Author Notes: This was the fic I wanted to write since I saw 'Hathor' in season one. Any and all feedback will be very greatly appreciated.

Jack pulled his cap on and adjusted his sunglasses to a more comfortable position. Sitting up against a rock, he laid back and let the sunlight wash over him. The sky was blue, the beach was golden and the sea was a glorious turquoise. All the scene was missing was a few well-endowed women in minuscule bikinis dotted about to make it perfect. Oh well, he guessed he could settle for his three team-mates happily scuttling about and not getting injured. He knew that Daniel was in paradise because they'd found some ruins of an ancient civilization and Carter was in paradise because the sand here was full of naquadah. Teal'c was... well, he was Teal'c but Jack thought he'd caught an almost-smile on the Jaafa's face more than once today. He, personally, was in paradise because, well, this was paradise.

As he closed his eyes, he could hear the excited babble of his scientific friends.

Daniel was saying, "If there's that much naquadah in the sand then doesn't that mean there's a large deposit somewhere near here?"

Sam replied, "It's almost certain. I've got some people back at the base using the currents to extrapolate where the naquadah could have come from. Teal'c's collecting some of the naquadah pebbles for testing back on earth. This place is incredible."

"Sure is... come see this..."

Their voices quieted as they pattered off to look at the ruins. Jack smiled to himself. For once, he felt no compulsion to curb the enthusiasm of his 'kids'. Hammond wasn't expecting them back any time soon and - with the planet's lack of military threats and Jack's complete lack of scientific know-how - there was very little for him to do on this planet but lie around on the beach all day. He sighed happily.

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Over the other end of the beach, Teal'c was picking up some of the larger of the shiny black pebbles that were strewn across the sand. Major Carter had sent him to collect as many as he could carry. O'Neill had offered to help but Teal'c had learned to understand his Tau'ri friend and he knew that O'Neill wanted him to turn down the offer of assistance. Obligingly, Teal'c had done so. He had not cared because it was not a difficult task and the sound of the sea was most calming. One day, he would try to bring R'yac here. He could imagine his child's delight. Neither Chulak, where R'yac had grown up, nor the Land of Light, where he and his mother now lived, had beaches such as this one. It was most beautiful. Teal'c smiled slightly and bent down to pick up another pebble.

>< <> >< <> ><

In the ruins, Daniel was showing Carter the engravings.

Eventually, Sam smiled, "Well, I've got to go meet Teal'c to get the naquadah pebbles."

Daniel looked around, "There's no way I'm gonna get this all translated before we're scheduled to leave. I need more time."

"For once, Daniel, I don't think the Colonel's gonna object and, given the amount of naquadah here, the General shouldn't either."

>< <> >< <> ><

Sam had gone back to base with the retrieved naquadah, Jack and Teal'c were sunning themselves on the beach and Daniel was hard at work in the dusty ruins. Okay, so the fact he was enjoying himself working - as much as they were enjoying relaxing - probably meant he was weird but he didn't care because this place was incredible. He heard soft footsteps padding towards him and he glanced round to see who it was. His brow wrinkled in confusion as he realized there was no-one there. Dismissing it, he turned back to his work. It'd been SG-6 who'd been scheduled to come here but he and Sam had fought tooth and nail to get it reassigned to their team instead. Hammond, knowing Jack's liking for tropical beaches, had graciously given the planet to SG-1. Personally, if he got his way, he wasn't leaving this place any time soon. The others were going to be busy with naquadah retrieval for weeks - if not months - to come so he'd see what he could do about getting a temporary research outpost established here to study these ruins. For now, though, he was content just to get on with his scribbling. He heard footsteps again and a slight whisper. Turning quickly this time, he still didn't see anyone. Slightly unnerved but still convinced it was nothing, he turned back to his work. Then he felt a gentle breath ruffle the hairs on the back of his neck and a delicate hand wrap around his bicep and squeeze it gently.

Turning, Daniel said, "Geez, Sam, you..."

Realizing he was alone, he trailed off lamely, "...aren't here..."

Right, that hadn't been a vague noise or an impression of movement. He'd distinctly felt something touch him. Yet there was nothing to be seen. Was he just getting jumpy? Uncertainly, he pressed down on his radio.

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Jack stretched out on the sand, "I could certainly get used to this."

