Title: Fork in the Road

Title: Fork in the Road

Author: Chocolatequeen

Rating: K+

Summary: AU Sam/Jack. "For every possible universe, there are an infinite number of variations, diverging at every choice we make like forks in a road." AlterSam, Point of View. After their confessions in Divide and Conquer, an alternate Sam and Jack do not leave their feelings in the room. How does that one decision change their universe?

Dedication: To Claudia, for answering the incessant questions about the fraternization regs, and to my beta, who's been amazing.

Chapter Six: New Beginnings

Jack tapped the briefing table impatiently. SG-1 was scheduled to go on a mission the following day, and with Daniel out for bereavement, they were waiting to hear who their fourth member would be. He didn't really want anyone else, and he personally thought this would be a great opportunity to give them all the leave they deserved. However, after what had happened the last time they'd tried to take leave, suggesting it didn't seem like a good idea. One minute I'm trying to convince Carter to go fishing with me, and then next I'm talking to Thor.

Carter. His fingers stopped tapping momentarily and he looked over at her. They still had some unfinished business, but things hadn't exactly gone well the last time they'd tried to talk. He still wasn't sure their conversation in the scout ship wasn't just a product of his hypoxia induced euphoria. He'd certainly been imagining similar situations before he and Teal'c were rescued.

His ponderings halted when General Hammond entered the room. He and his team stood at attention until he said, "As you were."

They sat back down, and then he asked the question they were all wondering. "So General. Who's getting assigned to SG-1?"

"No one," Hammond said. "I've decided to reschedule your next mission until Dr. Jackson returns. You're all long overdue for some personal leave."

He went completely still for a moment—had his CO read his mind? "Yes sir. But the leaving part has been the problem."

Hammond smiled. "Oh, I think you'll make it to the front door before we realize we can't do without you. Dismissed."

"Thank you sir." The general left the room, and Jack switched his attention to Carter. She was smiling about something, he didn't know what. Frankly, he didn't care. Anything that made Carter smile like that was a good thing.

There was an idea forming in the back of his mind. They had leave, and there was no question what he was going to do with it. It had been far too long since he'd made it up to the cabin. Carter had indicated she wanted to talk. Maybe he should ask if she wanted to come with him… His imagination spun into overdrive, filled with pictures of him and Carter sitting on the dock, both of them casting lines into his pond. In the wilds of Minnesota, there'd be no one to interrupt them, no desperate plea to save the universe to force them to put their conversation on hold.

"Do you wish to spend your leave in the briefing room, O'Neill?"

Teal'c question pulled him back to the present. A quick glance around told him Carter was already gone. He knew exactly where she was going, so he got up to follow her. "No T, I've got plans. You?"

"I have plans as well. I have long wished for an extended period of solitude in which to engage in deep kel' no' rim."

"Sounds exciting."

"Indeed."

"So I'll see you next week, Teal'c." Jack was out the door and in the elevator before he could answer.

He watched the numbers change as the elevator carried him up, one hand bouncing against his thigh. The car moved slowly—too slowly. It gave him time to think. Halfway between levels 24 and 23, he started wondering if he was making a mistake. Why on earth would a gorgeous, brilliant woman like Carter who has her whole career ahead of her want to saddle herself with an old, scarred airman like me?

His finger hovered over the stop button, but various things he'd seen in the last six months held him back. Carter telling Anise that she cared about him too. Carter looking at him with wide eyes right before he kissed her. Carter, as Thera, leaning in to kiss him once again. Thera telling him that she was afraid to allow herself to care about him because it would hurt too much to lose him. Carter smiling at him when he thought his delusional ramblings had ruined their friendship, telling him that maybe it had done the opposite. And finally, over all, Carter looking at him through a force shield, accepting his wordless avowal of love and answering with one of her own.

When the doors opened at level 19, all his doubts were tucked back into the corner of his mind. He walked resolutely to her lab and then leaned against the open doorframe, simply enjoying watching her for a moment without her knowing it before he got her attention.

"Hey Carter."

She looked up sharply. "Sir! I didn't hear you come in."

"Yeah, you left your door open." He came in and shut it behind him. "Listen, I was thinking… you have plans for this week?"

She shrugged. "I have a few projects I could work on, but nothing major. Why?"

There was something in her tone, in the way she raised one eyebrow just slightly… "Just wondering if you're finally ready to take me up on that fishing trip."

She grinned, and he realized that she'd been waiting for him to ask. "Yeah sure ya betcha!" she said, and nervous anticipation built in his gut.

"Great. It'll take some time to pack and get the tickets lined up, so why don't I meet you on the surface in two hours?"

"Sure. Just let me drop these results off with Dr. Lee and I'll be ready to go."

Warning bells went off in Jack's head. If he let her near one of the other labs, he'd never get her off base, much less all the way to Minnesota. "Why don't you let me do that?" he said, smoothly taking the file out of her hand. "You've got packin' to do."

