, O'Neill." Teal'c stepped closer to Daniel's side, a decidedly possessive air about him.

Jack nodded, silently sending his friend thanks with a tilt of his head, which the Jaffa acknowledged, with a slight nod of his own. "Okay. Sounds like a plan." Jack reached down and touched Daniel's shoulder. "Catch some rest, Danny. I'll let you know what I learn when I get back. And don't worry, these guys are hiding something, I can feel it. This isn't only about you."

Daniel answered with a tired, "All right. I'm fine, really." Daniel felt the heat rise in his face and he tried not to squirm in place. "I guess this leaves out sitting for awhile."

Jack let his disbelief show on his face. "Ohyeahsureyoubetcha. I believe it." He exchanged knowing looks with Teal'c before leaving the room with Carter at his side.

*************

Jack spent the majority of his time being frustrated with making nice with General Hammond and Talmac.

Once Jack cornered him, Talmac made no apology for Daniel's condition. With all the political savvy of an experienced negotiator, Talmac laid the blame on both Draco and Daniel's shoulders. Mostly Daniel's.

According to Talmac, the 'flogging' was an accepted method for punishing the most extreme of violations at the Temple. Obviously, according to Talmac, Daniel had done something extreme to bring the full wrath of the disciplinarian Draco, down on him so heavily. Thus, according the headmaster, the responsibility for the consequences he had suffered belonged to Daniel alone.

Talmac still denied knowing the reason Daniel had been flogged. After learning Daniel could shed no light on the incident, Talmac became outright smug and increasingly condescending.

Jack still thought the man was a liar and said so, much to General Hammond's displeasure and Talmac's outrage.

Jack argued if you didn't know what you were doing was sacrilegious or weren't aware of the consequences the behavior would reap, a person should be given some amount of latitude, especially a child, as Talmac's culture perceived Daniel to be.

Shortly after hearing of Daniel's amnesia, Talmac decided to return to his home planet. In the future, all contact between their people would be made by SGC personnel other than SG-1.

Talmac bid the General farewell and prepared to return to Marr. As the command center dialed in the coordinates of his planet, Talmac patiently stood at the base of the ramp, exchanging glares with one pissed off and frustrated Colonel.

If he couldn’t punch out Talmac, Jack could at least make damn sure the man was as far away from Daniel as possible, once and for all.

And that's exactly where Daniel found them.

Convincing Janet that he was uncomfortable, but not incapacitated, Daniel obtained his release from the infirmary. He reassured Janet that he would have Teal'c with him if he ran into problems. Daniel stiffly limped into the embarkation room, relieved to be able to catch Talmac before the man returned to his planet, a watchful Teal'c in tow behind him.

The possibility that he had somehow offended the inhabitants of Talmac’s planet ate away at Daniel’s sense of self-worth and honor. He had to know if he had been responsible for leaving these new contacts with a bad impression of humans, and if so, to make any and all efforts to correct the situation. How would he ever explain to General Hammond and Jack that the person they trusted to represent Earth had blundered so badly as to alienate an entire world? And he couldn’t even remember why?

Daniel cringed at the look Jack greeted him with, the immensely unhappy glare from the older man eroding Daniel’s waning self-confidence. Determined to talk with Talmac, he approached the two men. Jack placed himself protectively between Daniel and the dark, turban-topped stranger.

"Daniel?" What are you doing here?

Daniel held up his index finger. "Jaack." Just one minute, Jack.

Jack slid one arm over Daniel’s shoulder, rubbing soothingly at the back of the young man’s neck as he tried unsuccessfully to turn Daniel back towards the entrance to the room. "Daniel, I think you should go back to the infirmary. Wait for me there. I just want to make sure our guest gets home." He shifted his eyes from Daniel’s pleading face to Teal’c’s understanding expression. "Teal’c, will you see that Daniel gets back okay?"

"I will be pleased to accompany him, O’Neill. Come, DanielJackson." Teal’c stepped back a pace, expecting the younger man to obediently precede him out of the room.

"No, wait." Daniel held out his arms, hands palms outward to deter Teal’c from herding him out the door. "Jack, I need to talk with this man." Daniel was desperate to clear his conscience.