"Should we not be in closer proximity to Daniel Jackson?"

"Teal'c, I take it you do remember being trapped in that time loop for months?"

"Indeed, O'Neill."

"Remember sitting there while Daniel played about with the blackboard?"

"Indeed."

"Remember being so bored out of our minds that we became masters of the art of juggling scrunched up paper balls?"

"I do, O'Neill."

"And remembering all of this, you would willingly subject yourself to Daniel in translator mode?"

After a pause, Teal'c said, "I believe I will remain here, O'Neill."

"Good choice."

They lay there for a while longer.

Eventually, their radios came alive, "Jack, come in."

Jack, casually, replied, "Daniel?"

"Um... just... checking in."

"We're fine. You?"

"Yeah..."

Something in Daniel's tone made Jack sit up slightly, "Sure?"

"Uh-huh... I'm gonna get back to work now... I'll check in again in half an hour or so..."

"Okay."

Jack lay back down and tried to ignore that little nagging feeling in the back of his mind. He just wanted to relax here on this golden beach. Still, there was something nibbling away in his brain like an itch inside his skull. Dismissing it, he closed his eyes and let the sound of the waves wash over him once more.

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"Are the tests results back yet?"

"No, sir, but preliminary analysis looks promising."

Hammond said, "Have you come any closer to determining where the naquadah is coming from?"

Sam nodded and sat down at the computer. She pressed a few keys and a simulation of the planet's ocean appeared on the screen.

She said, "The research team managed to construct this from the data we collected on the planet. I've done some calculations and I think I may have found the source."

Carter's fingers danced across the keyboard. It zoomed in on a cliff-side and Carter brushed her fingers off of the screen.

She said, "This is where it came from."

"How far from the gate?"

"A couple of hours hike, sir. Getting there shouldn't be a problem if we just follow the coast. Sir, the things we could do with this much naquadah... I mean, we still have to determine the purity but even a twenty or thirty percent percentage purity would still give us our best source of naquadah yet. I don't think we can afford to pass this up."

"Agreed, Major. If the tests results confirm your hypothesis then SG-1 will lead a naquadah retrieval party. I'll assign SG-4 through 8 to Colonel O'Neill."

Carter nodded, "Yes, sir."

>< <> >< <> ><

Pulling out his miniature brush, Daniel carefully dusted out some of the engraved symbols on the wall. He had no idea what culture this was apart from the fact that they used a mixture of Hittite cuneiform and some language that Daniel had never seen before but which looked far more complex than the simplistic cuneiform within in. He was now almost certain that these ruins predated the stargate system itself which would mean that they came here in ships or that they went from here to earth in ships and took cuneiform with them. It made it almost certain that the creators of this place weren't human. They also, unfortunately, seemed to be extinct - at least on this world as both the MALP and the UAV had found no signs of life. Pity, he'd have liked to meet them. Gently, something brushed against his cheek. Spinning around, Daniel still couldn't see anyone or anything that could have done that. Then he felt a hand press against his chest and he looked down to see his radio unclip itself and float in the air for a second before it suddenly seemed to remember it was an inanimate object and hurled itself against the stone floor - smashing itself to pieces in the process.

Okay, that he had definitely not imagined. Quickly backing towards the door, he found his way was blocked by a blue energy field.

A voice behind him said, "Are you going somewhere?"

Pulling his gun from its holster and flicking off the safety as he turned, he leveled the gun at...

"No, you... can't be here. You're dead."

The red-head smiled, "Let us say THAT REPORTS OF OUR DEATH HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED."

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Thinking about nothing was proving unusually difficult for Jack. Concentrating on the crash of waves breaking against the shore and the skitter of pebbles as the tendrils of salt-water receded once more, he tried to clear his mind but it wasn't working. That little itch was now a burning inflammation and if he didn't scratch it soon then his head was going to explode. Sighing, Jack finally let the nagging thought reach the forefront of his mind. It said: since when did Daniel turn soldier and check in? Never mind normally, we're talking about Daniel in full-blown translator mode. Don't tell me you don't think that's even a little weird?

Jack sighed even more heavily and pressed down on his radio, "Daniel, come in."

Teal'c, who had begun meditating, opened his eyes slightly and glanced curiously across at Jack.

There was no response but crackling static.

