Chapter 3

“Hey, look at that! We can see the top of the forest from here.” Jack heard a sharp intake of breath and mentally kicked himself. That was not the thing to say to a guy who was afraid of heights and stuck on a ledge hundreds of feet in the air.

Daniel pressed himself into the rock. Both hands clenched the small outcroppings, holding on to what little support there was.

“Damn! Sorry, Daniel. Just take a minute and relax. It’ll be okay.” In the faint light of morning, Daniel’s face was a stark white. They'd made their way to the foothills just before dawn. This was the first steep climb they'd faced, and Jack wanted to be part of the way up the mountain before anybody from the village decided to come looking for Daniel. He hoped that Daniel's scribes now had the upper hand, and that the two of them were away and clear, but he wasn't taking any chances. Seeing the look on Daniel's face, however, made him rethink his haste.

A minute later, Daniel opened his eyes, and Jack watched him, trying not to look concerned.

“I’m okay, Jack. I thought I had this fear of heights thing licked a long time ago, but sometimes it sneaks up on me.” Jack waited. “I just looked down without thinking and it took me by surprise. We’re a lot higher up than I thought,” he swallowed convulsively, “and I was…startled, but it’s okay. I’m okay. I just don’t think I’m going to look down again soon, though, if that’s okay with you.”

“Yeah, that’s okay with me. It was a stupid suggestion--even if it does look amazing.” They were high enough to see the sand stretched out beyond the trees. The village, a cluster of buildings looking like  little toys in the distance, sat on the horizon. He couldn’t see anyone following them. He searched Daniel’s face one more time. He was still pale, but his breathing had steadied. “You ready for another push? We’re going to climb to that ledge,” he pointed up about a hundred feet, “and then we’re going to take a break. Think you can make it that far?”

No, Daniel thought. The ledge looked like it would make a good pencil holder on his desk back at the SGC which was where Daniel wanted to be instead of stuck up on the side of a mountain. “Sure,” he whispered. “Piece of cake.”

Jack heard the lie and knew there was nothing he could do about it. They couldn’t go back and they couldn’t stop now. “I’m going first. Watch where I put my hands and feet and try to follow that path. It’s going to get kind of difficult from here to the ledge.”

“And the last part wasn’t?” Daniel muttered under his breath.

“Daniel.”

The sharpness in the tone startled Daniel, and he looked up quickly.

“Daniel, we’re going to be okay.” Daniel stared at him. “You got that? We’re going to be okay.” He waited for Daniel to answer him.

“Never doubted it for a second, Jack.”

Jack gave a little laugh. “I’m glad to hear that Dr. Jackson, otherwise I’d think you’d lost the ability to follow orders.”

“Lost? I wasn’t aware of the fact that I’d ever had the ability to follow orders.”

“Aha! I want that in writing!”

“What?”

“I want it in writing that you've never had the ability to follow orders. I want written proof that you’ve finally said it.”

“Wait. I didn’t mean it that way. What I meant was sometimes I don’t follow your orders. I’ve always had the ability to follow orders; it’s just that sometimes I don’t.”

“Aha!” Jack repeated. “I want that written out in triplicate.”

Daniel was confused. “What?”

“That you have the ability to follow orders but you don’t. I’ve always wanted to hear you admit it and now you have. I want it on paper so that the next time you don’t follow orders, I’ll have a copy to shove in your face.”

They kept talking as Jack had steadily led the way up the mountainside, watching Daniel closely. They were almost at the ledge. If he could keep Daniel distracted for just a couple of more minutes, they could take a break and rest. Daniel looked like he was at the end of his rope. Jack winced. Bad metaphor. But if they could make it a few more yards….

“You know they don’t write things out in triplicate anymore, don’t you Jack?”

“Daniel, this is the United States Air Force. You have to have orders in triplicate to use the bathroom.”

“Well, that explains a lot of things. I’ve always wondered why airmen stare at me in the bathrooms and now I can see that it’s because I don’t have a copy of the orders made out in triplicate.” Jack gave him a startled look. “I thought a note from the teacher giving me permission to use the restroom would be enough.”

