Summary: Some people are not so gullible about the Cheyenne
Mountain secrecy.
Season: 8
Related episodes: The Curse
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property
of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko
Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes
and no copyright infringement is intended. Any original
characters, situations, and storylines are the property of the
author. Archive only with permission please.
November/04
"The guy keeps the oddest hours." Yeah, he'd said that before,
but the coffee was no longer keeping his system awake and there
was little other conversation left. He knew his partner right down
to favourite Campbell's soup.
"What, not home for days, then he comes in at 4am? What's so
odd about that?" Naders joked, tired of this job, ready to be back
to more normal waking hours himself. Just one final night and
they'd report that enough was enough. Money was one thing;
personal life was another and he had to regain control somewhere
along the line. He no longer wondered why his wife had walked out
on him last year, taking the kids. "He's probably got a woman or
two."
"At Cheyenne Mountain? Think they'd allow that?" Creveet
wasn't feeling up to joking. Four o'clock in the morning and too
many other odd hours was throwing his own system off, and the
unpredictable schedule of this man was causing internal
turmoil.
"We'll report the facts and leave the theorizing. That's not
our job. I don't give a damn why he's holed up at the mountain for
days on end; that's not our business."
Creveet silently agreed, knowing this job was about to come to
an end. They had as much as they were going to get, and they were
both tired of these long days and nights. Besides, they'd had
better pay on more interesting assignments.
"We've got all we need. Let's just call it quits and collect
our money."
_____
"Jack?" Daniel was nervously pacing, his phone resting between
chin and shoulder. It couldn't be his imagination and even if it
was, he wanted to know for sure. Jack's answering machine had
picked up at the other end. "Call me when you get in."
Pacing over to the window once more, he glanced out through a
slit in the Venetian blinds. Hopefully in the dim streetlighting
they wouldn't have noticed him noticing them.
Daniel jumped, startled when the phone rang seconds later.
"Yes?"
"Daniel? You couldn't have gotten home more than ten minutes
ago. Miss me already?" Jack knew he was intentionally taking the
lighthearted approach, but his stomach fluttered. For Daniel to be
calling barely an hour after they'd said "See you Thursday" at the
mouth of the mountain, seemed like an ominous… well,
omen. If Daniel wanted to make a social call, he surely
would have let Jack get some sleep first and called at a more
humane time of day. General Jack O'Neill had waited for SG1's
offworld mission to end before retiring himself, and that had been
at 0300 hours. Now, with SG1's single day of downtime tomorrow,
what the heck could Daniel be wanting at barely 0430 in the
morning?
"Jack, there's a gray car parked half a block down my
street…"
"Cool. Just like the other four parked near you at the
mountain."
"Jack, shut up and let me finish."
"Not stopping you Daniel. I'm hot and tired, so tell me why
this car fascinates you."
"Because it followed me all the way home from the
mountain, Jack."
"You sure?" Jack sat up a bit straighter, stopping in the
process of removing his second sock. The first one had landed not
quite in the basket, but close enough.
"Positive. I've seen it a couple times before as I was heading
towards the mountain, but I never paid much attention."
"Get a license?"
"There's no plate on the front. That's why I remember
it."
"I'm on my way, Daniel. Your side of the street? I'll drive up
behind and check the plate number."
_____
But by the time Jack arrived, close to thirty-five minutes
later, the car had gone.
"Any description of the occupants?" Jack was trying to help
any way he could, but they still had nothing to go on. Gray Camry,
circa 1999. How helpful was that?
"Two men, middle aged, dark hair. Both wore sunglasses."
Suspicious enough, in the darkness of early morning. "One had a
navy jacket, the other a gray sweatshirt, I think."
"Okay, look, Daniel. There's nothing we can do right now. I'm
tired; let me crash here today - just in case. We'll keep an eye
out and head back in my car later." Nothing else either of them
could do. Jack didn't have a clue what to make of Daniel's
stalkers. But just in case, nothing would happen in the next few
hours without him.
"Thank you."
"Yeah. I hope some of your t-shirts fit me." Jack eyed his
former teammate. Friend; offduty he was in his
friend's house, not his subordinate's, not that Jack had
ever actually thought of Daniel that way. And he knew that his
friend was nervous and worried.
So was he.
_____
The bell ringing and the knock on the door woke them both,
Jack instantly alert and jumping to his feet in Daniel's spare
room. He slipped back into the jeans he'd thrown over the armchair
and opened the bedroom door a crack to listen.