"No, you don’t, Daniel. You don’t need this guy anywhere near you. Just go with Teal’c. Now."

Daniel clumsily shifted his weight from one sore, aching hip to the other and stepped around Jack, slowly backing up the ramp towards Talmac. "No. I need to understand what happened. I need to know if I did something wrong out there, Jack. Let me talk to him, for just a minute. I promise I won’t make things worse." Daniel turned wide, pleading eyes up to combat Jack’s flinty stare.

Talmac was satisfied to stand off to one side, partially up the ramp, serenely watching the little family drama unfold. Now that he was sure the young man’s memory of what had happened to him on the planet had been removed, Talmac was anxious to return to his own home world. He had no idea how long the lapse would last, since the memory disc had been interrupted. He wanted to be long gone from the possessive colonel’s reach before the young man remembered details about Draco’s harsh punishment and the true purpose of the Temple in preparing hosts for the Gods these people professed to detest.

Talmac casually studied the numerous armed guards stationed around the room, studying the weapons they wore on their bodies as well as the ones they held in their hands. Behind him, the open gate shimmered, awaiting his departure. Talmac delayed leaving, curious to see if the Colonel would allow the boy to approach him.

Jack realized that if he didn’t give Daniel the opportunity to do this, the young man might always question himself, but Jack wasn’t willing to expose his youngest to any one of these brutal, underhanded people again, for any reason. "I said no Daniel, and I meant it. Go back to the infirmary with Teal’c."

"Jack, please?"

Jack almost caved at the sight of tears forming at the corners of Daniel’s eyes. Just as he was about to give in, Carter swiftly entered the room. She appeared startled by Daniel’s presence.

"Daniel. Should you be here?" Carter stormed up to Jack’s side, a mini-recorder held in one hand. The concern in her eyes for the hunched form of her young teammate warred with anger for the looming, dark figure on the ramp behind them. "Sir. I think you should know about this. It’s Daniel’s findings from the planet. I found it—," Carter darted an uneasy glance up the ramp at Talmac before adding, "in my things." She didn’t want to be responsible for any of the children on the planet receiving the same type of punishment Daniel had.

With everyone’s attention focused on the woman, Talmac stiffened visibly, edging closer to Daniel, who had turned his back to Talmac to listen to what Carter had to say. Oblivious to the change in Talmac’s demeanor, Daniel never registered the fact the man was mere inches away from him.

Carter offered the tape in her hand to Jack. He took it from her, a slightly bewildered look on his face. "Daniel made verbal notes while he was investigating the Temple. He made it into the Pool of Blessings chamber. He wasn’t specific about how, but he did figure out how to translate the Tablet of Marr."

Carter shot a condemning glare at Talmac. "They’re a school for training hosts for the Goa’uld, sir. All those children will be offered up as educated, compliant hosts to the Goa’uld. And Daniel found out about it." Her voice took on a strained edge as she fought to suppress the violent emotions this realization gave birth to. "That’s why Draco must have beaten him. They may have tampered with his memory too. If they can trigger chimes to match brain wave patterns to produce sleep in specific individuals, I’m betting they could erase a person’s memory too, Colonel."

Every eye in the room turned to Talmac, distrust and disgust evident on nearly every face, every face but one. Daniel’s face reflected momentary confusion that rapidly changed to startled fear as a strong arm snaked out to wrap around his chest from behind him.

"What--? Ahh!" Daniel groaned and grimaced as his backside came into contact with Talmac’s body, re-igniting the fire in his flesh. Refusing to give into the larger man’s scare tactics, he squirmed and twisted, unheeding his tortured lower half.

"Let him go, Talmac." Jack and Teal’c immediately advanced up the ramp towards the struggling pair. Jack only paused for a moment when Talmac pulled a hand weapon from under his flowing robes.

Teal’c and the other soldiers remained slightly back, not willing to be the reason either Jack or Daniel was injured by Talmac’s weapon.

"Do not come any nearer, Colonel." Talmac backed up the ramp, allowing a portion of his and Daniel’s bodies to enter the event horizon to prevent someone from closing it down prematurely. "Do not return to Marr. Our purpose and philosophies are not compatible, I fear. Much unease would result in continued relations between our people. I will return your child when I am safely home. I bid you farewell, Tau’ri."