Two hours later, he was walking to the elevator with a duffle slung over his shoulder when he spotted Carter and Hammond coming from the opposite direction. His pace slowed slightly. Hammond? She didn't tell him… He inspected his CO's expression discretely but saw no hint that the man knew what they were up to. He let out a quick sigh of relief. He wasn't planning to keep it from him, but he wanted a chance to talk things over with her before they told General Hammond anything.

"Hey Carter, you ready to go? By this time tomorrow, we'll be sitting on the dock with our feet propped up, sippin' a cold one, and casting for that ever elusive…crappie."

She couldn't quite hide the smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "Sounds great, Sir."

She got in the elevator behind him and he turned to Hammond. "Just so we're clear on this, Sir. It's going to be me, Carter, and the great outdoors. That means no cell phones, no fax machines, not another living soul for miles. We'll be unavailable, inaccessible."

"Incommunicado."

"Minnesota, sir," he corrected, tongue-in-cheek.

Hammond couldn't hide a smile. "I stand corrected."

With one last wary glance at him, Jack stepped into the elevator where Carter waited. He pushed the button that would take them up. "If there's an emergency back at the base, you better plan ahead and tell me now. If Thor needs me, he's going to have to beam me up! If the Tok'ra, forget it!"

SJSJSJSJSJSJSJ

Daniel threw his pencil down and stared at the jar. He had the whole paragraph translated, with the exception of one phrase that was giving him problems. Without really realizing it, he pulled his phone out and dialed Sam's office. She could get Teal'c on the phone for him so he could finish this.

When she didn't answer, he frowned at his phone. Who else could I call? There was Jack of course, but he was never in his office to answer his phone. Janet might be able to help him, but then again, she might also be in the middle of a medical emergency. Finally he dialed the only other direct line he had memorized.

"Hammond."

"General, it's Daniel Jackson. I tried calling Sam but no one answered her phone."

"I gave the rest of SG-1 personal leave, Dr. Jackson. Are you still in Chicago?"

Daniel sighed. He'd been counting on Teal'c's help with this jar. "Yes sir. I'm in the basement of a museum looking at what appears to be an Egyptian burial jar…"

"That doesn't seem unusual in a museum that specializes in Egyptian antiquities."

"No sir, I guess not. However, there's something here beside the usual hieroglyphs. There's a second set of markings. They're Goa'uld symbols."

"Goa'uld symbols?"

He grimaced. Hammond's Texas accent was always more pronounced when he sensed a threat. "Yes sir. I was hoping Teal'c could help me translate one of the symbols, but if they're on leave…"

"Teal'c stayed here at the SGC, Dr. Jackson. I'll have him call you as soon as possible."

"Actually, I managed to convince the museum to let me take the jar back to the SGC. I'll just show it to him when I get there later this afternoon."

"I don't think I have to tell you that if we're finding Goa'uld artifacts in an American museum, it's a cause for concern. Perhaps I ought to call Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter back in…"

"Where are Jack and Sam anyway?"

"They took off this morning for Jack's cabin. I'm sure if I called, they'd understand."

Daniel wasn't so sure. If Jack had managed to convince Sam to go off with him to Minnesota, they were probably having a pretty important conversation. "Ah, no I don't think that'll be necessary," he hastily countered. "We don't even know what this jar was yet, no reason to disturb their vacation."

"They should at least be informed, so they're aware something's going on here."

He could tell the general wasn't going to let this go, so he desperately threw out one last attempt. "I'll give them a call as soon as I talk to Teal'c. We'll know more then."

"Very well. I'm counting on you to figure this out, Dr. Jackson."

"Thank you, General." Daniel closed his phone, not realizing until a moment later that he'd just volunteered to interrupt Jack and Sam's private vacation.

SJSJSJSJSJSJSJ

The scene was exactly how he'd pictured it. They were sitting side by side on the dock, both lazily casting lines out into the pond. With each cast, he could feel Sam shoot a nervous look over at him, and he knew he was doing the same thing. The morning sunshine brightened into midday heat that finally faded into the lazy comfort of a late afternoon without a single word being said about why they were finally here together. The hours of idle chitchat tried his patience on multiple levels, but after what happened the last time he tried to talk to her, there was no way he was making the first move.

Finally, she shifted in her seat and he thought she might be ready to talk. "You know," she said casually, "as nice as this is, I didn't come here for the fishing."

"Really?" he asked noncommittally, keeping his eyes focused on his line.

"No, I didn't. Actually, sir—"

"Jack."

"What?"

He took his sunglasses off and looked over at her, all pretense gone. He knew exactly what they were talking about, and he wanted her to know he was one hundred percent serious. "We're fishing, Carter. Alone. In Minnesota. Drop the sirs." The implication was obvious: I am not having this conversation as your CO.

He could see her trying to frame a response to that, and he was eager to hear what she came up with. He never got to. A shrill, unmistakable sound shattered the peaceful quiet of the pond. Oh, she didn't! But she started guiltily and pulled a cell phone out of her pocket. She glanced down at the caller ID then back up at him, and he could see an apology forming on her lips. He looked back out at the water, trying to ignore how hurt he was. "Might as well answer it, Carter," he told her, cutting off whatever weak excuse she came up with. "After all, why else would you have brought the damn thing with you?"