"Daniel, do you copy?"

His radio hissed and spat but there was no reply from his friend.

He tried again, "Daniel, give the glyphs a rest for two seconds and respond, will ya?"

There was still no response. Jack, grudgingly, got to his feet.

"Teal'c, come on, let's go check on him."

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Hathor smiled evilly at Daniel, "YOUR PROJECTILE WEAPON SHALL NOT HELP YOU WITHOUT THESE CYLINDERS."

Opening her hand, she showed him the clip of ammo.

Dropping his 9mm to his side as he realized she'd unloaded it, he said, "How the hell...?"

"WE ARE MOST PLEASANTLY SURPRISED AT YOUR ARRIVAL ON OUR NEW HOMEWORLD, OUR BELOVED."

Daniel blinked and let the 'Jack' in him say, "We are most unpleasantly surprised to find you're not dead and, by the way, how?"

"O'NEILL BELIEVED HE KILLED US WHEN HE THREW US INTO THE CRYOGENIC FLUID."

"Even a Goa'uld couldn't have survived that."

"YOU ARE MISTAKEN."

"So how?"

"IF YOU MUST KNOW..."

Trying to surreptiously reach down to his knife, Daniel replied, "Oh, I must. I really really must."

"WE ACTIVATED OUR PERSONAL SHIELD AS WE FELL. IT INTERACTED CURIOUSLY WITH THE FLUID AND CAUSED IT TO SOLIDIFY AROUND US. WE WERE FREED WHEN THE COMPLEX EXPLODED AND THE HEAT CAUSED THE FLUID TO EVAPORATE."

Daniel, having discovered that she'd also managed to remove his knife, knew that he needed to stall for time until the others noticed he wasn't around, so he asked, "So how'd you end up here?"

"SINCE YOU HAD DESTROYED OUR COMPLEX AND KILLED OUR JAAFA, THERE WAS NO REASON TO REMAIN ON THAT WORLD. WE TRAVELED TO MANY WORLDS AND REBUILT OUR ARMY. WE CHOSE THIS WORLD AS OUR NEW HOMEWORLD. THE NAQUADAH DEPOSITS ARE RICH..."

She stepped forward and whispered, "...AND WE HOPED THAT COMBINED WITH RUINS SUCH AS THESE, IT WOULD EVENTUALLY DRAW THE ATTENTIONS OF SG-1..."

"Hey, in case you didn't notice, trying to get info out of us didn't exactly turn out good for you last time."

"WE HAVE COLLECTED OUR OWN INFORMATION. APOPHIS HAS TAKEN CONTROL OF A VAST FLEET ASSEMBLED BY SOKAR. EVEN THE COMBINED FORCE OF ALL OTHER SYSTEM LORDS ONLY BALANCES WITH HIS. IT IS NOT THE TIME FOR US TO CHALLENGE THEM. WE SEEK ONLY TO SECRETLY AMASS OUR FORCES AND GROW IN STRENGTH AS SOKAR DID."

"So if you're not after information then..."

"WE HAVE NOT YET CHOSEN A PHARAOH TO RULE OUR HOMEWORLD WITH US. WE KNEW OUR BELOVED WOULD COME TO US."

Daniel backed up until the force shield was glowing against his back.

"Hey, you're not forgetting that I hate your guts, are you?"

"YOU WILL LEARN."

Stepping away from the shield again, Daniel said, "No, I'm pretty sure I won't."

"WE SHALL CHANGE YOUR MIND."

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Teal'c and Jack had been walking up to the ruins almost fully convinced that Daniel had simply lost himself in the world of linguistics and had, therefore, become totally ignorant of reality. However, as they neared the ruins, they heard voices. Immediately worried, Jack slammed himself against the wall and sidestepped towards the opening. Teal'c shadowed him, carefully, with his staff weapon primed.

He heard Daniel saying, "Hey, you're not forgetting that I hate your guts, are you?"

Then he heard a voice from beyond the grave say, "YOU SHALL LEARN."

Jack's head snapped round to Teal'c who looked almost equally shocked. As they neared the opening, Daniel replied, "No, I'm pretty sure I won't."