As Talmac made to turn and dive into the shimmering curtain of energy, Daniel managed to squirm partially free, forcing Talmac to readjust his hold before the horizon could suck them into the wormhole.

Jack took advantage of the moment, launching himself at the pair. Grabbing hold of Daniel around his waist, Jack tugged him down to land hard on the metal grate of the ramp on his back. One hard kick from Talmac to Jack’s ribs sent the colonel rolling a few feet down the ramp.

Talmac had managed to maintain a hold on one of Daniel’s wrists and now attempted to drag the pain-racked young man through the gate with him. He kept his weapon trained on Jack as the colonel scrabbled back up the ramp on his hands and knees.

Daniel was in agony. Between his previous injuries and the rough treatment of the last few minutes, his mind was blurred by the intense, burning pain in his lower body. Only one thought pushed through the haze of agony. "Jack, help!"

Jack latched onto Daniel’s legs and pulled himself up the younger man’s writhing body far enough to get a death-grip on Daniel’s waistband and belt. With one massive yank, Jack broke Talmac’s grip. Having little choice, he jerked Daniel further down the ramp, raking the younger man over the harsh metal grating. Keeping Talmac in sight from the corner of his eye, Jack saw him line up his hand weapon with Daniel’s head. Without thinking, Jack scrabbling to place his own body over Daniel’s, shielding his youngest from the threat of death.

Realizing he wasn’t going to win any margin in this battle, Talmac decided to cut his losses and leave before someone closed the portal with his body still in the threshold. Shifting his aim from Daniel to Jack’s head, Talmac fired.

Watching the shift in the battle of wills between the two combatants as they fought for the prize of Daniel Jackson’s life, Teal’c anticipated Talmac’s move to retaliate against his vanquisher. Seizing the gun from the nearest marine’s hands, he fired at the same time as Talmac, hitting the man square in the chest, knocking him back through the active gate.

Talmac’s arm jerked from the impact of Teal’c shot. The lethal energy blast discharged from his weapon missing its intended target. It grazed Jack’s back from right shoulder to left flank as he remained draped protectively over Daniel’s supine form.

From somewhere high above, the command to close the iris blasted over a loudspeaker. The gate deactivated, the iris slamming shut with a finality that was comforting to the occupants of the gate room, especially the barely conscious ones.

Daniel cautiously rolled from his side onto his stomach, moving inch by inch until he settled comfortably onto the firm, lumpy mattress. Infirmary beds were no competition for his bed back home. His bed at Jack’s house was warm, supportive and perfect to snuggle against when exhaustion claimed Daniel. Not unlike the bed’s owner, when Daniel thought about it.

Raising his eyes to look at the occupant on the bed next to him, Daniel studied the graying hair and strong features of Jack’s sleeping face. White bandages ran the length of Jack’s back diagonally from one shoulder down to the opposite side of his waist. The blast from Talmac’s weapon had burned a ridge through layers of skin, muscle and nerves. The wound was painful, but not serious, more inconvenient than debilitating. Janet had promised to release Jack when the colonel eventually woke up.

Daniel was definitely jealous. He was looking at another twenty-four to forty-eight hours under the doctor’s strict care. Then he got to go home and recuperate under Jack’s even stricter version of TLC.

No doubt both Teal’c and Sam would be there to assist Jack in the campaign to impose his iron rules on Daniel.

As annoying as it sounded, Daniel knew he was growing to depend on those rules and the security, the certainty, they provided. He knew it was Jack’s way of caring, showing his love without saying it out loud. It was warm and caring and possessive, parental and safe and comfortable. And Daniel craved it in all its many annoying forms from the older man.

Jack was the one unchanging element in his life. Jack was his anchor to reality when the chaos that surrounded them threatened to overwhelm him or simply drag him away, like Talmac had tried to do. So much had happened to him in his brief life, not much of it good. From his parents’ early deaths to his grandfather’s rejection, to his years as a foster child, he never belonged to anyone or anything. Finally finding someone who needed Daniel as much as Daniel needed him was nothing short of a miracle to Daniel. A miracle he didn’t always appreciate or accept, but one he was thankful for and terrified of losing. Jack was acceptance, love and security all wrapped up in one grumpy, irreverent, smart-mouthed, intelligent, deadly, authoritative package. What more could a young man ask for in a role model?

