Through A Gate Darkly

by Sapphire

Twenty-four hours on P7Z-296, and Colonel Jack O'Neill was more than ready to go back home. The palace/temple/whatever the 'gate was located in might hold some interest to Sam or Daniel, but Jack was getting bored. They hadn't encountered a living soul yet, and though it was nice for a change not to be shot at, Jack found he lacked of things to do.

"Where is Daniel?" he asked, slightly impatient, entering the room where they had made their main camp.

Teal'c looked up from some packing he was doing. "I saw Daniel Jackson last examining the objects he found in the green room."

At one side of the palace, they had found a whole row of rooms painted in all colors of the rainbow. Most of the rooms had been empty, except one which they had dubbed the green room for obvious reasons. Daniel had been enthusiastic and spent most of his time in there, studying the things he had found, all the while muttering happily to himself.

"Okay," Jack looked around to Samantha Carter who was just entering the room. "Carter, you go and fetch Jackson. He's had enough time to play, and we're going home. Teal'c and I will finish packing. We'll meet in the 'gateroom in thirty minutes."

The blond woman nodded her affirmative and left the room.

**********

Sam didn't get far. The silence which had ruled the palace since they had arrived was suddenly disturbed by the sound of running feet. Running feet which were quickly coming closer.

She drew her gun and pressed her body into a niche at one side of the corridor. Soon she heard the sound of heavy breathing over the thumping of boots. There where at least three people. Sam risked a peek just as the first person turned a corner at the other end of the corridor. It was Daniel. She noticed he was missing his glasses, and his jacket was gone as well.

She stepped out into the passage, waving at Daniel to show him where she was hiding.

The reaction she got was not exactly the one she had been expecting.

The moment the young scientist caught sight of her, he skidded to a full stop. Something like shock appeared on his face. Shock, surprise and something else, something Sam couldn't quiet identify at first. It took her a second to realize it was fear, though it wasn't fear for himself, but fear for her. Fear something might be happening to her, though she had no idea how this could be. Usually, she was the one afraid something might happen to Daniel. Like right now.

"Run!" he screamed just as two men in green uniforms turned around the corner - one dark-haired and tall, the other with reddish hair and half a head smaller - pointing their weapons at Daniel. The uniforms were fairly nondescript except for a patch over the left breast pocket which looked like the stylized head of a ram.

Alerted by the sudden stop of the thundering feet, Daniel whirled around and placed himself protectively between the two men and Sam. A futile gesture, since he was unarmed.

"Daniel!" Sam yelled, aiming her weapon at Daniel's pursuers. It was not easy as Daniel got in the way.

A satisfied grin showed on the taller man's face.

"Who would have thought? Two birds for the price of one stone."

He rose his weapon, pointing it past Daniel at Sam.

Slowly, Daniel raised his hands, his posture one of defeat. His head hanging low, he turned towards Sam. "I'm sorry," he whispered, barely audible. "I …"

He never got to finish what he wanted to say.

"GET DOWN!" Sam screamed, warned by the narrowing of the man's eyes. It was too late.

The man pulled the trigger of his gun. The shot exploded along the corridor, drowning Sam's scream of protest. Daniel was slammed forward, hitting the ground face first without any efforts on his part to break the fall.

For the merest fraction of a second, not even an eyeblink, the universe held its breath.

Without any conscious thought, she fired her gun twice. The two men seemed to be surprised at her quick reaction, then they had nothing left to be surprised about as they fell to the ground, already dead.

Time resumed its normal speed.

Sam rushed to the place where Daniel had fallen. Carefully she turned him around, searching with unsteady fingers for a pulse. It took a moment, but then she found it, beating erratically.

"Daniel? Daniel, can you hear me?" she asked, her voice shaking while she tried to discover where Daniel had been hit. A wet stain began to darken his black T-shirt at chest level.

Daniel's eyelids fluttered then opened. Blue-gray eyes looked around in confusion and pain. His breathing came in labored gulps.

"It's okay, Daniel. I'll get you to a doctor in a moment. You'll be alright." Sam didn't know if she was speaking to calm Daniel or to calm herself. It didn't matter.

"Sam…Samantha?"

"Yes, Daniel, it's me," Sam replied gently, tears streaming down her face. "But now, don't move. I have to remove the T-shirt to see where you are hurt." She pulled out her knife and cut open the shirt. Daniel gasped in pain as she accidentally touched the wound, and Sam uttered an apology, cursing herself for being so careless.

After she had cut off the shirt, she finally could see the wound. It was a mess. Sam had to close her eyes for a moment then she opened them resolutely. She couldn't be weak now. Not when Daniel's life was at stake.

Daniel's eyes searched her's. "I…love…you," he whispered, then his eyes closed as he lost consciousness.

Sam wasn't too sure she really had heard what she thought she had heard.

Still thoroughly confused, she wadded what was left of the T-shirt into a tight ball and pressed it against the horrendous big hole in Daniel's chest. She hoped he would be able to stop the bleeding long enough for her to get Daniel home and into an OR without causing any more pain than necessary for the young linguist.

Pounding steps coming from behind made Sam twist around. She reached for her gun which she had dropped after she had killed Daniel's murderers. Relief flooded through her as she saw it was Jack and Teal'c rushing around a corner, their weapons drawn. They must have heard the shots and gotten there as fast as they could. When they saw what had happened, they skidded to a stop.

Now the colonel was here, everything would be all right, Sam told herself. O'Neill would make it right, somehow. She had no idea how he would be able to do this, but she had to hold onto this tiny thread of hope.

"Daniel!" Jack breathed, falling to his knees at his friend's side. With one look he assessed the situation. Gently he felt for Daniel's pulse.

For a second, relief flashed over his face as he also confirmed Daniel was still alive. Then a mask slid into place, hiding all his emotions from the outside world. Only his eyes were burning with a furious fire.

"What happened?" Jack said from behind tightly gritted teeth. Sam saw his jaw muscle beginning to throb.

"I don't know where they came from," Sam stammered, whatever control she had left gone. "They just came, and then they shot him, and then I shot them, and then …" Sam knew he was rambling, but there was nothing she could do about it. She had failed Jack and Daniel, and there had been nothing she had been able to do.

"We have to get him to the 'gate," Jack said, seemingly emotionless, but Sam knew him better by now. Carefully he gathered Daniel up into his arms, staggering slightly as he fought for balance as he rose.

In the room with the 'gate, Sam punched in Earth's address in a furious pace. Waiting for the chevrons to lock and the 'gate to activate had never taken so long. Finally, the shimmering, watery surface of the active 'gate appeared, and Sam sent the code which opened the iris on Earth.

Ignoring the blood drenching his own uniform, Jack gripped Daniel more tightly. He walked up the two steps to the 'gate and entered the wormhole, closely followed by the rest of his team.

**********

Arriving at the other side of the galaxy, Jack yelled for a doctor. The well oiled machinery of the SGC immediately sprang into action. Almost reluctantly, Jack lowered Daniel onto a stretcher then he and the other members of SG-1 followed him to the infirmary. Doctor Janet Fraiser took one look at the mess which had been placed on her work table and started to bellow orders. One of those orders was to get anybody who wasn't wounded or who couldn't help her out of the room.

Outside the infirmary, Jack sagged against the wall. All the energy, which had helped him to carry Daniel until he was safe sapped out of him, leaving him weak and drained. Distantly Jack was aware Teal'c and Sam hovered somewhere close by, but his mind was on what had happened. How could this mission - this boring, normal, easy mission - go so wrong? Where did those two guys come from anyway? Moreover, why did they shoot Daniel?

When he and Teal'c had heard the shots they had dropped everything and raced as fast as they could to the place the shots had come from. Though he had feared the worst, nothing had prepared him for sight he had seen the moment he had rounded the corner.

Daniel on the ground. Daniel shot. Daniel dying.

Only his military training and the knowledge he had to get Daniel to the OR as fast as possible had allowed him to function and do the right thing. Now that need was gone, and shock set in.

Daniel!

Oh God. What if Daniel wouldn't make it?

He knew Janet Fraiser was the best, but even she couldn't perform miracles. However, they desperately needed a miracle right now.

"What happened?" General Hammond's voice dragged him out of his deep, dark thoughts.

Jack turned around and pulling himself together, saluted. "Daniel got shot." In a few short words, he summarized what had happened on that planet. For once, his usually sarcasm deserted him.

"Will he pull through?" Hammond asked concerned.

Jack shook his head slowly. "I don't know. He lost a lot of blood. We tried to stop the bleeding, but..." Jack stopped, as he wasn't so sure his voice would hold. He looked at his hands, still stained dark from Daniel's blood.

Hammond put a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Dr. Jackson is a strong man. Don't worry, he will pull through. He has survived much worse than a simple bullet through his chest."

Jack wished he could believe the general. Yes, Daniel had the amazing ability to survive situations every ordinary human would have perished in. Only, one day his lucky streak had to run out, and Jack had the icy feeling in his stomach this was the day. Today there would be no sarcophagus which could bring Daniel back from the brink of death or no alien beings with amazing healing powers. Not to diminish Janet Fraiser's abilities, but there was only so much she could do to repair the damage a bullet could inflict on the human body.

Jack forced out a small smile. "Thank you, sir," he said.

"I'll send SG-5 to retrieve your equipment from P7Z-296. You'll stay here and wait for news on Dr. Jackson. As soon as you hear something, please let me know." Hammond squeezed Jack's shoulder once then he left the group and walked back to his office.

The long wait began. Each time the door to the infirmary opened, Jack looked up, only to drop his gaze again when it wasn't somebody with news. Teal'c had taken a few chairs from an adjoining room for Jack and Sam, but he refused to sit down himself, standing ramrod straight at one side of the door, his face an unreadable mask. Sam was sitting at Jack's side. She had pulled up her legs, hugging them tightly to her body, caught in her own world of sorrow and inner pain. In her eyes was the same strange mixture of hope and desperation, Jack knew showed in his.

After an eternity, the door opened once more, and Janet Fraiser stepped outside. She didn't need to say a word. Her posture said everything. A single tear trailed down her face.

"I'm...sorry," she whispered, her voice cracking.

Jack's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't believe it. Daniel had been alive when Jack had brought him here. He couldn't be dead. It was not possible. Not Daniel.

No!

Something shattered inside him. Something which had been broken once before, in another lifetime, and which had taken a long time to heal. Daniel had been the one to take him on this path of healing back on Abydos. Now, the barely scarred wound ripped open once more, and there was no more Daniel to help him make it right again.

He rose, his movement as animated as those of a robot. For a few seconds, he just stood there, frozen, then he turned and walked away. He never saw how Sam lifted her hand to hold him back then dropped it again when she realized how futile the gesture was.

Jack began to walk and didn't seem able to stop. He had to get away from here, somewhere, he didn't care where.

Daniel was dead!

Those three words echoed around in his head.

Daniel was dead!

He entered the elevator, pushing the 'up' button. The moment the door behind him closed, he leaned against the cold metal walls, feeling weak and drained. Suddenly, he felt old. Maybe he should end all of this, go away, and never look back before he lost somebody else he cared about.

Damn, Daniel shouldn't have come with them in the first place. The travels through the Stargate were far too dangerous for a naïve, young civilian, even one as brilliant as Daniel had been. A few hours on the shooting range didn't make a soldier out of a scientist, although Daniel had managed to make him forget that often enough. The young linguist had blended so well into the team, had been so damn useful, Jack had been willing to overlook Daniel wasn't like them, wasn't a soldier.

It had been his fault. He had taken Daniel on the team, and now he was dead.

The elevator pinged, letting him know he was at the fifteenth sub level where he had to change elevators. He pushed himself away from the wall, letting his face go blank. He couldn't allow the guard outside to see what he was feeling.

After another ride in another elevator, he reached the ground level. He signed himself out at the entrance and walked through the night to his car. Soon he was driving towards the town. Although the speed limit on the winded mountain road was thirty miles per hour, Jack drove over fifty mph, his fast reflexes the only thing preventing him from running off the road. He wasn't paying much attention to the road anyway.

Why Daniel? Why him? Daniel was an innocent, one who had no business being killed. He was...had been a scientist, who belonged to his books, not where bullets were flying and people got killed. Daniel should have stayed behind.

Only, there had been no way in heaven or hell, he could have made Daniel stay behind. Daniel had been on a mission, a crusade. Finding Sha're had been what kept him together, the one driving force since Apophis had taken her and Skaara. It might have looked sometimes as if there had been other priorities, but Jack knew better.

He had owed it to Daniel to allow him to come along. Daniel had been his friend. Now he was dead. Now he would never be able to tell him how much his presence on the team had meant.

Jack inhaled deeply, taking the next turn with squealing tires.

Suddenly, a large dark form leaped in front of the car. Jack could make out thin, long legs and a small head with huge eyes which reflected the lights from the car like two jewels in the night.

Jack hit the breaks full force. The car skidded towards the startled animal, closing the distance at a rapid pace. Though the breaks were taking effect, and the car slowed down, Jack could tell he wouldn't be able to stop in time. At the last possible moment the doe moved again and leaped away, vanishing into the forest.

The car came to a full stop in the middle of the street.

Jack's heart was racing, adrenaline pumping through his veins. Only slowly his heart rate came down to a more normal level. With it, all energy left him.

Leaning his head against the steering wheel, he finally let the tears come he hadn't been able to cry for Charlie.

**********

After Jack O'Neill left, Sam found herself at a loss. She wanted to cry, to scream, to comfort and be comforted. However, because of where she was and what she was, this was denied to her.

Cursed military training.

Helplessly, she turned, only to see Teal'c leave as well. Most likely he would be going to his room, meditating, or do whatever a Jaffa did when one of his friends died.

Died.

Daniel.

Daniel was dead.

Damn.

Closing her eyes, she turned around once in a tight circle, disorientated for a moment. What was she doing here anyway? She shouldn't just stay in an empty corridor!

Only, where else should she go? None of the places she could think of held any particular appeal to her.

Since she couldn't stay in the corridor for much longer, she began to walk.

After a while she found herself in front of a familiar door. Opening it, she entered Daniel's lab. The computer displayed the 'Walk Like an Egyptian' screen saver the colonel had given Daniel as a birthday present last year. Nobody knew where he had gotten it; the colonel never had told. The rooms held its usual clutter of stuff, emitting a feeling as if its owner would be back in only a short while.

However, Daniel would never be back. He would never again open any of the books in the shelves, study any of the artifacts on the table. He was gone, forever.

And it was all her fault.

She slid down the wall, wrapping her arms around her legs, and slowly began to rock back and forth.

In crystal clarity the memories of what had happened on P7Z-296 returned. How Daniel looked up to her, his blue eyes already clouding, searching her eyes while she tried to staunch the flood of blood pouring out of his chest. Then those three words. 'I love you.'

Why had Daniel said he loved her? Sam had had no idea the young linguist felt anything like that for her. There never had been any doubt to Sam the only woman in Daniel's life was Sha're. There never had been any indication it was any different.

Yes, Sam knew Daniel liked her. They were very close friends, almost like brother and sister, and in this regard, it almost could be said they loved each other. She would walk through hell to help him, and she knew he would have done the same.

However…love? Like in 'true love'?

It made no sense.

But then, nothing of what had happened in the last few hours, made any sense.

Lowering her head onto her knees, she closed her eyes and sobbed.

**********

There were days Janet Fraiser hated her job with a passion. Not that she generally disliked what she was doing. She always wanted to be a doctor. There never had been a serious alternative, but sometimes...

Today was such a day. A friend had died. A good friend. He had died when he had been on her table when she had been fighting for his life. She had lost, and for that the world would be a darker place.

Stepping into the OR, she switched off all but one light above the table with the body. Normally, what she was about to do was a nurse's job. However, as Daniel had been her friend, she had asked to do it, and nobody had dared oppose her. She reached for a large basin and filled it with clean water. She stepped up to the operation table, placing the basin at its side. Then, she pulled back the cover.

For a moment, she just watched him. Daniel looked so peaceful as if he was just sleeping. His longish hair was in tangles, and one strand hung over his closed eyes. Tenderly she pushed it aside, lingering for a moment, her hand on his already cooling cheek.

"Oh Daniel," she sighed, "why you? Why'd it have to be you?"

Holding back tears took an effort. Promising herself she would cry for him later, she began her gruesome task. There had been a lot of blood, and she sponged it off in slow, controlled movements. The chest wound was a mess, and she would have to close it later.

Suddenly a strange mark on Daniel's abdomen caught her eye. It was a circle about an inch in diameter, standing out in an angry red. She had never seen this particular mark before. Considering she had had the chance to thoroughly examine Daniel several times during the last few years, this was a bit strange. She took a closer look. It looked a lot like a healed burn mark, at least a couple of days old, though Janet had no idea where Daniel could have gotten it.

As she was cleaning more of Daniel's skin, she found more of those marks. Some of them looked as if they had been done fairly recently, the wounds barely healed. From her experiences with burns, she knew wounds like these hurt a lot so it was doubly surprising Daniel had never mentioned them. She was sure they hadn't been there when she had checked him out last week.

Puzzled, she put her hands on the table, leaning her weight on it. Something was wrong here. Only...what? Pushing herself back again, she continued cleaning the body with new determination.

**********

General Hammond sat behind his desk, doing paper work. At least he pretended to do paper work. Actually, he had been staring at the same report for the last half hour without really seeing it.

He hated to loose men under his command, particularly in such a senseless fashion. It was never easy - it never would be.

Though Dr. Daniel Jackson hadn't been the easiest man to work with in the beginning, Hammond had to admit he had grown rather fond of the young scientist. He was…had been a brilliant man. Also, his knowledge and sometimes his stubbornness had saved his men and this base on more than one occasion.

Many lives had been lost since the 'gate had been reopened over one and a half year ago. Far too many lives. Lives of good people whose family would never learn how their beloved ones had died, who had only heard lies about the demise of their husbands and wives, fathers and mothers brothers and sisters.

Now, another one had died a senseless, useless death on a far away planet. Daniel Jackson didn't leave behind a family. That at least was a relief. However, Hammond knew, for everything it was worth, SG-1 had been as close as a family only more so. This family would take the loss of this particular member very hard. Once before they had thought Daniel Jackson had died, and it had almost destroyed them. He was glad one broken car window had been all he had to pay back then, before they had learned Daniel Jackson had been alive after all.

Only today, there would be no miraculous discovery that somebody had planted a false memory in the minds of his people. There was a body in the morgue. There was no arguing it. There also was no arguing this body belonged to Daniel Jackson.

Hammond looked up when he heard a knock on the door. He sighed, then he closed the report on his desk.

"Come in!"

Dr. Fraiser entered Hammond's office, a confused expression on her face.

"Sir? I think I've discovered something."

Hammond tilted his head, indicating to continue.

Fraiser took a deep breath. "Sir, I was...I was cleaning up Dr. Jackson's body and...well, I don't think it is our Daniel Jackson."

It took a second for her words to sink in. He blinked, puzzled.

"If it's not Dr. Jackson, who else is it?" he asked.

"I didn't say it wasn't Daniel Jackson. All my tests indicate he is Daniel Jackson. Only, I don't think it's our Daniel Jackson. There are...differences."

Now Hammond was thoroughly confused.

"What differences?"

"The body I examined...he has been tortured, I think. And…I also found this."

She dropped a small, golden band onto Hammond's desk. It looked like a wedding ring. Hammond picked it up and studied it closer. He could see letters engraved inside the ring. Squinting his eyes, he read them.

'Samantha - Forever.'

**********

It took Jack a long time to finally compose himself. It was a good thing that at this time of the day, the street was barely traveled. While he had stopped because of the doe, no other car had come by.

He still wasn't really sure what had brought on his outbreak. Maybe it had something to do with the near collision with the deer, together with his pondering about Daniel and his own feeling of guilt. Logically, he knew it wasn't his fault Daniel had been killed. There had been nothing he could have done to prevent what happened. Still, he had been his commander and as such, Daniel had been his responsibility.

At least the tears had somehow cleared his mind a little. There was no use in wallowing in self pity. He would go back to the base and back to P7Z-296 and find out who those people had been, and why they had killed Daniel. Then he would rip them apart. Slowly. He owed it to Daniel...and, even more, he owed it to himself.

He was in the process of turning the car around when his cell phone rang. Startled he looked at the phone, surprised he had thought to bring it along in the first place and even more surprised he had switched it on. Picking the device up from the passenger seat, he accepted the call.

"O'Neill!"

"Colonel O'Neill, this is Cheyenne Mountain Dispatch," a female voice said. "General Hammond requires your presence. Where are you?"

"I'm on my way back. I'll be there in five minutes."

**********

Jack entered the conference room to find Hammond, Sam, Teal'c, and Janet Fraiser already present. Muttering an excuse, he took his seat. Searching the faces of the others, he tried to discover what was so important for the general to page him through dispatch, especially as Jack would had expected Hammond to give them a little more time to get back on their feet. Hammond's face was an unreadable mask; Fraiser looked tense. Sam answered his questioning glance with a slight shake of her head, and Teal'c looked - as it was to be expected - stoic.

Hammond acknowledged Jack's presence with a slight nod then indicated to Fraiser to begin. A hollow feeling in his stomach warned Jack a bomb was about to be dropped.

Dr. Fraiser rose from her seat and switched on the computer screen behind Hammond. She inhaled deeply then nodded towards Jack, Sam and Teal'c.

"After I...determined Dr. Jackson's death," she started slowly, "I went back to clean the body up. I found some...disturbing facts I want to show you."

Disturbing facts indeed, Jack thought. Daniel had been shot and was dead. How much more disturbing could it get? He steeled himself for the worst.

However he couldn't steel himself for what was coming.

Fraiser pushed a button on her laptop and a digitized image appeared on the TV screen at her side. It took a moment for Jack to recognize what he was seeing, and he had to swallow at the realization. He sat up to get a closer look.

"We see here one of at least seven burn marks," Fraiser began to explain. "I found them on Dr. Jackson's abdomen. From my experience, I'd say those wounds are at least two to three days old though I found some which seem to be older." She tried to sound distant, but she failed miserably.

She switched to the next picture.

"Here we see severe rope burns on Dr. Jackson's wrists. The patterns of the wounds indicate he had been tied up and then held upright by something, basically hanging him from the ceiling. These wounds also had begun to heal and are at least a couple of days old."

"How is this possible?" Teal'c's quiet voice growled the question which was running through Jack's mind.

How was this possible? Daniel had been on the base the last couple of days. The last mission before the fateful trip to P7Z-296 had been over a week back, and that had been a quiet and rather uneventful journey.

"I found more marks," Fraiser continued, not answering Teal'c's question. "Also, Dr. Jackson's body had two scars, one on his right hip, the other one his left arm which I've never seen before. And...the scar on his shoulder from last year...it's gone."

Sam's eyes suddenly widened and she blurred out: "This would mean he's not our Daniel Jackson!"

Jack whirled around, staring at Sam. "Not our Daniel Jackson?"

"Of course," she said, her mind obviously working at full speed. She turned to Jack. "Remember last year when Daniel said he ended up in a parallel universe? He said everybody had a copy in that universe. Not the same but very close. What if the Daniel Jackson who was shot was...a copy from another universe?"

A butterfly of hope stirred iridescent wings.

"The parallel universe thing never had been proven," Jack said, not allowing that hope to take hold. "When we went back, that mirror dohikie didn't work."

"Yes, but we didn't have the control unit anymore. Daniel said he left it the alternate universe. What about the coordinates Daniel brought with him? They led to Apophis' ship. Where else could he have gotten them from?" In Sam's eyes, the hope rose.

"I don't know. Maybe he dreamed them up somehow." Jack shrugged.

"And what about the wound from the staff weapon? Where did he get that?" Sam played her next trump.

Jack opened his mouth to reply, but no word came out. He had never wanted to think too much about the whole alternate universe thing. It had made him nervous thinking somewhere out there was another Jack O'Neill who had died defending the base from invading Goa'ulds. On the other hand, if the theory of parallel universes now could explain that Daniel was still alive, maybe he should be more willing to embrace it. In the last two years they had encountered so many bizarre and strange things, parallel universes were just one more.

"There is something else," Hammond entered the discussion. "Dr. Fraiser found a ring on the body's hand."

He held a small, golden band to Jack who took it. Finding the inscription inside, he lifted a brow towards Sam, then passed the ring on to her.

"'Samantha - Forever'?" she read out aloud, her eyes widening on the possible implications.

"Okay," Jack said, "let's assume for a second, the Daniel who has died here was...a parallel Daniel from an alternate universe. Where is 'our' Daniel?"

Hammond took over the reins of the meeting. "As soon as Dr. Fraiser explained her theory to me - which, by the way, conforms with Captain Carter's idea - I sent SG-9 after SG-5. Currently they're searching for Dr. Jackson in the building the 'gate is located in at P7Z-296. According to their last report, they haven't found him yet. However, the two people you've reported to have shot have vanished as well."

Jack almost leaped off his seat, but hold himself back. "Sir, I'd like your permission to return to P7Z-296 and join the search for Daniel."

A slight smile played around Hammond's lips. "I was expecting the request. SG-1 will leave in ten minutes. As we can not say in what condition we'll find Dr. Jackson, Dr. Fraiser will join the team."

**********

Daniel awoke when a load of water was splashed unceremoniously over his head and body. Coughing, he tried to gulp in air, but only managed to get more water into his mouth. Sputtering, he attempted to get his bearings.

Something here was very, very wrong.

First, he was blindfolded.

Next, he was standing upright, though not by his own choice. His wrists were tied together, attached to something above his head, pulling him into a standing position. His wrists, arms and shoulders were straining from the force put on them.

Turning his head, he tried to catch a sound, but for the moment, there was nothing to be heard.

They had stripped him of his uniform and the T-shirt and also removed his boots. All he was wearing was his boxer shorts. A cold draft coming from somewhere to his right touched his wet skin, making him shiver.

Or, maybe he was shivering from fear. Fear of whoever had put him in this situation. Fear of not knowing where he was and what had happened to the others.