"Hey Daniel." He could faintly hear the archaeologist say something about interrupting, and his ears perked up. If Carter took the out Daniel had given her, maybe... "No, Daniel. What did you need?"

Jack snorted and began reeling his line in with fast, jerky motions. Clearly, the trip to the cabin didn't mean as much to her as it meant to him. Well, if that was the case, there was only one way to make her happy. He stomped back up to the cabin, a single goal in mind. As soon as he was back inside, he went into his room and pulled his duffel out of the closet. Without bothering to fold things nicely, he shoved all of his clothes back into it and zipped it up.

Sam walked through the door just when he stormed through the living room. He tossed his bag down at her feet and moved on into the kitchen. They'd bought fresh food at the grocery store on their way through town, and there was no way he was going to let it rot in his fridge. The box they'd carried it in was still sitting on the floor, so he started dropping things into it, feeling a peculiar satisfaction in the loud thunks as the cans and bottles hit the floor.

He could feel her eyes on him, but he refused to look back at her. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"What's it look like I'm doing?" he snarled. "I'm packing."

"Why?"

If that isn't the stupidest... "You obviously don't want to be here, so I'll take you home so you can get back to your precious lab."

"What makes you think I don't want to be here?"

"Gee, let me think," he said, laying on the sarcasm thick. "Could it be the fact that you brought a phone with you, when I told even Hammond that we were going to be incommunicado? Or maybe it was the way you couldn't wait to pick it up, right when…" He stopped before he could finish the sentence: Right when I thought we were getting someplace. Instead, he said, "I thought this trip meant something. Apparently it didn't mean anything to you."

"I didn't want to bring the phone, and I definitely didn't want to answer it when it rang," she protested.

He slammed his hands down on the table. "Then why did you?"

"Because I was ordered to!" she hollered back. "When I told General Hammond I was coming up here with you, he insisted on having a way to contact us." He blinked. That was one possibility he hadn't considered. Some of his anger faded, but he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was just getting started.

"I told him I was hoping for a quiet week with no interruptions, but he made it very clear that the only way he'd let me come was if I brought my phone. 'I can't let half my best team go off without any way to call you back if I need you,' he said." She got up in his face and poked him in the chest. "There was nothing I wouldn't have done to come up here with you," she said in a harsh whisper. "Damn it Jack, don't you get it? I didn't bring the phone because the trip didn't mean anything; I brought it because it means everything."

His eyes widened. He'd promised himself after their adventures as Jonah and Thera that he'd get her to call him Jack, and now she had. That more than anything told him how seriously she took their relationship. And I accused her of not caring...

He ran a hand through his hair and looked away. "I'm sorry. I guess I was a little out of line."

"Maybe a little," she agreed, but he was relieved she no longer sounded angry. "I should have told you about the phone earlier though. Truthfully, I was hoping it would never ring."

He snorted. "Wishful thinking, Carter. You should know better than that by now—Earth can only last 24 hours without SG-1."

He only had a moment to wonder what the mischeivous look in her eyes meant before she spoke. "You know, Jack, we're fishing. Alone. In Minnesota. Drop the Carters."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you always this cheeky when you're off-duty?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out."

"Oh believe me, Sam, that's not all I intend to find out… eventually." He let his gaze sweep from her head down to her toes, leaving no doubt what he was thinking about.

He grinned when she blushed, and then changed the subject. "But we've got some things to talk about before then. Why don't you get cleaned up while I fix dinner, and we can talk then?"

Her cheeks were still faintly tinged with pink. "Okay."

He watched as she turned around and left the room and then went to work. By the time she emerged from the bathroom, clean and smelling distractingly like fresh strawberries, he'd managed to put together a fairly edible meal of salad, potatoes, and just slightly charred steaks.

"I didn't realize you could cook."

"I can't. I am however capable of roasting animal flesh on an open flame."

She laughed then, and he was in heaven. "I see. Should I get your caveman club, sir?"

He raised an eyebrow, and she blushed again. "Sorry, habit."

He could tell her slip had made her uncomfortable, so he changed the topic easily. "Look, dinner is getting cold. Why don't we sit down and eat?"

"Sure. Did you need me to set the table?"

"Already done." She looked at the bare dining table and back at him. "We're eating on the deck. Here, you can carry the potatoes, and why don't you grab a couple beers on your way out?" With the meat in one hand and the salad in the other, he walked out onto the deck, Sam close behind him.

"Sit, eat!" he told her, pointing to the patio table.

"You were right, it's beautiful up here," she said as she sat down, looking out over the pond.

He looked at her then, taking in the way the tension lines around her eyes seemed to have melted away, and the easy smile she wore. "Yeah well, I like to think that's not all I'm right about."

"Really? Did you have anything particular in mind?"

He raised his bottle to his lips and smirked. "I knew you'd love it here."