Daniel chuckled at his own thoughts. The sound caused the sleeping figure across the small space to stir. Clear, brown eyes instantly met Daniel’s squinting, blue ones. The twisted, pleased smile on Jack’s face made Daniel’s eyes suddenly water suspiciously.

"Hey there, Daniel. What’s so funny? Your back’s gotta hurt worse than mine does, and I don’t feel like laughing." Jack slowly pushed himself into an upright position, swinging his legs over the bed to sit on the edge. He experimentally flexed his shoulders and winced at the tight pull and burn that shot down his back.

One glance at the far end of their beds showed him they weren’t alone. Out of Daniel’s sight, Teal’c sat on the floor, back propped against the wall in a light state of kel-noreem.

"Nothing, really. I was just thinking about today. It’s been kind of confusing for me. I’m still not sure I understand everything that happened. And the funny part is, for a change, I don’t think I really want to know." Daniel gave the other man an exhausted smile. "I think maybe this time, it’s enough to know that I’m home. Dr. Fraiser said my injuries are going heal, and despite what must have happened, I’m not having any nightmares about it. I’m good with that." He turned a questioning gaze to Jack. He tried to keep the slight stir of panic he felt at the thoughts of Jack disagreeing and forcing him to talk about it from being seen.

Jack heard, more than saw, the rise in emotion in Daniel. "I am, too. Let’s just let it be, Danny." He agreed. Some memories were best left unearthed. Especially memories filled with the terror and pain Daniel had to have experienced at the hands of the man who had beaten him so harshly.

Thankfully, Daniel didn’t even remember meeting the children of Marr, and Jack didn’t want him to. It was painful enough to know an entire school existed that was full of youngsters who’s sole destiny in life was to provide hosts for the Goa’uld. The sensitive, caring young man didn’t need to live with the memory of having grown to personally know a number of them. The boys who had given Carter her gift had obviously liked Daniel. They had endangered themselves on his behalf by seeing that his tape recording was secretly returned to Daniel’s ‘mother’.

Carter still hadn’t gotten over that one. Jack was willing to bet she’d be looking in the mirror for wrinkles for weeks to come.

Talmac was undoubtedly dead from Teal’c’s shot and General Hammond had already decided to send another team in. This time a unit of marines was going. Heavily armed marines. If formal talks could be arranged with the government of the planet, maybe they could do something to help the children at the Temple. Jack was going to make damn certain they tried their hardest to make it happen, but having killed the school’s headmaster probably wouldn’t endear them to the planet’s law makers.

Snuggling down deeper under the blankets, Daniel sighed and turned purposefully wide, innocent eyes on Jack. "I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you and go back to the infirmary when you told me to. I just thought that if I could talk to Talmac for a minute, find out what really happened, I could learn from it and maybe, maybe fix things. I never thought anything like what happened would happen, Jack."

Understanding filled Jack’s expression, but his eyes took on a stern glint. "I know you are. You’re always sorry after a disaster. Your actions were insubordinate, rude and down right rebellious. I gave you a direct order and you disobeyed it, Daniel. That’s unacceptable. Your actions put everybody in that room at risk, not just yourself, little boy."

Daniel swallowed hard and glanced around the seemingly empty room for possible witnesses to his coming chastisement. He breathed a sigh of relief when he couldn’t see anyone beside himself and Jack. "I know, and I am sorry, Jack. Really."

"Not as sorry as you’re going to be in the coming weeks. Until Janet puts you back on full active duty, you are one restricted puppy. You haven’t been off house arrest for long enough to forget what it means, so I don’t expect any slip ups in the rules."

"Aaaaaw, Jack. Not again! I barely lived through it the last time. I’ll go crazy. I don’t want—" The whine was clear and grating and needed to be stopped.

"Excuse me?" The dangerous edge alerted Daniel when his freedom was swiftly evaporating before his eyes was back in Jack’s tone. Daniel backtracked and regrouped.

"I…I mean, I understand why you’re upset, I do, but I really think you may be overreacting to—"

"Ex-cuse me?" The sharp edge became a full-blown sword, drawn and ready to cut Daniel’s privileges and personal freedoms into mere confetti. Daniel found it hard to swallow past the rising dread lumped at the back of his throat.