Daniel headed cautiously over to the front door. 10:00 am was
ample time for a visitor - or a letter carrier - he supposed, on a
Wednesday morning; no one would have known he'd only had three
hours sleep. They would, however, after taking one look at
his red eyes.
Peering out the peephole, Daniel jumped as the bell rang
again. He unlocked the chain and pulled the door open.
For a moment he just stared dumbly. "Steven?" The name sounded
odd to Daniel's ears, all these years later. "What are you doing
here?"
"Going to let me in, Daniel?" the cocky attitude was all too
familiar to the man holding the door half open in surprise.
"Uh… yeah, sure." Daniel backed up, the doorway widening
to let his former friend and colleague in. "Have a seat."
Steven just stood in the living room, gazing around.
"Look, Steven, it's 10am and I got home late. Tell me what you
want."
Swivelling around abruptly, Steven locked eyes with the man he
hadn't seen since the week after he'd been battered and bruised
and nearly killed in a half-buried temple in Egypt. "I don't buy
the shit you called your version of the truth, Daniel. I almost
did, until Sarah called me last month."
That grabbed Daniel's attention even more than the sight of
Steven showing up so unexpectedly on his doorstep. "She called
you?" No way would Sarah give away classified information to
anyone without proper clearance; she was well aware of the nature
of what she had gone through the past years as Osiris. And besides
the fact that she was innocently ashamed of her actions as a host,
she'd also promised, and that was good enough for Daniel.
As soon as she was deemed psychologically ready, she knew a job
awaited her either at the SGC or at the Pentagon, if she wanted
one.
"She was too vague, Daniel. You might have convinced me once
about hallucinations and look-alikes, but Sarah never did
come back to Chicago to see how I was doing. And she won't see me
now or even explain. So you're going to tell me what's really
going on, or I don't leave." Now making himself comfortable on the
sofa, Steven's glare never wavered from Daniel's face.
"You think I have something to do with Sarah?" Daniel stalled.
He'd been relieved, after Steven's involvement with Osiris in
Egypt, that the head injury was not overly severe yet bad enough
to sway Steven's mental convictions. "I haven't spoken to her in
weeks."
"Irrelevant, Daniel."
"So…" Daniel squinted. "Why are you here, Steven?"
"I'm not stupid, Daniel. I want to know why an archaeologist
is spending odd hours and days in the middle of a classified
government establishment like Cheyenne Mountain. I want to know
what Sarah has to do with it, and what I had to do with it
three years ago."
Daniel's eyes widened. "That was you?"
"What?"
"The men following me - you hired them?" A mixture of
relief and panic swarmed him; happy to discover that his stalkers
hadn't had harmful intentions, Daniel knew that if Steven had gone
to all this trouble to investigate him, the guy wouldn't be easy
to get rid of.
"I wanted to know why you keep dropping out of sight. I
thought you and Sarah…" Steven let his thoughts remain
unsaid.
"Well we're not."
"I'm not leaving, Daniel. What's going on with you?"
"Look, Steven; it's really none of your business."
"Like hell, Daniel. I may have had a head injury, but I
remember finding out that the
amulet we found in Egypt was ten
thousand years old." His cold glare never wavered, although he
didn't stop himself from blinking.
Grasping for what to say, the old fear returned that Steven
would really not believe the bull they had sold him after he'd
been injured by a Sarah look-alike. The drugs had kept him in and
out of clarity and constantly wondering about what had been real,
but still, Daniel had known Steven was too smart to have swallowed
their story completely. He'd known he'd flown to Egypt, been
injured, and he'd known that Daniel had suspiciously shown up to
rescue him. With a doctor, as if Daniel had known something
would go wrong.
"What did you have to do with my injuries, Daniel?"
"What? Nothing, Steven!"
"Come off it, Daniel! A museum curator and lab technician both
died, Professor Jordan died, Sarah disappeared, I was nearly
killed. And you kept popping up in the middle of it."
Steven's finger pointed accusingly in Daniel's direction. "And you
were let off on that murder investigation by someone a bit too
powerful to care about a simple archaeologist, Daniel."
"You think I arranged to have you hurt?" In disbelief, Daniel
fell silent. He had not been prepared for this.
Ignoring the query, Steven continued to glare. "And now I find
you working at a secure government facility, sometimes for days at
a time," he resumed. "Just an archaeologist, right? Excuse me,
Egyptologist."
"I'm a consultant. A translator."
"Bullshit. Days at a time, Daniel. And I know you
haven't had much sleep, you only got home six hours ago."