Jack snorted. “Asshole.” He was relieved that Daniel was still talking, still playing along. He didn’t believe for one second that Daniel hadn’t figured out what he was doing. “Then maybe you could just type it up on your computer, Daniel, and e-mail me a copy. Something along the lines of ‘I, Doctor Daniel Jackson, do hereby confess to General Jack O’Neill—with two l’s—that I have willfully and on numerous occasions chosen not--”

“Not going to happen, Jack.” Daniel could see Jack pulling himself up onto the ledge. He could make it a few more yards.

“But you just said…”

“Sure. Out here in the middle of nowhere, where nobody can hear me. Once we get home I’m going to disavow every word.” Daniel struggled to make the last few feet.

“Oh great, now you tell me. Carter and Teal’c won’t believe a word of this.” He reached down to grab Daniel’s arm and pulled him over the rim of the ledge until they were sprawled side by side. He could feel the tremors coursing through Daniel’s body as he’d pulled him the last few feet, and now as they sat side by side he could hear Daniel’s ragged breathing. Daniel leaned his head back against the rock wall and closed his eyes, tension and exhaustion having their way for the moment.

“The only person who’ll believe me is Mitchell,” Jack added.

“What?” Daniel was startled out of his reverie. Jack had an evil grin on his face. “Why would Mitchell believe you? I was never anything but an exemplary team member under Colonel Mitchell’s command," he said indignantly. “He’d never believe for a second that I was anything but a model….” He looked over at Jack again and then burst out laughing. “Oh, Jack, the look on your face. Alright, fine, the confession’s out there, but you and I are the only ones who will ever know about it. Even if Mitchell did believe you,” Jack nodded beside him, “it wouldn’t do him a damn bit of good because nothing’s going to change. There’s no sense giving him false hope,” his own voice sounded far away as the last few words stumbled out of his mouth, “especially since he's in charge of SG-13, and you're finally back in charge of SG-1.”

Jack looked at Daniel anxiously. The tremors had finally stopped with the laughter, which was a relief, but Daniel was exhausted and about to fall asleep. “We both need to get some sleep. We’ll do this in two hour shifts. You sleep first, and then I’ll wake you and I’ll get some sleep.” As Jack expected, Daniel fought to keep his eyes open. “Just this once obey an order and get some sleep. I promise I won’t tell Mitchell or anybody else.” Daniel smiled, took a deep breath, and then he was out.

Well, that was different. Maybe the thin mountain air was making Daniel more compliant. Nah, it was just a fluke. Jack reached over to pull Daniel’s head down to his lap, resting his arm firmly across his friend’s shoulders. This ledge was still pretty narrow and Jack didn’t want Daniel rolling off in his sleep. He patted Daniel’s arm absently. “You started a damn rebellion? Why am I not surprised.”

He leaned his head back against the rock, trying to focus on the next leg of the journey. It would be even more difficult from here. His head hurt slightly, probably a sign of the higher elevation, and he rubbed his forehead to try to ease the pressure. He looked down at Daniel to make sure that he was asleep and let his head fall back.

~::~

Jack reached down to see if Daniel was awake yet. He was gone. “Shit! Daniel!” he yelled frantically, trying to shake off the fuzziness in his head as he got to his feet.

“Right here, Jack. Don’t yell. I don’t want the mountain to fall on us.” Daniel sat a few feet away rummaging through their bags.

He slumped back down. “Sorry, I must have fallen asleep. When I woke up, I thought….”

“I know. Sorry. I was trying to get us some food together before you woke up. I should have realized.”

“No, no. It’s okay. I’m still a little groggy. Must be more tired than I thought.”

“I think it’s the altitude. It took me awhile to get my bearings when I woke up.” He passed Jack some bread and the last of the dried fruit. “Try to eat something. It will help. Drink some water first.” He pressed the canteen into Jack’s hand and urged him to drink. More out of reflex than anything else, Jack took a sip of water. He closed his eyes briefly, and then took another sip.