"I just meant that…… I… um, Dr. Fraiser said….. It would have just been me… if you…..ah, well…." Daniel cleared his throat to gain time to find the words he needed to calm the escalating situation down.

His eyes widened and his mouth went suddenly dry as Jack stood and marched to the side of his bed. Crouching down to kneel at the head of the bed, Jack used both hands to frame Daniel’s startled face, lightly shaking him as he talked, fingers buried in the long, soft strands of golden hair.

Jack‘s voice was low and raw with emotion, anger and dread and love made his words sound tortured and strained. "Don’t Daniel. Don’t think that, don’t say that out loud. You are not disposable. You are not unimportant or insignificant or meaningless. To me or Carter or Teal’c or dozens of other people who love and value you. Apparently, more so than you do." A restrained, but more energetic shake of Daniel’s captive face punctuated the sentence. "Whatever it takes, Danny, I’m going to make you see that you’re worth so much more than you’ve been brought up to believe, so much more."

Tears spilled unchecked down Daniel’s face. Fear and uncertainty were reflected up into Jack’s fiercely protective gaze. Daniel answered, his voice cracked and breathless, "How can you know that, Jack?"

Dropping his head down until their foreheads touched, Jack whispered back, "Because my heart tells me so, Danny."

Silent tears became soft sobs. Jack placed a hard kiss on Daniel’s head, ruffling the hair at the back of Daniel’s neck while he rubbed small circles over the thin arm nearest him, avoiding the thick, gauze dressings covering the boy’s back.

Daniel turned his head into the shelter of Jack’s neck. He steadied himself with several deep breaths until he could talk again. "I trust you, Jack. Whatever restrictions you decided on, I’ll accept. Maybe not gracefully all the time, but willingly. If you think it’s worth the effort, it’s the least I can do to try to see it too."

"Not ‘it’, Daniel, you. You’re worth the effort." A watery sniffle answered Jack and he grinned at the flushed, stained face that came out of hiding from under his chin. Daniel was so much like Charlie at times it would have been disturbing a few years ago. Now it was a comfort.

Jack had been given the chance to make a young man’s life better, to make a difference, to help a wounded youth grow and develop into an amazing man with the abilities and intelligence to change worlds. If Jack could keep him alive long enough to reach his full potential.

That was the trick to raising Daniel. Survival. Jack was constantly amazed at the number of times that concept eluded the young archaeologist. Thank God Jack had Teal’c and Carter to help take a turn at Daniel raising.

"If you say so, Jack." A tired sigh escaped Daniel.

Jack slowly released his hold on him and settled Daniel more comfortably on the bed.

A low, growl from near the foot of Daniel’s bed made him jerk around to look past his toes. He found Teal’c’s solemn face staring back at him.

"Indeed, DanielJackson. That is the answer you should learn to respond with more often. It would save us all many a night of sleepless worry and unrest. It is the only appropriate response to a father’s command to begin with."

Too tired to engage the warrior in a battle of words or wits, and not really sure Teal’c wouldn’t make good on his earlier offer to assist Jack in delivering his punishments, Daniel opted for a contrite smile of repentance and a soft reply of "Yes, sir." Then his natural stubbornness raised its head and he added, "Uncle Teal’c."

Teal’c’s lips actually twitched at the unexpected use of the favored title. He did nothing to hide the delight that lit up his dark eyes as well. He gave a small regal bow from the neck. "As you wish. I accept, with honor."

Genuinely surprised, Daniel fell speechless.

The door to the infirmary opened. Carter and Janet entered the room, both smiling at something the other had said. Sam held a small package in one hand, gesturing with it as she murmured conspiratorially to Janet.

"Well, Sam, it seems all your men are awake." Janet ignored the blush that highlighted Sam’s cheeks.

"Hey Carter, Doc." Jack’s gaze lingered a moment on Carter, wondering at the woman’s unusually bright smile.

Janet concentrated on inspecting her patients. Jack moved back to sit on his bed. She checked his dressing and vital signs. Satisfied with her findings she smiled at the impatient colonel.

"Okay, Colonel. I’m releasing you. I’ll go over all your instructions after you get dressed."