"You're invading my privacy, Steven."
"I'm not leaving until you give me the truth. Where's Sarah
been for three years?"
"Why, so you can go write another book? How's that doing, by
the way?" Daniel added with an undisguised hint of contempt.
"Don't change the subject."
"He won't have to."
Two pairs of startled eyes shot up towards the man who slowly
entered the room. Dressed in his jeans and t-shirt from his locker
at the mountain, Jack realized he'd have no choice but to rescue
Daniel.
"Who are you?" Steven's wide-eyed look of surprise had
accusations in it that Daniel didn't feel like dealing with. "I
didn't know you had a man in your bedroom, Daniel. They didn't
tell me that." The tone was not apologetic, but
sarcastic.
"Steven, this is General Jack O'Neill. I called him over
because I was being followed and spied upon."
It was Steven's turn to be speechless. That didn't last long,
however. "How long have you known?"
"Not exactly discreet, Steven. You know, I could press charges
for invasion of privacy."
"But you won't. They did nothing to you. And you'd have to
give up your precious little secrets in court." Steven sat back,
outwardly comfortable and content. He was not leaving until he had
some answers. "And I can bring charges against you for my
injuries. It took me three months to heal, Daniel."
"Daniel?" Jack's nod motioned him towards the kitchen. Daniel
glanced back as they left Steven alone in the living room, staring
after them.
Looking considerably miserable, Daniel lowered his gaze. "What
are we going to do?"
"He's a good archeologist?"
"The best." Daniel's eyes met Jack's.
"Almost the best, arrogant son of a bitch."
"The best." Daniel caught the trace of a smirk before it
escaped.
"Can we trust him?"
"With what?"
"You've brought colleagues to the mountain before, and you've
always made good choices. Rothman - "
"Yeah, you loved him."
Jack snickered. "I liked him, Daniel. I just didn't like him
replacing you." At Daniel's gently contoured look of
surprise, Jack continued. "Doesn't look like we can get rid of
this guy."
"Are you suggesting we bring him in?"
"I think that's what I'm suggesting. Answer me before I change
my mind."
With eyes that wanted to focus everywhere except on his CO,
Daniel hesitated, pondering the possibility. Working with Steven
Rayner.
Crap.
"We'll have to get vows of silence from him."
Daniel's laugh was critical, bitter. "Steven, silent? He
writes those damn books, Jack." Damn good books, but
nevertheless.
"You think he won't?"
Daniel sighed. "I don't know. In all fairness, he used to be a
good friend. I was the one who walked away."
"Did he embrace your theories?"
"No."
"Point made. Can we trust him now?"
"I guess we'll have to, won't we."
_____
"Okay, Steven. The truth."
Steven watched as his former colleague, a man he'd once called
friend, and a general in the military, strangely enough
here in Daniel's living room, lowered themselves carefully onto
the chairs around him. Cocking their heads, they seemed to be
weighing their words, as Steven tried to analyze their body
language. "I'm listening."
"It comes with a price." Daniel was certainly sounding
mysterious.
"Cut the crap, Daniel."
"Rayner - shut up." Jack had been silent long enough. "The
project at Cheyenne is classified. Daniel's work is classified,
and we're not telling you squat unless you agree to some terms."
He paused, letting his words and demeanour sink in. "You want a
job?"
Steven's eyes widened, and a breath, half gasp and half
chuckle, escaped from his lips. "I have a job."
"A different job."
"No."
"Then, sorry."
"What?"
"Only people who work for me, who sign papers of
confidentiality, will ever - and I mean ever, Mr. Rayner,"
Jack's eyes narrowed as he intentionally and irreverently ignored
the man's title, "find out what Daniel does at the mountain. Take
it or leave it." Jack sat back, letting the offer sink in.
Several moments later Steven almost agreed. "What would I have
to do?"
"Pretty much same as you've always done, minus the book."
"And if I say okay?"
"This is serious, Steven," Daniel frowned. "You can't just
agree and expect to waltz right back to Chicago."
"You'll keep me prisoner?" Meant as a joke, upon hearing the
words spoken aloud suddenly Steven wasn't so sure it wouldn't
happen. These men were being too vague, not to mention
melodramatic. But if they intended to scare him off, it wouldn't
work.
"We'll have you up on charges with the United States
government," Jack spoke matter-of-factly, hoping this man was
buying it. Former friend of Daniel's? His archaeologist had good
judgement; there must be some redeeming qualities in this
man.
"What kind of job?"