As he mechanically ate the food, Daniel slid down to sit beside him, his shoulder just brushing Jack’s. Jack let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He thought Daniel had fallen down the mountain. He’d been scared to death when he hadn’t felt Daniel’s shoulder under his hand. He still felt a little disoriented. He looked at his friend who was eating his rations and pointedly not looking at him.

“Sorry,” Jack said again. “I didn’t mean to yell. I was just, you know… I thought….”

“Nope. Still here.” Daniel gave him a crooked grin.

“Good. Keep it that way,” Jack grumbled, “because there’s no way in hell I’m climbing down there to haul your sorry ass back up here if you fall off this ledge.” Daniel chuckled beside him and he reached over to rest his hand on Daniel’s knee. “You okay?” he asked.

“Much better for a few hours sleep. How about you?”

“Better for some sleep, too, but you were supposed to wake me after two hours.”

“Well, I would have, but I woke up just a few minutes before you did. Besides, I think you were the one who was supposed to wake me.”

“How long did we sleep?”

“I don’t have the keen military mind that can calculate the passage of time to the minute but I’d say somewhere between six and eight hours. It looks like late afternoon.”

“Damn.” Jack was annoyed with himself. He should have stayed awake. Anything could have happened to them in eight hours. Being stuck behind a general’s desk must have made him soft.

“Jack, it’s okay.” Daniel said. “We both needed the sleep; we’re both rested. Let it go.”

Jack took a deep breath. It was time to be making plans. “Thanks, Daniel. You're right. Let’s pack up.”

“I want that in writing.”

“What?”

“I want that in writing, that you said I was right about something. I want it in triplicate.”

Jack saw Daniel’s grin. He grinned back. “You do know, Daniel, that they don’t write up things in triplicate anymore, don’t you?”

As they sparred back and forth, they checked their supplies. The food would last them for a few days but the water was going to be a problem. Especially at such high altitudes, they couldn’t risk dehydration. The headaches were going to be bad enough as it was, without the added stress of dehydration. But, for the moment, there was nothing they could do about it. They needed to go on.

“All right, Daniel. You go first.”

“No, Jack.” Daniel faced him squarely.

“No, Jack?”

“No, Jack. You need to go first.”

"Daniel, I don’t want to be the one to point this out to you, but you’re not the steadiest person on the mountain when it comes to heights. I need to be behind you in case something happens…” Jacks voice petered out. He didn’t want to give Daniel the idea that something was going to happen, but damn it, if it did he wanted to be behind Daniel where he could help him.

“That’s why you have to go first, Jack. If something happens,” Jack could see Daniel’s active imagination painting the picture for him. “If I fall, Jack,” he unconsciously looked down the mountainside and shuddered. “If I fall, you need to…. You’re not going to be able to do anything about it if I fall.”

“Daniel.”

“If you go first, I’ll have something ahead of me to focus on. I’ll be more likely to look up and not down.”

Jack sighed. He knew Daniel was right but that didn’t mean he had to like it. They’d just have to take it slow and easy. They’d made it this far, they could make it the rest of the way—wherever that was.

Jack gave in. “You ready?”

Letting out a small sigh, Daniel turned to look up the mountain. It really wasn’t any better than looking down anymore. His palms felt sweaty.

“We’re going to be fine.” Jack stepped in front of him, blocking his view of the climb. “We’re going to take this nice and slow. Watch me, watch where I put my hands and feet, watch just the ground in front of you. Don’t look up or down the slope. I’ll take care of where we’re going.” Daniel stared at him. “Daniel, do you trust me?”

Blue eyes blinked a few times, looking not up the mountain, but at Jack. Taking a deep breath, Daniel said, “Of course I trust you.”

He squeezed Daniel’s shoulder, offering reassurance. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s do it.” He started slowly up the steep slope.

Even Jack, who wasn’t normally afraid of heights, tensed the higher they got. His muscles strained against the steep angle, and his knees ached. The ground under his feet was very unstable and, despite his best efforts, the scree would slip past him and onto Daniel. Occasionally, he could hear Daniel swear as the small stones hit his face. Jack wished he was the one behind. He knew Daniel was right; it was better for him to be in the lead where Daniel could see and follow him, but it sure must be playing hell with Daniel’s already fragile concentration.