Ignoring his fear and the pain for a moment, he remembered:

**********

Engrossed in his work, Daniel had totally forgotten the time. A noise in the distance, almost sounding like shots, pulled him out of the study of the alien objects he had found in the green room. Checking his wrist watch, he suppressed an ancient Egyptian curse. He was supposed to be back with the others ten minutes ago. Jack would be furious. Quickly he gathered his things, stuffing a few of the objects he had found into his backpack. With one last regretful glance, he left the room and went on his way to meet with the others.

However, he didn't get far. He was just rounding a corner in a light trod when he almost ran into two men in green uniforms. As they hadn't encountered any signs of human life anywhere in the temple or anywhere nearby, Daniel was understandably surprised.

He skittered to stop, noticing the weapons the two men held in their hands. One held something which looked a lot like a standard gun; the other had a zat gun. Daniel didn't like the way they pointed those weapons at him.

"Oh, hi," he said, smiling nervously, holding his hands far away from his own gun.

The taller of the men grinned. He was the one holding the zat gun.

"We've been looking for you all over the place, Dr. Jackson. Now, will you come voluntarily or do we have to drag you home?"

A cold, tingling feeling ran down Daniel's spine. How did this guy know his name? Daniel knew all of the SG-teams, and he was sure these guys didn't belong to any of them. The uniform was wrong, too, though it had a certain resemblance to the uniform he was wearing. Anyway, somebody locally - ignoring here the fact, they hadn't met anybody so far - shouldn't know his name.

Had they spoken to Jack or the others? Where was he supposed to go with those guys anyway?

Knowing he was out-gunned, Daniel lifted his hands.

"What do you want?" he asked slowly.

"Oh, I think you know what we want, Jackson. Your running away made us look bad, and I don't like looking bad."

Running away?

"Listen, I have no idea what you are talking about. I..."

"Shut up, and get your butt in gear." The man waved his gun towards where he had been coming from.

Daniel had no choice. Slowly he began to move into the direction indicated, wracking his brain for a way to get away from the two men.

They'd had walked for a couple of minutes, when Daniel saw his chance. They had told him to enter a different part of the temple, separated from the rest of the building by a sliding door. Daniel didn't think he or the others had been here before as they only had examined a relatively small part of the temple. He only could hope there was something he could hide behind.

He stepped through the door, turning quickly to the left. Pushing the door closed, he began to run, ignoring the curses coming from behind.

He didn't get far.

A blinding pain exploded in his back. A solid wall came forward to meet him with great force, and he couldn't suppress a cry. His head collided with the wall, adding another nuance to the all encompassing pain he was feeling. An electrical discharge danced over his skin like miniature lightning.

Darkness encompassed him, enveloped him and for a moment he was greeting it - and the oblivion it brought with it - gratefully.

**********

A sharp blow to his abdomen brought him back to the presence. Daniel tried to turn, tried to figure out where the blow had come from in order to avoid being hit again. Straining his ears, he heard somebody walking close-by to his left.

"Wakey, wakey, Jackson!" a mocking voice whispered in his ear. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, but Daniel couldn't place it.

"Where am I? Who are you? What do you want?" he asked, still trying to figure out where the other man was.

"Oh, now I'm disappointed, Jackson," the voice mocked again. "I thought you'd remember me."

"Samuels?" Daniel croaked, barely believing his ears.

"Nice of you to remember me, Jackson," Samuels replied, his grin almost audible. "Maybe you remember now why I have every right to be very pissed off at you."

Another blow followed that remark and Daniel had to suck in his breath.

There was something very wrong!

**********

SG-1 had never supplied themselves so quickly. Standing in the embarkation room, Jack waited for the 'gate to engage.

He still couldn't quite wrap his mind around the parallel universe idea, but he was willing to suspend his beliefs for Daniel's sake. If the existence of this other universe meant the man who died in the infirmary had not been Daniel, Jack was willing to accept almost everything. However, he wasn't sure if he really dared to. Because, should it turn out it not to be true, he was not sure how he would be able to cope with the disappointment. It would be like losing Daniel all over again.

But, for now there was hope, and that was all that mattered.

Stepping up to the engaged Stargate, he checked once more on his team members. In Sam's and Janet's face he saw the same mixture of hope and fear raging through his mind. Teal'c looked determined, gripping his staff weapon tightly. Dr. Fraiser had, in addition to her back pack, an emergency medical kit with her.

He turned to the watery, shimmering surface of the wormhole. Taking a deep breath and holding tighter to his automatic, he stepped through, knowing his team would follow him within seconds.

On the other side of the 'gate, Lt. Nakai, a member of SG-9, greeted him. The young, Asian man held up his own weapon, but when he recognized O'Neill, he lowered it again.

"Sir!" he saluted.

"Have you found Dr. Jackson yet?" O'Neill asked without preamble. Behind him the others were spat out of the wormhole with a sucking sound, and the 'gate deactivated.

The lieutenant shook his head. "No, sir. SG-5 has started to search the northern part of the complex while Major Kubicheck and SG-9 are searching once more through the western part."

Jack nodded once. "Okay, we will go to the south. The rooms Dr. Jackson has been working in are there. Maybe we can backtrack where he's gone." Waving to his team to follow, he set off.

The green room looked just like the last time Jack had seen it. Broken stone tablets littered the floor and a stone bench on one side. Daniel had gathered a few figurines and placed them on the bench. Jack couldn't be really sure, but he thought one or two were missing now.

Stepping out of the room, he split up the team. "Captain, Teal'c, you follow that corridor. It's the shortest route back to the base room and the 'gate, and Daniel most likely took it. Dr. Fraiser, you are with me. We're going in this direction." He pointed towards another passageway which led away from Sam's and Teal'c's corridor at a right angle. "Contact is every five minutes by Walkie talkie or the second you find something."

The others nodded their agreement and off they went.

**********

Sam and Teal'c walked down the corridor Jack had told them to take.

Many thoughts were racing through Sam's head, foremost the hope somewhere Daniel was still alive. On their way to the green room, they had tried to reach him over the Walkie talkie - though they were sure SG-5 and SG-9 had tried to do that before. There had been no response.

There were several possible reasons for this, most of them not good. One was, Daniel hadn't switched the Walkie talkie on to begin with. Sometimes the brilliant young scientist could be a little absentminded, and it happened before - though not in the last couple of months.

Then the Walkie talkie could be damaged, though, in general they were very sturdy devices and not easily broken.

The next possibility was Daniel had been wounded and was unconscious and couldn't answer.

Or, the worst possibility of all, she was wrong, and it wasn't an alternate Daniel after all, which had died on the base, and their search here was futile.

Pushing that sobering thought aside, she concentrated on her mission.

They had begun their search by slowly walking back the way they had come. Though they had looked around when they had gone to the green room, there was always the possibility that they had overlooked something of importance.

Arriving at an intersection, Teal'c held his hand up.

"What's up?" she asked curious.

"I think we should go in this direction." Teal'c pointed to the left, into a dark passageway.

"Do you see something?" Sam inquired.

Teal'c hesitated for a minute. "I do have...a guess."

"It's called a hunch, Teal'c," she gently corrected the warrior. "Okay, let's go."

Pulling out her gun, Sam followed the taller Jaffa. First slowly, then with ever increasing speed, the warrior walked along the darkened corridor. Though most of the passages throughout the abandoned building were lit by overhead lights and some kind of glowing fungus, this corridor was darker than the rest. Sam attached her flash light to her gun. The beam played over gray stone walls, interrupted every five yards by a niche. They'd found those niches all over the place, suspecting at first they would lead to some secret passages or rooms, but the idea hadn't panned out.

Concentrating on her footing on the slightly uneven ground, Sam almost ran into Teal'c when the former warrior came to a stop.

"Oomph!" she muttered under her breath, grateful for the steadying hand on her arm. "What's up?" she asked, after she regained her balance.

Teal'c held up his finger across his lips in the universal gesture of silence. Sam nodded and listened.

She didn't hear a thing, but there was something else, something deeper than sound and at the same time higher. She didn't so much hear rather feel it, coming from all around her and into her blood.

Tilting her head, she tried to determine where it was coming from.

The crackle and hiss of the Walkie talkie tore her concentration. Pulling the unit out of its resting pocket, she activated the switch. "Carter here."

Over the static, O'Neill's voice came in. "Found something?"

"Maybe. It's some kind of...weird noise. Right now we're trying to figure out how to get there."

"Should we come?"

Sam shook her head. Then, remembering the colonel couldn't see her, she answered. "No, sir. It might be nothing."

For a moment the colonel was silent. "Okay. Inform me the moment you've found something."

"Yes, sir."

"Be careful. O'Neill out."

A wane smile played around Sam's lips. "We will, sir. Carter out."

She pocketed the Walkie talkie and turned back to Teal'c.

While she had been speaking to O'Neill, the former Jaffa had started to search the left hand wall of the corridor. Currently, he was standing inside of a niche, listening again.

Sam joined him. The feeling was strongest here as she found out when she stepped outside again.

Concentrating, Sam tried to figure out what this weird feeling could be. The only thing remotely similar to it was the 'buzz' she always got when she came near a Stargate. This hadn't always been the case, only since her joining with Jolinar eight months ago. Dr. Fraiser suspected it had something to do with the Naquadah which was in a low concentration in her blood ever since then. As the 'gate material still offered more questions than answers, nobody could tell her for sure.

The niche was as tall as the corridor which was roughly nine feet. It was four feet wide and less than a foot deep. To the left and the right of the niche ran a small band with a geometrical pattern. All niches had those patterns; it was the only decoration at all they'd found in the complex. Sam was watching the pattern closer, realizing this band was somehow different than the others they'd seen. Stepping back, she walked to the next niche to the right, studying the pattern there. Then she returned.

"This pattern is different," she mumbled to herself.

Stroking gently over the decoration, she felt a slight rise underneath her fingers. Instinctively, she pushed and with a groaning sound, the back wall of the niche slid aside. Taken by surprise, Teal'c stepped back for a second. Quickly he recovered, pulled out his flashlight and pointed it into the room.

The room was not particularly large. On the opposite side of the hidden door, another opening led further into the complex. The 'buzz' was stronger now, the source of it somewhere behind the doorway.

On the ground besides the opening, something glistered in the cold light of the torch. Sam picked it up.

They were Daniel's glasses.

**********

Shivering, Daniel hung in his bonds. Every question he had asked had only been answered with another blow to his abdomen or his back. Every question he couldn't answer was replied to in the same fashion, and now his body burned as on fire.

At least for the moment he was alone. Samuels had left him but had promised to be back soon. A promise Daniel didn't like the sound of. Before he went, he had pulled the rope holding Daniel upright even higher so Daniel only stood on his toes, increasing the strain on his arms and shoulders even more.

Daniel wasn't a wimp. Actually, for somebody, who had chosen a principally scholastic life, he prided himself on being in fairly good shape. Running around the galaxy helped him stay fit, of course.

Now his muscles quivered all over his body.

Daniel couldn't make any sense out of all this.

What did Samuels want from him?

From the very beginning of Daniel's involvement with SG-1, Lt. Samuels had been antagonized towards him and, even more so, Jack. Daniel never really had understood what the background to this had been, and to be honest, he hadn't cared very much about it. He didn't have much contact with the lieutenant anyway and had taken every effort it remained like that. To him Samuels had been just another military paper pusher, somebody who tried to make a career by kissing the right butt. When Samuels had been transferred out of the Mountain, it had been to everybody's relief.

Maybe he should have paid more attention to where Samuels had vanished to.

Now, simple dislike of somebody else only went so far, and Samuels had stepped over this line even before he had planted the first blow on Daniel's body.

This was torture. Torture to extract information. Torture to break Daniel's spirit. Plain and simple. There was no hiding the fact.

However, the questions Samuels had asked him, hadn't made any sense. Why did the lieutenant want to know where the Tok'Ra were hiding? Daniel didn't know where they were right now. Nobody knew. Last time anybody had seen them had been on P34-353J, and this base had been evacuated, and the Tok'Ra were long gone.

Since then, there had been no contact. If the Tok'Ra wanted to contact SGC, they had the box with the signature element, the same type they had given to Kendra on Cimmera.

Samuels should have known that. Still he asked him again and again about the whereabouts of the Goa'uld rebels.

At first Daniel's stubborn streak had made him clam up.

Later he had screamed out that he didn't know where the Tok'Ra were. That he couldn't know.

In the end he had been too hoarse to say anything anymore.

Now alone, Daniel had finally time to think.

He was worried about what had happened to Jack, Sam and Teal'c. Though he couldn't be sure, Daniel didn't think the men, who had captured him on P7Z-296, had been the only people searching the complex for him. There must have been others, and he didn't know what happened when those others had encountered his friends.

Daniel had asked Samuels about SG-1, but the only reply he had received - other than a blow to his stomach - was a mocking 'Friends? Let's get real, Jackson, you're alone here.'

Samuels had made it appear as if Daniel had been in his clutches before - that this torture of him wasn't a first time event. At one point he had mentioned something along the line that the Tok'Ra's claim, they wouldn't use sarcophagi for healing, didn't seem to be true after all as there was no trace of Daniel's earlier 'visit'. At this point, Samuels had brushed with his fingers almost gently over his abdomen, and Daniel had been too frozen in fear of what he would do next to think clearly.

Now it all came back to him, and with it the only logical explanation for his current predicament.

Samuels was not Samuels. Or rather, he was some Lt. Samuels, but not the one Daniel knew. It had to be a Samuels from a parallel universe just like the world he had come across before Apophis' attack on Earth last year.

This alternate Samuels in turn thought him to be an alternate Daniel Jackson. A Daniel Jackson who had the information Samuels wanted. Who had been here before, had been tortured before. Who now was somewhere else, not knowing and maybe not even caring that the wrong Daniel was hanging here and was tortured in his place.

Daniel groaned when he realized the hopelessness of his situation.

**********

They found the mirror in an adjoining room. Even without looking at it, Sam could tell it was made of Naquadah. She was drawn to it, almost like a moth to a flame, the alien material attracting her with an unearthly song only she could hear.

The colonel, Dr. Fraiser and the members of SG-5 had joined them after Sam had informed them of their find. A quick search through the other rooms - there were six all in all - didn't reveal any traces of Daniel - only a dark stain at head level in the first room. Dr. Fraiser examined the sample. With her limited resources she could only confirm it was human blood of the same type as Daniel's. It could be somebody else's blood, but Sam doubted it.

They met again in the room with the mirror. Jack almost glowered at the alien object which reflected the lights from their lamps into the room. Sam had a good guess what was going through Jack's mind, and it was confirmed when the colonel spoke up, sounding grim.

"Major Ruland, you, your team and Dr. Fraiser will return to SGC. Please tell the General, we'll be back in twenty four hours, hopefully with Dr. Jackson. No matter what, don't send a rescue team after us. I have no idea if we are able to go back through this thing here, and I won't risk any more people than necessary."

Ruland was about to protest, but one glance from O'Neill made her shut up, and she nodded.

"Captain Carter, Teal'c, I won't order you to come with me. I don't know what we'll find on the other side..."

Jack didn't get any further as he was interrupted by Teal'c.

"We will come with you, O'Neill," the tall Jaffa said, standing ramrod straight.

Sam only nodded to Teal'c's word. The colonel would need them, and anyway, there was no way he would be able to hold her back. Right now, there was a fairly good chance Daniel was alive after all, and she promised herself she would do everything in her power to get him back.

"I'll come with you, too," Janet Fraiser suddenly spoke up. "Daniel might need medical help." She pointed at the sample from the blood stain which still sat on her medical kit.

This time it was O'Neill, who wanted to protest but was silenced by a glance from Fraiser.

"I know how to handle a weapon, and I won't be in the way," she added, her voice daring Jack to protest.

Sam nodded quietly to herself. She remembered back when Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of love, had taken control of all the men in SGC. Janet Fraiser had shown what she was able to do back then. Besides, she was right. If - no when - they found Daniel, there was no saying in what condition they would find him. It stood to reason Daniel hadn't gone through the mirror on his own free will, and if he resisted, there was also a good chance he was hurt.

O'Neill sighed, then he nodded. "Okay, you're on the team, doc. Everybody ready?"

SG-5 left the room, and SG-1 and Dr. Fraiser gathered around the mirror.

"How does it work?" Jack asked Sam.

"I'm not really sure, sir. Daniel mentioned a control mechanism of some kind to switch it on. On the other hand, he said, on his way back he didn't have the unit any more, but the mirror still worked." Sam stepped closer to the mirror, trying to get a feel for it. The mirror showed the room behind her, however none of the people inside. Carefully she touched the surface.

A sudden electrical tingle cursed through her body, making the hairs in her neck stand on end.

"Woah!" she exclaimed, startled. "What was that?"

She looked around and saw she was standing alone in the room, her flash light the only source of light. However, now the others were reflected in the mirror, their expression as startled as her's probably was. Surprised, she made a step back, only to see Jack O'Neill shimmer into existence, adding his light to hers. Seconds later Teal'c and Dr. Fraiser followed.

"At least we know it's working," Jack remarked, covering his surprise. He shone his light around.

The room looked more or less like the one they just had left. Same size, same build, same feeling of abandoness.

"Okay, people," Jack said, after he had found his equilibrium again, "let's go and find Daniel."

Together they entered the next room. The door, which hid the way to the outside corridor was open and Jack stepped through without hesitation, his automatic in his hand.

Sam only heard a muttered curse then Jack rushed back into the room, hiding beside the door.

"Take cover," he hissed.

Sam looked around. There was not much to hide behind. She ushered Janet back into the room with the mirror and moved to hide behind the door opening. Teal'c was taking cover at the other side of the door Jack was using.

What was going on? What was it Jack had seen?

Jack signed he had spotted at least five people coming their way. On Sam's question if they were hostiles or not, the colonel could only shrug. Then he waved her back. If she couldn't see the door, nobody on the other side would be able to see her in turn.

Listening, she made out the sound of steps coming closer. It was hard to tell how many people, but Jack's guess of five sounded about right.

All of a sudden, the sound stopped.

Sam hated to wait. All her instincts screamed at her to move out and find out what was going on. However, her common sense and her military training made her stay hidden.

There was whispering, but Sam was too far away to hear what was being said.

Suddenly, a voice called out: "We know you are here. Come out!" The sound of a zat gun being activated accompanied the command.

"Okay."

Sam moved closer to the door frame, and caught sight of Jack stepping out from behind his cover, his weapon at his side, unthreatening.

"We are here to..."

Jack didn't get any further.

"Arsaphes!" hissed the same voice, which had spoken before.

Without any further warning, a zat gun discharged and blue/white flames danced over O'Neill's body. With a startled gasp, Jack crumpled to the ground.

"Nooooo!!!!"

Sam couldn't wait anymore. She couldn't risk a second discharge of the zat gun, as this would kill the colonel for sure. She whirled around the corner, her gun ready. Firing a round over the heads of the people standing in the doorway, she forced them to take cover. The shots echoed loudly in the confinement of the small room.

"Put your guns down," she commanded, her voice steady.

Casting a glance towards Teal'c, she saw how the tall Jaffa had his staff weapon ready as well. At her side, Janet also held her gun, though she didn't point it at anybody directly.

Only now, Sam took time to look at the men standing in the doorway. The clothing they were wearing held something familiar though it took Sam a moment to find what it was.

"You are Tok'Ra?" she exclaimed, surprised.

The men standing in the door frame stepped aside, as somebody else moved in from behind. He still looked young, though Sam knew he was much older than this.

"Martouth!" she whispered.

"Samantha!" He looked almost as surprised as Sam. "What is going on here? What do you have to do with him?" He almost spat out the last word as he was pointing at O'Neill.

"What I have to do...?" Sam's mind was racing. There was something very, very important, she somehow seemed to miss here. What was the name, the one Tok'Ra had mentioned? 'Arsaphes'? The name sounded Egyptian to her. She wasn't an expert like Daniel, but hanging out with him, she had picked up a few things.

When Daniel had returned from the alternate reality last year, he had said in this universe she had never gone to the military and had stuck with science. Jack hadn't been a colonel, but a general. Catherine was still with the project and Daniel had never joined up. What if, in this reality, Jack somehow had ended up with a Goa'uld inside? A Goa'uld named 'Arsaphes'.

"Okay," she sighed. "This is going to be a little bit complicated. I know, Jack and me, we look like some people you know. We are not those people."

Martouth furrowed his brow. He made a step towards Sam, ignoring Teal'c's raised staff weapon. He tilted his head, looking at Sam with a strange expression in is eyes.

Suddenly, without the little polite nod, which usually accompanied the switch from the host to the symbiont, those eyes lit up.

"Where is Jolinar?" Lantesh demanded to know.

Sam sighed. With a gesture, she held Teal'c back. "Jolinar...is dead. At least in my reality."

"In your reality?"

Sam steeled her patience. This would be a long and complicated explanation.

**********

The human body has the amazing ability to adapt to almost every form of stimuli. After a certain amount of time, it doesn't register certain smells, may they be as bad as can be. In almost complete darkness, after a while, the eye can begin to make out shapes and forms. A pain, constantly applied, can get ignored, pushed aside.

Hanging in his bonds, Daniel had managed to fall asleep. It was a restless sleep, constantly interrupted by flashes of dreams, or rather nightmares. Whispering voices, asking him questions he couldn't answer. Flashes of Jack and Sam and Teal'c, bound, tortured, killed.

When the door to his cell opened, for a moment he was almost grateful he was torn back to consciousness.

The cold draft coming through the opening made him shiver. That and the thought of what would come next. Would Samuels ask him more questions? Would the torture continue? He knew he wouldn't be able to take much more of this. Only, would anybody believe him, when he would tell them, he wasn't the man they thought he was?

"Who's there?" he asked into the blackness of his blindfold.

Nobody answered.

Daniel heard a shingling sound and suddenly the pull that had held his body upright was gone. Legs, which hadn't supported the weight of a body far too long, folded, and Daniel crumpled to the ground.

Daniel knew he should somehow use the short moment of freedom he had, to do something...anything. He knew Jack would have done something. However, after long hours of intense strain, his muscles felt like rubber and refused to cooperate. He couldn't move at all.

"Please, whoever you are, you are making a big mistake here. I'm not the man you think I am!" he pleaded with the darkness.

Nobody listened.

He felt his wrists being untied, only to have them brutally yanked about and retied behind his back.

"Get up," a harsh voice commanded, pulling at his abused shoulders.

Daniel had no choice but to obey. As he finally was standing on his wobbly legs, somebody removed his blindfold.

Blinking he looked around owlishly. For the first time since his arrival in this place, Daniel could see his surroundings.

He was in a small cell, no bigger than eight by eight feet. The cell was made up of bare, concrete walls. A long chain was dangling from the ceiling, next to a lonely light bulb. A metal door with a small window at eye level was the only opening. Outside was an equally bare corridor where two men were standing. One of them was Samuels, a cold grin on his lips.

"Listen, Samuels," Daniel pleaded once more. "I'm not the Daniel Jackson you think I am. I'm not..."

Before he could say another word, an agonizing pain in his side made him stop. He screamed, collapsing again.

Twisting onto his uninjured side, he saw a third man standing in the cell with him, wearing a cruel, sickening grin. He was holding a metal object in his hand. The pain, together with a sizzling sound and the slight smell of ozone in the air, told Daniel what the object was.

"Up!" the light haired man commanded, waving the electric cattle rod in front of Daniel's eyes.

Afraid of another dose of electricity, Daniel jerked away. Moaning, he got back to his feet. It was not easy as his muscles still weren't exactly cooperating. His bound hands weren't helpful either.

"As you can see, Jackson," Samuels said, with glee in his voice, "resistance is futile. We know you too well."

"What do you want?" Daniel spat out, trying to ignore the impulse to slam Samuels into the opposite wall. Not that he would have the strength to do so. The wish was there nevertheless.

"For now, nothing. You will come with us." Samuels waved Daniel outside.

Eyeing the man with the rod carefully, Daniel obeyed.

"Where are we going?" Daniel asked, not really expecting an answer.

He didn't get one.

He was led along long corridors, past half a dozen locked doors. There were several guards walking around, though none of them granted Daniel a second glance, and none seemed to notice his almost complete state of nakedness. It looked like no prison Daniel had ever seen, but if this world was an indeed a parallel world, none of his standard frames of reference were valid anyway. Besides, so far he hadn't spent much time in a prison so he had nothing to compare it to. The rough ground bit into his bare feet and the cold made Daniel shiver.

Twice more, he tried to argue, explain they had the wrong man. The first time, the guard hit him with the deactivated rod in the side. The second time he activated the stick. After that, Daniel kept quiet.

He knew he should try to remember the way they were taking in case he somehow managed to get away from his guards, but walking took so much of his remaining strength, he had none left to think.

Finally they arrived in a circular room. Unlike the corridors, the walls here were decorated with golden curtains patterned with Egyptian symbols. Two Jaffa guards stood at attention at the side of the entrance. The guard wore the standard Jaffa uniform, though their helmets were down so Daniel couldn't tell if they were Serpent or Horus guards.

The moment the small group entered the room, they readied their staff weapons.

Samuels addressed the guard to the left, showing him something. Daniel noticed how Samuels' behavior changed dramatically from 'arrogant bastard' to 'groveling weasel'. So, somebody else was running the show. No big surprise there.

The guard turned to a display hidden behind a wall panel. After a short while, two more guards with staff weapons showed up, taking Daniel and Samuels between them. The two men, who had accompanied them from the cell, were dismissed. Though Daniel wasn't really sad to see the man with the cattle rod go, he wasn't sure if the place they were going to would be any better.

The group stepped up to a circle marked at the floor. The other three took Daniel in the middle as a hole in the ceiling opened, and five metal rings fell down. A short moment of disorientation, and they were in another room.