She smiled back, but didn't say anything, instead taking a bite of her steak. He watched her eyes widen in pleasure. "I take back the caveman comment," she told him after she'd swallowed.

He waved away her compliment. "The secret's in the sauce."

For a few minutes, they were both quiet while they ate. Jack wasn't much of one for talking about… feelings, so he didn't mind the casual conversation they shared over their meal. Finally though, when there was nothing left on their plates but bones and scraps and they still hadn't gotten past comfortable conversation, Sam folded her napkin carefully and placed it on the table. "I think we need to talk."

He fiddled with his knife for a moment before answering. "Yeah, I guess we do."

She looked at him helplessly for a minute and then said, "I don't even know where to begin. It feels like we've had this conversation in bits and pieces before, and I just… where do we start?"

He shifted uncomfortably. Personal conversations were so not his forte. But she was looking at him like she needed him to rescue her, and that look always got him. "I guess we start with the obvious…" He forced himself not to look away from her, wanting her to see the truth in his eyes. "I care about you Sam, a lot."

The only sign that she'd heard him was a slight easing of the tension in her shoulders. Her lack of response would have made him nervous if he hadn't recognized the expression on her face. It was her I'm going to find the solution to this if it's the last thing I do look.

"What are we going to do?"

"That's kind of up to you, Sam."

She frowned. "I won't break the regs."

He was nodding before she finished the sentence. He'd known that from the start—she was a by the book officer, there was no way she'd do something as flagrant as breaking the frat regs.

She shifted restlessly in her seat, and he knew she was going to stand up before she did. He let her walk over to the deck railing without going after her, knowing she needed a little space. "I feel a little… conflicted. I want two mutually exclusive things."

"What's that?"

"SG-1 and you."

Something warm stole across Jack's chest, and he realized that until that moment, he hadn't believed this was real. He stared at her a moment, taking in the way she looked, her back to him and the last glow of the sunset reflecting on her golden hair. Now he felt like he could do what he'd wanted to do for ages. He got up and joined her by the railing and wrapped one arm around her, pulling her close.

He allowed himself the luxury of holding her before he spoke again. "We can always wait until I retire," he offered, though he privately thought of this as the last resort. He'd already waited a long time to be with her. Still… "My knees aren't going to last forever."

Instead of laughing at the joke like he expected, she stiffened slightly in his arms. "We are not waiting that long," she said, echoing his own thoughts.

"Well, there are some other options…"

He felt her shoulders droop slightly and wondered what she'd come up with. Whatever it was, she clearly wasn't enthusiastic about it. "I suppose I could always transfer to the scientific department."

Jack was shaking his head before she'd finished her sentence. "No. No way Sam. For one thing, you're too damn good at what you do. You belong on an SG team, not in a lab. For another thing, I'm not letting you sacrifice your career for me."

"It wouldn't have to be a hit," she protested. He pulled back just far enough so she could see the disbelief in his eyes. "Good. I didn't really want to do that anyway."

He rolled his eyes at her admission. "We're both missing an obvious option."

"What's that?"

"One of us moves to a different team." He felt her tilt her head back slightly, and without looking he knew that she was chewing on her lips while her mind went over all the angles of his suggestion. "I've been thinking about this for a while, and I this is the best answer I can come up with."

She shifted slightly against his shoulder and then he was looking her in the eye, or she was looking him in the eye, whatever. "When exactly have you been thinking about this?"

"Time loop machine? I had a lot of time to think, remember?"

He saw the speculative look in her eye, but she only gave him a minute to wonder what she was thinking before she asked. "Jack… about the time loops. The next morning, Daniel asked you if you'd been tempted to do anything crazy. I know you did something, I could tell by the way you were smiling. What was it?"

He wasn't sure he could answer her question without giving into the pressing urge to kiss her again, so instead he threw her own line back at her. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

A chilly wind blew up off the pond, and he abruptly realized that it was now almost completely dark. At the same time, he could feel Sam fight back a huge yawn. "We ought to turn in for the night, it was a long day. Before we do though, I want to make sure we're on the same page."

"I think so. When we get back, I'll tell General Hammond I'd like to be transferred to a different team."

"When we get back, we'll tell the General the truth, and let him find the best solution," Jack corrected. "You never know, he might even want to transfer me instead." Now it was her turn to look at him disbelievingly. "All right, so that's not likely."

"We have to tell him the whole story?"

He shrugged. "We haven't broken any rules. If we want him to believe that, we need to be upfront with him."

"Fine." She yawned again. "I think I'm going to bed Jack, I'll see you in the morning."

"Night Sam."

"Night Jack." She looked at him for a long moment, and then brushed a quick kiss across his cheek. He watched, stunned, as she floated across the deck and back inside the cabin.

SJSJSJSJSJSJSJ

The day was identical to the one before: The same bright sunshine, same cool pond, same companion… Jack looked over at Sam and then down at where their hands were linked between the two chairs. Well, maybe not identical.

Sam sighed, and he looked over at her again. "What?"

"I was just thinking… What if I hadn't agreed to come with you this time? Who knows how long it would have taken us to get here?"