Jack tried to encourage him, describing for him where the best hand and footholds were. “That’s good, Daniel. Move your left hand. There’s a small outcropping to grab onto. Do that first, before you move your foot. Remember, you need three points of contact. Only move one limb at a time.” He kept up a monologue, more to give Daniel a voice to focus on than to give him directions. He kept his voice calm and slow hoping to keep Daniel anchored in the moment.

Suddenly, a large chunk of the rock Jack was standing on slid out from under his right foot. He pulled himself away from the lose stone, scrabbling desperately until he found purchase on the rock. “Daniel!” he yelled, “Pull yourself in to the cliff face. Now!”

Daniel cried out in pain as a small landside fell on top of him. He closed his eyes pressing himself as hard as he could against the rock trying to flatten himself as much as possible.

The crashing faded as the rocks bounced off the mountain below them. Soon it was quiet again.

“Daniel?”

There was no answer.

“Daniel! Hey! You okay?” Daniel clung desperately to the rock, his knuckles and his face both white. “Daniel!" He took a deep breath, trying not to let his own desperation seep into his voice. “It’s over. Open your eyes and look at me.”

Slowly, Daniel opened his eyes.

“You okay?”

“Jack, I just had half a mountain fall on my head. Do you think I’m okay?” He felt slightly giddy and a little irritated that Jack would be asking him such a stupid question. Of course he wasn’t okay. He’d just about been pushed down the mountain by a rock slide. What did Jack think—they were ping pong balls falling on top of him?

“I need to know if you’re alright. Is anything bruised, broken? Pull yourself together and tell me if you’re okay. If not, tell me where you’re hurt.”

Right. Daniel focused on his training. He needed to focus on the next step, do a threat assessment, plan the next move. He could do this. Jack was waiting for him to answer. “Sorry, Jack. I think I’m fine—bruised in a lot of different places but nothing life threatening or dangerous. No head injury, no broken bones.”

Jack smiled, knowing that Daniel was going through the checklist.

“I think my hands got the worst of it. They’re pretty ripped, the skin on the backs of my hands, and my fingernails are a mess.”

Even from where he was Jack could see the blood ooze from Daniel’s hands. He’d have to clean and bandage them as soon as possible.

“Maybe when we get back, Vala could recommend a manicurist,” Jack offered. He could hear Daniel’s snort below him. “Do you think you can move?”

“Where else am I going to go, unless you’ve got that manicurist in your pocket?”

“Nope. Sorry. Not even a nail file.”

“Then, I guess we’d better keep going.”

On the next ledge Jack pulled out their meager supplies. They had a few bandages, strips of cloth torn in strips, but no antiseptic and no water to spare to wash the wounds. Daniel winced as Jack did his best to gently wipe off the worst of the debris. It wasn’t enough, he knew. The scratches would quickly become infected, but there really wasn’t any other choice. To make it worse, he didn’t know how much farther they had to go.

Daniel slid down the rock, totally exhausted. His body felt stiff and sore from the climb. His hands throbbed. His leg throbbed. He was hungry and thirsty. Oddly enough, the thing that he wanted the most was a hot shower. His entire body was covered in dust. Jack didn’t look much better.

“Time to move?” Daniel asked.

Jack heard the weariness in Daniel’s voice. He couldn’t answer. He’d pushed them both so hard and here they were. Their supplies were almost exhausted, and the water all but gone. Even if they made it to the top of this mountain, what then? He didn't know. He didn't know if Daniel knew. His headache pounding, he let his head fall to his chest.

“Jack? We’re going to be fine.” Daniel heard a choked laugh. “We are going to make it to the top. And then we’re going to find the tablet.”

“How do you know that, Daniel? Do you really have any idea where we’re going? For all you know, the thing you’re looking for could be hanging on the wall in someone’s living room a thousand miles from here.” In frustration, Jack glared at Daniel, only to see him looking back calmly. “Is it your uncanny ability to tell the future?" Jack snapped. "Or maybe you just have x-ray vision.”