Carefully peering round the edge of the wall and into the heart of the ruins, he saw her. Up until this point Jack hadn't truly believed it. There she was, almost exactly as he'd last seen her - smug, self-assured and oh so damn superior. He'd thought he'd wiped that look off of her face for good - damn it, he'd thought he'd wiped her out for good. If there was anything in this galaxy that O'Neill could say he truly hated then it was Hathor She'd enslaved him, turned him into a Jaafa, taken advantage of Daniel, kidnapped them all and put a snake in his neck. Sure, he hated all of the Goa'ulds but Hathor got under his skin in a way none of the others could. From here, he could probably hit her in the back but there was no saying she didn't have a personal defence shield by now. She might even have had one the last time they met. Jack backed up a few paces and whispered, "Teal'c?"

"O'Neill?"

"I'm gonna show myself. Stay here."

Teal'c nodded and paused where he was. Jack, P90 at the ready, span around the corner and said, "You know, someone's gotta teach you how to die, lady."

Venom in her voice, Hathor said, "YOU."

Daniel said, "Jack! Watch..."

Hathor span and sent Daniel flying into the wall with a short blast from the ribbon device.

Jack said, "Daniel!"

Daniel tried to shout but found all the air had been knocked violently from his lungs. Instead, he raised his gun and, with all of his strength, he flung it at the opening. As it hit the shield, a blue glow sprang up around it. Jack, who'd been about to open fire, realised what it was and stopped before he killed himself by firing at it at point blank range.

Hathor smiled evilly, "HE IS OURS NOW."

Jack looked past her at his friend who was slumped against the wall. He looked up at Jack with the most defeated look he had ever seen.

"Jack... go."

"I'm not leaving you here, Daniel."

Hathor smiled as she pulled the injured Daniel to his feet and dragged him to the centre of the room.

"THEN WE SHALL MOST ENJOY WATCHING AS OUR BELOVED KILLS YOU FOR US. WE WOULD SUGGEST YOU DO NOT REMAIN THERE UNLESS YOU WISH TO BE AN EASY TARGET."

Then she pressed the back of her ribbon device and a set of transport rings appeared from through the floor.

Jack yelled, "No! Daniel!"

He smashed his fist against the glowing blue wall in frustration as he watched his friend vanish along with Hathor. Teal'c appeared at his side.

"She has taken Daniel Jackson?"

"Damn it!"

His radio began to buzz and crackle, "SG-1 this is the SGC, Colonel O'Neill, d'you copy?"

Jack grabbed at it, "Sir, I read you. We have a situation here."

"What's wrong, Jack?"

Anger, frustration and worry automatically activating Jack's sarcasm unit, he replied, "Well, sir, it seems the galaxy's biggest Popsicle's thawed out."

"Jack?"

"Hathor, sir. Don't ask me how but she's alive, she's here and she's taken Daniel."

Sam's voice replaced the General's, "Hathor?! Sir..."

"I know, Carter, but it's her. Daniel and her are behind one of those blue shields like the one we blew up at her last base. We need to find a way through it."

"Sir, there isn't a way through those shields. The only way is to destroy the power source."

"Carter, we need to get through this thing. She's got Daniel."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't know how."

Jack growled, "We're heading back to the gate. Find a way fast, Carter."

"I'll try, sir."

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Through the dizzying haze of concussion Daniel was vaguely aware he was being dragged by two Jaafa. They pulled him into a small room and threw him roughly to the floor. Hathor swept in behind them with a small translucent cylinder in her hand. It was filled with a purple liquid.

"WE HAVE LEARNED MUCH ON OUR JOURNEY TO OUR NEW HOMEWORLD. THIS IS NOT AS INSTANTANEOUS AS OUR LOVE SPELL BUT IT IS MORE PERMANENT. THIS TIME YOU SHALL BE OURS FOR ETERNITY."

The Jaafa grabbed Daniel up again. Weak as he still was, he could barely even resist them. He watched as she pressed the top of the cylinder against his neck and winced as it stung him. When she withdrew it, the liquid was gone. Daniel figured it must be some advanced type of syringe.

The last thing he remembered before the world went completely black was Hathor saying, "SLEEP WELL, OUR BELOVED."

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Jack shouted, "Damn it!"

They'd made it to the gate but now had found that the gate was surrounded by yet another force shield.

"Well, this is just great! What're we meant to do now?"

"Of this I am uncertain, O'Neill."