The first thing Daniel saw after the Goa'uld elevator deactivated was the huge statue of a ram-headed man, twice as tall as life made from marble or a similar stone. Daniel's knowledge immediately provided him with the name 'Heryshaf', or alternately 'Arsaphes'. Both names were for the same god, once prominent in Middle Egypt as early as the first dynasty. He once was associated with Ra in a form that he was called the 'Ba' - soul - of Ra. As far as Daniel remembered, Heryshaf was a benevolent god though in the last years he had learned a lot about the Ancient Egyptian gods that wasn't written anywhere in any textbooks so he could be wrong.

At any other occasion, Daniel would have been fascinated. Now, he had enough difficulties setting one foot in front of another without falling as he was pushed out of the circle which marked the elevator side in this room.

The room Daniel found himself in now was lavishly decorated. Golden patterned columns supported a ceiling high above. Between those columns hung opaque curtains, moving gently in a breeze coming from an open window behind them.

Daniel's attention was drawn away from the inviting window by somebody lounging on a golden throne on a raised pedestal in the middle of the room. The two guards pushed Daniel forward, and stumbling, he got closer.

Now he got a better look at the man on the throne. He was dressed in Egyptian royal clothing: a knee length kilt of the finest material, a highly decorated collar covering his chest and back, and golden sandals. On his head, he wore a helmet with the face of a ram.

As Daniel stepped closer, the man sat up and turned his attention towards him. Although the eyes of the ram were made of metal - one golden, the other one silver, representing the sun and the moon - Daniel knew he was scrutinized like an insect underneath a microscope. Now, more than ever he was aware of his state of undress and his humiliation. A cold shiver ran down his spine.

Five steps away from the throne, the guard to Daniel's left rammed his staff weapon into the back of the linguist's knees, forcing him down. Samuels and the guards knelt as well.

The Goa'uld on the throne pushed a button on his bracelet, and the helmet began to fold away, revealing the face underneath.

Daniel gasped, his heart contracting painfully.

"Jack!" he whispered.

**********

Lantesh watched them with distrust in his eyes. Jack couldn't really blame him.

He had woken up with a headache which could split a medium sized wood pile, finding himself lying on the ground in the room where they had their encounter with the Tok'Ra. Well, with the Tok'Ra version of this universe. They seemed to be a slightly different breed from the resistance Jack had met in his reality, darker somehow, more distrusting, if that was even possible.

After Fraiser had given him something for his headache, Jack had listened to the explanation Sam gave the Tok'Ra. He could tell the alien had some problems swallowing the story, but the evidence Sam offered him was undeniable.

It seemed in this universe, Sam also had had her encounter with Jolinar. However for some reasons she had decided to hold on to the snake and later had joined the Tok'Ra. As it was obvious the Sam who was in this room was currently Jolinar-less - though there seemed to be no doubt she had once carried one of the snakes - they had to believe her when she claimed she was not the Sam they knew.

However, what ultimately persuaded them Sam was telling the truth was that Jack had no Goa'uld controlling him. Obviously never had had one.

Jack was appalled to learn that his own counterpart here was a Goa'uld host. Not a 'nice' Goa'uld either. This Arsaphes guy had somehow managed to conquer most of Earth and currently was on his best way to expand his sphere of influence over the better part of the sector.

On Jack's question how this could have happened, Lantesh explained his O'Neill had already returned from the first mission to Abydos with the Goa'uld controlling him. He was hiding the fact he was under an alien's influence long enough to introduce several Goa'uld larvae to persons of high power. When Earth realized what was going on, it was already too late. Ra - apparently Arsaphes' father - had sent a fleet of starships to support his son's claim, destroying half of the world in the process. Later Arsaphes had killed Ra and taken over.

The most difficult one to explain had been Teal'c. There was enough proof that Jack and Sam were who they claimed to be. Teal'c had no such proof. In this reality, Teal'c still was first prime to Apophis, and Golden Boy seemed to be best friend - or at least ally - of Arsaphes.

Finally Lantesh accepted that Teal'c was on their side - though he obviously had a hard time with it.

When Jack asked about Daniel, another surprise awaited them. It seemed the mild mannered linguist had managed to build up quite a resistance movement on Earth. It was where he'd met Sam, and the two had fallen in love and married. This had been before Sam hooked up with the Tok'Ra.

For a second, Jack had to grin when he saw the blush on Sam's cheeks. One day, when all this was over and they had Daniel safely back with them, he planned on teasing Sam about his 'affair' with Daniel. Sadly, it looked as it would be a while until he could do it.

"Where would they take Jackson?" he asked, turning the conversation to the object of their search.

"Arsaphes' palace on Earth," Lantesh replied. "They will torture him for information, before they will kill him."

Jack blanched. Torture? Oh god. He knew about torture. More than he liked to admit. The thought of Daniel being subjected to it made his stomach cramp.

"We have to get him out of there!" he said resolutely.

"It won't be easy!"

Jack didn't care if it was easy or not. They had to get him out of there no matter what.

**********

"Daniel Jackson!"

The man on the throne rose and slowly walked down the stairs.

Seeing Jack as a Goa'uld host came as a deep shock to Daniel. Jack was his best friend! The only man in the whole wide universe he trusted to find Sha're, no matter where she would be. Okay, occasionally the stubborn, narrow-minded, ignorant officer drove him crazy with his rules and orders and his military ways but still... Jack was his friend. He was not a Goa'uld!

The world crumbled around Daniel.

However, there could be no doubt. It was a Goa'uld who looked at him through glowing eyes and a Goa'uld who spoke to him.

Jack - the Goa'uld - stepped closer and put his metal-capped fingers underneath Daniel's chin, lifting his head up. Slowly, sensuously, he stroked his fingers over Daniel's face, from the chin over to the cheek. At last he took a strand of hair, tucking it almost gently back behind Daniel's ear.

Even without the guards at his side, Daniel wouldn't have been able to move a muscle. All he could do was stare with wide eyes at the face looking down at him. This was how a mouse must feel, trapped by a cat.

"Yes, I think you will make an excellent host."

"What!?!" Daniel sprang up, his transfixed state from moments ago forgotten.

One of the guards took his staff weapon around, ready to defend his master. With a small gesture, Jack held him back.

"I thought you knew, Daniel," Jack said with a soft voice, using the same tone one would use talking to a naughty child, stopping Daniel cold. "You've betrayed us, and for that, you have to be punished. However, your knowledge is too valuable to us to just kill you."

'Just kill you.' Daniel began to quiver inside. 'Just kill you.' Once more those words echoed through his mind. Right now, death would be preferable to the fate which awaited him. It didn't matter if was in the wrong universe. Nobody would believe him anyway. When they learned the truth, when it was ripped out of his mind from the Goa'uld who would invade him, there would be no doubt anymore. Only, then it would be too late.

Nevertheless, he had to try to persuade Jack.

"Jack, listen to me. I know you're still in there somewhere. You have to fight. Please. I'm not the Daniel Jackson from this universe. I'm from another universe, one without all this...madness."

The Goa'uld tilted his head, regarding Daniel with a slight smile.

"It is no use, Daniel. We have chosen for you. We know you will be very useful to us."

He turned away, slowly walking back to his throne.

Daniel's eyes darted around in the room. He had to get away from here. Somehow, he had to escape. Though he knew the real Jack and Sam and Teal'c would be looking for him, he couldn't be sure they would find him in time to prevent the unthinkable. He had to act on his own.

Inhaling deeply, he dashed for the window. He didn't know where it led to, but right now, he didn't care. He just couldn't stand there, awaiting his fate, doing nothing.

Of course, he didn't get very far. Before he even had taken the first few steps, one of the Jaffa guards tackled him from behind, and he crashed to the ground, unable to break his fall.

Panting, he lay there, defeated. He closed his eyes. It was over. He had lost.

Soft steps came closer. Rough hands turned him around, pushing him back into a kneeling position. Somebody grabbed his hair, forcing his head up.

"We are tired of your foolishness." The Goa'uld-Jack had stopped smiling. "Samuels!"

The lieutenant leaped to his feet. "My lord?"

"You have three days to break his spirit and mind. We want no permanent damage to his body, but his mind must be broken. Understood?"

"Yes, sir. Of course, sir."

The two guards hauled Daniel to his feet and back to the circle with the transporter, ignoring his weak struggles. Shortly before the Goa'uld elevator activated, Daniel could see Samuels satisfied grin as he joined Daniel and the guards in the circle.

**********

If there was one thing Sammy Jo missed since joining up with the Tok'Ra, it was her plants. In every office and every apartment she had ever lived in, she had as many plants as she could. Even in her office in SGC, twenty-five floors below the ground, she had managed to keep some plants, ensuring their survival with the help of a special lamp. In the past, those plants had helped to take her mind off the many problems she had been facing, and talking to them usually had helped her to organize her thoughts.

Here, there were no plants. It was simply too inconvenient to haul them around considering there was always the possibility they would have to pack and be ready to go in a very short time.

If you need somebody to talk to, you always can talk to me.

Sammy Jo smiled as she heard Jolinar's concerned voice echoing inside her head. A year ago, she had been scared out of her wits when she first had heard this voice. This had been before she learned the Tok'Ra were nothing like the Goa'uld. They might share the same roots, the same biology, but this was as far as their similarities went.

The Tok'Ra didn't believe in a hostile takeover and enslavement of a human body. They only took willing hosts, hosts who knew what they were getting into. After the joining, the host's mind survived as a separate entity, staying in control most of the time. Only with the permission of the host or in a dire emergency, a Tok'Ra would take control. The Tok'Ra symbiont offered knowledge and healing and a long life in return for the privilege of sharing the body with the host.

When the human rebels first encountered the Tok'Ra, it hadn't been on the best possible grounds. If it hadn't been for Daniel, it would have ended in a bloodshed. However, Sammy Jo's husband had managed to persuade the Tok'Ra of their usefulness, offering the one thing the Tok'Ra couldn't provide themselves - hosts. Sammy Jo had been the first to fulfill the human side of the bargain. She had been mortally wounded during an attack of Arsaphes' guards. Without access to a medical facility, the blending had been her only chance of survival. None of the human rebel's had been particularly happy about the whole situation, but there had been no other choice.

She hadn't regretted her decision since. Instead of losing her freedom, she had gained a teacher, a friend and a confidante, closer than she ever had thought possible.

Of course, there had been problems. She was still married to Daniel, and she still loved him, but Jolinar was Lantesh's mate, and the female Tok'Ra loved him. It was a strange menage a troi, with five persons involved, but somehow they had worked it out. Sometimes it was even almost funny.

Sammy Jo grinned then she sighed.

"I know, Jol. It's just...I'm worried. About Daniel. And also about Martouth."

Two weeks ago, the message had reached them Daniel had been captured by Arsaphes. Sammy Jo had known what this meant. The Goa'uld who possessed Jack O'Neill's body would torture Daniel for information. When he thought he learned all Daniel had to offer, he would kill him. Or worse.

She would never see him again. Never again, she would watch him smile and see the brilliant light which lit his eyes when he discovered something interesting. Not that she had had the chance to see much of it either since the war on Earth had started, she added as a grim afterthought.

A mission to save him was out of the question. Of course, she wanted to go after him, rescue him, but she knew there was no chance whatsoever to get to him let alone getting him out alive. So she had thrown all her weight and energy into relocating the base since Daniel knew the coordinates. If he knew, Arsaphes would know very soon. Daniel wouldn't reveal the data voluntarily - she knew it and everybody else here knew it. However, he wouldn't be given a sliver of a choice.

She had tried to accept that he was lost to her. It hadn't worked. Every night, she had lain awake, staring at the ceiling until she finally accepted that without help, she wouldn't be able to sleep.

Then, two days ago, they had received a message Daniel had somehow escaped, and new hope had flared up inside her. She had led - as if anybody would have been able to stop her - one of the team checking the possible locations where Daniel might show up. There were a number of places all over the galaxy which were considered safe from the Goa'uld. The question was which place had Daniel escaped to?

Sadly enough, her assignments hadn't panned out, and now she was back in the new Tok'Ra hideaway, waiting for her team to get ready to move out again. She was ready, had been the moment they had come back, but one of her team had been hurt. As Matthews wasn't a host, he had to be checked out. He had insisted he was fine, but Sammy Jo was not willing to take any chances even with so much at stake and had ordered her team to stand down and get some much needed sleep.

Of course, it would be nice, if she would be able to sleep.

I could help you with that, Samantha.

"Thanks, but no thanks. Martouth is due back soon, and I might as well wait up for him. Maybe he has some news."

The equivalent of a wordless hug enveloped her. Gratefully, Sammy Jo leaned into it, giving back as good as she got. She could feel Jolinar was worried as well. Usually, the Tok'Ra was able to hide something like this better, but eventually her host's stress level had gone through to her too.

A noise from the doorway made her turn around. One of the Tok'Ra stood there, waiting for her to acknowledge him.

"Yes?"

"Lantesh has returned. He brought some people you ought to see."

"What people?" she asked, confused. It couldn't be Daniel. Gnadrath would have reacted differently if her husband would have been with Martouth.

The tall Tok'Ra hesitated. "They are..." He started, then he stopped again. Gathering himself, he looked away from Sammy Jo. "It's not easy to explain. You better go see them."

Now thoroughly intrigued, Sammy Jo followed Gnadrath towards the council chamber.

Who might these strange people be? she asked Jolinar now soundlessly.

I am as intrigued as you are, Samantha. We will find out soon enough.

Calmed a little by Jolinar's words, Sammy Jo turned around the corner into the largest room in the whole complex. About a dozen people were in the room. She instantly spotted Martouth and a fraction of her mind noticed relieved he seemed to be unhurt. However, the biggest part of her mind tried to comprehend the presence of another person. The last person she ever would have expected to see in a Tok'Ra stronghold.

Time slowed to a crawl. A red haze settled over Sammy Jo's vision, and without really noticing, she bared her teeth in an angry snarl. Her hands groped for a weapon which was not there.

There was the man who was responsible for so much pain, so much suffering, and she would make him pay. Not matter if she had to kill him with her own bare hands.

Samantha! Jolinar called out to her.

The young woman ignored her.

Samantha! Jolinar called again, this time more forceful.

Leave me alone! Sammy Jo screamed back, readying herself for attack.

There must be a reason Martouth brought him here. Think!

I don't care!

Something is not quite right. Something is missing.

Daniel is missing! That's what's not right! And he is responsible!

Think!

Just for a moment, Jolinar lowered the barrier which separated their minds. For a second she could feel everything Jolinar could feel. She also felt what was not quiet right. Then the barrier was back up.

This was not possible!

This just wasn't possible.

What Jolinar felt - or didn't feel - couldn't be faked. This man, who looked exactly like Jack O'Neill, the host of Arsaphes, didn't carry a Goa'uld. He never had. Thus, logic demanded he was not Jack O'Neill.

However, the storm still raging inside of her had nothing to do with logic.

Inhaling deeply, she tried to get herself under control.

If this man wasn't O'Neill, who was he and how it was possible he looked exactly like the man who had betrayed the whole of humanity three years ago?

Settling her eyes on Martouth, she inhaled again. Her heart was beating like crazy, but at least she had herself back under control. Well, almost.

"Who is he?" she asked, relieved her voice didn't betray her.

It wasn't Martouth who answered. The O'Neill look-alike raised his hand to hold back the Tok'Ra and smiled. It was something Sammy Jo had never seen O'Neill doing. This, almost more than what Jolinar's senses told her, convinced her he was not the man she first thought him to be.

"Hi, I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill."

Sammy Jo's eyes widened. This was impossible. This just could not be. Just having accepted, that he was not the man she first thought him to be, he now claimed to be that man.

However, the surprises weren't far from over for her. She was still staring at the man who claimed to be Jack O'Neill - though he couldn't possible be him - when a familiar looking woman stepped around him. At first Sammy Jo didn't really notice her - O'Neill's smile was just too damn distracting - but then her eyes were drawn to her nevertheless. It took her brain a moment to register why the woman looked so familiar. It took her another moment or two, to finally accept it.

She looks just like you! Jolinar's amazed words echoed in her mind.

Yes, she looked just like her! The same blond hair, cut a little shorter maybe, but close enough to her own. The same blue eyes. The same face, familiar to her from every glance in the mirror. The same height, the same figure.

She was her!

How can this be? she almost screamed in her mind.

There must be a logical explanation for all this, Jolinar replied, her emotional undertone almost as confused as Sammy Jo's.

"What is going on here?" Sammy Jo asked out aloud, glancing for a second at Martouth, who stood at O'Neill's other side, an amused smile on his face. He seemed to enjoy her confusion very much. She would have to have a serious talk about that with him later.

The other woman, her doppelganger, smiled as well, understanding twinkling in her eyes. She put her hand on O'Neill's arm. "If I may explain, Sir."

O'Neill nodded, and Sammy Jo's doppelganger turned back to her. "Have you ever heard of the theory of parallel universes?"

**********

They had left P7Z-296 together with the Tok'Ra. Martouth had insisted they gave up their weapons, and that they were blindfolded for their trip through the 'gate as the Tok'Ra didn't want them to know the location of their base. Jack hadn't liked it a bit, but as the Tok'Ra were their best shot at finding Daniel, he finally had given in. From what he had seen and heard so far from this reality, it was very different from the universe they had come from, and if they wanted to find their way around, they depended on people knowing the lay of the land.

Arriving on the Tok'Ra's world, they were finally allowed to remove their blindfolds. They were led to an underground facility similar to the one on the Tok'Ra's world in their own universe. Finally, they were brought into a large chamber with a big center table and some chairs. After some waiting time, a guard brought in somebody very, very familiar looking.

All things considering, the Samantha from this universe - who used to be called Sammy Jo, which made the separation of the two Sams a little bit easier, though not by much - took their existence well enough. Okay, for a moment Jack thought, she would try to strangle him with her bare hands, but something stopped her and the burning fury which had shown for a short eternity in her eyes. Now Jack knew this something had been Jolinar who had felt with that weird Goa'uld sense of her that he never had been a host and thus couldn't be Arsaphes. Jack figured he should be grateful for this though being grateful to a snake wasn't something which bode well with him.

After Sam had explained what had brought them here, Sammy Jo calmed down. Jack had taken it on himself to tell her that her Daniel - her husband - was dead. It hadn't been easy, and the pain he saw flashing in her eyes almost made him regret telling her at all. On the other hand, she had a right to know. He recalled only too clearly his own feelings when he had thought it had been 'his' Daniel who had died, and he wished he could do something to ease her pain.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, knowing how inadequate his words were. He almost reached out, but then held himself back, not knowing how she would react to a gesture like this from a man who looked exactly like the man who was responsible for her husband's death.

Instead, he dug into his pocket and pulled out the ring Hammond had given him before they departed. Holding it out on the palm of his hand, he could see she recognized it. Almost hesitantly she picked it up, caressing it lovingly with her fingers. A single tear traveled down her cheek, and she turned away from him, her shoulders shaking. Martouth was there for her, taking her into his arms, and Jack looked away, almost embarrassed.

Together with the others, he settled at the table. As much as he felt sorry for Sammy Jo's loss, they were not here to dwell on the past. The Daniel Jackson from this universe was dead, and there was nothing anybody would be able to change about that. However, the Daniel Jackson from his own universe was - hopefully - still alive. As long as there was hope, Jack wouldn't rest until he got him back.

The Tok'Ra were their best chance to find Daniel. They had the intel he lacked. As this universe was so different from his own, so screwed up, they wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell to get Daniel without their help.

Only, would they give them their help?

A resolute sounding voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "How do you plan to free your Daniel Jackson?"

Jack looked up into the clear eyes of Sammy Jo. Again he was stunned on how close she looked like the Samantha Carter from his universe. If there wasn't some tiny details, like the slightly different haircut and the darkness in her eyes, he wouldn't be able to keep them apart.

A kernel of an idea started in his mind. He looked over to Sam and then back to Sammy Jo. The similarity was uncanny. If they would dress up Sam as Sammy Jo, nobody would know the difference. A cold smile began to play around his lips.

"I think, I might have an idea."

**********

After they left the audience chamber, Samuels took Daniel into a bare white room. Cold light fixtures hung from the ceiling, illuminating a metal table in the center. On a small gesture of the former major, the two Jaffa heaved Daniel onto the table. For a second they freed him of his hand cuffs, only to fix him to the table with metal bands put there for just this purpose. Daniel struggled with all his strength, but there was nothing he could do against the guards and the bonds holding him down.

Though, logically, Daniel knew there was no sympathetic soul in the whole room, he began to plead with Samuels. After all, there was nothing logical to the situation he was in.

"Please, let me go. I told you, I'm not the man you want. I'm a Daniel Jackson from another universe."

It didn't seem to impress Samuels. A fear like none he had ever felt before settled over Daniel's mind. What did Samuels plan to do with him?

Arsaphes had said his mind was to be broken, not his body. Daniel almost wished it had been the other way around. Not that he felt comfortable by the prospect of pain, but Arsaphes' command made him even more afraid than the 'mere' concept of bodily damage.

All his life, Daniel had thrived for knowledge. He loved to learn. For a while, after his parents had died, learning was all he had left. His foster parents had taken every effort not to turn him into a mere book worm, but they had succeeded only partially. When he was with his books, he was happy - or at least as happy, as he ever thought he would be until Sha're had come around. For the first time in his life, he had begun to realize there was more to life than books. For the first time he learned what real love was. Only to have it taken away from him again.

Joining SG-1 had been the only way for him to work on getting back Sha're. It also was the chance of a lifetime to learn more than he ever thought possible. Acquiring knowledge was his way to keep himself sane. Without it, he would have gone mad from the sorrow which threatened to pull him down into that deep, dark abyss of loneliness.

Jack and the other did all they could with their friendship, and it helped him tremendously. Nevertheless, there were the long and lonely nights where sadness almost drowned him, and only working in his mind on the last project or the latest discovery helped him from slipping over the edge into madness.

And now, Arsaphes wanted to destroy his mind. Considering what else the Goa'uld in Jack's body held in store for him, Daniel mused, he shouldn't fear the prospect so much. When his mind was gone, there was nothing he had to fear from the Goa'uld any more.

Still...

Two men in white lab coats entered the room. One of them started to examine him. He drew blood, took his pulse and blood pressure, then he attached electrodes onto his chest and temples.

After the first doctor was finished, Samuels stepped up to the table.

"So, Jackson. Our master had ordered not to damage you beyond repair. Sadly enough, this limits the amount of fun things I can do to you. On the other hand, I'm sure I can find other things to amuse me. Though, I doubt you'll find them very amusing." With a cold grin he waved the second doctor closer.

Daniel's mind was racing. He knew he was helpless, and there was nothing he could do to prevent Samuels from doing what he planned to do. He was scared, very scared. However, he was even more scared of what would happen to him when Samuels was finished with him. He didn't want to be turned into a Goa'uld. He would rather die than to suffer that fate.

Maybe, just maybe, he would be able to provoke Samuels enough so Samuels would kill him. The Jack-lookalike wouldn't like this very much, and Daniel almost had to smile at the thought what the Goa'uld would do to Samuels when he learned his intended host was dead.

Gathering all his courage, he grinned at Samuels. For a moment the former major looked irritated as his victim seemed to have lost his fear. He couldn't know how much Daniel was quivering inside.

"I always knew you are a sniveling weasel, Samuels," Daniel began. "However, I never thought you would sink so deep." Daniel didn't even have to act to put the venom into his voice.

Samuels lifted his hand to hold back the doctor. He leaned over Daniel, the smile back on his face.

"I'm only here to serve, Jackson. Is it my fault I enjoy what I'm doing?"

"You are just a coward." Bracing against his bonds, Daniel spat at Samuels' face, hitting him just below his left eye.

Samuels head reared back, but it was too late. A cold light appeared in his eyes as he wiped away the spittle. With a slow, deliberate gesture, he lifted his right arm and slapped Daniel across the face.

Daniel's head jerked around, hitting the cold metal of the table with a muffled thud. For a moment the linguist was stunned, bright, colorful stars dancing before his eyes. Before Daniel recovered enough to say more, Samuels waved the man in the lab coat closer.

Without saying a word, the doctor fixed an IV to Daniel's right arm. With wide eyes Daniel stared at the bag suspended above his shoulder and the clear liquid which slowly began entering his body.

That was when the pain started.

For a long time, Daniel thought he was burning. Needles stabbed him at every part of his body. Knives buried into his flesh, and he screamed and screamed and screamed.

It took a long, long time before finally darkness came to free him.

**********

The first, rough plan Jack cooked up experienced many changes over the next twelve hours.

At first, Jack suggested he could impersonate his own doppelganger in this universe. With Sam as his 'prisoner' it shouldn't be a real problem to get into the prison and to Daniel.

However, this plan had too many obstacles they couldn't surmount. For one, this universe's Jack O'Neill was a Goa'uld. With the help of a tiny voice synthesizer and a pair of active contact lenses, he actually would have been able to look and sound like a Goa'uld. The Tok'Ra and their allies had successfully employed this particular trick in the past. However, this only worked as long no other Goa'uld were close-by as they would feel the absence of the symbiont. So far, nobody had found means to simulate the unmistakable 'emission' - for lack of a better word - which made it possible for any Goa'uld and any Jaffa to sense the presence of another matured Goa'uld. As there was a very good chance that wherever Daniel was there would be at least a few Jaffa if not even Goa'ulds around, prepping Jack as Arsaphes was out.

Besides, the last information the Tok'Ra had on Arsaphes was that he was currently on Earth in his palace and having two Arsapheses running around on the same planet wasn't a very good idea.

Finally, it was decided Teal'c would play their lead man and the proud capturer of Jolinar of Malksure. In this universe Teal'c was still First Prime of Apophis. Apophis had formed a loose alliance with Arsaphes last year after a few small battles which determined none would be able to beat the other in an open battle. If Apophis would by chance capture the famous Tok'Ra Arsaphes was after, it stood to reason he would offer her as a gift to his ally. It also stood to reason, he would offer the important task to hand her over to Arsaphes to his First Prime.