“Jack, do you trust me?”

Jack winced, hearing his own words. Of course he trusted Daniel, more than any other human being he’d ever met. Even when he was ready to strangle him with his bare hands (which probably happened more than he’d like to admit), there was no one he trusted more.

“Jack, I know this is hard for you; believe me, I know. But I also know that whatever’s waiting for us will be worth the effort. We are going to make it.”

“I think that’s supposed to be my line as the commanding officer and all.”

“Yeah, well, you get to say it next time.” Daniel pulled himself to his feet knowing they needed to reach the top before dark. “I’d help you up, but you know how it is; I might break a nail.”

Jack looked up startled to see Daniel smiling at him. “I’m not touching those hands until you get that manicure.” He stood beside Daniel placing a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “Time to finish this.”

Daniel turned and put his hands on the rock.

“Daniel?”

“Jack?”

“Of course I trust you.”

~::~

“Damn it!” Jack scrabbled for a hand hold. Ten feet from the top of the mountain, ten feet to a piece of grass and a place to lie down, and he’d lost his footing. In the scramble to find a foothold on the smooth surface, he’d dislodged a stone that had hit Daniel in the head.

“Danny?” he yelled. He couldn’t get an answer. He could see Daniel twenty feet below him stuck to the side of the slope like a sprawling spider. “Come on, Daniel, let's not do this again. Say something.”

Daniel had his face turned away with his cheek pressed into the rock. The hands, caked with streaks of dried brown blood clung to the outcroppings. But he was still standing, much to Jack's relief. He moved sideways, steering clear of the loose rock. His path took him away from Daniel another ten feet, but Jack didn’t dare go back down the way he’d come.

“Dammit, Daniel, talk to me,” Jack yelled again.

A voice answered, but it wasn’t Daniel's. From above he heard the voice call again, and then a head appeared over the rim of the cliff. It was a man dressed in the same brown robes as the men in the village they’d left. He spoke quickly in urgent words Jack couldn’t understand. He didn’t know if the man was a friend or an enemy, and at the moment, it didn’t matter. “Help me,” he called. He gestured to the spot where Daniel stood. “He’s hurt. Help me.”

The man at the top of the cliff seemed to understand. He shucked his robe, leaving only a pair of loose-fitting pants, and climbed down the hillside so quickly Jack caught his breath, sure the man was going to fall. The man, however, appeared to be part mountain goat as he moved confidently to Daniel’s side.

The two of them arrived together. Jack found what little security there was, clinging to the rocks with one hand while he reached out to examine the gash on Daniel’s skull.

At the touch Daniel roused. “Jack?”

“Don’t lean back, Daniel,” Jack said, pushing his friend into the rock face.

“’Kay,” Daniel replied. “What happened?”

“You got hit on the head with a rock,” Jack answered. Daniel blinked and closed his eyes. Their new companion, now on Daniel’s right was paying very little attention to either of them. He scanned the slope and then waved his arm to their right.

“You want us to go that way?” Jack looked at the rock face doubtfully. The man spoke urgently, pointing first to Daniel and Jack, and then to his right.

“That way,” Jack muttered. “Fine. We’ll go that way. After all, why wouldn’t I want to go sideways when I could just go up, especially with a perfect stranger who's half goat?” But as he looked more closely he could see the man was right. To the right the climb was easier if a little longer.

“Daniel, can you walk?”

“Um… sure, Jack.” He didn’t move.

Jack rolled his eyes. “Sure, Daniel. Sure you can.” The little man gestured again and indicated that he would go first. He took Daniel’s arm and pulled gently. Like a puppet, Daniel stepped to the side; Jack sidestepped as well, holding on to Daniel’s arm with one hand and bracing himself against the rocks with the other. In a bizarre and slow crab crawl, they moved sideways and slightly down until they were on a less severe slope. While the climb was still no picnic, Jack was at least able to walk upright. He hooked a shoulder under Daniel's arm and led him to a spot of grass where he eased him to the ground.