"Yes well… Let's not dwell." It was something Jack had wondered himself, and he didn't like the possibilities he'd come up with. However… "What made you change your mind?"

"About what?'

He swung their joined hands a little. "This. Last time we talked, you weren't so enthusiastic."

She looked over at him and he could see a hint of a smile. "I thought we weren't going to dwell."

"Sa-aaaaaam!"

"Ja-aaaaaack!"

"C'mon Sam, tell me please."

She sighed again. "It was while you were…" She gestured vaguely toward the sky, and he looked at her blankly. "With Teal'c," she expounded.

"Ah."

"At first, I thought it just proved I was right to turn you away. You were lost in space and I… all I could think about was getting you home. I couldn't let myself contemplate failure, or I would have lost it completely. I told myself that it would have been worse if we'd been together…" She let the sentence dangle for a moment, and he remembered what Thera telling him she was afraid to care about him, because it would make it harder if she lost him.

"But then Daniel came to talk to me."

"For an archeologist, he's awfully nosy."

She snorted. "Yeah, but he was right. He told me that some things are worth taking a risk."

Before he could answer, a shrill ring pierced the air. After a moment of déjà vu, they looked at each other and laughed. Sam pulled the phone out of her pocket and handed it to Jack. "You answer it this time."

He took a quick glance at the caller id before picking up the call. "Speak of the devil…" he muttered. "Danny! We were just talking about you."

"You're fishing with Sam in Minnesota and you were talking about me? Okay, that's just disturbing Jack."

"I try. I assume you called for a reason?"

"Yeah… I'm afraid I've got some bad news."

He rolled his eyes. "Is there any other kind?"

"Not lately, it seems," Daniel agreed. "This isn't run-of-the mill bad though, this is… big bad."

"Spill, Daniel."

"That jar held the preserved remains of a Goa'uld symbiote. Apparently, it was used as some kind of… banishment container. The jar was filled with a liquid that essentially put the Goa'uld it contained to sleep."

"And that's bad how? It sounds like a good way to take care of the snakes if you ask me."

"That's not the bad part, Jack. The symbiote was only dead because the seal on the jar was broken in transport. Now, according to the manifest, there were two jars. I can't find the other one. If the seal on it is intact…"

"Then there's a live Goa'uld running around Chicago somewhere," Jack finished grimly.

"Exactly."

"Any possibility it's still safe in its little snake prison, wherever it is?"

"I don't think so. Some strange things have been happening around here… There have already been two deaths, possibly three if Dr. Jordan's wasn't an accident."

There was a brief pause, and Jack looked over at Sam, who'd been listening carefully to the one side of the conversation she could hear. He gestured back up to the cabin and mouthed, Pack. He watched her walk back inside before turning back to Daniel. "Daniel? Whatcha got?"

"I think I know who it is, Jack, but I can't be sure. I'm going back to the SGC on the next flight, and Hammond's putting a trace on my suspect. Hopefully he'll have something by the time I get there."

"By the time we get there," Jack corrected.

"What? No, Jack you don't need to—"

"Danny. I'm not letting half my team go after a Goa'uld without me. Sam and I will be on the next transport into Peterson."

"Sam?"

He heard the smile in his friend's voice and chose to ignore it. "We'll see you on base, Daniel." Before he could be asked any embarrassing questions, he snapped the phone shut.

SJSJSJSJSJSJSJ

Jack tapped the briefing room table impatiently, unaware that his teammates were sharing exasperated looks. Finally, Teal'c reached out and stopped his fingers forcefully. "I must ask you to desist, O'Neill."

He glanced around and saw they were all glaring at him. "Sorry. But weren't we just here yesterday?"

Daniel raised one finger. "I wasn't."

"Okay, you have a point. But the rest of us were. We were here, and we were promised leave. I'm starting to think there's a conspiracy."

"A conspiracy, sir?" He thought she might be mocking him, but she was smiling so he really didn't care.

He gestured broadly. "Yeah, a galactic conspiracy."

"A galactic conspiracy to make sure we never get time off?"

Jack glared at Daniel. "No need to be sarcastic, Daniel."

Both Daniel's eyebrows went up. "Hello Pot. I'm Kettle—you're black."

Before he could retort, he heard something that sounded suspiciously like a smothered laugh come from Sam. Carter! Work—Carter. Home—Sam. "Something funny, Major?"

She shrugged apologetically. "You have to admit sir; it's a bit of a reach to think that a Goa'uld who had been sedated for thousands of years actively plotted his return to foil with our leave plans."

"About that. Care to explain exactly how this Goa'uld managed to get loose, Daniel?"

"I'm interested in hearing the answer to that too," General Hammond said as he entered the room.

Jack quickly stood to attention, along with the rest of his team. "General, good to see you."

"Hello Jack, thanks for coming back. Dr. Jackson, I believe you have some things to tell us?"