Jack and Dr. Fraiser would pose as Teal'c's honor guards. Having just two guards was a little bit on the low side, however, as the two system lords were allied not unreasonable.

The hardest part to decide on and the one which had led to the most discussions was who would play the part of the 'prisoner'. Jack had simply assumed Sam would take this part and so had Sam. However, Sammy Jo had another idea.

"I should go. I'm the only one who ever has been in Arsaphes' palace. I know where he most likely will keep Daniel, and I know the lay of the land," she said with a firm voice.

"Then draw us a map. Describe the way," Jack protested. Though Sammy Jo was right, and they didn't really know the way, he'd rather have Sam with him. SG-1 had worked as a team for almost two years now, and he knew what any given member of the team thought at any given moment. Adding a stranger to the team - even one resembling Sam as close as Sammy Jo did - would destroy a delicate balance. A balance which was unsteady enough as it was due to Daniel's absence. "Besides, you claimed yourself, you haven't been to Earth for the last seven months. A lot could have changed," he added in an afterthought.

Sammy Jo shook her head. "Our latest intel confirmed not much has changed. We still have our people in the palace, and they keep us updated. Besides, what if they would like to speak to Jolinar? Sam might still have part of her signature, but it's not the right one. It would fool them only for a very short time, maybe not long enough."

Jack opened his mouth to protest again but then closed it without uttering a word when he realized she was right. This time he got support from Martouth.

"Sammy Jo," the Tok'Ra drew her attention. "We can't risk it. What if Jack's plan fails, and you get caught? You have invaluable information we can't chance getting into Arsaphes' hands."

Sammy Jo sighed as she turned to Martouth. "Please, understand me. I have to go." Her tone of voice sounded almost as if she was close to tears again. "If I don't go, and this doesn't work, I will have failed Daniel all over again. I have to go."

"We will have a better chance on finding Daniel Jackson with her," Teal'c suddenly intervened.

Surprised, Jack looked up. Teal'c wasn't the one who usually went against Jack's wishes. Okay, sometimes the tall Jaffa had shown he had a mind of his own, and Jack had to admit, when Teal'c acted on what he thought was best, in most cases he had been correct. Still...

"With all due respect, sir. I have to agree with Teal'c," Sam spoke up.

Inwardly, Jack sighed. What had he done wrong? Did none of his people listen to the things he said?

"Sir, I would prefer to go myself. However, Sammy Jo knows what she's talking about. She knows who our allies and who our foes are. We don't. You have to take her with you." Sam almost stood at attention as she said the last few words.

Jack sighed openly. Sam and Teal'c were correct. This didn't mean he had to like it. "What is Jolinar saying about this?" he asked the last person, whose authority would be able to turn the cards.

Sammy Jo's eyes widened as Jack addressed her symbiont. For a moment, she only starred at the colonel then she dipped her head in a gesture unique to all Tok'Ra. When she looked up again, her eyes were glowing in a strange, white light.

Jack shuttered when this light brought back dark memories.

"I agree with Samantha. If you take us with you to this mission, your chances of finding Daniel Jackson will increase thirty seven percent." Sammy Jo's voice had changed as well as she - or rather Jolinar - now spoke to Jack.

"Do you really want to go?" Jack asked softly.

"No, I don't want to go. Samantha doesn't want to go either. However, we have to go. It is something we have to do."

Jack felt uncomfortable under the scrutinizing eyes fixed on his face. He didn't like it. He didn't like it a bit. He didn't trust the Tok'Ra very much. He never had. Just the idea that a creature had the ability to hide inside a human body and use it to its liking, sent a shiver down his spine. The Tok'Ra might claim they didn't really use their hosts, and after their joining a true partnership existed with the humans they lived in. This didn't mean it had to be true.

One month ago, Sam's father had joined up Tok'Ra. General Jacob Carter had suffered from a terminal form of cancer and had had only a few days left to live. The blending had been his only chance to save his life. Jack hadn't agreed with the whole procedure as, in his opinion, General Carter had known too many secrets, too much information on Earth's fighting abilities. However, he hadn't been asked. Since the joining, they hadn't seen anything of Jacob Carter. Sometimes he wondered what had happened to him. Was Sam's father still alive or was he the helpless slave of a lying Goa'uld?

Ultimately it came down to if he could trust the Tok'Ra enough to allow them to help him save Daniel. Too much time had been wasted already, and every minute Daniel was in the hands of the enemies was one minute too long.

In the end, he had no choice at all.

"Okay, you can come along."

**********

In the ruins of an abandoned high school building on the West side of Washington, an elderly man in the uniform of a general of the former Air Force of America looked up from the plans of Arsaphes' palace on Earth. On the map, all known routes in and out of the palace were marked in various colors.

Others were gathered around the table, some in uniform, some in civilian clothing. Three were wearing Jaffa armor, the helmets folded down so their faces were visible. Nobody smiled.

"Any more questions?"

Everybody shook his or her head. For six months they had been working towards today, collecting what was left of their forces, making secret contacts with the rest of the world, coordinating their efforts. There was not much left to work with as Arsaphes had made very sure there was nothing left to fight him with, destroying all military and scientific achievement there was in the first days he took over the planet. Billions of people had died, when he had bombed the cities from orbit, throwing Earth back many hundred years.

However, a few things had slipped through his net, and the resistance had managed to collect those things for one final strike against the oppressor.

This was their best and possibly their only chance they would have to usurp Arsaphes. If they failed, Earth would forever stay under the control of the Goa'uld. No one in this room was willing to allow that.

"All right. The Goa'uld had control over our planet once before and our ancestors managed to throw them out. I expect we will do nothing less. Good luck, people."

Slowly, they filed out of the room. Two more hours and the fight for the survival of Earth would begin. With any luck at all, tomorrow morning the sun would rise over a planet which was free once again.

**********

It was dark and cold in Daniel's cell. The young man shivered, huddled in one corner, his arms wrapped tightly around his body, slowly rocking to and fro. His eyes were closed, but he wasn't asleep.

It had been a while since they had brought him back to the cell, still unconscious. When he had awoken, he had been alone. There had been a lot of pain, and Daniel thought he could still feel the drugs moving through his veins, like worms crawling underneath the skin. At least it had seemed as if they had left him alone.

Suddenly, he could hear steps coming down the corridor. Daniel pressed himself tighter into his corner. He tried to stay quiet, but he couldn't prevent a whimper from escaping his lips. A remote part of his mind knew he was acting irrational - no matter what he was doing, they would come for him and continue to torture him. Still, a much bigger - and much more convinced - part knew he only had to be quite and they would let him alone.

The door opened.

Daniel didn't look up. He didn't dare.

"See, see, I should have known you're going to seek the cowardly way out, Danny-boy!"

Daniel's head shot up.

"Jack!" he whispered.

"Look at you," Jack said. "They just have to put a bit of pressure on you, and you crawl into a corner to die."

"Jack, it's not like this. They drugged me." Daniel took hold of the wall, and started to push himself up. However, his legs refused to carry him, and he slid back down.

"I knew from the very beginning, you are no use. Does the term 'geek' tell you anything?" Jack turned, ready to leave the cell again.

"No Jack, don't go. Please, don't go," Daniel whimpered, going onto his hands and knees. Slowly he began to crawl forward.

This was not right! This could not happen!

If Daniel would have been in a better condition he would have realized that in a minute. Jack would never ever tread him like that. However, drained as he was, his mind and body weakened, he perceived everything as reality. He had no idea that everything he saw and heard was brought on by Samuels' drugs.

Jack turned back once more. "You're pathetic. At least I've got rid of you this way."

Without another glance, he left the cell.

"Jack. Don't go, Jack. Please, Jack, don't leave me alone," Daniel continued pleading.

He broke down where he was, and curled into a fetal position. Tears were trailing down his face. His sobs echoed from the bare, uncaring walls of the cell.

Outside a guard walked by. He stopped and glanced shortly through the peephole. For a moment he wondered for a moment what had made the prisoner suddenly break down. After all, nobody had entered the cell since the man had been taken back an hour ago. Quickly, he closed the peephole again, and continued his patrol. It was not a good idea, if anybody thought he cared about a prisoner. There was little room for caring in this world.

**********

The Stargate on the world where the Tok'Ra were hiding stood in a seemingly abandoned temple of the goddess Hathor. Just looking at the pictures of her made Jack's skin crawl. Daniel would have been fascinated by the paintings and statues. All it did to Jack was bring back the memory how the Egyptian goddess almost had managed to take over SGC last year. He really hoped he would never see her again. Somehow however, he doubted he would be that lucky.

Taking his mind back to the task at hand, he watched as Martouth dialed the familiar coordinates for Earth. The seventh symbol reminded Jack a bit of a six armed squid. When all the symbols were pushed, the 'gate began to spin.

"You really don't have to go," Martouth tried one last time to hold Sammy Jo back.

The young woman shook her head. Her shackled hands reached up to brush gently over the Tok'Ra's cheek. Though her bonds looked sturdy, Jack knew they would break with one hefty pull. "I will be all right. Don't worry."

"You take care of yourself, sir."

Jack's attention was brought to Sam who was standing aside, watching the group. She looked worried.

"We'll bring him back, Captain," Jack said with more confidence than he was really feeling. With a flick of his hand, he activated the helmet of his Jaffa costume. Janet Fraiser already had her helmet up and now came to stand beside Jack. The colonel wished he could see her eyes, to learn what she was feeling, but the helmet hid her face.

"Let's go."

The 'gate activated with the familiar kawhoosh. Falling into the pre-arranged formation, they walked through.

As usual, there was a short moment of disorientation before the 'gate spat them out at the other end. Fighting for his equilibrium, Jack stepped out, only to face at least a dozen Jaffa in their armor. Their helmets were those of a ram, but the rest of their armor looked like just any other Jaffa.

Holding their staff weapons aside to demonstrate peacefulness, the small group stepped down from the platform the Earth's 'gate sat on.

For a moment Jack was confused as he somehow had expected to arrive in the embarkation room in the SGC, but this lavishly decorated oval-shaped room had no resemblance whatsoever with the familiar place underneath Cheyenne Mountain.

At the long axis, it was at least thirty yards long, at the short axis still more than twenty. The Stargate was placed in one focus point while the tall statue of a ram-headed man was placed in the other. The DHD stood a little aside to the left. Tall columns surrounded the room. Between each of them, golden curtains hung from the ceiling down to the floor.

Behind them, the 'gate disengaged.

The leader of the Ram guards retracted his helmet into his neck ring and stepped forward, approaching Teal'c. The former Jaffa also opened his helmet and met the challenging looks of the other man square on.

"My Lord Apophis sends greetings to Lord Arsaphes," he intoned in a deep voice. "He sends a gift for Lord Arsaphes."

With a jerk on the chain Teal'c held in his hand, he pulled Sammy Jo closer.

"Jolinar of Malksure," he introduced her without emotion.

The leader of the guard studied the disheveled woman standing in front of him. Sammy Jo did a good job of glowering, but it didn't seem to impress the guard very much.

"What proof do you have of her identity?"

"What proof do you need, Jaffa?" Jolinar spat at him, her eyes aglow. Jack was impressed how she made the title sound like an insult.

Teal'c pulled her back only to be the next person on the receiving end of Sammy Jo's glowering glare.

The Jaffa leader seemed impressed. At least he gave his people a sign to lower their weapons. Inwardly, Jack heaved a sigh.

"My lord will be pleased," the ram guard announced.

Teal'c lowered his head. "May we present my lord's gift to Lord Arsaphes?"

The guard hesitated for a moment then nodded. "I will see when my lord will grand you an audience."

They were taken past two of the columns to a small room with stone benches to wait. Jack hoped they wouldn't have to wait too long. Now the mission was underway, he suddenly could think of a million things which could go wrong. What if they took Sammy Jo away? What if the Goa'uld guy wouldn't want to see them? What if they were found out? What...

Get a grip, Jack, he reproached himself, trying desperately to think of something else. It didn't work. His mind always went back to one thing.

What if they were too late?

Luckily for Jack's state of mind, they didn't have to wait too long. Five minutes after the leader of the guards had left them to wait, he returned, indicating for them to follow him.

They were brought back into the 'gate room and to the tall statue. As they stepped closer, Jack could see a circle marked at the floor. The guard commanded them to stand in the circle then he joined them. After he touched a bracelet on his arm, the metal rings of a Goa'uld elevator dropped down, whisking them away.

When the elevator deactivated, they found themselves in a vast room with huge, golden columns. Like in the 'gateroom, golden curtains hung between the columns, which moved slowly in the breeze coming through the windows behind them. The statue of a ram headed man clearly stated who was the master of the house. In the middle of the room a throne like chair stood in the center of a pedestal. On it lounged a familiar looking man.

The ram guards indicated them to step closer. Five steps away from the throne, they went down on their knees, and Jack and the others hurried to follow their example. In Sammy Jo's case, it needed some encouraging in form of the butt end of a staff weapon to the hollow of her knees to make her kneel.

For once Jack was glad he still wore the helmet. The shock written on his face would have betrayed the whole mission right here and now.

After all, it wasn't every day you met your doppelganger.

Jack had thought he was prepared for that moment. He had been wrong. To see his face worn by another man was bad enough. However, the look of cruelty and the greed that lit it up when the other Jack caught sight of Sammy Jo was more than he had bargained for.

The other Jack rose in one fluid motion from his throne.

"Jolinar of Malksure. It is a pleasure finally meeting you."

He stepped up to Sammy Jo, taking her chin in his hand. "I have to say, I'm surprised of your choice of host. However, as I've been looking for Samantha Carter as well, I'm pleased you brought her along."

"You bastard," Sammy Jo cursed. "You killed Daniel."

Jack clenched his fist around the handle of his staff weapon. It took all of his self control not the swing the weapon around and shoot this look off the other man's face. Forcefully, he had to remind himself why they were here. If he killed Arsaphes now, they would never find Daniel.

"Oh, your husband is not dead...yet."

Relief washed over Jack. Daniel was not dead. As long as this was true, they had a chance.

Sammy Jo looked up as if surprised. "Where is he?" she demanded.

A cold smile played around Arsaphes' mouth. "You know, I might even allow you to see him. Or rather what's left of him."

The relief from moments ago went away, and Jack's stomach twisted into a cold knot. What was left of him? What had this bastard done to Daniel?

Arsaphes lifted his hand and ordered two of his own guards over. "Take her to her husband. Maybe the sight of her will persuade him to part with the information I want."

So, Daniel hadn't been broken yet. Jack cheered inwardly. Then he sobered up. Most likely, Daniel didn't have the information Arsaphes wanted. So, his refusal so far not to give the Goa'uld what he wanted, wouldn't be an indicator of his present condition.

The two guards grabbed Sammy Jo at her arms and pulled her cruelly onto her feet.

"Tell your lord, I'm very pleased with his gift," Arsaphes said to Teal'c, who was still kneeling at the Goa'uld's feet. Then he turned away, his posture a clear dismissal.

Jack realized Sammy Jo would be taken away, and they wouldn't be allowed to go with her! This had not been in the plan. They had to go with her! They had to do something!

Obviously, Teal'c had realized their predicament. He lowered his head even further and addressed Arsaphes. "My lord."

For a second, the Goa'uld hesitated, then he turned. "Yes?" he said, a slight threat in his voice. He obviously was not used to being spoken to by a simple Jaffa even if he might be the representative of an ally.

"My lord," Teal'c repeated submissively. "My lord Apophis would be pleased if I could give him a report about this one's husband. He has caused great troubles to my lord in the past."

Arsaphes tilted his head, regarding the man kneeling before him closely, a thoughtful expression on his face. Finally, he came to a decision. "You may go with my guards to report your lord."

With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the whole group.

Jack only started breathing again after they had left the hall the same way they had come in.

They would go to Daniel. May God have mercy on anybody trying to stop them.

**********

Sam was pacing. The room the Tok'Ra had given her to wait until the team came back with Daniel was exactly seven strides from the door to the opposite wall and five strides from the right wall to the left wall. She knew the numbers precisely as she had walked both distances more time than she could count.

There was a bed in one corner of the room and a pair of chairs and a small table in the other. Not the most comfortable accommodation, but she had worse. The only thing she wished for was a window for she was sick and tired of staring at the same walls seemingly for hours. Okay, the walls were kind of pretty as they were made out of that wondrous crystal material which made up most of the complex, and the scientist in her had been fascinated at the beginning. However, the fascination had worn off quickly, and now she wished she could be someplace else. Preferably with her friends, helping them to free Daniel.

What in the name of the lord had driven her to give up her place in the team to Sammy Jo? Yes, the arguments had sounded logical at the time the decision had been made, and she could still find no flaw in them.

Still...

Frustrated, she flopped down on the chair, leaning her head in her hands. If at least there would be something for her to do. This inactivity was driving her crazy.

"Dr. Carter?"

A gentle voice broke her out of her brooding. She looked up to see Martouth standing in the doorway.

She jumped up. "Is there any news? Did they find Daniel?" She knew it was still too early, but maybe...

The Tok'Ra shook his head. "No. I am sorry. They have been gone only for one of your hours."

Only one hour?!? Surprised, Sam checked her watch. Martouth was right. It has been only one hour. Sam had had no idea one hour could be so long.

Pulling herself together, she pointed at the other chair. "You want to sit down?" Maybe talking would help to pass the time a little bit faster.

Martouth smiled gratefully as he sat down, and Sam was stabbed by the thought how similar this Martouth looked to the one she had met in her universe.

"You look just like him," she broke out before she could stop herself.

The Tok'Ra furrowed his brows. "Like whom?"

Sam lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry," she apologized. Then she continued to explain, "you look exactly like the Martouth in my universe. I've met him only once, but he made quite an impression."

"It seems there are many parallels between our two universes. Many people who look exactly alike."

"Yes," Sam nodded. "But there are also many differences."

"Like you and Jolinar?" Martouth probed carefully.

For a moment Sam fell quiet. She didn't like to think back to the time she had been host to Jolinar of Malksure. The sense of total violation as she had been trapped inside her own body, unable to control it. As she had been forced to watch how the Tok'Ra had almost manage to escape through the 'gate. How the alien had thrown the colonel against the wall when he had tried to stop her.

She had felt so helpless. No matter what she had done, Jolinar had been stronger.

It had taken a long time to come to terms with the whole incident. To accept there had been nothing she could have done had been the hardest part. If it hadn't been for her friends, she didn't know what she would have done.

Martouth gave her all the time she needed. Carefully, he laid his hand on hers, pressing it gently when she didn't draw her hand away.

Finally, Sam nodded. "Yes. Like me and Jolinar," she spoke softly. "She...violated me, and though she sacrificed her life to safe mine in the end, I'm still not sure I will ever be able to forgive her."

"What she has done is unforgivable," Martouth stated. Compassion showed in his eyes as he looked at Sam. "We...the Tok'Ra...we think it's the worst crime to take a host without his or her consent. Here, Jolinar would have been punished for what she did to you."

"Even if she was your mate?" Sam asked softly.

Martouth closed his eyes, then, looking up again, he nodded. "I would have killed her myself. I love her, but I don't know if I could love her if she would have done something like the Jolinar in your universe did."

"How is it possible to love her if her host at the moment is married to somebody else?" Sam asked, changing the topic slightly.

The Tok'Ra gave her a lopsided grin. "It is not...easy. Sometimes it's very frustrating. However, we have usually not much time on our hands to think about things like this. Also, I have far too much respect and love for Daniel and Sammy Jo to do something to risk our friendship..."

He let his voice trail off at the last sentence. Sam could only guess on what he was thinking, but she was pretty sure it had to do with the fact that the Daniel from this universe was now dead and thus the situation had changed.

The silence between them grew almost uncomfortable as both hung onto their own thoughts. Suddenly, a woman showed up in the doorframe calling softly out for Martouth.

The Tok'Ra looked up. "Yes?"

"We got a message from Earth."

Sam rose, concerned. If there was a message from Earth, this could only mean something had gone wrong with the mission.

"Is it Colonel O'Neill and his team?" she asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

The woman shook her head. "No. It is the Earth's resistance. They are going the strike Arsaphes' palace."

"When?" Martouth asked, also back on his feet.

"The message didn't state an exact time, but it will be soon."

Sam and Martouth exchanged glances. If the Earth resistance stroke while SG-1 and Sammy Jo were in the palace, it would endanger the mission…and their lives.

**********

The team was led down a dark corridor. Sammy Jo was surrounded by four ram-headed guards. The rest followed.

Jack didn't like the vibes he got from those corridors and the metal doors which were spaced in equal distance to the left and the right. They remembered him of another corridor in another prison a long time ago. Though this prison had been in Iraq and not in the palace of a power hungry Goa'uld, the similarity was astounding. As if all despots, no matter the country or the planet, used the same blueprints to built their prisons.

The corridor made a sharp turn to the left, and the leading group came to a stop in front of yet another of those metal doors. One of the guards opened the door and led Sammy Jo inside. Jack heard a stifled gasp. Past the bodies blocking his sight, he caught sight of a prone figure crumpled in a corner of the room. Jack didn't see him moving, but he saw straight, dark-blond hair matted with blood.

This was all the prodding he needed to act.

"Now!" he screamed, whipping his staff weapon around, firing at the first of the guards.

Teal'c reacted immediately and killed the guard next to him with a staff weapon blast. Sammy Jo, broke her 'chains', and pulled out the zat-gun which she had hidden at the small of her back. However, before she could activat the weapon, the remaining two guards had already recovered from their surprise and had their weapons at the ready. Jack had to give them points for their alertness. Which did nothing to improve their chances for winning this round.

Not being able to use the staff weapon again in the close confinement of the cell, he dropped it and jumped the guard closest to him. At least they were as much handicapped from the lack of space as the SG-1 team was.

A shot exploded out from a zat-gun, hitting the wall behind him, but in the current chaos, Jack was not able to say if it had been friend or foe who had fired. Still straddling the guard he had jumped, he pulled out his knife and stabbed the weapon through a gap in the armor. The guard shook him off, seemingly unimpressed by the stab wound he just had received. He whipped his staff weapon around, hitting Jack with the blunt end in the stomach.

Jack oofed but ignored the pain exploding from his middle. Holding his knife a little bit higher, he retreated a step backwards. Keeping one eye on his opponent, he tried to figure out how his team was faring.

Three of the ram-headed guards were down. Only the one in front of him was still standing. Sammy Jo lay to the left hand side against a wall, a small trickle of blood running down her face. Fraiser was bend over the figure in the corner, shielding him with her own body. Jack couldn't see Teal'c; however, he hoped the former Jaffa was okay.

The guard stabbed with his staff weapon after Jack. The colonel evaded the weapon and again cursed the fact that for some reasons Apophis' guards in this universe never wore zat-guns. This stupid armor made it impossible to hide anything bigger than a knife. A weapon with some reach would have been really nice right now.

Jack waved the knife in front of him, looking for an opening through which to attack. With the staff weapon, the guard had the better reach, but once Jack could get past it, he would have the upper hand.

A zat-gun blast from the right solved the problem for him. The guard fell to the ground as lightning from a second shot danced over his body. One more shot and he was gone.

Teal'c lowered the gun.

Jack sighed relieved when he saw Teal'c was unharmed.

"Go, check if we have drawn any attention," he sent the warrior outside.

Teal'c nodded and stepped through the doorway.

Though Jack itched to check on Daniel - fearing still, somewhere deep down inside, they had the wrong man or they had come too late - he first turned to Sammy Jo, who was slowly gathering herself up. Jack deactivated his helmet and held out a hand to the blond woman.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked concerned.

The Tok'Ra nodded and taking the proffered hand, pulled herself up. She lifted her other hand to her head, touching the source of the blood running down her face. "It's just a scratch. Nothing to worry about."

Freed of his obligations towards the guest in his team, Jack finally could take care of the one person he worried about most.

He rushed into the corner he had seen the body. Coming closer, Jack suddenly hesitated. He didn't quite understood why. He had to know how Daniel was. Only…what if they had been too late after all? What if Daniel was dead? What if...?

Inhaling deeply, Jack pulled himself together. Waiting wouldn't change a thing, no matter what the situation was. It would only endanger the success of this mission.

He stepped closer, looking over Dr. Fraiser's shoulder, who had deactivated her helmet as well. She was checking out the still form.

Relief flooded through him when he saw it was indeed Daniel they had found. The dark blond hair was a tangled mess, matted with blood and dirt. His face was pale, black and blue bruises standing out in a stark contrast to the whiteness of his skin. Without his glasses he looked incredibly young. The eyes were closed, the right one almost swollen shut, and Jack couldn't tell if the young man was conscious or not. He almost hoped he would be out. This way he wouldn't feel the pain.

Daniel's capturers had removed all of his clothing, except a pair of dirty boxer shorts. This way Jack could see each and every wound on Daniel's body. A cold fury rose inside of him as he took in the blood crusted bands around his wrists and ankles. Daniel's abdomen - actually the whole lower part of his body - was covered with welts. Some of those had broken open and nobody had bothered to clean them up. If Arsaphes would have been standing in the same room with Jack at the very moment, there would have been no power in heaven or hell able to stop Jack from killing the Goa'uld.

"How is he?" he whispered to Fraiser.

"He's alive. That's all I can say right now," she answered, looking up at the colonel, concern plainly written in her eyes. "Help me out of this armor, please."

As it had been out of the question to bring along a first aid kid, Fraiser had resorted to tape a kit with the most important medication and tools she thought she might need to her body underneath the armor. Freed of the armor, she continued her examination a little bit more thoroughly, ignoring the colonel hovering at her shoulder.

Suddenly, a shutter rippled through Daniel's body. Eyes, blue-gray as the sky at a cloudy day, flew open.

"Nononononono," he whimpered, attempting to crawl further into his corner.

"Daniel, calm down."

Jack reached out his hand, but Daniel retreated even further, whimpering quietly to himself. His eyes were squinted shut again, his face a mask of terror.

"Daniel!" Fraiser now called out softly.