With a sigh of relief, Jack said, “Alright, let me have a look--”

“Jack?”

“Yeah, Daniel?”

“I’m going to fall down now,” and he crumpled sideways.

The little man standing over them huffed his concern, still chattering away in words Jack couldn’t make out.

He sat down beside Daniel, exhausted and discouraged. He didn’t know where they were. He didn’t know what they were supposed to do next. He didn’t know if Daniel was alright; the wound was deep and bleeding sluggishly. What he did know was that the little goat guy beside him was driving him crazy. He opened the bag slung over his shoulder and pulled out his flask. It was empty.

Seeing that, the little man jumped up, gestured to the top of the hill, and ran away.

“Hey,” Jack called. As irritating as the guy was, Jack didn’t want to be left alone. Maybe the guy could help him figure out if there was a town nearby, or a doctor. Jack waved feebly after the disappearing figure. “Bring me back some lunch,” he called.

The little man did come back as Jack was preparing to haul Daniel in a fireman’s carry up the hill. From his vantage point, he couldn’t see much more than grass, trees, and rocks--way, way too many rocks. The little man returned with a friend. She was a young woman similar enough in appearance to goat guy that Jack assumed she must be his daughter. They’d brought a flask of water with them which the little man made him drink before he poured the rest on the wound on the back of Daniel’s head. Daniel stirred but didn’t wake. The gash needed a few stitches, Jack thought, but it wasn’t too bad. Daniel’s hard head had certainly suffered worse. He had no way of knowing about a concussion.

The man and his daughter obviously planned to help. They reached down, prepared to grab a leg, when Jack stopped them.

“No,” he said, “I got this one. You lead the way and I’ll carry him.” Jack gestured up the hill and then mimed carrying the body.

The man nodded his understanding. With his help, Jack put Daniel over his shoulders. He groaned as his knees protested the weight. “Lay on, Macduff,” he said.

The man scampered ahead, guiding them past the worst of the rocks, while the woman stayed with Jack. As they slowly moved to the breast of the hill, she kept pace with him. When they stopped to rest, she helped ease the body down. When they moved again, she passed Jack the flask to drink. Finally she spoke. “Amarta,” she said touching her chest.

“Jack.”

“Jak.” She said it again, pointing at him, “Jack.” Then she pointed ahead, “Aer,” and at herself, “Amarta.”

“Nice to meet you.” Jack repeated the names, and Amarta smiled.

~::~

They led him to a small ramshackle building off the path and away from three or four other small ramshackle buildings. All but the one in which Aer and Amarta lived looked deserted. The inside of the cottage was sparsely furnished, but comfortable. One small room at the back held a bed. There was another small bed in the living area by the fire. The tiny kitchen had a stove, a sink with a window above it, and a table with two chairs. There was a pump for water.

Amarta and Aer helped Jack settle Daniel onto the cot in the back room. Amarta brought a basin of warm water and clean rags to Jack who used them to clean the gash on Daniel’s head. Then they opened all the small cupboards, showing Jack what each contained and pointing at him. Jack understood he was welcome to the little they had. Amarta pointed at the pot on the stove and then to Jack.

“Thank you,” he said. “Really, Aer, Amarta. Thank you.” He didn't know if he'd been understood, but from the smiles he received, he guessed the meaning was clear.

After his hosts had checked on Daniel, and stirred the pot on the stove, they left, closing the door softly behind them.

Jack ran his fingers through his hair. He was tired and hungry, and worried about Daniel. He was also worried about getting home. They were up the mountain, but no closer to finding the tablet. Still, for the moment, there wasn‘t much he could do but wait. “Damn,” he said to the empty room. “Come on, buddy, I need you to wake up and help me figure this mess out.”

Okay, O’Neill, one thing at a time. Jack emptied the basin and filled it again with warm water from the kettle on the stove. While Daniel was out, he‘d clean the hands and bandage them. He’d worry about the other stuff later.