"Yes… As you're all aware, one of the artifacts Dr. Jordan was working on just prior to his death was a canopic jar that we now know held the petrified remains of a Goa'uld. Based on the inscriptions on the outside of the jar, I'm assuming her identity was Isis. Now, there was a second jar—the Osiris jar—which is missing. Also missing is Steven Rayner, who had been assisting Dr. Jordan in studying the artifacts. According to Sarah, his apartment was completely cleaned out."

Hammond nodded slowly. "So you believe this Steven Rayner has been taken over by a Goa'uld?"

"Well, it makes sense."

"I've just got one question, Daniel," Jack said. "How do we find him?"

Daniel picked up the remote from the table in front of him, and Jack turned his attention to the screen at the end of the room. "Right now, this is our only lead. It's the amulet that was stolen from Dr. Jordan's office. Now, by Earth standards, it's a priceless relic, but I'm assuming that a Goa'uld isn't interested in it's monetary value, so…"

"Then why take it?" Carter asked.

Daniel looked up at the screen, a frown on his face. "That's a good question. It's a pretty standard representation of Osiris. He's carrying a crook and flail, which are the scepters of kingship, and in the center is an ankh, which represents immortality."

"Could be some sort of Goa'uld device," Hammond speculated.

"It's possible," Daniel agreed, though his voice clearly said he doubted it.

"That might explain why it was the only item taken," Carter suggested.

"Well, I checked the other artifacts for naquada, which is usually… Teal'c?"

Teal'c had risen from his seat beside Jack and approached the screen. He tilted his head slightly and studied the picture of the amulet carefully. "General Hammond is correct." He turned back to face them. "This is indeed a Goa'uld device."

"You've seen one of these before, T?"

"Indeed I have, O'Neill. Apophis carried something very much like it."

"So what is it?"

"Many Goa'uld maintain a small ship hidden in a secret location so they can escape in the event of attack. This is the key that will reveal its hiding place."

"Sounds like a Goa'uld," Jack said. "Only concerned about his own neck." Teal'c inclined his head in agreement.

"So assuming what Teal'c said is right, he could have a ship hidden away so he can get off the planet," Carter said.

"General, I think SG-1 would like to go after his slimy snake butt."

"Agreed, Colonel. However, before you go I'd like you to talk to Dr. Frasier. She's come up with something that might help you. That's why I've asked her to join us. Doctor?" he said, turning toward the door.

"Thank you General." Dr. Frasier entered the briefing room, and Jack noticed she had a large syringe in her left hand. He winced instinctively before realizing whatever it was probably wasn't for him.

"I managed to synthesize the liquid from the jar, so on its own it should act as a powerful sedative. One dart should be more than enough to knock out an adult Goa'uld."

"Do we really want this thing alive?" Carter asked.

Jack gestured between himself and Carter. "Now see, I was just going to say that. C'mon, General, every time we try to take one of these guys alive, it backfires on us."

Daniel was the first to answer. "Well, even though it's been in stasis for the last several thousand years, it could still be a valuable source of information."

But Hammond was shaking his head. "I want you to hold that option in reserve. Your first priority is to stop the Goa'uld with minimum risk to yourselves."

"Thank you!"

Walter stuck his head in the door. "Excuse me sir, there's a phone call for you."

Hammond picked up the nearest phone. "Hammond. Yes. All right, thank you."

He stared at the phone for a minute after hanging up, and then looked back at SG-1. "We got a lead on Steven Rayner. He boarded a flight to Cairo four hours ago."

"He could be headed back to the temple in Egypt where the jars were first discovered," Daniel supposed. "If he does have a ship hidden somewhere, my guess is that's where it is. If we move fast, we could head him off, sir."

Hammond nodded slowly. "I can alert the Egyptian authorities, but this needs to be a low-profile operation. Dr. Frasier will accompany you, as she understands her sedative better than anyone. You'll fly out of Peterson in an hour. Dismissed."

SJSJSJSJSJSJSJ

Jack stared at Daniel's out-stretched hand. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Well, unless you've spent years working on remote desert digs, I'm the one with the most experience."

"It's a Jeep! How much experience do you need?"

"I believe we are wasting any lead we may have gained arguing. Give Daniel Jackson the keys, O'Neill."

He huffed, but did as he was told. Once they hit the desert road, he was glad he had. It was hard enough to stay in his seat; staying on the road had to be even harder. "I think I know why this place doesn't get any tourists," he quipped.

"Not quite the easy drive you'd imagined, is it," Daniel goaded.

"Hey, I've driven across deserts before… just, you know… in a Humvee." He grimaced when they flew over another dune. "Are we there yet?"

"According to the GPS, we've still got almost ten miles," Carter said.

"Great. Well, since we have time, why don't you tell us a little more about this dart thingy you came up with, Doc?"

"Yes sir. Each dart tip is laced with enough sedative to take down a Goa'uld. Your best bet will be to shoot him in either the chest or the neck."

"Won't shooting him in the neck make him bleed out?" Daniel asked.

"No, it's got a fine point. That shouldn't be a problem unless you actually pierce the artery."