She also had no effect on him.

Jack's heart almost broke at the picture before him. There was nothing left of the young, enthusiastic, brilliant scientist who had saved his butt - and his soul - three years ago on Abydos and who had slowly but steady snuck his way into his heart over the last two years. He felt helpless and frustrated and very, very angry with the people who had done this to his friend. Somebody would have to pay. However, he had to get Daniel out of here first.

"We'd better move now," Sammy Jo said from the doorway. "I think somebody is coming."

Jack looked up. He had no idea how to move Daniel just right now, but he realized they couldn't stay much longer. Teal'c also showed up in the doorway.

"You think, he can walk, doc?" Jack asked Fraiser.

The doctor furrowed her brow. "I'd rather not move him, Colonel."

"We probably don't have a choice in this matter." Jack could hear some sounds in the distance, coming closer.

He stepped up to Daniel and grabbed him under his arm. "Danny, we have to leave here."

Daniel recoiled from Jack's touch.

"Nononono," the young man whimpered again.

"I'm sorry about this, my friend. We've got to go." Ignoring Daniel's terror - though it was one of the hardest things he had ever done in his life - he pulled his friend to his feet. "Doc, do you have something to calm him down a bit?"

Janet took a syringe and reached for Daniel's right arm. Jack had to restrain the linguist forcefully, so the doctor could check out Daniel's arm for a vein to inject the drug. His eyes widened when he saw several points where needles had punctured the white skin before.

Eyes, darkened in concern, looked up to Jack. Janet shook her head slightly. "I don't know what they have given him, and without knowing, I don't dare to give him something else. I'm sorry."

"So am I," Jack muttered under his breath. Grabbing the linguist more tightly, he draped a jacket Sammy Jo handed him around the freezing body. Then he moved to the door, pulling Daniel along. "Come on, Danny."

After a moment of resistance, Daniel gave up. This concerned Jack to no small degree. Daniel never gave up so easily. This wasn't the Daniel he knew anymore.

Teal'c awaited them in the corridor. They had recovered the staff weapons and the zat-guns the guards had dropped when the attack had begun. Teal'c handed one of the guns to Jack.

"Okay, let's get to the 'gate. Teal'c, you lead."

The tall warrior nodded and took point after casting one last look at the form of Daniel, hunched shivering against Jack's side.

They got as far as to the next corner when suddenly an explosion shook the base of the palace.

**********

Sam tightened the grip on her weapon. She looked around at the faces of the men and women - Tok'Ra and human alike - who had volunteered to go with her to Earth to defend the Stargate and assist the rebellion there. Martouth gave some last orders to the leader of the first team, a tall woman with bright red hair. Sam was with the second team, which was led by Martouth. The Tok'Ra had wanted to leave her behind, but she had refused, and finally he had given in, muttering something to the extent that no matter the universe a woman came from, she could be just as stubborn.

After the news of the Earth's rebellion attack had reached the Tok'Ra, the rebels had not immediately sprung into action. Most of them had been of the opinion that this was an Earth problem, and they shouldn't get involved. Finally, Martouth and Sam had persuaded the council that somebody should come to help, because when the Earth's rebellion was a success, it would also be a big victory for the Tok'Ra. Besides, about half of the members of the Tok'Ra rebel base originated on Earth, and many of them had been former members of the rebellion there. The council had decided that whoever wanted to go, could go.

Twenty-seven men and women had volunteered, and so they had formed three teams with nine members each. The plan they had come up with demanded that team one and two would render whatever help they could give the Earth's rebels while team three would guard the 'gate after they had secured it.

The leader of the third team, a stocky built man with a military hair cut, began to punch symbols on the Dial Home Device. As he touched the red crystal in the center of the DHD, the 'gate activated.

They walked through the 'gate, firing their weapons.

The guards in the room had not been prepared for an attack from behind, and only two or three got their weapons around to return fire before they were killed like their comrades.

The teams spread out, securing the room. An explosion in the distance was proof the rebellion on Earth had already begun.

"All secured," the third team's leader confirmed as all his people were in place.

"Good luck," the red haired woman called out. She gathered her team and went for the exit. They were going to fight her way to the throne room, hoping to get their hands on Arsaphes. When he was dead, the rebellion would be as good as over.

"Good luck," Martouth replied. He held up his hand, and as soon he had gathered his team together, he moved out of the 'gate room, following the first team.

For a short while they went the same way as the other team. There was some resistance from Jaffa with armor topped by a ram's head, but it was sporadic, and they had no problems getting past them. After a short while, a thin man with a moustache led team number two along another corridor and down a couple of stairways.

There they finally encountered more serious resistance.

**********

SG-1 walked as fast as they could along the corridors of the prison complex. However, they were seriously slowed down by Daniel Jackson. Jack had to support most of the weight of the injured linguist, and it was amazing the younger man could walk at all. Most times, he was hanging limply against the colonel, only some instinct making him move his legs once in a while. Jack was not sure if Daniel had any idea where he was or if he knew they were here to save him. Once or twice there had been some resistance coming from him against moving any further, but Jack had simply continued dragging him along, and after a short while the other man always gave up.

A blast from a staff weapon coming from ahead stopped their approach.

Jack pushed Daniel gently against a doorway, to get him out of the line of fire, then he pulled his own gun out. Daniel slid down the door and came to rest in a heap on the floor. With one last backward glance to his friend, Jack crouched low, peering ahead.

A group of ram-headed guards had holed up in a room at the end of the corridor. Jack and his people would have to go through that room, as it was the only way out of the prison complex. Sammy Jo and Teal'c were already laying down fire, but the guards had too good a cover, and no side could score any hits.

"A kingdom for a hand grenade," Jack muttered as he looked for a way out of the mess.

**********

Former Major Bert Samuels woke from the sounds of a distant explosion. For a moment he was disoriented not to awake in his own bed then he remembered he had been gone to sleep on the couch in his office. Lord Arsaphes wished him to give his undivided attention to the interrogation of Jackson which meant going home for the night had been out.

Another explosion jolted him fully awake. Quickly, he dressed. Then he took a gun out of his desk and went to the door.

He wondered what could be going on. Since Lord Arsaphes' rise to power, there had been a few attempts on the Goa'uld's life. All had failed, of course. The Goa'uld's technology and power was far too great, and any resistance was doomed. Samuels had seen that very early on, and wisely decided to move over to the winner's side. In the beginning he had had some pangs of remorse, but soon he discovered a life under the Goa'uld had some advantages for somebody ambitious…and he was nothing but ambitious.

In the last few months he had quickly risen in the ranks. Being the head warden of Arsaphes prisons didn't sound like much, but for somebody who wasn't a Jaffa or a Goa'uld host, it was pretty high. Not that he was extremely eager to fall in one of those two categories. Besides, his current post gave him the opportunity to...indulge in some of the things he was enjoying very much, but hadn't been able to allow to come out in the open before.

Yes, things had been going very much to his liking.

Until …

The escape of Daniel Jackson had left a dark stain on his so far flawless performance. Samuels still had no real idea how the Egyptologist had managed to get out of his cell, through the 'gate and to this planet. If he hadn't managed to get him back…. He shuddered at the thought of what would have happened then. It wouldn't have been pleasant. Not at all.

Well, he got him back, and so he had been handed a second chance. He had every intention to use that second chance.

He stepped out into the corridor. If there really should be an attack - how ever useless it might be - of the resistance on the palace, he better made sure Jackson was still secure. He wouldn't put it past some lunatic fanatics to get down here and try to spring the linguist. For some reasons the man seemed to be quite popular with the resistance - though Samuels couldn't understand why.

He was about to walk into the corridor which led to the cell block, when he heard somebody moving into his direction.

"We have to turn to the left here."

Samuels froze. He knew this voice. Then he shook his head. This was not possible.

Before the others came into view, he slipped into a room, leaving the door open a small gap. As the others moved by, he caught a peek at the blond woman leading them.

Samantha Carter!

It was her after all.

How did she get here? Why was she together with three Serpent guards? Moreover, why was one of the Serpent guards dragging Jackson along?

Samuels had to stifle a gasp when the tallest of the guards turned around for a moment, and he got a good look at his face. This was getting more confusing by the second.

Samuels had seen the First Prime of Apophis only on two occasions, but there was no mistaking him.

After the group had passed, Samuels closed the door completely. He had to think.

He just couldn't imagine Apophis hitching up with the Tok'Ra. The Serpent lord hated the Goa'uld rebels even more than Arsaphes did. But this had been Teal'c.

This didn't make any sense.

Unless…unexpectedly something from previous day popped up in his mind. Something Jackson had said during his audience with Arsaphes.

"I'm not the Daniel Jackson from this universe. I'm from another universe, one without all this...madness."

And, later in the interrogation room.

"Please, let me go. I told you, I'm not the man you want. I'm a Daniel Jackson from another universe."

What…what if he had been telling the truth? Samuels hadn't believed him back then, and he had a hard time believing him now. However, there were other things, little things he had ignored so far, which suddenly made sense. Like the fact that after Jackson's escape, all the wounds from almost two weeks of torture of his the body had miraculously vanished. Then, even under the influence of the truth serum, Jackson hadn't said one thing about the Tok'Ra's hideaways. It had almost been as if he hadn't known.

Maybe he really hadn't known.

So, if Jackson had indeed come from a parallel universe, was it possible it was one where there was a Teal'c working for the Tok'Ra?

Samuels began to massage his hurting temple with his left hand. This couldn't be true. No way.

Besides, even if it was, it didn't help him a bit right now.

Once more he opened the door a bit, peeking outside. The group had passed around the next bend and was out of sight. He heard a blast from a staff weapon and then another one.

Who was fighting against whom?

He tightened the grip on his gun and opened the door completely, slipping outside. He moved to the next intersection. There he peeked around the corner. The group with Teal'c, Carter and the two Serpent guards was involved with a fire fight with some of Arsaphes' guards who had holed up in the guard's room. Jackson was laying behind the group, slumped against a closed door.

Suddenly the injured man moved. For a minute he looked around, disoriented, then he worked his way up the door to his feet. Stumbling he began to make his way towards where Samuels was hiding.

**********

Daniel was living in a never-ending nightmare. He was hurting, confused and feeling very, very sick. Something had been happening, but in his current state of mind he had no clear idea what it was. He had been jolted around, aggravating the pain he was feeling even more. All he wanted to do right now was to curl up and die.

But for some reasons he couldn't do that.

Somebody wanted him alive.

Suddenly, memory returned to him.

Arsaphes wanted him as a host for a Goa'uld!

Daniel's eyes flew open.

He was laying on the ground in a corridor. Some Jaffa guards were fighting against some other people Daniel couldn't see. He didn't know who the others were, and right now, he didn't really care. The only reason those guards were here had to be they wanted to take him to the implantation ceremony.

He had to get out of here!

Gathering what was left of his strength, he pulled himself up against the door he had been laying against. The short exercise almost did him in. Breathing hard, he slowly began to move along the corridor, away from the fight. The noises from the battle covered whatever sound he made.

Luckily, the corridor had an intersection not too far away. There, Daniel turned to the left, not too sure where he should go, only knowing he had to get away from those guards behind him.

The new corridor was different from the others, insofar as the doors here looked less like cell doors and more like doors leading to offices or labs. They were painted in mute ocher and beige colors, and there were no locks on the outside.

Daniel tried the first door, looking for a place to hide. The door opened soundlessly, and he slipped inside. It was dark in the room, only the illumination coming from the corridor shedding some light. When he closed the door behind him, the room fell back into darkness.

Leaning against the door, he tried to regain his breath. He was tired, so tired. The short walk had taken all the strength he had left. He closed his eyes.

With a startle gasp, he jerked back from the brink of sleep. He couldn't go to sleep, not now. He had to find a way out of here, away from the Jaffa and away from the threatening implantation.

For a short moment, he pondered that the fasted and safest way out of this prison would be his own death. Dead he would be of no use to the Goa'uld. They wouldn't implant a larva into a corpse. Then he recalled the Goa'uld sarcophagus and realized that death wasn't as eternal as it used to be. Even if he should be able to kill himself, there was always the possibility he was found in time for them to bring him back. He had spent enough time in various sarcophagi to know of their power over his life...and his soul.

Besides, Daniel didn't think suicide was a valid option, ever.

He pushed himself off the door he had been leaning against, gasping quietly when the movement aggravated his wounds again and walked slowly into the room. From underneath the door, a small sliver of light gave a little bit of illumination, enough for Daniel to see, now that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness.

When the door had been open, he had made out a some furniture, a desk, a chair, a cabinet, and a few shelves. He went around the desk, falling heavily into the comfortable chair behind it.

Daniel wasn't really sure what he was looking for, but then right now he wasn't too sure of anything anyway. A blinding headache made thinking an ordeal. His last clear memory was of being shackled to this OR table by Samuels and his goons. Then, all he could remember was pain, all-encompassing, everlasting agony.

A sudden burning sensation made him almost scream. He fell out of the chair, curling into a tight ball, wrapping his arms around himself.

He was so intent on the pain, he never noticed the door opening once more and a man entering the room.

**********

Jack fired over the heads of the guards, freeing some plaster from the ceiling above them. It didn't seem to impress them particularly.

"Damn," he cursed, opening his helmet so he could be understood over the noise of the fight. "We won't be able to get past them. We have to find another way out."

"There's no other way out," Sammy Jo called out from the place she had taken cover.

"You're sure about that?" Jack called back.

"Pretty sure."

"Pretty sure or 'sure' sure?"

"Pretty sure," she admitted, turning to the colonel with a half smile. "There was a corridor back there. Maybe it's another way out."

Firing a few more shots at the guards ahead of them, Jack turned to pick up Daniel, only to find him gone. "Oh damn," he cursed again, much more forcefully than before. "Where did Daniel go?" he asked no one in particular.

Sammy Jo and Dr. Fraiser looked at the place they had seen Daniel the last time, finding it empty.

"He can't have gone far in the condition he's in," the doctor stated, also opening her helmet. "I'm sorry, I should have stayed with him."

"No doc, we needed you up front," Jack said, taking some of the guilt off her.

"He's my patient," she said, still looking distressed. Jack might have ordered her to the front, but Daniel was still her patient and thus her responsibility.

"We'll find him, don't worry," Jack said with more confidence than he was feeling. Actually, he was extremely worried. Daniel was in a bad physical shape, and that he had left them in the condition he was in didn't cast a good light on his mental state either. "Okay, doc, Sammy Jo, you go back to that corridor while Teal'c and I give you cover. Look out for Daniel. He must be somewhere back there. Everything clear?"

Both women nodded.

"Okay. Go!"

Jack fired at the guards, while Janet and Sammy Jo raced to the intersection. He hit one of the guards who had peeked out a little bit too far, and in the ensuing confusion, Teal'c and Jack retreated as well.

From the intersection, the corridor ran in both directions for at least a hundred yards. Both ways looked equally unappealing to Jack, but a hunch made him turn to the left.

Ahead of him a door opened.

Jack skidded to a stop, his weapon at the ready.

Two men stepped out of a room to the left. Or, to be more precise, one man stepped out, dragging the other one with him.

Jack froze.

Daniel looked as if he was in intense pain. He was hunched forward, his arms wrapped tightly around his stomach. His eyes were darting wildly around, not really seeing where he was. He was shivering, which either could be attributed to his fear or to the fact he was cold as he had lost his jacket again and was dressed once more only in his boxer shorts. Or maybe it was both.

The man behind Daniel looked very, very familiar. Jack recognized him immediately.

The Air Force colonel had never been a big fan of Lt. Colonel Samuels in his own universe, and he had the distinct feeling he wasn't going to like this version any more. Most probably even less.

Right now, the only thing holding Jack back from blastering Samuels' brains against the wall was the gun he was pressing against Daniel's neck. Samuels was looking at Sammy Jo and Teal'c and didn't seem to notice Jack at first.

"Let him go!" Jack commanded. His zat-gun was aimed directly at Samuels' head.

As he heard Jack's voice, Samuels looked over to Jack. His eyes widened, and for a fraction of a second it looked as if he would let go of Daniel.

"Lord Arsaphes?" he asked, looking profoundly confused.

"I said: Let! Him! Go!" Jack's voice would have frozen a vulcano. Everything in him screamed to shoot. However, the two men were standing so close together the energy from the zat-gun would without doubt hit both. Normally, one zat-gun blast wasn't deadly, it only hurt like hell and stunned the person on the receiving end. Normally! In Daniel's current condition, Jack just couldn't take the risk.

Samuels tightened his grip on Daniel, a sudden realization dawning in his eyes. "He was right from the beginning, wasn't he? He is from a parallel universe...and so are you."

Jack didn't reply. His eyes, hard as flint, were fixed on Samuels. Slowly they got through, and the lieutenant colonel's hand on the gun began to shake slightly.

"You are not Arsaphes. You...you are not a Goa'uld. You are like the Jack O'Neill from before."

"What do you care? I said, let him go," Jack repeated once more.

"Let me pass first!" Samuels demanded, his voice a little bit firmer than before.

Jack shook his head. "You let him go, and I might let you live a little bit longer."

"This is not enough. You step aside. I'm taking Jackson with me, and when I'm safe, I let him go."

"No deal, Samuels."

Jack aimed for a lamp to Samuels' left and fired. Miniature lightning danced over the fixture, then the lamp exploded, showering the two men beneath it with splitters of glass. Daniel didn't even jerk.

All the while Sammy Jo had been sneaking up on the two men. Samuels had been so intent on the colonel, he hadn't noticed her approach. Suddenly, he must have seen her out of the corner of his eyes, because he twisted to his side. The gun left Daniel's neck for a short second as Samuels was pointing the weapon at Sammy Jo.

This one second was all Jack needed. Switching the zat-gun from his right hand to his left, he reached with his now free hand for his knife, pulling it and throwing it in one flowing motion.

"You stay ..." was all Samuels could say before Jack's knife hit him square in the right eye. He pulled the trigger of his gun, probably a reflexive motion as he was dead the moment the blade penetrated his brain. Nonetheless, the projectile had a very deadly potential.

A potential it fulfilled when it hit Sammy Jo in the left shoulder, slamming her against the wall behind her. Crimson darkness appeared on the light fabric of her shirt.

Jack was torn between two responsibilities. On one hand, one of his team was down. There was no telling how badly Sammy Jo was hurt. On the other hand, there was Daniel. Without the support from Samuels, he had crumpled to the ground and now was curled into a tight ball, his arms wrapped around his body. His eyes were crushed shut. He was moaning quietly to himself.

"I'll take care of Dr. Carter," a soft, calming voice spoke, pulling Jack out of his dilemma.

Jack smiled gratefully over to Janet Fraiser as he himself bent over Daniel. Teal'c took up his usual sentinel post, guarding the group against the Jaffa which might come at any moment.

"Daniel," Jack called out softly, reaching for his friend. When he touched him on the shoulder, Daniel emitted a short cry and tried to scramble away from him. Shuffling backwards on all fours, he bumped against Samuels' corpse which elicited another terrified scream from the young linguist. The scream cut right through Jack's heart.

"Daniel, please calm down. It's me, Jack," the colonel tried to placate Daniel with his softest voice. He crouched down just out of Daniel's reach. He removed the helmet of his armor and placed it on the ground at his side. "You are safe now. Nobody will hurt you anymore."

It seemed to take ages - though when he later checked the time, he realized it must have taken only a few seconds - until he got through to the terrified, young man.

"Ja...ck?" Daniel sounded as if he didn't - couldn't - believe what he was hearing. He opened his eyes to narrow slits, searching around for the source of the voice. "Jack," he said again, a little bit firmer this time as he caught sight of his friend.

Jack smiled, relieved when he heard Daniel speak his name. So, his friend was still in there somewhere. "Yes, it's me." Holding out his hand, he took a small step closer.

"Are you real?" Daniel asked confused as if still not quite sure he could trust his eyes and ears.

"Very real, Danny boy," Jack replied gently. He reached his hand out to Daniel, touching him gently on the shoulder. "And now we really have to get away from here."

"You won't leave me behind this time?" Again that little-boy-lost tone.

Jack's eyes widened in shock. How could Daniel think he would ever leave him behind? He would never…

Only, he already had. Twice. Once because he had though Daniel was already dead; the other time because he had had no other choice. He had sworn never again to leave Daniel behind. Ever. It didn't matter he was the only person to know of that oath. It was a binding oath and he wouldn't break it.

"No, I will not leave you behind," Jack said as firmly as he could around the lump that suddenly had taken up residency in his throat.

Finally Daniel accepted the proffered hand and Jack pulled him to his feet. Daniel was still shivering, and his wounds were standing out in a stark contrast to his pale skin, but at least his eyes were a little bit clearer now, and he looked around with something akin to interest. It was still a far cry away from the curiosity, which usually lit the younger man's face, but at least it wasn't this stark terror anymore, that had flashed up before.

"How did you find me?"

Why couldn't Daniel, even in a situation like this, stop asking questions? "Daniel, we don't have time right now for that. We've got to go."

"Where are we going?" Daniel was leaning heavily against the wall, only prevented from sliding down by the strong grip Jack had on his arm. He blinked owlishly, trying to make out what was going on. Though he usually could function quite well without his glasses, his vision was less than stellar, especially as exhausted as he was right now.

"We're going home," Jack answered as he wrapped his arm around Daniel's torso, draping the younger man's left arm over his own shoulder. Daniel's body was a heavy weight against his side, but at least it wasn't a dead weight.

He turned to check on Sammy Jo. With relief he noticed she was also back on her own two feet. Janet had immobilized her left arm with a sling she had made out of Samuels belt.

"How bad is it?" He asked, truly concerned.

"It's just a flesh wound. The bullet still has to get out else she will be okay," Janet explained.

"I'll be fine," Sammy Jo interrupted with an apologetic glance to Janet. "Jolinar can help me with the pain. We better be going now."

Jack agreed. He was wondering anyway what was holding back the Jaffa from the guard room. Not that he was complaining, but he would have expected them three minutes ago. There had been some noises coming from behind, but Jack had been so intent on Samuels' attempt of taking Daniel hostage, he hadn't really been paying much attention to it. Now he turned his focus back to where they've came from only to hear a loud explosion.

**********

They had lost two men to a trap the ram-headed guards had set up in one of the lower rooms and another three were wounded, though, luckily nothing serious. Sam Carter lost count how many levels they had passed by now. Remotely, she was wondering what the architect had thought when he had designed this place. She knew he must have had a very twisted mind as this building didn't seem to follow any particular logic.

Their guide, a former human slave in the palace, was holding up his hand, and the group stopped. Sam moved closer to Martouth and the guide and was able to follow his whispered report.

"We are now at the last level before the prison. There's a guard room ahead to the right with at least a half dozen Jaffa. It's the only way into the prison complex."

"Thanks." Martouth gathered his people together and explained the situation.

Suddenly, the sound of a fight came to their ears. They heard staff weapon blasts and the sound of zat guns firing. Instinctively, everybody took cover.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, as Martouth pulled back from peering around the corner.

"Hard to tell. I guess somebody is coming from the other side."

"Could it be O'Neill and his group?" Sam asked concerned. So far they had seen no sign of SG-1, and Sam was very worried.

"Sorry, I can't tell. We are still too far away," Martouth reply apologetic.

"What are we going to do now?"

"I guess, we should help out anyway," Martouth grinned, looking for a moment like a mischievous little boy.

Sam returned the grin. Splitting the group in two, they worked their way towards the guard's room. In an opportune moment, half the group with Sam in the lead, slipped past the open door of the room to the other side of the corridor. Sam could take a peek inside and saw at least half a dozen Jaffa crouching at the other side of the small room intent on something beyond the other exit. So far they didn't seem to have noticed that they had gotten new company.

Arriving in their new position, Sam unclipped one of her last two hand grenades from her belt. Holding down the trigger, she pulled the clip, arming the grenade.

She noticed that the sound of the battle on the other side had died done a bit. This could be either good or bad. No matter what, she wasn't willing to take any chances. Aiming carefully, she threw the grenade. The explosive device fell through the door into the room behind and rolled out of sight.

Sam held her breath, waiting for the explosion.

Four. Three. Two. One.

Ka-boom! A blinding flash and dust and smoke billowed out of the room. On a sign from Martouth, the two groups stormed forward, their guns blazing.

All resistance was overcome in a short time, and eight Jaffa lay dead in the guard room. As Sam and the others were securing their position, she was concerned there was no reaction from beyond the room. If those Jaffa really had been fighting SG-1, she asked herself what was taking them so long to realize their enemies had been gone.

Unless, they'd come too late.

"Colonel?" she called out as loud as she dared.

For a moment there was no reaction.

Then, "Carter?!"

Sam closed her eyes in relief. It was O'Neill's voice.

They joined up with the other group shortly after. Sam was appalled when she saw the condition Daniel was in even though she was relieved to see he was still alive - though only barely. Her heart contracted as she watched him stumbling along, most of his weight supported by the colonel. She'd never seen the usually so vibrant, young linguist so exhausted. The welts covering his body did nothing to appease her mind. Taking off her jacket, she helped to drape it over Daniel's shoulder. Concerned, she noticed how he first recoiled from her touch. Then he seemed to pull himself together and answered her gesture with a fatigued smile.

In the meantime, Martouth had brought Sammy Jo up to speed. Sam noticed a wound on Sammy Jo's shoulder, however she seemed to be barely affected by it, brushing off Martouth's concern with a small gesture. It had to be the Goa'uld - no Tok'Ra - within her, healing her even as they spoke.

It didn't take long for the two teams to agree on a plan. Martouth, Sammy Jo and the group of Tok'Ra rebels would go further into the prison complex, freeing the prisoners still there. The original SG-1 team including Dr. Fraiser would head back to the 'gate, taking Daniel to safety.

Saying good-bye wasn't easy. They all knew most likely they would never see each other again. However, there was no time for a long farewell.

"Thanks. For everything," Sam took Martouth's hand.