Jack did his best to be careful. He soaked each of Daniel’s hands in the water several times and washed away the dirt. Each time the water got dirty, he emptied the bowl and started again. Fifteen minutes later, the blood coming from the wounds seemed fresh. He was sweating with the effort. He knew he was hurting his friend because even as out of it as he was, Daniel kept trying to pull away. Jack didn’t know whether to be relieved that Daniel didn’t regain consciousness or worried that he hadn’t come to. Worry won out.

He finally finished. The cloth covering the gash in Daniel's head was pink, but not bloody. That meant it had stopped bleeding. He wrapped the hands in clean cloth, hoping he’d gotten all the dirt. Then with another clean cloth, he wiped away the worst of the grime from his friend’s face and covered him with a warm blanket. Jack grabbed another blanket and lay down on the floor beside the bed. Now Daniel just had to wake up.

~::~

He shouldn’t have fallen asleep but the last two days had taken their toll on Jack. Still, he really felt a whole lot better. The persistent throbbing in his skull had faded to a dull ache, which was an improvement. He hoped Daniel was feeling-- Daniel! Shit. How was he? Jack pulled himself up to check on Daniel in the cot beside him. The covers were thrown back and the bed was empty. Damn. Where was he? Jack started to push himself up off the floor.

“Daniel?” he shouted.

“Right here, Jack.” Daniel was standing in the doorway looking ragged and disheveled but most definitely awake and coherent.

“Would you stop doing that?” Jack said, sliding back down to land with a thunk on the floor.

“Doing what?”

“Scaring me out of my wits.”

“Sorry. I woke up and had to….” Daniel waved a hand vaguely in the direction of the next room.

“Ah.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Jack watched Daniel sit down on the edge of the bed. “You okay?”

“You know, I think we’ve had this conversation before.”

“What?”

“On the side of the mountain. I think we’ve had this conversation before.”

“What conversation?”

“Don’t you remember? You woke up and thought I was gone, and then I apologized, and then you asked me if I was okay. Maybe we could just, you know, put it on tape or something, and it would save us time the next time this happens.”

“Or you could e-mail me a copy for my files.”

“Or I could write it out in triplicate, keep a copy, send you a copy, and put a copy in the permanent record.”

“Or you could just answer the damn question.”

“What?”

“Daniel, you could answer the question. Are you okay?”

Daniel looked at Jack still sitting on the floor. “I’m fine.”

“Daniel.” The warning in the voice was clear.

“I’m fine, really.” Jack frowned. “I’m tired, and sore, and a little fuzzy, but I’m fine.”

“Fuzzy? Dr. Lam been passing on new medical jargon to you, has she?”

Daniel laughed. “Too technical for you?”

“Daniel, what do you mean by ‘fuzzy’?”

“A little… unfocused. I think that’s the bump on the head, and I’m fairly sure I have some gaps in my memory. No, I take that back. I’m sure I have some gaps in my memory. I remember falling asleep on a ledge somewhere, but the memories after that are pretty blurry.” Daniel reached up to rub the back of his neck. "Did you drop a rock on me?"

“Hey,” Jack said, sensing his confusion, “don’t worry about it right now. You’ve had a pretty rough couple of days. Besides the fuzziness, anything else?”

Daniel thought for a minute and then grinned. “Hungry. And thirsty. Any chance of a home-cooked meal? And I could really use a shower.”

Daniel could just hear Jack mutter, “No argument there.”

“You’re no bed of roses yourself, you know,” he said, sitting on the cot.

“Well, hungry I can do something about. The little goat guy, Aer, who lives here, told me we can help ourselves to whatever food is in the house. We might have to chop wood or something afterwards to earn our keep but I figure that’s probably a fair trade for a few meals.” He looked at Daniel’s bandaged hands. “Well, I might have to chop wood afterwards.”

Surprised, Daniel looked down at his hands. For the first time he noticed the bandages. “Did you do this?”

“None other.”

“I… I hadn’t even noticed. It’s the first time in days that they haven’t hurt and I didn’t even notice. Jack--'

“Daniel, it’s okay.” He didn’t know why Daniel was so upset. “If you don’t feel anything then I did it right. I was worried that I didn’t get all the dirt out.”