Jack had one more question. "Okay, so what do we do if it doesn't work?" His teammates looked at him blankly. "I'm serious. Every time we think we've got the perfect weapon to use against these guys, something goes wrong. We ought to start thinking about that now, rather than let ourselves be surprised at the wrong moment."

"Too late," Daniel lifted one finger from the steering wheel to point at the truck barely visible on the horizon. "We're almost there."

They instantly quieted into pre-mission mode. As they approached the temple, Jack's eyes were roving the landscape, looking for any signs of what they'd find inside. He was the first out of the Jeep when they stopped, running to cover the entrance while Teal'c readied the dart gun.

Once they were prepared, he nodded to the rest of his team and they quickly moved into the temple, checking for any signs of the Goa'uld along the way. They didn't have to look far. There was a man lying on the floor near an altar who he could only assume was Steven. Daniel's cry of, "It's Steven!" confirmed it.

He looked at Carter and nodded. She was the one who could tell if Steven was actually a Goa'uld, or if they'd just come to Egypt on a wild… snake chase. She held her weapon ready as she approached him, but relaxed her hold on it a moment later. "I'm not sensing anything. He's not Goa'uld."

He gestured to the doc, and she rushed to the prostrate man. "He's bleeding internally."

He and Teal'c shared a look. "If he's not the Goa'uld, you can bet whoever is did this to him," Jack said darkly. "Teal'c, take Daniel and search the rest of the temple."

"There is no rest of the temple, Jack. This is it." Jack gestured for Teal'c to search the shadows anyway.

"Steven, why did you come here?"

He groaned. "I figured out the amulet was a key. There's a hidden chamber. I wanted to make the discovery."

"Daniel, if there's no place for the Goa'uld to be hiding, then we're trapped in here the moment he figures out where here. We've got to get out of here."

"Steven, who did this to you?"

Steven didn't answer, but someone else did. "I did." The voice was unmistakably Goa'uld, and also unmistakably female. It wasn't one he recognized, but he could tell from the way Daniel's hand clenched on his side arm that he did.

"Sarah?"

She started to answer, then stopped and looked down at her chest in surprise. Teal'c had come out from behind the pillars and shot her with a dart. "What is this?" she demanded. "What have you done?"

Isn't she supposed to be asleep right about now? "Doc?"

"You… will pay…" Osiris passed out on the floor before she could finish her threat. He pulled the ribbon device off her right wrist and then secured her arms behind her back and bound her legs. He frisked her for hidden weapons and stopped when he felt something cold and hard against her ribcage. When he pulled it out, he recognized it as the amulet Daniel had talked about.

"So Teal'c. Why don't you find this ship so you can fly us home?"

"I cannot, O'Neill. To call the ship requires the use of the ribbon device."

Jack looked at Teal'c and then at Sam. "You do it then," he told her. He handed the amulet to her along with the ribbon device and watched Teal'c show her what to do.

She looked at him over her shoulder, he could see her hesitation. She hated using Goa'uld technology. "Are you sure about this, sir?"

"If we bring home a ship, we'll finally be able to tell Kinsey and everyone else that actually are achieving our mission of finding technology to aid our fight against the Goa'uld."

"Yes sir." She looked back at the altar and concentrated. A moment later, the ground began to shake. "Is it supposed to do that?" she asked Teal'c.

"The ship is rising to the surface." He went outside and shouted directions to her. "You are almost done Major Carter; a few more moments should suffice… Stop."

Carter's arm dropped to her side and her free hand pulled the ribbon device off. Behind her, Steven groaned again.

"How's he holding up?" he asked Frasier.

"If we get him out of here right now, I think he'll make it."

"Then you and Daniel load him up in the Jeep and take him back into the city. You can take the next transport back; we'll fly the ship home."

They nodded, and Daniel picked Steven up, following Frasier's careful instructions. "I guess we'd better make up a story to tell him," he muttered as they walked out of the temple.

"So I'm guessing there's a ring platform somewhere around here that'll get us right onto the ship, what do you think Teal'c?"

"That seems logical, O'Neill."

Carter walked over the floor slowly. "It's right here," she said. "Stand next to me." Jack and Teal'c looked at each other and then back at her. "Trust me." He shrugged and dragged Osiris into the center of the temple a moment before Teal'c joined them.

A minute later, the familiar sound of the rings filled the air, and then they were on the ship. "Now how did you do that?" he asked.

"The rings are made of naquada, sir."

"Of course they are. Teal'c, fire up this baby and get us home."

SJSJSJSJSJSJSJ

Osiris wasn't talking. For once, they had a Goa'uld captive, and she wouldn't give them the time of day. Even telling her that the Tok'ra were on their way to put her miserable self out of existence didn't coerce her into sharing. Jack stared into the brig, half wondering why they'd even bothered.

He heard coming up behind him and half-turned. "Hey Jack."

"Daniel, you're back! Come to visit our favorite prisoner?" He gestured at the door with his thumb.

Daniel peered through the window and winced, and Jack remembered that he knew Sarah personally. "Have the Tok'ra been called?"

"On their way."

He shifted his weight slightly. "Could I talk to her before they get here? I might… I know Sarah, after all."