"I have to thank you, Sam. Your people have shown me there is always another way. Even if it sometimes is only realized in another universe," the Tok'Ra said with a small smile.

At the same time, Jack was thanking Sammy Jo. "I didn't want to take you along at first. I'm sorry. I was wrong."

"You were concerned because of Daniel. So was I. I understand. Please, bring him back home safely." She looked at Daniel, sorrow in her eyes. This would be the last time she would ever see her husband - or at least somebody looking exactly like her husband - alive.

Gently she reached out, touching Daniel on the cheek, a tear running down her own. At the feather light touch, Daniel's eyes opened. For the first time since they've found him in the cell, his eyes were clear, and he looked as if he knew what was going on. His hand reached up, covering Sammy Jo's. Something unspoken passed between them.

Daniel's eyes closed again, and his weight on Jack's side increased. Jack didn't need to be a doctor to tell he had passed out.

"Good bye," Sammy Jo whispered, her eyes shimmering in the light of the fluorescent lamps above.

Jack scooped Daniel up into his arms then the two teams parted.

**********

Arsaphes was furious. No, furious didn't even begin to describe what he was feeling right now. He was beyond furious. Way beyond.

How did they dare? How could they even think about opposing his reign? Moreover, where didn't they find the weapons and explosives to go through with their rebellion?

He thought he had managed to suppress all sparks of rebellious thoughts. Hadn't the burning of Europe and America and ninety percent of the rest of the world been enough? Those who had survived should be grateful he had allowed them to live. What else did it take to get those people to accept they had no chance whatsoever against his power?

And now this.

Arsaphes cast one last look at the naked, young girl draped seductively over his bed. Though, as a Goa'uld, he didn't need the physical 'exercise' the sexual act was to him, he usually enjoyed the control he had over the various slaves. Arsaphes knew the girl had been given a drug to make her obedient. Usually, he didn't care, though for some reasons he did today.

He got up, just as another explosion shook the palace. Slave boys rushed to help him back into his clothing. Then they vanished again like thin smoke, not seen, not felt.

He went to the control unit on the other side of the room. Reaching inside, he commanded the central core to ready the palace starship for take off. The rebels should see how they could carry on their useless fight as they were trying to breathe vacuum. Next, he would take his other three ships and would destroy this planet for good.

"What?" he couldn't quiet suppress a startled out-cry as the core denied him his request.

How ...?

He was torn out of his surprise by the girl who, without him noticing, had snuck up to him. She tried to jump him, but with a back hand slap he tossed her against one of the columns. She crumpled down, the neck at an unnatural angle.

Returning his attention to the control unit, he accessed the status. The rebels had come further than he had thought possible. The last explosion he had felt had been in the engine core. It was impossible now to take off.

"Guards!"

It looked like he would have to take another way.

**********

After they separated from the Tok'Ra, SG-1 made relatively good time on their way to the 'gateroom. Naturally it was far from fast enough for Jack. Shortly after they'd left the guard's room, Daniel had a violent seizure. Jack held him tightly, not knowing what else to do. While SG-1 guarded them, he whispered calming words to his friend, until, finally, after a long, long time, the seizure ended.

Now Jack carried him again, his still form a dead weight in his arms. If it weren't for the slow rise and fall of his friends chest, Jack would have feared the worst.

To say Jack was worried about Daniel, was a lot like saying the sky is blue or grass is green. Jack was worried, extremely worried. The inconsistencies in his friend's condition, the short spouts of almost being okay, alternating with total disorientation or the seizure, scarred the colonel on the deepest level.

Jack had once said, Daniel was the bravest of them all, and he still believed that. He and Sam and Teal'c, they'd all had gotten proper military training. They were as well prepared for such missions, as anybody could be - given that traveling through an alien device on a weekly basis wasn't really covered in most training manuals. They had been trained to handle a weapon, and they all knew how it was to fight in a war.

Not so Daniel. He belonged in a university or maybe some dig in the deserts of Egypt. Some place where his genius could thrive, and he could pass on his knowledge. Indiana Jones he was not.

Yes, Daniel knew how to handle a weapon. Yes, he knew how to defend himself. Yes, he was invaluable to the team with his knowledge and language skills. And yes, once again, Jack knew nobody he would rather have with him when the going got tough as partner and as a friend.

This didn't stop him from worrying - now more than ever.

Seeing Daniel in the state he was in - seeing him afraid of him - all this cut into Jack's heart, making him bleed inside. Knowing there was nothing he could do made things only worse.

So Jack did the only thing he knew.

He had to get Daniel home as fast as possible. At the base, they cold take proper care of his friend. There they could make him well again - Daniel again.

This hope was all Jack could cling to.

Jack was tired - carrying somebody like Daniel for any prolonged stretch of time wasn't easy even for somebody as fit as he was - but still he refused Teal'c's silent offer to take his burden off him. Daniel was his responsibility, and so it was his task to get him home.

God, he hoped they would get to the 'gateroom soon.

"The 'gateroom is just around the corner, sir," Sam whispered at his side. "There should be a Tok'Ra guard inside, so it might be a good idea for me to go first."

Jack nodded, knowing full well that if he or Teal'c would walked in first, most likely they would be mistaken for their local counter parts. The Tok'Ra here had this tendency to shot first and ask questions later. Not that the Tok'Ra from where they came from were any better.

Jack let Sam pass, slowing his step a little. He shifted Daniel's weight into a slightly more comfortable position; however this made the linguist moan quietly.

"Sorry, Daniel," Jack whispered into Daniel's ear, but the younger man didn't respond in any way.

Watching Sam, he nodded in approval when he saw how she readied her weapon before she slipped carefully through the opened 'gateway into the room behind. There was no sense in taking any risks. After all, there was a rebellion going on. Quietly, the group followed her.

Sam peeked past the curtains into the 'gateroom. When Sam suddenly pulled back, Jack knew there was a problem. The worried expression on his captain's face only confirmed it.

"What's up?" he whispered after Sam had made her way back to the small group.

"Jaffa!" Sam answered, also whispering though Jack could hear her anger. "Lots of them."

"Oh great," Jack replied sarcastically. "Just what we needed." Jaffa in the 'gateroom weren't good. Not good at all.

"I think, I saw Arsaphes too," she added, almost apologetically.

"Damn!" Jack cursed softly. He would have liked to add some more profanities, but didn't dare as he neither had the time nor could allow himself to get too loud and draw the attention of the Jaffa to SG-1.

"You're sure about that Arsaphes guy?"

Sam nodded. "Yes, sir." She didn't need to explain how she could be so sure, even without ever before having set eyes on the local head Goa'uld.

Jack's mind was racing. That Arsaphes was in the 'gateroom could only be for two reasons. Either he had decided the rebellion was going far too well and now was waiting for reinforcement or he was taking his tail between his legs and was running. Neither prospect was particularly good for the fate of planet Earth. If Arsaphes was getting reinforcements, the rebellion wouldn't last much longer, and if he ran, he certainly would be coming back with more ships, and he would be very, very pissed. A pissed Goa'uld wasn't something to meddle with.

Damn, where were the people from the resistance? Moreover, where were the Tok'Ra who suppossingly had been guarding the 'gate? This was their Earth, so they should take care of their own mess. Jack had other things to worry about.

From the 'gate room, Jack could hear the distinct sounds of somebody starting the dial-out sequence.

Damn, damn, and damn once more. This wasn't his fight. For Daniel's sake and for the sake of his team, he should let Arsaphes go. After the Goa'uld was gone, they still could dial to the planet with that mirror and could go home to their own dimension, their own world. Let the local resistance deal with the problem.

Except...Colonel Jack O'Neill couldn't do that. He would never be able to look at himself in the mirror, knowing he had condemned a whole planet to extinction. Yeah, he thought, shaving could turn into a real difficult task without seeing my face.

Damn, this wasn't his planet, his Earth.

For a second he remembered the story Daniel had told when he had returned from his first trip to the other alternate reality. That Jack O'Neill had been willing to go and speak to the Teal'c there to buy some time for Daniel to go back to his Earth, knowing very well there was no chance whatsoever to save himself. By buying those precious few minutes, he had helped Daniel to get away with the knowledge of coordinates of the place where the attack of the Goa'uld had originated. This knowledge had enabled them to get there before the ships started, and this in turn had helped them to defend Earth successfully, preventing the invasion just in time.

That Jack must have known as well that in giving one world the chance to be saved, he was condemning his own world and himself to a certain death. Right now Jack knew, trying to stop Arsaphes would most certainly end in his death and the death of his friends. They were out-numbered and out-gunned.

The decision was one of the hardest Jack ever had to make, but in the end, there could only be one answer. He looked into the expectant faces of his team members - his friends. They waited for him to come to a decision, and he knew, no matter what it would be, they would stand at his side. A warm feeling of pride filled him, and he smiled for a second before he turned serious again.

"We have to stop him somehow. Any ideas?"

In the 'gateroom the next few symbols were pressed. Jack was surprised so little time had passed.

"I have one more grenade," Sam offered, holding out the explosive device.

This was not much, but it was better than nothing. At worst it would be enough to create a diversion. At best, it would take out a few Jaffa along the way, maybe even the head honcho.

"Okay, get ready."

Gently, Jack lowered Daniel's body to the ground. He hated the thought of taking away Daniel's last chance of getting him to safety. The younger man didn't even stir, as Jack laid him down. Jack made sure his friend was resting as comfortable as possibly on the hard floor. In a last good-bye, he stroke sweat dampened hair from the pale face. Jack could only hope if they died in their attempt to stop Arsaphes, somebody else would take care of his friend. After all, the Daniel from this universe was a big shot with the resistance. He had friends here.

He hoped.

He tightened the grip on his staff weapon then turned away from his friend. Three pairs of eyes were watching him, awaiting his orders. Inhaling deeply, he centered himself. "Carter, be ready on my mark. Teal'c, you're with her. Dr. Fraiser, you're with me. Let's go!"

In the 'gate room, the Stargate opened with a watery explosion.

**********

Former U.S. Air Force Major Charles Kawalski knelt down, checking the pulse of the naked girl who lay in a crumpled heap at the base of one of the huge columns in Arsaphes' throne room. He shouldn't have bothered. Her wide open eyes and the unnatural angle her head lay in regard to her body were signs enough there was nothing he would be able to do for her anymore.

With a sigh, he closed her eyes, his hand resting for one second on her cooling cheek. He had known her from before as she had been a member of the resistance like himself. Then one day she had been taken to the palace, like so many girls before, and he had been sure, he would never ever seen her again. Maybe this would have been better as he didn't need to know she was dead like so many other people he had known.

"The place is clean, Major," a member of his team approached him. "He's gone."

Like the others from his team, Suzan Wallow sported a wound, a nasty affair from a staff weapon blast on her shoulder. From experience, he knew those wounds hurt like hell, but she didn't seem to be bothered very much by it. Or maybe it was pure stubbornness which carried her on like it did the others. Like it did himself.

He rose, moaning quietly when he put weight on his left leg. At least the wound had stopped bleeding.

"Where did he go?"

"My best bet is, he took the elevator," she sighed, pointing to the statue of a ram-headed man. At his feet, a circle was carved in the stone of the floor in the pattern which indicated one of those elevator thingies the Goa'uld were so fond of.

"Okay," Kawalski nodded, "then I guess we should follow him. Get the others."

He activated his walkie-talkie, but the interference from the palace was still too strong to get through to one of the other teams. He could only hope that the fact that Arsaphes was gone was a sign the rebellion was winning. He hadn't heard any explosions in a while, but was not sure if this was a good or bad.

Minutes later, five people gathered at the feet of the statue. Five people was all that was left of the team he had started out with. Five out of twelve. Dave Finkelman, Patrick Holmes, Ellen MacGregor, Sandra Mill, Frank Auden, Huang Chen, Bo Mwengo. They were all dead. Good men and women. Dead. Seven more on the list of millions who had died fighting against the oppressor.

Arsaphes! God, how he hated that man. If you could call him a man anymore, anyway. To think this creature now lived in the body of a man he had proudly called his comrade once, a friend even. A man he had played street hockey with and beat at poker.

Why hadn't he seen the change sooner? Why hadn't he realized, Jack hadn't been himself anymore, after that first trip through the 'gate? Why hadn't he been able to stop him? Why?

Pushing aside his dark thoughts, he concentrated on the mission again. He was here to do something, not to dwell on things from the past, things the couldn't change anyway. Today, he had the chance to right what he had done wrong three years ago. By God, he would take that chance.

He nodded to Suzan, who activated the elevator with a bracelet she had taken from a dead Jaffa guard. Kawalski could only hope it would take them to the last setting of the elevator thingy.

**********

Jack wished he had a little bit more time to prepare. That and a small brigade of soldiers on their side. However, he didn't have time, and he didn't have a small brigade.

The 'gate had been activated and they had run out of time. They had to act, and they had to act now.

He nodded to Carter who pulled the pin on her grenade. Counting off the seconds, he signaled her at the last possible moment. Without hesitation, she threw the grenade into the 'gate room.

The explosion made the curtains billow outwards. Jack signaled to Teal'c and Carter then they raced inside.

There were at least two dozen Jaffa. Half of them had been stunned by the grenade, but most of them were already gathering their wits, their staff weapons ready. On the steps of the 'gate stood a tall man, dressed in a golden Goa'uld armor. His helmet was open, and white glowing eyes regarded the four people storming into the room.

Again Jack was shocked by the sight of the man with his face. It was like looking into a distorted mirror.

With an effort Jack pulled himself together and fired his staff weapon at Arsaphes.

The Goa'uld lifted his right arm with a ribbon device, and the energy blast dispersed against a force field. A satisfied grin showed on the familiar face.

Jack longed to wipe that grin away. However, right now he was busy with other things.

Dodging to the right, he avoided an energy blast by a hair's breadth. He fired at the Jaffa, who had shot at him, hitting him square into the chest. By the energy, the guard was thrown against the wall behind him, crumbling down to never rise again.

Again Jack attempted to target Arsaphes, but was distracted by another Jaffa coming at him. Using his weapon like a club, he hit the Jaffa at his head, knocking him out. Something hot passed his head, singeing his hair a bit.

Suddenly Carter showed up at his side, hitting a Jaffa who had appeared from the left with her zat gun. The Jaffa went down, convulsing in pain.

"Good shot, Carter!"

"Always a pleasure, Sir." She already searched for a new target.

Jack caught a glimpse of the Goa'uld at the other side of the room. Arsaphes cast one last glance towards the fight, then he turned around, ready to step through the 'gate. Jack knew, he would never reach him in time.

There had to be a way to stop him. There had to be!

"Carter, the DHD!" Jack screamed over the ruckus, pointing at the Dial Home Device at her right. "We have to switch off the 'gate."

Carter looked where he was pointing, then nodded in understanding. She shot at another Jaffa, missing him. Then she dashed over to the alien device while Jack was giving her cover.

The thing with the Stargates and the DHD was that it only shut down after somebody had stepped through the event horizon and had been deposited safely on the other side of the galaxy. As the transport didn't happen in zero time - though less than ten seconds for crossing a whole galaxy was as instantaneous as anybody could ask for - there was window of opportunity for larger groups to pass through, allowing for a short span of time between each member of the group.

A Dial Home Device didn't have an off switch which could close the 'gate even if nobody had gone through. After some time it would close by itself as the energy ran out, but currently they just didn't have the time.

The only way to cut it off, was to overload it. However, this would destroy the DHD and with it, the only chance SG-1 had to go home and get Daniel to safety.

Jack fired at a Jaffa who was aiming to intercept Carter. Silently, he urged her to greater speed. Arsaphes was almost at the event horizon. He would be gone in a second.

Then Sam reached the DHD. She fired her gun, enveloping the alien device with lightning.

The 'gate flickered for a moment, then stabilized again. Arsaphes hesitated for the fraction of a second, then he turned around, ready to leap through the shimmering surface of the still open wormhole.

Once more, Sam shot at the DHD. More lightning, then, finally, the energy of the device overloaded. It exploded with a load bang, throwing Sam on her back.

The 'gate switched off.

With an angry roar, Arsaphes whirled around.

Jack used the distraction, and fired another staff weapon blast at the Goa'uld. Again, the blast dispersed in Arsaphes' force field.

Jack knew he had to get closer.

Suddenly, something hit Jack's left arm. A burning pain traveled outward, enveloping him for a moment, and he went down. He fell behind the body of a dead Jaffa, and the corpse saved him from being hit again, as another shot aimed at him hit it. Instead the stench of burned flesh filled Jack's nostrils.

Breathing heavily, Jack tried to assess the damage. His arm was burning from pain, and it was all he could do not to cry out. Looking at the wound, he realized he must have been hit by a staff weapon blast. It had burned away part of the uniform. Detached he wondered what would have happened if he hadn't worn one of the Jaffa uniforms. Those things were uncomfortable as hell, but they had pretty good protection.

Pushing aside the pain forcefully, knowing he couldn't show any signs of weakness - not now of all times - he got back to his feet. The Jaffa who had shot him had been taken care of by Teal'c, and for the moment nobody was aiming at him.

Grinding his teeth, he held his weapon tighter with his right hand and moved on.

**********

Daniel woke alone. Disorientated, he glanced around, trying to get his bearings.

Where was he?

Slowly he pushed himself up into a sitting position, groaning on the racking pain which raced through his body. For a few moments he just sat there, trying to get his breath back. Slowly he rocked back and forth, his arms wrapped tightly around his body, riding out the wave.

What had happened?

Why couldn't he remember anything?

Everything was so confusing. His head hurt, and he had problems focusing properly.

Squishing his eyes tightly, he tried to recall what had happened. There was something about Jack, something not quiet right with him, but Daniel couldn't recall what. Some images flashed across the surface of his inner eye lids.

Jack, his eyes glowing.

Major Samuels, of all people, somehow threatening.

Jack leaving him alone, telling him he wasn't wanted anymore.

Teal'c in a Jaffa uniform.

Samantha and somehow not Samantha.

Then Jack again, this time with a knife in his hand.

This didn't make sense.

There was pain, blinding hot pain.

But Daniel had no idea why.

Suddenly, he became aware of sounds coming from nearby. Sounds of guns fired. Explosions. Fighting.

Moaning softly, he worked his way up against the wall he was leaning against. Like a moth drawn to the burning light of a candle, Daniel walked towards the sounds. Deep in his mind a voice screamed at him, telling him this was not the wisest action for him to take, but he walked on nevertheless. There was no rhyme nor reason for what he was doing. It was just something he had to do.

Parting a golden curtain, he entered a large room. The familiar form of the Stargate beckoned out to Daniel, and walking along the curtains, clinging to them, Daniel got closer. He didn't see the corpses lying around, he didn't smell the stench of burning flesh nor did he hear the cries of the wounded.

He had to get to the 'gate.

**********

Only a few more steps, was all Jack needed.

Half leaping, half stumbling, up the stairs, he reached for the Goa'uld still standing there. Although the alien regarded his approach with a cold smile in the beginning, he now looked angry. He lifted his hand to use his deadly glove with the glowing crystal.

Then he got a clear look for the very first time at his approaching enemy, and he recoiled in shock.

"Who are you?" the Goa'uld asked, confused for a moment as he took a step backward.

Jack didn't answer. He knew he had to use the element of surprise his face was giving him. Swinging his staff, he hit Arsaphes in his legs, making him stumble.

Jack dropped the staff weapon and pulled out his knife. Now Arsaphes would have to pay.

He leaped at him.

Suddenly, unbelievable pain lanced through him. For a moment everything went dark then the world exploded in burning, white light. Twitching uncontrollable, he fell to his side, hard.

Somebody had hit him with a zat gun shot.

I'm sorry, Daniel, he thought, as darkness came to claim him...

... only to be pulled out of the darkness by even more pain. Somebody had grabbed him brutally at his wounded arm. He opened his eyes, to look into his own face, the eyes glowing like ice.

"Who are you?" Arsaphes repeated his question, holding the palm of his hand close to Jack's head.

"I...am...you!" Jack croaked, his voice hoarse from pain. Breathing became an effort.

"Who sent you? And why?"

The crystal began to glow an angry red, and Jack tried to pull back but couldn't.

"I...am...your worst nightmare," Jack whispered, what was left of his strength seeping away. He knew he would die soon, but still he wasn't ready to give that bastard the satisfaction of telling him about the parallel universes.

"Who sent you?" Arsaphes repeated, angry beyond control.

The air before Jack began to shimmer, and his pain reached a new level as the alien device began to warp the molecules of his brain into a new form. A form which would make the continued survival of a Colonel Jack O'Neill an impossibility.

A shot rang out, then another. Arsaphes jerked as he was hit once, twice. He let Jack drop to the ground like a child would drop a broken doll it had lost all interest in. Slowly he turned, facing his new attacker. A third shot echoed across the room, than Jack couldn't see anymore as darkness finally won the battle over him, and he was pulled down into the dark abyss.

**********

As if watching through a unfocused camera, Daniel saw two men struggling in front of the Stargate, their bodies framed by the circular alien device. Both looked somehow familiar to Daniel, but then somehow not.

Then, one of the men gained the upper hand as the other cried out in pain as lightning danced over his body. He fell, and now Daniel could see it was Jack.

"Jack!" he whispered, stumbling as his legs wobbled underneath him. He pulled himself up against one of the curtains. He left the meager support they had offered, limping across the room, closer to the 'gate.

The man in the golden uniform pulled Jack up and placed his palm against Jack's head. His eyes glowed in a white light. Daniel gasped when he recognized that this man was somehow also Jack. He stumbled, almost fell.

The world began to spin, faster and faster.

Then, two shots. A third. Jack fell and with him fell the other Jack.

"Nooo," Daniel moaned as he went to his knees. "Jack!" Tears streamed down his face. "Jack," he whimpered as he curled on the floor, his arms wrapped tightly around himself.

Somewhere was darkness waiting for him, and for once, he let himself fall into it gratefully.

**********

Kawalski lowered his gun as Arsaphes crumpled to the ground beside his last victim.

The Goa'uld elevator had delivered them only moments before in the 'gateroom. In a split second he evaluated the situation he found.

They had landed in the middle of a battle. There were dead people everywhere, Jaffa and normal humans alike. The dead Jaffa outnumbered the humans at least two to one.

Still, there were enough Jaffa alive to cause trouble.

On the pedestal with the Stargate stood Arsaphes, holding a man in a Jaffa uniform in his grip. He was using that cursed Goa'uld ribbon device on his helpless victim. As Kawalski knew there were a few humans disguised as Jaffa in the force that attacked the palace, he suspected this man was one of them. Something seemed to be familiar about him, but Kawalski couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

Knowing hesitation would ensure this man's death - and burning for a chance to give Arsaphes what he deserved - he commanded his people to spread out and take care of every Jaffa still standing. Then he took off towards the hated enemy. He fired his first shots still halfway across the room.

His third bullet finally felled the bastard.

A strangled cry made him turn around.

A few yards away from the 'gate, another man had gone down to his knees. He was scarcely dressed, just a pair of boxer shorts and a blue jacket open at the chest. Eyes, larger than life, starred at the two fallen men in front of the Stargate.

Kawalski almost couldn't believe his eyes. This was Daniel Jackson. The last thing he had heard was that the brilliant young man, who had given them the key to Pandora's box three years ago, was a prisoner deep in the bowls of Arsaphes dungeon. How in the name of the lord had he found his way up here?

Jackson's mouth opened and he uttered a word, though Kawalski couldn't understand what he was saying. Then his body tilted to the side, his eyes closing.

"I'll be with you in moment, Jackson," Kawalski silently promised the other man. He always had been kind of fond of the young scientist. Though without him, all this wouldn't have happened because without him they would never have managed to open the 'gate to Abydos Kawalski never had blamed him. It wasn't his fault as nobody ever could have guessed what had awaited them on the other side. Anyway, Jackson had redeemed himself over and over again in the last few years, proving to be a charismatic leader and excellent strategist…and a good friend.

Kawalski turned back to the Stargate. He had to hurry before all what they had achieved so far might have been in vain.

Racing up the stairs to the Stargate, Kawalski turned Arsaphes around. The Goa'uld was still alive, still breathing, though a small trickle of blood ran out of his mouth. He struggled to speak, but no words got out. White glowing eyes glared at his executioner.

Kawalski raised his gun. "This is for all mankind!" he whispered and fired two more bullets into Arsaphes' head. Then he turned the body around and shot him twice more into the neck where the Goa'uld lived inside the human body. Only when there was nothing left but one bloody mess, he stopped.

It was over. The oppressor of Earth was finally dead.

He reached for the unconscious form of Arsaphes latest victim and turned him around.

His eyes widened.

No! This couldn't be. He just killed that man. Glancing over to the corpse of Arsaphes, he almost expected him to be gone, but the alien was still there, still dead as a door nail.

The man who looked just like Jack O'Neill moaned. His eye lids fluttered, then opened to deep brown, familiar orbs.

"Jack?" Kawalski sputtered, thoroughly confused.

Eyes, clouded with pain, searched the source of the voice speaking to him. Kawalski could see O'Neill had difficulties focusing properly, but finally those eyes fixed on his face. "Kawalski?"

"This can't be real." Kawalski rose, stepping back from Jack, still not quite believing what he was seeing. First Jackson, now O'Neill. What fate had decided that those who had gone out to conquer the stars three years ago, were now again joined together in one room? He didn't count Arsaphes in this equation as he had stopped being Jack O'Neill a long time ago.

This had to be another of those Goa'uld tricks. Maybe that man was a clone? Or Arsaphes had found another way to make a copy of himself. Or...

"Is he dead?" O'Neill asked weakly as he struggled to raise onto his elbows but failing at the first try. He tried again, this time making it into a half sitting position. His eyes darted around, searching for something.

"Who?" Kawalski asked carefully, though he knew already what O'Neill wanted.

"Me. The other me?"

This got more complicated by the minute. "Arsaphes is dead," he said carefully.