Jack sat down on the sand and let his head fall into his hands. Growling, he rubbed his hands up his forehead, raked them angrily through his hair and knotted them behind his head whilst letting his head sink down between his knees.

"O'Neill?"

"I shouldn't have left him alone! I let this place get my guard down! For crying out loud! How could I be so stupid?!"

"This world was reported to be uninhabited, O'Neill."

"Yeah, and how many times are those reports more than slightly inaccurate? Why should this place be any different?"

He fell silent for a few moments. Head rising and fingers untangling, he grabbed up a pebble and sent it slicing through the air until it crashed violently into the water.

"She was dead! She was goddamn dead!"

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Hathor? Carter had never imagined hearing that name again. That manipulative bitch had pissed Sam off more than she'd dreamed she could possibly be pissed off. The Goa'uld gave women a bad name and knowing what she'd done to Daniel before just sickened her. Now she was after him again. Sam felt truly ill as an image of Hathor kissing Daniel raced through her mind. She was so arrogant, so damn arrogant. She thought she was so beautiful and alluring but she wasn't. How the hell had the vain peacock survived that plunge into the cryogenic fluid? Even a Goa'uld couldn't have survived that, surely? Yet she had and now Daniel was with her and the Colonel and Teal'c were trapped on the planet and totally at her mercy. She had to figure out a way through those damn energy shields and she had to figure it out fast.

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Daniel woke up groggily and looked around him. Funny, this room wasn't the one he'd passed out in. This was a large and very plush room which would be well suited to anyone who went in for over-the-top decadence with a strong theme of gold. Personally, he liked the bare cell better. Sitting up, he realised he was now wearing some sort of Egyptian robe. It looked distinctly pharaoh-like. Glancing in the large mirror on the other side of the room, he saw that his eyes were lined with a thick layer of black kohl.

He murmured, "God, Jack would have a field day if he could see this."

As he swung his legs off the edge of the bed, he heard a voice, "YOU ARE AWAKE, OUR BELOVED."

Daniel was glad to find he wasn't going weak at the knees at the sound of her voice just yet.

He scowled and said, "What's with all this?"

"YOU ARE OUR PHARAOH. YOU MUST DRESS AS OUR PHARAOH."

"Ya have to go so over the top with the eye-liner, though?"

"COME TO US, OUR BELOVED."

"Go to hell."

"THERE WAS A TIME YOU CALLED US YOUR QUEEN AND HELD US IN YOUR ARMS. YOU PROMISED TO LOVE AND MOST HONOUR US. YOU SWORE YOU WOULD DIE FOR US."

Daniel shivered slightly as the memory washed over him but he managed to snarl, "Yeah, after you drugged me."

"KNOW THAT THAT TIME SHALL SOON COME AGAIN."

Dead-pan, Daniel replied, "Oh good. Yippee."

"NOW SHALL YOU COME WILLINGLY OR SHALL OUR JAAFA CARRY YOU?"

Daniel sighed and stood up. He walked over to her.

"So now what?"

"WE HAD THOUGHT YOU MIGHT ENJOY VIEWING ALL THAT WILL SOON BE YOURS."

Sourly, he replied, "I'm not really in the mood for a guided tour."

She ignored him, "COME."

Sighing heavily, Daniel trailed after her.

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"Receiving Tok'ra IDC."

Hammond looked up, "Open the iris."

"Yes, sir."

"And someone contact Major Carter."

Another soldier replied, "Right away, sir."

Hammond headed down the stairs to the gate-room. As he walked through the door, two Tok'ra walked through the event horizon.

He smiled, "Jacob, good to see you."

Jacob walked down the ramp, "George, it's been a while."

"It has."

Jacob gestured at the other Tok'ra, "And you already know Aldwin."

Hammond said, "Yes, good to see you again."

Aldwin nodded in greeting.

Jacob said, "So what's going on?"

Sam walked through the door, "We've got a big problem."

"Sam. What's wrong?"

"It's a long story, Dad. Why don't we head up to the briefing-room and I'll explain everything?"

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Daniel trailed listlessly behind Hathor as they headed back to the room they'd started in. He really didn't like the fact he found himself getting caught up in the gentle sway of her hips and that the sight of her cinnamon lips made him quiver with anticipation. A large part of him still knew exactly what he really thought of her but it seemed to be slowly dwindling under the effect of the purple goo.