"Archaeology, linguistics, translations."
Steven looked at Daniel. "That's what you do?"
Daniel nodded. "I said I did."
"Okay."
Daniel caught Jack's questioning look. That was almost too
easy.
Both men knew the unspoken question that passed between them.
Are we doing the right thing?
"Okay."
_____
They'd driven right into the mountain.
Straight through, into a huge gaping hole bordered by military
trucks and enough armed guards to be worthy of manning the U.S
consulate in Iraq.
What the hell do you do here, Daniel? Steven bit back
his question; Daniel would tell him at some point, so he may as
well pretend his curiosity was nothing out of the ordinary. He was
not in the mood for his ego to be ignored again. Two could play
this game.
More security as they entered the mountain now on foot,
clearing Steven and giving him a visitor's pass, then passing
security again upon reaching level eleven. Hand scans, at
that.
"Daniel, if you're translating Arabic for military deployment
in the Middle East, you can count me out right now. You could have
told me that back at your place."
Daniel's response surprised him. "I'm not." Simple, and Daniel
had not even turned around to look.
The elevator door opened into a hallway that appeared much the
same as all the others. What a waste of space, just for a few
covert military teams. Daniel must have been desperate for work to
join up with the army. Maybe he basked in the glory and power of
being privy to government secrets. Not that Daniel was likely to
be in a position to hear those secrets, but working here
may come with a self-appointed delusion of prestige. Or,
maybe the pay was good.
"You okay to give the man
Cheyenne Tour 101?" Jack addressed
Daniel, hoping to get out of the way and return to his own office.
He had more important things to do than play tour guide - and even
if he couldn't think of them at the moment, he'd come up with
something. His words informed Daniel that the visitor had
clearance for the labs at present - but not yet the gateroom.
"I'm fine, Jack."
"Okay, then." He nodded at Steven. "Give us any trouble and
you'll be out of here faster than you can say "take me to your
leader."" With that, Jack turned and gave them not a parting
glance. He had other ideas up his sleeve. Sometimes playing
General could be fun.
"So." With long strides, Daniel led Steven towards his office,
uncomfortable with the situation, the other man trailing a few
steps behind and trying to catch up. No way was Steven going to
play tourist to Daniel's lead.
There were artifacts all over the shelves, all over Daniel's
desk.
"You're cataloguing artifacts?" Steven remarked in surprise.
"From where?" Picking up a clay mask, he frowned. "I'm no expert
on Central America, but this looks almost Mayan."
"You're right; you're no expert on Central America."
Steven spun around. "Look, Daniel. You said you'd give
me answers. Seems I'm still waiting."
"No, you look, Steven. I have no obligation to
be doing this, okay? You just butted into my b -"
"You butted into mine, Daniel. When you came to Professor
Jordan's funeral, when you came between me and Sarah, when you
came to the museum to do my research! You came back
into my life, Daniel!"
"And you're getting back at me now?"
Glaring, they both looked up when Sam walked in.
"Oh!" She stared wide-eyed at Steven, then threw a questioning
look towards Daniel. "Does General O' -"
"Yes, Sam. It was his idea, actually."
At the look of doubt, Daniel considered clarifying but didn't
have the patience. "Go ask Jack. Steven, this is Colonel Sam
Carter, theoretical astrophysicist."
"Um, actually, Daniel, I wasn't sure if you'd be in today. I
came to see if you could help me with something; can I see you in
my lab?"
"Sure, Sam. How come you're here today, anyway?"
"I don't need a day off, Daniel. I need to finish work on
the…" she paused, still not sure what Steven was doing there.
The look on his face told her that the guy had recognized her,
though. "you know, generator."
Daniel was puzzled. "You need my help on that?"
She bit her lip. "I need you to translate something." Tossing
in some eye movements and hoping Daniel would understand, she
wondered whether Steven had the clearance to see the actual
writing she wanted translated. Symbols of the Ancients would
certainly raise new eyebrows.
Steven looked up in curiosity as they followed Sam down the
hall. "You're needed in an astrophysics lab?" he queried in
surprise.
Daniel shrugged. "Sam's on my team."
"Team of what?" And at that moment, studying Sam's
appearance as she turned around to wait for them, he realized that
Daniel had not needed to come back to Chicago just to steal Sarah
Gardner away from him.
Suddenly sirens began to blare, and a loud voice over the
speaker shouted, "Unannounced gate activation. SG1 to the gateroom
at once; SG1 to the gateroom."