"Good," O'Neill sighed, then the effort to stay in his sitting position suddenly seemed too much, and he slipped to the ground. His head lolled to the side, and his eyes closed.

**********

Janet Fraiser breathed a relieved sigh when she saw Arsaphes fall. It was over. It was finally over. She lowered the gun she had used to take out as many Jaffa as she could, though a standard Air Force issue wasn't really the best weapon to fight the Jaffa as the bullets usually ricocheted off their armor.

Arsaphes was dead, and now they could finally go home.

Home.

Never before had going home sounded so good. After what had happened in the last eighteen hours - had it really been just eighteen hours? It seemed impossible, but it was true - her respect for SG-1, for all the SG-teams, had risen immeasurably.

Although Janet was Air Force, and she held the rank of an Air Force captain, she was first and foremost a doctor. Healing people, was what she did, and she was good at it. Fighting people wasn't something she particular liked, though if she had to, she did what she had to do.

Sometimes she wondered how the others did it. Going out, day after day, week after week, month after month, out through the alien artifact the Goa'uld had left on Earth so many millennia before. Going out into the unknown, the danger, the fights. Usually, she only saw how they came back, healed them when they were wounded in their fight to defend Earth. However, she only could heal the physical wounds. What all this did to their minds, their souls, she couldn't know, couldn't fix.

This had been one of the reasons she had insisted on accompanying SG-1 on this mission. The need to know. Mainly, however, she had come, because she knew SG-1 was something special, something unique. Without Daniel, they wouldn't be able to function. At least, not in the way they used to do.

No other team, in the years since the 'gate had been opened again had suffered so much pain, so much hurt, so much sorrow as the three men and one woman who made up the best team SGC had. They had gone through so much, had been thought dead so many times, but still, somehow, they'd always came home. Their injuries had healed. Then, they went out again, facing once more the great unknown, saving Earth all over again.

She admired them deeply.

The hard core Air Force colonel, who had gone to the very first Stargate mission with the fullest intention never to come back.

The young, odd-ball linguist who, somehow always managed to make quick friends and who desperately was searching for his missing wife.

The eager and brilliant scientist and Air Force captain, who in the beginning didn't seem to have any personal stakes, but who through her friendship and loyalty had taken up the agenda of the others and made them her own.

And, last but not least, the alien Jaffa, who had turned on Apophis to free his people and who was the most loyal of all.

It was a strange team, one nobody would have thought would work out due to their different knowledge and backgrounds. Only somehow it was their differences which made them work, and what glued them together was their deep friendship for each other. Each of them would go through hell to help one of the others. They had done so before, they were doing it right now, and they would do so again if given half a chance.

Janet was proud to call them her friends.

Now, their friends needed her help.

Looking around, she saw Sam, who had been caught in the explosion of the DHD, was slowly getting up on the other side of the room. Currently, she was sitting on the ground where she had fallen, holding her head. She was bleeding from a cut on her forehead, but from the distance she looked like she would be okay.

Teal'c also was coming around. He had been hit in the hip by a staff weapon blast shortly after they had entered the room a mere ten minutes ago.

Janet noticed the men and women who had come with Kawalski had taken care of the remaining Jaffa. A dark-haired woman was walking through the room, checking out if any of them were still alive. Not long and she would come to the place Teal'c had fallen. Though Janet itched to help Jack, Daniel and Sam, she knew if she didn't react soon, this woman would find Teal'c and would kill him, never knowing the dark-skinned man was an ally.

Besides, Teal'c was the one closed to her current position, and the staff weapon blast which had hit him just as the DHD exploded, looked pretty nasty.

Leaving the column she had chosen as her hiding place, she slowly began making her way towards Teal'c position, arriving there the same moment the dark-haired woman did.

Without warning, Janet found herself in front of the business end of a very nasty looking semi-automatic.

"Hands up!" the woman growled.

Dangling her gun on her finger, Janet obeyed her command. "I'm a friend."

"Sure and I'm the Queen of England," the woman replied sarcastically.

Suddenly, Janet realized she was still wearing the Jaffa armor. The woman had to believe she was one of the Jaffa.

"I'm not a Jaffa," Janet said, as she handed the woman her gun.

Something like doubt crept into the woman's eyes.

"My name is Janet Fraiser. I'm a doctor with the US Air Force," Janet added, locking eyes with the woman.

"Take off the armor."

Realizing the women wanted to see if Janet had the trademark, crisscross body pouch of the Jaffa, Janet quickly complied. The woman raised her eye brows when she noticed the tool kit which Janet had still taped to her body, but at least she lowered her gun when she saw the unmarred skin of Janet's stomach.

At that moment, Major Kawalski stepped up to the two women. He obviously had noticed something was going on, and had come to investigate.

When Janet had recognized Kawalski as the Goa'uld elevator had deposited the five new arrivals in the 'gateroom, she had been pretty shocked at first. After all, Major Charles Kawalski was dead. He died over a year ago, when a Goa'uld larva had invaded his body and took him over. She had been on the team which had tried to save his life by removing the Goa'uld, but in the end they had failed. As he tried to escape, he had been killed as Teal'c had held Kawalski's head against the event horizon of the open Stargate just as the 'gate deactivated.

It had taken Janet a moment to realize the fact that Kawalski had died in her universe didn't mean he had to be dead in this universe.

"What's the matter, Wallow?"

"Sir, this woman claims to be a doctor with the U.S. Air Force," Wallow reported, as she took a step back.

Kawalski gave Wallow a puzzled look. Then he regarded Janet through narrowed eyes. "Ma'am, there is no such thing as the U.S. Air Force anymore. Who are you really?"

Deep inside, Janet sighed. She had not time for a lengthily explanation right now. People she cared about were wounded, and she had to help them. Now!

"Major Kawalski," she addressed him. "I know this is all very complicated, but I'm really who I claim to be. I'm from...someplace else. A place where a lot of things are different from here. All I want right now is that you refrain from killing me and my friends."

Kawalski's eyes narrowed. "How do you know my name?"

Janet lowered her head, this time sighing openly. "Major, I know a lot about you, including your blood type, and the fact that you broke your left arm at the age of eleven when you fell out of the tree house, which you and your friend Patrick build in the back of your uncle's yard."

Ignoring the wide-eyed look Kawalski gave her, she bent down to Teal'c, who wisely had decided not to move the whole time.

"I really can't explain right now," she said aside to the two, as she removed the tool kit, taking out her stethoscope. "How do you feel, Teal'c," she asked the Jaffa gently, as she began her examination.

The staff weapon blast had burned away the armor on Teal'c's right hip, leaving a nasty looking second to third degree burn over a two hand span wide area. Janet longed for sterilized gauze and an IV drip to replace the body fluid he was loosing. The wound wasn't deadly, and thanks to Teal'c's Primta, he should recover soon, but it would hurt like hell for a while.

Teal'c looked her in the eyes. "How is Jack O'Neill?"

Janet had to lower her eyes. "I don't know yet. I'll check him out as soon as I can."

Janet rose, satisfied Teal'c was in no immediate danger. She had to look after the colonel.

However, before she could go very far, Kawalski stepped into her way. "Who are you?" he asked once more. "And how do you know the things you know?"

Janet rolled her eyes, annoyed that she was prevented from getting to Jack, but knowing that if she wasn't able to give Kawalski a satisfying explanation, she would never get to where she wanted. "I know, it will be hard to accept, but we are from a parallel universe. An universe were the Goa'uld haven't conquered Earth - yet. Every person here, you and Jack O'Neill and Teal'c here, have a counterpart, somebody who shares the same background, the same genes. That's how I know about your medical history, because for a while I was your doctor in my universe. In your universe, something went wrong, and O'Neill returned from Abydos with a Goa'uld wrapped around his spine. In our universe nothing like this happened. I guess, we were lucky.

"And now, please, let me get to my patient."

She pushed the now unresisting Kawalski aside who looked at her as if she had grown another head, and made a beeline towards Jack.

At this moment, a new group of people, Sammy Jo Carter and Martouth in the front, entered the 'gateroom. Whatever additional explanation Kawalski wanted, he could get from them. She had patients to take care of.

**********

Sam was sitting on the steps leading to the inoperational Stargate, nursing her hammering head with a wet towel somebody had given her a few minutes ago.

The arrival of Sammy Jo and the Tok'Ra had helped to bring some order to the chaos the 'gateroom had been directly after the battle. When they had learned the fighting was over - and the guys with the white hats had won - they had immediately begun to organize the clean up. They also had helped tremendously to explain SG-1's presence to Kawalski and his people. The major had been doubtful until he had seen her and Sammy Jo together, noticing the similarities.

Sam had been lucky. The explosion of the DHD had stunned her, knocking her out for a few moments. She had a nasty cut on her forehead which would require some stitching once they were home, but otherwise she would be okay. She also had a killer headache, and the doctor said she might have a slight concussion. The fact that each time Sam tried to get up, she thought she would have to throw up didn't help either.

They had found Daniel not far away from the 'gate, though nobody had a clear idea how he had managed to get there. He was unconscious - again - resting now on Sam's side. Occasionally Sam touched his hair, whispered calming words, but he didn't seem to notice it, moving around fitfully, his body burning up by a fever he had developed.

Teal'c was already back on his feet. Or would be, if the doc hadn't ordered him to rest. Now he was meditating, sitting beside the colonel. At least, Sam thought he was meditating. She wasn't too sure about it as it looked a lot like he was guarding O'Neill.

The colonel was still out for the count, and Sam could see Janet was extremely worried. She had said, the colonel might have a brain contusion or an even more serious brain injury. Kawalski had told them Jack had come around for a moment after Arsaphes died, but this didn't seem to assure the doctor very much. Sam wished they could get him to some proper medical facilities, but this was out, as in the last three years Arsaphes had effectively destroyed everything that even resembled anything like a hospital.

Even now, that he was dead, the Goa'uld overlord managed to claim more victims.

If they only could get home, Sam sighed quietly. At the base they could get proper medical treatment for the colonel and Daniel. Only the DHD was destroyed, and without it they never could get enough energy to the 'gate to activate it.

Sam had known this when she had blown up the DHD. She had also known it had been the only way to stop Arsaphes from leaving Earth, and that she had no choice.

This hadn't made it any easier.

Now she almost thought the price they had to pay for it had been too high.

Almost.

She looked up when Martouth stepped up to her.

"How is he?" he asked in a whisper, pointing with his chin towards Daniel.

Just then, the young linguist stirred in his sleep, moaning heartbreakingly. Sam reached out, pushing back a strand of hair, letting her hand linger for a second on his hot cheek. To her relief, he calmed.

Sam sighed. "I wish we could get him and the colonel out of here. Right now we're nothing but a burden to the people here, a reminder that we have been lucky the last few years, and they have not."

Martouth slowly shook his head. "You will never be a burden. They all know what they owe to you and the others. Without you Arsaphes would have been gone to one of his ships, and he would have come back, destroying what was left. Now, they have a chance of survival."

Sam shook her head. "What chance do they have? I mean, seriously, all their resources are gone. So many people have died. Also, the moment the word gets out, Arsaphes has died, all the other overlords will come here, like the vultures circling a dying man."

"They have hope now. That's what you have given them." He sat down beside Sam. "Besides, they now have Arsaphes' ship with all its weapons and defense systems. Your people are nothing but inventive and determined and imaginative. They will take what they find here, and they will learn how to use it, and the moment an overlord should stick out its head, he will get a surprise he will never forget. I learned a lot about humans in the last couple of years, and I wouldn't worry too much."

Sam had to smile on Martouth's words. Looking out over the 'gateroom, she saw a young woman, or rather a girl, collecting the weapons from the fallen Jaffa while an older man went around making sure every Goa'uld larva was really dead and none was missing. The two belonged to a group of people in ragged clothing who had arrived a few minutes ago, seemingly from the populace of Washington after word had gone around like wildfire that the oppressor was dead.

She knew there were many more teams all over the palace, collecting what was salvageable. Others already were starting to repair the engines.

Yes, maybe, those people had a chance after all.

All which didn't help SG-1 right now.

Over at the DHD, two men had started to examine the device. Giving Martouth another smile, she rose, relieved when other than a slight squeamishness her stomach didn't complain too much. "I'll see, if I can help those two fix the Dial Home Device."

Martouth rose with her, accompanying her over to the alien device.

Sam worked on the DHD for the next hours, ignoring the constant throbbing behind her temples. She soon saw the dialing unit was beyond repair. The front part was simply gone and with it half the symbols. This was a problem, but not one that really prevented the 'gate from working as there was always the possibility to dial out manually. However, the energy unit was also severely damaged and the connection to the 'gate was gone. This was a much bigger problem.

The two men were a big help. One was a Tok'Ra technician, and he knew his stuff.

And after some time she began to hope.

**********

Kawalski watched how Sam Carter and the Tok'Ra named Martouth began to turn the inner wheel of the Stargate. It had been hours since he and his team had arrived in the 'gateroom, and slowly but steady exhaustion set in. For a moment he tried to remember when he had slept last. Then he realized it had been over thirty hours ago. No wonder he felt like he could curl up in a corner and leave everything to the others. Before he could do that, however, he wanted to see the people from the other universe leave.

At first, he had had a very hard time to accept these people really were from another universe. In all honesty, who in his right mind would believe a thing like this anyway? But then, there was proof. The two Samanthas. The man who looked just like Jack O'Neill - who was actually more like Jack O'Neill than the alien who had lived inside Jack's body for the last three years. The doctor who really seemed to know him even if he couldn't remember having met her ever before in his life.

Many proofs. Still it was hard to accept.

There was something strange with the way the alternate Samantha and the doctor were treating him. He wondered if it had something to do with something his own alternate reality counterpart had done. He was curious, but right now he had better things to do than to ask them.

Anyway, they were leaving, and though he was extremely grateful for what they had done, he was glad they were going. More than one of the people arriving in the 'gateroom, had reacted pretty aggressively when they recognized O'Neill - thinking him to be Arsaphes. Kawalski couldn't really blame them. If he hadn't killed Arsaphes himself, he might have problems, too. So, he had had to move the man into an adjoining room, setting aside two of his men to guard him. Though he doubted anybody would have really managed to get through to O'Neill, as there was always the dark-skinned Jaffa guarding him. Kawalski had heard about Teal'c before, knew him to be the First Prime of Apophis, so it was doubly surprising to see him so fiercely loyal to a 'mere' human. On the other hand, nothing about those people from the alternate universe could really surprised him anymore.

As the last chevron locked into place, the 'gate activated with an explosion of sound and light and water. Then the energy funnel settled into the familiar looking surface of an open Stargate, the shimmering vortex casting flickering lights into the 'gateroom.

The leaving group was already waiting. They had placed Jackson and O'Neill on two stretchers. Jackson was moving around fretfully, and they had to tie him down to prevent him from falling off. O'Neill didn't move, and except for the subtle rise and fall of his chest, he might as well be dead. He looked pale, far too pale.

Now Martouth and Sam gathered up Jackson's stretcher as Doctor Fraiser and Teal'c picked up the other one.

Kawalski stepped up to the group. "I know, words are not enough to thank you for what you all did. Still, thank you."

Sam looked away from the 'gate for a moment. "It's okay. You would have done the same."

Kawalski wasn't so sure about that, but still he nodded. "Maybe one day we'll meet again."

"Maybe."

It didn't look as if she was seriously counting on it. She wanted to get out of here, that much was clear.

Sammy Jo stepped up to Jackson and put her hand on his cheek. Kawalski saw a tear shimmering in the corner of her eye. Without saying a thing, she turned around and left the room with purposeful strides.

The two groups moved up the steps to the 'gate. For a second, Sam looked back into the room. She turned around and stepped through the 'gate.

Then they were gone.

**********

General George Hammond woke with a start. Confused, he looked around. For some strange reason he wasn't at home in his own bed. Then he remembered he had decided not to go home that night as he was hoping SG-1 would be returning soon.

Major Ruland of SG-5 had said O'Neill had given himself twenty-four hours. Twenty of those had already passed, and Hammond had no idea what he would do if they reached the deadline. The logical thing would be to cut their losses and declare P7Z-296 a forbidden planet. However, SG-1 never had a lot to do with logic.

The door to his room opened, and a young ordnance officer struck his head in. Through the gap, Hammond could hear the sound of the 'gate alarm.

"Sir?" the man asked quietly, probably a little afraid to wake up his superior as it was well known throughout the base that Hammond usually was kinda cranky when he didn't get enough sleep.

"I'm awake, Seiwert. Thank you."

Grabbing his uniform jacket, Hammond quickly checked his watch. Three hours since he had gone to sleep. More than he had expected to get, but then he had been exhausted when he lay down. Shrugging into his jacket, he rushed to follow the young soldier.

As he entered the control room, the 'gate activated with a kawoosh.

"Do we have the remote signal?" he asked the technician on duty.

"It's SG-1," he reply with a wide grin on his face. He bent over his microphone, sending out the standard 'Incoming travelers' warning throughout the base.

Closing his eyes for a second, Hammond sent a prayer to every god who listened.

Still, it could be a trap. Experience had taught SGC to always err on the side of safety. In the 'gateroom, soldiers rushed to man their respective posts.

A figure materialized in the watery surface of the open 'gate. He was carrying something. Then he became fully visible, and Hammond recognized Teal'c and Dr. Fraiser, carrying a stretcher with a man on it between them. Then a second group materialized, and it was Captain Carter and Lt. Nakai from SG-9, followed by the other members of SG-9. There was no sight of Jackson and O'Neill, though Hammond couldn't recognize any of the men on the stretchers from the distance.

As the 'gate deactivated, Hammond rushed out of the control room and into the 'gateroom. He was overtaken by some people from the medical staff. Hammond let them pass, knowing that when somebody was wounded - and it looked very much like it - they could do more than he could.

"Captain Carter, what happened?" he asked the exhausted looking woman after she had put down her stretcher and stepped aside to give the medical staff access to her charges.

For a second, the young captain looked like she would drop on the spot. Then she pulled herself together. "It's a very long story, sir. Dr. Fraiser was right, Dr. Jackson had been mixed up with his counterpart from a parallel universe..."

As Carter explained in short words what had happened, Hammond led her aside, allowing her to sit down. Carter didn't even seem to notice what he was doing so intent was she on getting her story out. It was as if she concentrate on something else but giving her report, she would simply shut down.

"...After we arrived again on P7Z-296, we returned through the mirror. Major Kubicheck was already waiting for us, and we came back as fast as we could. That's all, sir."

Hammond had been so caught in Carter's story, he almost was surprised it ended.

"Thank you, Captain. This was excellent work. After you've got checked out in the infirmary, you and Teal'c should get some rest before you give me a more thorough report tomorrow."

"Sir, I'd...," Carter began to protest, but Hammond held up his hand, stopping her in mid-sentence.

"I know you would rather go and see about Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson. However, it's more important you get some rest first. If something should happen, you will be informed immediately."

Looking at her seriously, Hammond saw how the spark of rebellion went out of her eyes only to be replaced with a weary acceptance.

"Yes, sir," she said almost meekly. She turned around and left the room.

Watching her and Teal'c leave, Hammond realized he was the only one left in the 'gateroom. All the others had already left as the two wounded men had been taken to the infirmary.

Casting one last glance at the now dark Stargate, he also turned around and left as well. He had to check on his men.

**********

Twelve hours had passed since SG-1 had returned from their mission. After Sam had been checked out in the infirmary - a requirement for every team member returning from a possible Goa'uld infested planet - and her head wound had been stitched up, she had been sent to her quarters on the base to get some sleep. Her protests that she had first to see how the colonel and Daniel were, had been over-ridden, with the barely concealed threat to force-feed her sleeping pills if she wouldn't leave. Arriving in her quarters, she had first thought she wouldn't be able to sleep. However, from the point she undressed and laid down on the bunk bed up until half a hour ago, she had no memory. She must have been more exhausted than she had thought.

Shocked she hadn't woken earlier, she took a quick shower and dressed. For a short moment, she thought about getting something to eat but then decided that learning her friends' status was far more important than food. She only could hope the fact she hadn't heard anything bad meant both were in non-critical conditions.

Just as Sam arrived at the doors to the infirmary, Janet Fraiser turned around the corner.

"Good morning, Janet," Sam greeted the doctor with a smile.

"Actually, it's three o'clock in the afternoon," Janet Fraiser replied, also with a smile.

"It is?" Sam asked almost surprised. Then she realized she shouldn't be. Most planets they traveled to didn't conform to a twenty-four hours day, let alone to Pacific Standard Time. Keeping track of what time of the day it was at any given place was tough enough under any normal circumstances, and it wasn't made easier by the fact that SGC was situated twenty-six levels below ground with no windows to the outside world.

"How are the Colonel and Daniel?" Sam asked, changing the topic.

"I don't know. Remember, they sent me off to bed just like they sent you off. I'm just arriving myself."

For a moment, Sam blinked, surprised then she recalled that when she had been checked out, the staff in the infirmary had treaded the doc just like any other member of a SG-1 team.

Together they entered the infirmary. Janet bee-lined towards the doctor in charge, and Sam followed in her wake. Immediately the two doctors began to speak in medical talk. Though Sam considered herself fairly well educated, she understood only every third word. However, what she understood didn't really put her worries to rest. Janet's concerned expression did the rest.

Finally the two doctors ended their conversation. Sam, who had hovered at Janet's shoulder, looked at her and said one single word: "What?"

Janet sighed, then she waved Sam aside, leaving the doctor to redress the wound of another SG team's member, a task the two women had interrupted by their arrival.

Collecting her thoughts, Janet spoke to Sam, "Colonel O'Neill should be fine. After we returned, they performed a CT scan, checking for any brain injuries. Luckily, they found nothing that should affect him for a prolonged time. However, they discovered a swelling inside his brain, which is applying pressure onto his optical nerve. This could cause a temporary blindness, but it should be gone in a few days. So don't be worried when you see him and his eyes are covered. This is only for his own protection. If there is something else, we can only find out when he finally wakes up on his own which should happen soon."

Too many 'shoulds' and 'coulds', but this didn't sound too bad, Sam told herself. A temporary blindness was...well temporary and should be gone in a short while.

"Why hasn't he woken up yet?" she asked, still a bit concerned. "It's been over twelve hours. Is he in a coma?"

"No. He slipped out of the coma a few hours ago and is sleeping naturally now. You have to remember, he didn't have much rest in a last few days with Daniel gone and all," Janet calmed her down.

Sleeping. Sleeping is good. Sleeping is natural. Sam held on to this thought.

Accepting for the moment the colonel would be all right, she turned her thoughts to the member of her team the mission had been about.

"Okay, what about Daniel?"

Janet's eyes darkened. "We don't really know," she said with a deep sigh. "The blood tests showed us a cocktail of drugs somebody has to see to believe. Hallucinogenics, push-up, truth drugs, some stuff we've never seen before, possibly Goa'uld origin. Name it, you find it. It's a small miracle this stuff hasn't killed him so far. His fever has risen a few hours ago, and they've tried everything to cool him down somehow. They don't dare to give him any medication as they don't want to add something to this cocktail. Right now…," she sighed again, "we can only pray."

Sam had listened to Janet with wide eyes. What was she saying? Daniel wouldn't make it? Had their mission to save the man she cared about like a close brother been in vain? She mentally moaned when she thought what it would do to the colonel.

Sam couldn't believe it, couldn't accept it.

"Will he make it?" she asked in a whisper, almost afraid of the answer.

Janet hesitated for a moment. "Daniel is strong, and he's pulled through some other unbelievable stuff. Remember how often we already thought he might be dead. Yes, I think he will make it."

It took a moment for Sam to realize she had been holding her breath. "Thanks, Janet."

"Don't thank me. Thank the people here."

Sam acknowledged the remark with a nod. "Can I see them?"

"I'm going to ask," Janet promised, then turned to the doctor she had spoken to earlier. Moments later, she waved Sam over and let her out of the actual treatment room, towards a white door with a glass window. A male nurse just left the room, as Sam and Janet entered, and they both slipped through the door he held open for them.

The room was quiet, and the only thing Sam heard at first was Daniel's labored breathing over the steady peep of the heart monitor. As Sam stepped closer to the bed, she almost could feel the burning heat radiating from the linguist's skin. He was stripped down to his boxer shorts, bags of ice packed tightly to his body. Another nurse was cooling his forehead with a small towel.

Suddenly, Daniel began to moan, tossing his head, agitated. The background noise of the monitor rose to a wild staccato. The nurse dropped the towel and grabbed Daniel at his shoulders in anticipation of what would come.

"Sha're!" Daniel screamed, just as his body convulsed. His blue eyes were wide open, starring into nothingness. He rose halfway out of the bed before the nurse could press him down again.

"Daniel!" Sam rushed to his side. "Daniel, please calm down."

The linguist didn't hear her, caught in his own world of fever and pain.

"Sha're!" he screamed once more for his missing wife, jerking in the nurse's grip.

Sam reached for an arm, just as he whipped it around, slugging the nurse's face. Surprised, she let go of Daniel, pulling back, a small trickled of blood running down her nose. Before Daniel could lift himself up again, Sam threw her body across Daniel's torso, pinning him to the bed. She managed to get his left arm underneath her, but the right arm was still free, and he used it to thrash around. However, before he could cause any more damage, the nurse grabbed the arm and held it down.

As sudden as the attack started, it ended. Daniel's body grew limp as his head lolled to the side, his eyes closed again.

The moment Sam was certain Daniel would remain calm, she climbed off him. The ice had drenched her T-shirt, but beside that she had received no damage. The nurse had not been so lucky as her nose started to bleed in earnest. Reaching for a few tissues, she tried to stop the flow.

Sam watched as Janet turned to Daniel.

"Damn," the doctor cursed, just as Sam noticed the noise of the heart monitor had stopped. "He's crashed!"

These two words initiated a whole flurry of activity. Doctors and nurses rushed into the small room. To get out of the way, Sam pressed herself into a corner as far away from the activity surrounding the bed as possible without actually leaving the room. She watched as Janet reached for the shock paddles brought in with the crash cart while another doctor intubated Daniel.