Daniel flexed his fingers carefully. “They feel great. Thanks.”

“Hey, no problem. But if they start to hurt again, you let me know. We might have to clean them out again. As a matter of fact, we’ll need to change the dressings pretty soon. How’s the head?”

“Tender.”

“Any concussion?”

“Well, there’s only one of you, and while I'd kill for a couple of Aspirin, it’s not the worst headache I’ve ever had.”

Daniel looked better. Jack could tell he had a headache by the slight squint of the eyes, and they were both filthy dirty, but on the whole, Jack was pleased with what he saw. “Why don’t you go get cleaned up. I’m pretty sure I saw a tub in the other room with a pump beside it. It’s no shower but it should help to get a least a couple of layers of grime off.”

“A pump?”

“Yeah, you move the handle up and down, water comes out. You know, a pump.”

“The water will be cold.”

“Yes, Daniel, the water will be cold. But it’s no worse than my cabin in Minnesota in the winter.”

“And this is supposed to be comforting?”

“No, it’s supposed to tell you that you need to go wash off about ten layers of dirt while I go find us something to eat.”

“Right.” Daniel stood up as Jack pulled himself up off the floor. “On my way to removing layers of dirt.”

"Um, goat guy?"

"I'll explain it after you're clean."

A few minutes later, Jack could hear the sound of the pump handle grinding and the soft splash as the water fell into the tub. A few minutes after that he could hear Daniel swearing in about seven different languages, including English, as the cold water touched his skin. A few minutes after that Jack finally had pity on his friend and took him a kettle of warm water from the stove in the kitchen.

“You had this all the time and you let me suffer? You let me wash with freezing cold water while you had hot water in the kitchen? What kind of a commanding officer are you that you would let one of your men go through this kind of deprivation?”

“Daniel, we both know that I have never been your commanding officer. I refer you to another discussion on the mountainside, the one where you admitted that you don’t follow orders. The one about which I will never have an e-mail or see a report written up in triplicate. What difference would it have made if I’d told you to wait until the water was hot; you wouldn’t have listened to me anyways?”

“I think I can say with certainty that this time I would have listened to you.”

“Well, damn. I had my chance and I let it go.”

“Very funny, Jack.”

~::~

“So this Aer,” Daniel asked, sitting down at the table, “who is he, and how did we end up in his house?”

“He's an old man who found us stuck on the side of a mountain and took us home. He's got a daughter, kind of quiet but pretty smart.”

“How did you find that out?” Daniel scooped a large spoonful of soup into his mouth. It tasted great. He tried to remember when he'd had such good food.

“Slow done there,” Jack said. “You haven't eaten in a while and I don't want to have to clean up any puke. And she's smart because she likes me.”

"There's no accounting for taste," Daniel muttered as he emptied some of the soup from his spoon back into the bowl. “I'm hungry,” he added, “and this is good. Did you make it?”

“Aer's daughter made it. Amarta or Amartha or something like that.” Jack, grabbed the loaf of bread, ripped off a piece for himself and passed the rest to Daniel.

“Where are they now?” Daniel asked. Now that he was clean and his stomach was full, he felt tired.

“I don’t know. They dropped us off and left. That was hours ago.”

Once they were done with their simple meal, Jack grabbed a coat from the door. “I’m going to check out our location, maybe find our hosts. Why don't you clear the table and get some sleep.

“Will you make sure I'm up when Aer gets home? I need to ask him about the tablet.”

“What makes you think he’d know?” Jack asked.

“I don’t have anybody else to ask,” Daniel answered.

“Good point.”

Part 4

Current Episode | All Episodes | Video Previews | Art Gallery | Related Links | About Us | Home

Site by TJW

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, the characters and universe are the property of Kawoosh Productions, Showtime/Viacom, Sony/MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions and the Sci-Fi Channel. The content of this site is solely for entertainment purposes. No copyright infringement is intended.  No money has been made via the creation and/or distribution of these documents.