Daniel and Carter frowned at each other, then Daniel pressed
Steven towards one of the security guards at the stairwell. "Here,
Lieutenant; keep your eye on this man until I come back for
him."
"I'm coming, Daniel." Steven tried to rush after
Daniel, only to feel a heavy hand on his shoulder pulling him
back.
Hastily turning, Daniel called out, "No, you
aren't."
"Why are you going?" Steven called after him, receiving
no answer as his former colleague raced around the corner. "Why
does he get to go?" he inquired of the guard.
"He's part of SG1."
"There's an emergency here and they call Daniel?"
Steven looked back down the hall where the other man had
disappeared. "Why?"
"This Command exists largely because of Dr. Jackson, sir.
Before he arrived, this whole area under the Aerospace Defence and
Air Force Space Command levels was a marginally-staffed research
facility."
Steven turned puzzled eyes up towards the taller man. "This
Command?"
"The SGC, sir, Stargate Command. Dr. Jackson has been here
since its inception. He is one of the founders, you might
say."
"You don't say." The words were quiet, as Steven pondered what
he had gotten himself into and whom he had taken on. Stargate? He
certainly no longer knew the shy Daniel of old, but anything
Daniel could do, well, he could do bet…
_____
"Jack?" Out of breath, Daniel pounced into the gateroom,
Carter at his heels, just in time to witness Teal'c with his arm
around his son. "Ryac? Good to see you. Jack, what's going on?"
There was definitely no emergency, and Ryac's visit had been
expected.
Jack was grinning. "Just a little payback, kids."
Daniel's puzzled expression turned into a grin. "Steven?"
"Self-important arrogant competitive know-it-all son of a
-"
"He's working here now, Jack."
"Let an old general have his fun, Daniel."
"You know, Jack, I think you may be taking this role a bit too
seriously." Daniel bit back his smile. "And thanks, by the
way."
"Good look on his face?"
"Priceless, sir." Carter was smiling now too.
_____
As Daniel turned the corner, he breathed a quick sigh of
relief to see Steven still waiting with the guard. He'd half
expected to need to put out a search warrant for the man. They
appeared to be standing in bored silence, apprehension and now
relief on the guard's face.
As the two archaeologists walked back towards Sam's lab,
Steven broke the silence. "So, you appear to have made something
of yourself. Though I still don't know what."
Stopping, Daniel sighed, then turned towards his one-time
friend. "How long are you going to keep up with the jabs,
Steven?"
"Until you tell me why I'm here, Daniel."
"Because you had me followed and spied upon."
For a moment Steven said nothing. "So why am I here, Daniel?
And what the hell do you do here?" They turned into a lab
with unfamiliar equipment scattered across the floor and
technicians in protective gear and glasses. "Is it safe for us to
be here?"
"Don't worry about it." He realized Sam wasn't back yet,
likely getting debriefed by Jack as to what Steven was doing among
them. "What did Colonel Carter want help with?" he asked one of
the technicians, who responded with a shrug.
"Sorry, Dr. Jackson. I can't say for sure."
Nodding, he walked back to his office with Steven trailing
behind. He supposed he would have to, at some point soon, drop the
bomb, opening up Steven's new world to one of aliens and enemies.
To be honest, he wasn't really sure he wanted to share that part
of himself with this man, or subject his former friend to the
reality of those hostile worlds.
_____
"So not Mayan? What, then?"
"Well, that mask is from Shadura."
"Never heard of it."
"No, Steven. It's a planet eighty-four thousand light years
from here." There, he'd said it. Expecting Steven to be stunned,
Daniel didn't anticipate the air of hostility.
"I'm not wasting my time for you to patronize me, Daniel. Stop
pretending to be a big shot here; I don't really think you do much
around here besides pretend to be some great linguist, and for
some reason you have them all believing you. Where's this from,
Nicaragua? Honduras?"
"No, Steven. It's from a planet eighty-four thousand light
years from Earth."
"And I suppose you dug it up last weekend."
"Well, as a matter of fact, yes."
"Screw you, Dr. Jackson." Steven swung around to head
out the door, but a large body interrupted his angry flight, with
a younger man pulling up just behind. "Get out of my way!"
Teal'c raised a brow in curiosity. "Daniel Jackson, is
everything alright?"
"No, Teal'c. Actually, I need your help."
"Indeed." His large frame still had not made way for Dr.
Rayner to pass.
"Tell Steven where you and Ryac are from." Daniel nodded at
Teal'c's son. "Always good to see you, Ryac."
"And you, Daniel."