"One fifty! Ready!"

Everybody but Janet stepped away from Daniel as she placed the paddles on his chest. A whining sound then a something like a muffled explosion. Daniel's body jerked up then crashed back onto the bed.

The silence was so dense, it would have been possible to cut it with a knife though it lasted only the fraction of a second. For Sam it seemed an eternity.

Sam couldn't see the heart monitor and couldn't hear it over the ruckus, but when Janet called out, "Two hundred!" she knew there was no sign of a heart beat.

Please, Daniel, please fight, Sam prayed.

Again, Janet shocked Daniel. Again, there was no heart beat.

"Two fifty!"

Sam had had no idea that two seconds - the two seconds after Daniel was shocked once again - could be so long.

Suddenly...

Peep!

A moment pause.

Peep!

Peep! Peep! Peep!

"We got a pulse," Janet called out in triumph.

Sam slumped back against the wall, finding she could breathe again after all. Knowing there was nothing she could do here right now, she slipped out of the room. She knew the doctors inside would do everything in their power to stabilize Daniel. However, she was very reluctant to go any further away.

During the next five minutes, doctors and nurses came in and out of the room in a steady stream. Finally, Doctor Fraiser appeared. Sam closed in on her.

"How is he?"

Janet sighed, then turned to Sam. "He's stable for now. That's all I can say."

"Can I get in?"

Janet shook her head, her lips pressed into a thin line. "I don't think it would help."

Sam lowered her head in defeat. She understood if there should be another episode like the last one, she would only be in the way. She didn't like it a bit, but there was nothing she could do.

She nodded. "I guess I'll check on the Colonel then."

Asking a nurse, Sam was pointed towards a room only two doors further down the corridor.

Slowly, Sam pushed the door open. The room she entered was almost completely dark. Only a dim night lamp cast its light on the sole occupant of the bed. At the head of the bed sat Teal'c who looked up when the door opened. Sam had no idea how he did it, but even sitting, the former Jaffa looked somehow as if he was standing at attention.

"How is he doing?" she asked as she closed the door behind her. Stepping closer to the bed, he gave Colonel O'Neill a thorough once over. She had to admit the older man looked much better than when they had brought him back to SGC. His color had returned almost to normal, and only the bandages covering his eyes and his left shoulder were indicators something was wrong with him.

"Colonel O'Neill is still asleep, Captain Carter. However, the doctors think he will be wake soon."

"How are you?"

Looking for a moment puzzled as if he was surprised she was concerned for his health while two other members in the team were hurt much more than him, he said, "I will heal. My primta has already repaired most of the damage I received."

Sam smiled. At least one of the team was going to be okay. The weight of responsibility for her team members lightened a bit.

In a few quick words, Sam informed Teal'c about Daniel's condition. For a moment the Jaffa looked as if was going to storm out, to check for himself on the young linguist, but when Sam told him she was not allowed to see him herself, he held himself back.

She pulled up another chair, placing it at the feet of Jack's bed. Sooner or later the colonel would wake, and then she had to tell him Daniel might not make it after all.

She didn't look forward to this task. Not at all.

**********

Like somebody digging his way out of a muddy hole, Jack O'Neill slowly worked his way back towards consciousness. One by one his senses kicked in, giving him information about his whereabouts. The first sense was the sense of smell, telling him about disinfectants and the oh-so-familiar - and despised - smell of hospital. Then his hearing spoke to him about the soft hum of an air conditioning unit close by and the sound of some machinery peeping. His sense of taste told him in no uncertain terms that his mouth resembled a sock somebody had worn for far too long. His sense of touch provided him with the message of softness underneath and the information that he wasn't wearing his uniform anymore. Beside that, it told him of pain in his left shoulder and the information that his head was about to split, though his memory somehow refused to provide him with a clear reason for this pain. As, actually, everything concerning his memory seemed to be a bit hazy.

Only one sense was left, but O'Neill hesitated to open his eyes, knowing he would see the inside of a hospital room, as this was the only explanation which fit all the data so far. He didn't relish the thought particularly. He had seen enough hospitals to last him for a life time and beyond. Both as patient and as a visitor. He somehow got the feeling, this time was 'patient-turn' again.

Keeping his eyes closed wouldn't change a thing so he reluctantly opened them. However, his sense of sight told him exactly…nothing!

Darkness.

Total, all encompassing darkness.

Why didn't he see?!?

As his heart thundered in his chest, his hand flew up to his eyes. There they encountered something that covered them. What was going on? He began to rip on the blindfold, panic flooding through him in an almost uncontrollable wave. He knew he wasn't acting logically. However, he couldn't stop himself.

"Colonel! Please don't."

It took a moment for Jack to realize the voice belonged to Carter. Strong hands gripped his arms, holding him back from examining what prevented him from seeing.

"Please, O'Neill, refrain from removing the bandage."

A bandage? Why the heck did they cover his eyes with a bandage? Had his eyes taken damage? Was he blind? He couldn't be blind. He just couldn't! How could he lead SG-1 if he was blind?

Panic made him fight Teal'c's hands, but the Jaffa possessed a strength Jack was no match for right now. Probably never.

"Please calm down, Colonel," Sam begged.

Finally, Sam's voice got through to him, and Jack managed to get his panic a little under control. "Why can't I see?" he croacked, his voice sounding strange even to himself. He relaxed his arms, and after a moment Teal'c let go.

"Sir, the bandage is only a temporary precaution. Doctor Fraiser assured me there will be no permanent damage."

No permanent damage. Like a drowning man, Jack held onto that phrase. No permanent damage.

As Jack's heart went back to a more normal rhythm, memory slowly returned. The last thing he remembered was storming towards the Stargate on the parallel Earth in an attempt to kill his doppelganger. He remembered pain, first localized on his shoulder, then all over his body, as he was hit by a zat gun blast. His own face starring down at him, the eyes glowing white, as Arsaphes pulled him closer. The crystal in the Goa'uld's hand glowing in an angry red. At last, more pain. Much more pain. And, for some strange reason the face of Charles Kawalski, thought this couldn't be possible, as his buddy from many, many missions was dead after all.

Shaking off the last thought, he turned towards Sam's voice.

"Are we back home?"

"Yes, sir. We are back home," Sam sounded tremendously relieved, and Jack didn't blame her. He was also relieved. Because being home meant Daniel was home, too. Didn't it?

Daniel! Oh god, where was Daniel? Why wasn't he here as well?

"Where's Daniel? Did you get him home, too?" he asked quickly, raising on his elbows before Teal'c started to press him down again.

For a moment Sam didn't say anything, and Jack became worried all over again. The possibility that he was blind suddenly took second place.

"We brought him back, sir. However," she hesitated for a second though it felt much longer to Jack. For a moment he thought the worst: Daniel was dead. "He's in serious condition, sir. They don't know if he's going to make it. I'm sorry, sir. I should..."

Daniel was still alive. For a moment nothing else mattered. Jack stopped resisting Teal'c's hands, and the Jaffa let go again.

Then the self reproach in Carter's voice penetrated Jack's thoughts.

"Stop it, Carter!" he commanded in his best officer voice before Sam could do her 'It's all my fault' routine. "You brought us home. That's more than anybody could have hoped for. It should have been my responsibility. I'm the team leader." And I failed, Jack thought, though he didn't voice it.

"Sir, but I should have..." Sam started once more.

"Carter, shut up!" Jack stopped her again.

The sound of the door opening and a new voice ended the discussion. For now. Jack knew Sam couldn't be blamed for not getting them back. After all, it had been his fault. He had ordered the DHD destroyed. The fact that Carter had managed to get them back at all was nothing less than a small miracle, and he very much wanted to hear how she had pulled it off.

"Sam, Teal'c, would you two please leave while I check the Colonel out?" Doc Fraiser's voice.

Good, Janet made it back with the rest of the team. Jack had been a little reluctant to take along somebody who didn't really belong to his team, as SG-1 was a fine tuned unit. However, Jack had seen the potential of taking the doctor with them even if it had meant he would have to look out for somebody else. He had to admit, in the end Janet had needed little looking after, and Jack would gladly take her on any future mission.

That is, if there would be future missions.

The door closed, and Jack knew Sam and Teal'c had left the room.

"So, Colonel, how do you feel?" Janet asked as she started to take his blood pressure.

How was he feeling? Scared. Very, very scared. Scared, he would be blind. Scared, Daniel wouldn't make it.

"I'll live," he said instead.

"Well, that's my job to decide," Janet said, her smile audible in her voice.

"How's Daniel?" Jack asked, deeming the answer to this question much more important than his own condition.

All humor left Janet's voice, and she sighed. She thought probably Jack should worry about other things right now, but knew he wouldn't give up until she had told him everything she knew. In short, clipped words, she explained about Daniel's condition while she examined Jack.

Jack remained silent, only answering when the doctor asked him something, deep in his own thoughts.

Had everything they had done to save Daniel been in vain? Had Arsaphes won after all?

Jack didn't know what he would do if Daniel died. For real this time. Without any doubt it was him who died. He had thought often enough his friend had died. Far too many times actually. When Nem had taken Daniel prisoner and given the others the memory how he burned to dead. When Daniel had been seriously wounded and they had to leave him behind on Apophis' ship, a ship rigged with explosives. When that rock slide buried him on Sheila's planet. Just a few days ago, when Janet had told them Daniel hadn't survived those gun shot wounds.

Each time Daniel had been given a second, and a third, and a fourth chance and had somehow, miraculously, survived.

What if, this time, he wouldn't make it?

Funny, by now he somehow should be used to it. However, the opposite was true. It got harder every time. At least half of his gray hair was thanks to those incidents, and he was sure the next time he looked into a mirror, he would find more of those harbingers of old age.

Janet's soft touch on his cheek brought him out of his thoughts.

"Colonel, I'm going to remove the bandages over your eyes now. Please tell me, if you see something, anything."

Jack almost had forgotten about his own problems.

Carefully, Janet reached behind Jack's back and unclipped the bandage. She began to unwrap it, and Jack felt the pressure over his eyes lighten. Then the last of the bandage fell, and cool air touched his eyes.

Blinking, Jack tried to make out something. For one, long, moment, he didn't see a thing. Then a washed out, bright spot swam into view. He tried to focus, but the spot didn't get any sharper. On its edge, colorful sparkles moved in an erratic dance. Then, the spot vanished.

"Hey," he protested when the light source was removed.

"What did you see?" Janet asked.

"A bright spot, nothing more. Now it's gone."

"One moment."

Suddenly, the light was back.

"Do you see that?"

"Yes!" Jack exclaimed. "It's kind of unfocused, but I see it."

"This is a very good sign, Colonel. What you just saw, was my pen light shining into your eyes. Your pupils react, too, though a little bit sluggish for my taste. I'm going to cover up your eyes again, to protect them. It might take a few days, but you should be able to see perfectly again."

A relieved wave washed through Jack. He would see again. Maybe not now, but in a few day. He could handle a few days of blindness.

But could he handle losing Daniel?

"Can I go and see Daniel?" he asked now. He knew, he couldn't really 'see' Daniel, but he needed to be in the same room with him, be able to touch him, even if the young linguist was out of it. If Jack could assure himself physically Daniel was there, safe, he knew somehow Daniel would know he was there, and knowing that he would pull through. It had nothing to do with logic, but so little that concerned Daniel Jackson had to do with logic.

However, Janet sighed. "I'm sorry, Colonel. Daniel's condition is not such that he can receive any visitors. He wouldn't know you are there, anyway."

Jack wasn't so sure about this, but the tone in the doctor's voice made it clear she wouldn't allow any argument.

"I'm going to bandage your eyes again. The bandage will have to stay for the next couple of days to relieve your eyes. If you need any help, you can call a nurse or me any time."

The doctor did as she said then left the room.

Jack hadn't much time to wallow in his own thoughts as shortly after Sam and Teal'c returned to the room.

"Janet said you'd see again!" Sam exclaimed relieved.

Jack had to grin at the tone of her voice. "Well, something minor like this can't keep me down for long."

"I am pleased to hear that you will fully recover."

"So am I, Teal'c, so am I," Jack replied. Then he turned serious again. "Now, tell me everything I've missed."

**********

It was quiet in the infirmary. Though Jack had no way to know what time it was, he guessed it was after midnight. Sam and Teal'c had left hours ago, and he had fallen asleep, finding he was more tired than he had thought. Now he was awake, and his bladder reminded him in no uncertain terms that he either should get up, or embarrass himself thoroughly. Due to his blindness, he had no clue where the bathroom was, and stumbling around on his own didn't have much appeal either.

For a while he argued with himself, but finally he had no choice. After he pushed the call button, a nurse showed up in no time. Jack informed her of his problem, and she helped him out of his bed and into some slippers. Then she led him down the corridor to the bathroom.

After he was done she started to lead him back to his room. By Jack's estimate they couldn't be far from his own room, when a door to his right hand side opened, and he heard somebody scream.

Daniel!

Ignoring the nurse, he pulled himself free. Holding out his hands before him, he walked on until his right hand connected with a wall. Feeling his way, he discovered the door frame and would have entered the room if the nurse hadn't caught up with him.

"Colonel, you have to go back to your room," she urged, grabbing his arm, but Jack shook her off.

The scream had dwindled to a whimper which cut through Jack's heart. Navigating by the low, keening sound, Jack made his way into Daniel's room, cursing his current blindness.

"Daniel!" Jack called out softly, but Daniel didn't seem to acknowledge his presence. "Where are you, Daniel?"

"Colonel O'Neill. You have to leave. Now!" The voice belonged to Dr. Morea, one of the doctors attached to SGC.

"What's the matter with Daniel?" Jack insisted.

"It's just an attack, sir."

"Just an attack!?!" Jack exclaimed agitated. "Watta you mean, just an attack?"

"Sir, we have everything under control here. Please let us do our job and leave the room!" This time the doctor's voice bore no resistance.

As the whimper was gone by now, Jack reluctantly allowed himself to be let outside.

Returning to his room, the nurse settled him back into the bed. She asked him if he needed anything, and after Jack had declined, she left him alone.

Sinking into his pillows, Jack tried to go back to sleep. He knew there was nothing he could do right now to help Daniel. Still, this didn't mean he didn't worry.

Please, Daniel, hold on, he prayed, just before exhaustion finally came and pulled him back down into the darkness of sleep.

**********

Later, Jack would count the next two days among the longest he ever experienced in his life. The doctors insisted he needed more rest and wouldn't let him go home. At least, at Jack's instance, they agreed to lay off with the pain killers, as he hated the befuddled feeling he always got from them. Trade-off was that the pain from his left arm became a constant companion. In a way, Jack almost welcomed it as it helped to distract him from the pain in his soul.

Though Daniel's fever had broken after the first night, he still hadn't woken. The doctors seemed to be at a loss for the reason. They claimed the level of the drugs in his blood had finally dropped to almost zero, and there was no real cause he wasn't waking. They said Daniel wasn't in a real coma - though Jack didn't know what the difference was, when Daniel didn't wake up on his own.

At least now, after those 'attacks' had ended, Daniel was allowed to receive visitors. Doc Fraiser had somehow managed to find a comfortable chair, and Jack had pushed it into a corner in Daniel's room closest to the bed, out of the way of the doctors and nurses. He was usually sitting there, listening to Daniel breath. There was little else he could do.

Sam, Teal'c, the general and about half of the regular base personal somehow managed to come by at least once a day, but during the night it was quiet. Though the doctors mentioned it might be a good idea for Jack to sleep in a bed - meaning the bed in his room - he much preferred to spend the night in the chair, and after a while they gave up. Anyway, he didn't get much sleep, only dosing occasionally.

He was pulled out of one of those naps, by a noise coming from the bed.

It was a moan which seemed to come from the very bottom of a human soul.

By now, Jack had the lay-out of the room memorized, so he lost no time getting to Daniel's side. Stroking the younger man's forehead, he felt for a return of the fever, but the skin was neither hot nor clammy.

"Daniel," he called out softly, trying to wake his friend from whatever nightmare he was caught in.

The moan turned into a broken whimper. "No, please, no."

"Daniel, you are safe now," Jack tried to calm Daniel, but his words had no effect. The young linguist began to move restlessly, pulling his head out from under Jack's hand.

Cursing for a millionth time his blindness, Jack reached up, and ripped the bandage off his eyes. Each time in the last two days, Doctor Fraiser had checked his eyes, Jack had seen a little bit more, but his sight hadn't returned to any normal level.

Even without the blindfold, he couldn't see very much in the darkened room. The bed was a big white square and he had difficulties making out more than an unfocused shadow in the place where Daniel was.

"Nooooooo!"

Suddenly, Daniel shot up in his bed. His eyes opened wide, he looked around wildly.

**********

He walked along a long, empty corridor. In even distances the white walls were interrupted by tall doors, each at least twice as tall as he was. They towered over him, looming like toothless giants from a scary fairy tale. The corridor seemed to stretch into infinity, the other end a faint dot in the distance. As he turned around, he saw that behind him it also seemed to go on and on, with no end in sight. There were no passages leading off it, no intersections, no crossways.

Confused, he tried to open the first door to his left, but there no handle, no knob. He pushed at the door, but it wouldn't open. Pulling away, he went to the next door, but there wasn't a way to open it either. Dashing from door to door, he got increasingly confused.

Where was he? How had he come here?

Running along the corridor, he tried to open other doors, but none would yield to him. After a while, he stopped trying. Arguing, there had to be an end to that corridor, he started to race along it. Instead of coming closer to an end, it seemed to get even further away from him. The corridor also seemed to get taller, making him feel small and insignificant.

Suddenly, a door to his right hand side swung silently open. He stopped. Wearily, he stepped up to the door, unsure what he would find. He had a bad feeling. A very bad feeling.

The room behind the door held something familiar, but only after he entered it completely, he realized where he was. Whirling around, he tried to get back to the corridor, but the door was gone, and where it had been, a golden decorated wall daunted him.

Slowly, as if he had no will of his own, he turned back towards the room.

On a pedestal in the center of it stood a Stargate, the familiar circle for once without its usual promise of adventure and excitement. Framed by its shape were two men, facing each other. One of them wore battle fatigues, in the same green and brown he found himself wearing. The other wore a golden Goa'uld armor, the helmet folded away into the neck ring.

It was the second man who now turned towards Daniel, looking him straight into the eyes, across the length of the room. For a second the eyes flashed white.

"Come," the man beckoned him closer. He smiled. The smile was made terrifying by the familiar and yet utterly foreign face.

Jack! It was Jack!

But it couldn't be Jack. Jack was no Goa'uld!

One forced step after other, Daniel walked into the room, towards Jack, who was not Jack after all.

Now the other man turned. For a moment, relief flooded through Daniel. This was Jack, the real Jack. He would help him, Jack would protect him from that evil doppelganger.

But then this Jack's eyes flashed as well and crushed the hope Daniel had felt moments before.

The young linguist moaned.

"Come, Daniel, come to us." The Jack in the uniform held out his hand, reaching for him.

Daniel had no choice but to obey the voice. He stepped closer and, without wanting to - but powerless to stop it - knelt down at both Jacks' feet.

Out of nowhere, the Jack in the Goa'uld armor held a creature in his hand. It was a matured Goa'uld larva. The dark creature writhed in the man's grip, its mouth snapping open ever now and then. Daniel wanted to flee, to run away as fast, as far as he could, but he was rooted to the spot, frozen by an all consuming terror.

"We have something for you, my friend." Daniel couldn't tell anymore who of the two Jacks was speaking. "He has been waiting for you a long, long time."

"No, please, no," Daniel begged, but the other one only leaned down over him, holding the Goa'uld even closer.

Jack placed the Goa'uld larva at Daniel's neck. "Meet your new master."

"Nooooooo!"

**********

Panting, Daniel set up in his bed. Where was he? What happened? The nightmare he just had and reality merged into one. A shadow loomed over him, coming closer. In panic, Daniel scrambled backwards, only there was not much room for him to escape, as the bed's railing pressed into his back.

"No, please, no," he begged once more, his mind a frozen mass of fear. The shadow was coming for him. When it reached him, he would implant him with a Goa'uld, and a fate much worse than death awaited him then.

The other man stepped into the small circle of light, the lamp over Daniel's bed cast.

It was Jack. In this totally confused state, Daniel didn't notice this Jack's eyes weren't glowing. He didn't notice he wasn't holding a Goa'uld larva. He didn't notice the concern plainly written in his face. His dream was still far too fresh for him, and for his befuddled mind, all that counted was that Jack was a Goa'uld and that he wanted to implant him and make Daniel one of his own.

Reaching around desperately, Daniel found the lever, which released the railing, and he pulled it. With a loud bang, the railing fell aside, freeing the way for Daniel's escape.

Twisting around, he let himself drop out of the bed, never caring a three feet fall awaited him. Crashing to the ground, he was stunned for a split second, but then he pulled himself up.

"Daniel, please, don't." Jack's voice was full of concern, but Daniel didn't hear.

All he noticed was the shadow had worked its way around the bed and was on its way towards him.

Scrambling to his feet, he desperately searched for a way to escape.

**********

Jack had been surprised by Daniel's violent reaction. He had no idea what Daniel had dreamed, and why he was so desperate to get away from him. The fear he could make out in his friend's voice cut his heart, making him want to kill everybody who was responsible for that fear.

"Daniel, it's okay, You're safe now," he tried again to get through to the linguist, but without success. Jack stepped closer, reaching out for his friend.

The younger man had scrambled back onto his bare feet. Like a cornered animal, his eyes darted around, searching for a way out. Without warning, he tried to dash for the door, but Jack reached out at the last possible moment and caught him across the waist. Before Daniel could free himself, Jack pulled him closer into his arms. Daniel struggled, but Jack wouldn't let him go.

"Daniel, please calm down," he begged, trying to get a better hold on the other man's writhing body.

"No," the younger man wailed, his arms flaying, one hand hitting Jack at the head so hard, Jack was seeing stars for a moment. Then the soldier was able to catch that arm, too, and hold it tight.

Without warning, Daniel's body went limp. Jack felt it shivering as if Daniel was freezing, and he pulled him even tighter in an attempt to give some of his own warmth to the younger man.

"Shhhh," he whispered, slowly stroking the other man's hair. "Everything is alright, Daniel. Everything is alright."

It seemed to last forever. Then, finally, the shivering subsided.

Jack had no idea how long he had held Daniel, when the body in his arms finally moved again. First there was only a slight movement of the head, barely noticeable.

"Daniel?" Jack asked, pulling back slightly, giving the younger man a little room.

"Jack?" The voice sounded weak, barely above a whisper. There was doubt in his voice as if he couldn't be sure it was really Jack holding him. Considering what Daniel had gone through, Jack couldn't really blame him.

"Yes, it's me, Daniel. How do you feel?" Jack inquired carefully. If at all possible, he wanted to prevent another episode just like the last one.

Daniel retreated a little bit, until he could see Jack's eyes. Carefully probing, he touched the older man's face, his eyes examining every detail of his features. Hope, fear and something else, which Jack couldn't quite name, waged a war in Daniel's eyes. It seemed to take forever for Daniel to find what he was searching for, but finally he closed his eyes, and lowered his head against Jack's chest.

"Jack!" he breathed, sounding almost content.

Jack sighed, inhaling deeply, only now realizing he had been holding his breath for far too long.

Daniel was finally home, and Jack knew he would be all right.

He just knew.

**********

Epilogue

**********

One week later everything was almost back to normal. In the morning Janet finally had cleared Jack for active duty. His sight was back to normal though he was required to wear sun glasses even inside the base for few more days to protect his eyes a little bit more.

Daniel was finally allowed to leave the infirmary. He still had nightmares every night, and the only way he was able to get any sleep was with the help of strong sleeping pills, leaving him almost as tired in the morning, as he was before he went to sleep. His wounds were healing, however, and all in all, he had survived his ordeal remarkably unscathed. He had counseling sessions with Dr. McKenzie every morning, and slowly he began to cope with what had happened.

They all had gathered in the 'gateroom, for one final task before they all would be able to put everything behind them. SG-5 was ready, and so were Captain Samantha Carter and Doctor Janet Fraiser. Between Captain Roslo and Sergeant Larson was a stretcher and on it were the mortal remains of Daniel Jackson. The other Daniel Jackson.

SG-5 was scheduled to return the body to the universe it belonged to. Before Sam had left the parallel world, she had promised Martouth at least to try to return the body so he could be given a proper burial on the planet he belonged to. Though the other members of SG-1 wanted to accompany their team mate, they all had agreed it was better not to go, as their presence would only disturb the people in the other universe.

Daniel watched as the 'gate activated, dipping the room into blue-white shimmering light. Not for the first time he wondered, what kind of man the other Daniel Jackson had been. What would he have done if he would have been placed in the position the other man had found himself in? Being the one who had brought the terrors of the Goa'uld to Earth. Never learning of the friendship of Jack and Teal'c. Never meeting Sha're but finding a soulmate in Sam. Living in a twisted, sick version of this world.

Looking to his side, he saw Jack, just as the older man cast a concern glance to him. Daniel answered it with a little smile, and Jack's features relaxed as he gave Daniel a smile in return.

Beside the colonel, Teal'c also looked in Daniel's direction, and though his features were stoic - as usual - a warmth shown in his eyes which usually wasn't there.

On the ramp Sam turned towards Daniel, giving him a little wave and a smile before she turned back to the 'gate

He would never know what had made the other Daniel Jackson the man he had been. And, to be totally honest, Daniel was darn glad. Right now, he was perfectly fine with the Daniel Jackson he was

A soldier lifted a trumpet to his lips. The haunting tones of Taps echoed in the room, the sound amplified by the bare walls. The platoon of soldiers, let by General Hammond, came to attention, saluting the man on the stretcher.

SG-5 returned the salute, then they stepped up to the activated 'gate, and vanished beyond its shimmering surface, taking the other Daniel's body - and some very dark memories - with them.

The end