"Great." Jack hopped from the bed a little more easily than last time and looked around for his clothes. Not unexpectedly, a timid protest rose from Daniel’s bed.

"What about me? Can’t I go too?" Daniel made the attempt to push himself up off the mattress with his arms. Suddenly realizing how much pain the simple effort caused, he reluctantly settled back down onto his pillow. "Ow."

Janet loomed over his prone form, testy-doctor voice lecturing in Daniel’s ear. "And that, young man, is exactly why you’re not going anywhere for the next twenty-four hours or so. Your back is mincemeat from the colonel having to drag you over the metal grating. Your shirt rode up and the skin on your back took the full brunt of the drag. Until I’m sure infection isn’t going to set in, you’re not leaving here. End of discussion."

"What am I supposed to do for a whole day flat on my stomach?" Daniel let as much outrage as he thought he could chance filter into his complaint.

"Sleep. You never get enough of it. Now’s the perfect opportunity. You can’t do anything else but sleep." Jack buttoned his shirt and walked over to pat Daniel on the head, eliciting a low growl of protest from the young man.

"I can’t just go to sleep like that. I’m not tired." Daniel tucked his arms to his chest. A pout naturally forced its way onto his lips.

Jack had to work to keep the smile off his own face. "I could stay and we could watch the hockey game together. That usually puts you to sleep in no time."

"I think that comes under the heading of cruel and unusual punishment, Jack." The pout deepened, threatening to become a frown.

Carter’s smile widened at the familiar banter. "Colonel, I was thinking maybe we could go grab a bite to eat when you were done here. None of us has had a decent meal in hours. Steaks at O’Malley’s sound all right to you, sir?"

"I think it sounds terrific, Carter, but I want to stay until Daniel falls asleep." His eyes told her how much he appreciated the suggestion of time spent off base together, even if that time included Teal’c.

"That will be hours from now, Jack. I keep telling you, I’m not tired." Pouty was now petulant.

Jack sighed wistfully. This was going to be one long day.

Sam’s smiled never faltered. She made sure to stay out of Daniel’s immediate line of vision as she unwrapped the small parcel in her hand. "That won’t take long, Colonel. I thought I‘d share my gift from the children on the planet."

A light chiming began to fill the air and Daniel struggled to turn his head to see what Sam had. "What is it? Are those wind chimes, Sam?"

"Sort of, Daniel. Pretty aren’t they." Her smug smile turned into a chuckle as Daniel’s eyes fluttered shut. Turning to Jack she gestured at the small object. "I think it was payback for Daniel getting them into hot water with their teachers. The boy who gave it to me seemed to know what it would do."

Carter handed the chimes to Jack and he reached up to hang them off the empty IV pole standing at the end of Daniel’s bed, a wide smile to match Carter’s on his face. "I think I’m gonna love that thing." He dropped a kiss onto the back of Daniel’s head before moving aside so Carter could do the same thing.

Jack cocked his head in Janet’s and Teal’c’s direction. "Would you two like to join us for dinner?"

Teal’c and Janet exchanged knowing looks.

"Thanks anyway, Colonel, but I have a shift to finish here yet. Maybe next time." With a secret smile of her own, Janet checked Daniel briefly and wandered off to her office.

Teal’c stared at the two overly casual teammates in front of him. "I believe there are a number of various projects that require my attention this evening. I regret, I must respectfully decline your offer. Another time, perhaps, O’Neill. CaptainCarter."

Jack would have believed it was a sincere brush off if Teal’c had only refrained from the leer. Okay, it was actually just a raised eyebrow, but it was a really dirty, raised eyebrow.

Carter caught it too, giggling as the warrior stalked regally out of the room without a backward glance.

Jack reached down to rub absently at Daniel’s arm. His hand was joined for a moment by slender fingers before they both straightened up and turned to leave. Jack shoved both his hands into his pants pockets to resist the urge to throw an arm around Carter’s shoulders as they walked out of the room. "Carter, I believe we have a rare and special moment happening here."

"Sir?"

"A night out without the kids, Carter. Cherish the moment." He flashed a hooded look filled with desire her way. "I know I will." Her answering, shy grin was all he needed to know she felt the same way.

End.