Teal'c frowned at Steven. "I am from Chulak."
Steven scowled. "Don't tell me; a planet eighty-four thousand
light years from Earth," he spat out disgustedly while turning
back into the room, the bigger man still blocking the
doorway.
"Actually, no," Daniel corrected. "Chulak is a lot
closer."
"Look, Daniel. Maybe you have everyone at this base
trying to make me look like a fool, but if I have to I'll hire
more investigators to find out what you really do here."
Turning angrily, he was caught by the arm, the large man with the
gold belt buckle on his forehead holding him like a limp doll.
"Let go of me!"
"I will indeed, the moment you begin to treat Daniel Jackson
with respect."
Steven's eyes squinted up at him. "Who the hell are you?"
"I am Teal'c, former Jaffa from Chulak. Is there difficulty
with your memory, Steven?" Although he had been in the gateroom
while his teammates and O'Neill had been in discussion, he would
call this man by the name used by Daniel Jackson, and he had heard
only this one short name from Daniel Jackson's lips.
"Ryac, forgive me for asking this of you, but would you mind
raising your shirt?" Daniel's sincere eyes and apologetic tone
were more than were needed for a favour from Teal'c's son. The
young man bowed his head in agreement, curiously doing as Daniel
had requested.
"Shit! What happened to you?" Steven stared in horror
at the two crossing cuts on the young man's abdomen.
Just then a slimy thing made its appearance.
Steven gagged, backing away, yet unable to turn away, as the
researcher and scientist in him took over. His eyes were wide,
open mouth unable to form words.
"That's enough, Ryac," Daniel said gently, tugging the shirt
down. "I'm sorry I asked you to do that."
"It's alright, Daniel. I am not ashamed of who I am," Ryac
boldly challenged Steven.
"What the hell is that? Some military experiment?" Steven
shouted.
"No, Steven. Ryac and Teal'c are from a planet called Chulak.
These," Daniel picked up the mask and indicated several more, "are
from a planet called Shadura. And I did get them last
weekend."
"How?? Do you really expect me to believe
such BS, Daniel?"
"Come, Steven. I'd say it's ime to see the Stargate."
_____
The best thing about this day, Jack thought, was that Steven
had been silenced. Well, as far as picking on Daniel was
concerned. Looking both glum and in shock, Rayner had finally
conceded the reality of a device that sent people…
Daniel… to other worlds. They had basked in the perfect sound
of silence since. Jack knew it wouldn't last; once Steven surfaced
from his waking and walking catatonic state he'd be spurting
questions the way Daniel spouted answers.
"You'll probably remain here on base as a research scientist,
Raymer." And the second best thing was that he no longer had to
feign relative politeness to the second civilian in the room. Not
that he ever had, exactly. But now he could do it with the sincere
officiality of an employer.
Steven just nodded his agreement.
Jack couldn't help playing this up just a bit more. "Tell him
about the times you died, Daniel." Jack savoured the shock in
Rayner's eyes as he lifted his head to stare at Jackson.
Payback time, Rayner.
Teal'c cut in. "I believe on several of those occasions Daniel
Jackson saved your world, O'Neill."
Ah, sweet Teal'c, who'd've known you'd savour the moment as
well. Jack pretended to look thoughtful. "I do believe you're
right, Big T. Billions of Earth's inhabitants… why, even
you," Jack smiled at Steven, "saved by Daniel. You owe this
man," Jack nodded seriously towards Daniel, before winking at
Teal'c behind Steven's head.
"Enough, Jack." Daniel was tiring of the game. Well, no, but
still. Steven knew their secrets now; he was being broken in as
one of them. Perhaps one day even the fourth member of SG1,
although Daniel doubted the feasibility of having two civilian
archaeologists on the same team. No, it wouldn't happen. He hoped.
But Steven would be okay; he was a brilliant archaeologist, and a
good man at heart. He'd only suffered some setbacks lately. "But I
did die. Tell you about it later," he couldn't help adding, as
Steven's shock seemed to have been wearing off. No sense wasting a
good moment.
Steven thought about the book he was so proud of, about his
research in Egypt. That seemed so insignificant now. If anyone
should be writing a book it was Daniel. Only, he couldn't. Never
would. But in the meantime..... Daniel Jackson was running around
feeling right at home here, addressing an Air Force general - in
full uniform now - by his first name.
"I guess you've made something of yourself," he quietly
commented. Later… later, he'd ask Daniel about Sarah. And
then he'd find out what it was like to be … dead.
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