"Be my guest, Danny. If you can get her to do anything beside spout curses at us all, I will…"

"Be careful what you promise Jack, I might hold you to it."

"Go talk to her."

Daniel walked inside, but Jack opted to watch from the window. "Hello."

"Daniel Jackson. You seem to know much of the Goa'uld, much more than any other human I have more than any other human I have encountered since my awakening."

"I've read up." Jack snorted at the understatement.

"Then you know that I was once worshipped by all of Egypt."

"Yeah? Well, times have changed."

"So I have observed. Where is my brother, Setesh?"

"You mean Seth? We killed him."

The cool calm in Daniel's voice got under Osiris' skin like nothing else had. "You lie!"

"No… No, we also killed Ra, and Hathor, and... oh, who else?" He rocked back on his heels, pretending to think. "Oh, Sokar!"

She had regained her composure however. "Then you have done me a great favor. I will rule without opposition."

"No, you won't actually. You see, the Tok'ra are on their way right now. They're going to remove you from your host, from the person you have trapped against her will."

Jack knocked on the window, but Daniel ignored him. Instead, he grabbed onto the bars and shoved his face into Osiris'. "What gives you the right to do that?" he demanded. "What makes you think you can just take over another being, someone with family, friends?"

Time to put an end to this. He threw the door open hard enough that it bounced off the wall. "Daniel!"

His friend didn't look at him. "I'm not through, Jack."

"Yes you are." Jack heard footsteps in the hallway and looked over his shoulder. "The Tok'ra are here. You can watch, if you want, but from the hallway. Is that clear?"

Daniel gave the Goa'uld one last long look and then turned around. "Yes."

"Good. I've got to go, Carter and I are meeting Hammond in," he looked at his watch, "five minutes."

Sam met him at the door to Hammond's office, as they'd agreed. "You ready for this?" he asked her in a low voice.

They were standing close enough for him to hear her take a deep breath before answering. "I don't think you can ever be ready to do something like this—"

"Listen Sam, we don't have to do this if you don't want to. It's not too late to change your mind."

"Let me finish," she told him, mild reproof evident in her tone. "I was going to say that while I don't think any amount of preparation would calm my nerves, it's definitely time."

"Yeah?"

"Knock on the door, Colonel."

Jack did, and a moment later Hammond responded with, "Enter."

He held the door while Sam went inside first and then followed her in and shut the door behind him. "Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter, what can I do for you?"

"We have something to tell you—Off the record, if possible."

Hammond looked at him carefully and then nodded. "All right. Jack, Sam, what's going on?"

Jack opened his mouth and then shut it. Sam was right, nothing could possibly prepare me for this. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Carter and I did some talking while we were in Minnesota, and we've decided… that is, we were wondering…"

Sam took over, her words clear and precise where his had been mumbled and garbled. "The Colonel and I would like to pursue a personal relationship, sir."

Jack kept his eyes on his commanding officer, who leaned back in his chair, a frown on his face. "You know the regulations better than anyone, Major."

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw her blush a little. "Yes sir. We haven't… that is…"

This was his territory. "Nothing's happened yet, General."

"But you'd like something to happen."

"Yes sir!" they said in unison, and he was gratified that she sounded just as emphatic as he did.

General Hammond picked up a pen and tapped it lightly on the desk a few times before looking at them again. "I can't say this is completely unexpected," he said, a hint of a smile on his face, "but I don't have a solution for you right now. I'm assuming you both want to remain at the SGC?"

"Yes sir!"

"All right. Give me some time to find an answer… You can wait a month or two, can't you?"

Hammond looked straight at Jack when he asked that question, and it was his turn to flush slightly. "I think so, sir," he answered with a smirk.

"Very well then. Since you came to me off the record and have assured me that nothing untoward has happened yet or will happen until you are no longer in the same chain of command, I'll let SG-1 continue to operate in its current configuration. If this changes for any reason, I expect you to let me know immediately, is that clear?"

"Yes sir."

"It may take a few months to find an appropriate solution," he said again, a look of warning on his face.

"We've already waited several years, sir. I don't think a few extra months will break us."

"I hope you're right, Jack. Dismissed."

They heard the familiar sound of the chevrons spinning when they left the office and by mutual agreement, they went to the command center. Daniel was there, watching as the Tok'ra went through the wormhole.

"Hey Daniel."

He didn't look at them, he didn't even blink. "Oh, hi Jack."

He and Carter looked at each other, then back at their friend. "So, was the operation successful?"

"Hmmm? Oh. Yeah, Sarah's resting in the infirmary now. She seems a little… she doesn't really want to see me right now."

"Ah."

"I can't really blame her; I mean, even if this wasn't my fault, I am the easiest person for her to blame… I just wish I could explain it all to her."

"She might feel differently in a few days," Carter offered.

"Yeah, maybe…" He stared at the Stargate for another moment and then visibly shook his melancholy off. "So, what were you talking to General Hammond about?"

They looked at each other again. "The future," he said, a faint smile on his face.