Hathor said, "OUR BELOVED, DO YOU LIKE OUR KINGDOM?"

Daniel, trying not to think about kissing her, replied, "Not much of a kingdom is it? More of a Kingdomette really."

"THIS IS NOT ALL BUT WE SHALL LEAVE THE REST UNTIL YOU ARE OUR PHARAOH."

"Oh darn."

They walked back into the room they'd started in. Hathor turned to the Jaafa.

"LEAVE US."

They looked slightly unsure of leaving Hathor alone with Daniel.

"WE SHALL BE QUITE SAFE WITH OUR PHARAOH."

Obediently, they turned and marched out of the room. Daniel stood with his back to her as she walked slowly towards him. He tried to concentrate on how much he hated and despised her but couldn't quite stop his thoughts drifting in a very unpleasant direction.

"LOOK AT US, OUR BELOVED."

Blankly refusing to look round, he felt her hand come to rest upon his arm.

"OUR BELOVED HAS GROWN MORE DESIRABLE SINCE WE LAST HELD HIM."

Daniel shuddered with horror, "And you're even uglier than last time I saw you."

"YOU CANNOT LIE TO YOURSELF FOREVER, OUR BELOVED."

"That's the truth. The lie's that purple stuff."

"IF IT IS THE TRUTH THEN WHY CAN YOU NOT SAY IT TO OUR FACE?"

No, this wasn't happening. Not again. The first time had been bad enough. Hathor pulled him gently until he span around to face her. Now she looked so beautiful to him it was all he could do not to fall to his knees and worship her.

"TELL US."

He breathed heavily, "I... don't love you. It's a lie..."

"IF IT IS A LIE THEN YOU BEGIN TO LIE TO YOURSELF. LIE TO US ALSO."

She brushed her hand down his cheek and with her other hand, pulled his robe until his face was millimetres from hers. He couldn't think clearly. He couldn't feel clearly. Those smouldering eyes set his soul aflame and those sugared lips begged him to dissolve in their sweetness. Daniel fuzzily thought: 'sometimes the truth is bitter and a lie can be so sweet...' With a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, Daniel felt his resistance fade away to nothingness.

>< <> >< <> ><

Jacob said, "How?"

Sam answered, "We've got no idea. All we know is that she is alive and she's on that planet."

"And you were hoping we had some way to get through the force shields?"

"Do you?"

"Nothing comes to mind. Aldwin?"

"I do not believe there is a way."

Carter said, "Come on, there has to be something."

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Daniel, lying gazing at the ceiling, shook himself alert with a gasp. Why did sleeping with Hathor leave him in a trance? Slowly looking around, he realised Hathor was gone. Sitting up, he couldn't bear to look at himself in the mirror. Weak, that's what he was. She'd not even taken full control over his mind yet and he'd jumped into bed with her. He just wanted to shower for the next year or two. It'd been worse than last time. At least the love potion had had an alcohol-like effect which had left him with little but a vague memory of what happened. This time his memory was in full Technicolor with surround sound. He hadn't been in control. He knew he hadn't been in control but it damn sure felt like he had been. Worse, despite how ill, dirty and violated he felt now, he still wanted her. 'Damn it, Jackson, pull yourself together. That's an order!' Jack's voice rang out so clear in his head that for a second he almost thought his friend was standing beside him. He felt so goddamn humiliated. Slipping out of the covers, he pulled his robe back on and walked up to the door. There weren't any guards there. Perhaps Hathor had figured he was stronger-willed than he was and that he wouldn't have... done what he just did... unless he was completely under her control. There'd be no reason to keep her 'devoted pharaoh' locked up because he wouldn't pose a threat to her. Now grateful that she'd shown him around, Daniel scurried towards the generator.

>< <> >< <> ><

Jack was sitting on the sand again. They'd done some useless recon and anything else he could think of to keep his mind off Daniel. His poor kid in the clutches of that she-devil again. He remembered the aftermath of that first encounter when Janet had been hopeful that the corpses of the newly-spawned larvae might hold some traces of the Goa'uld DNA. Obviously deciding it was better to find out from him than from the DNA results, Daniel had guiltily confessed, 'a lot of that is probably mine'. Shocked, he'd turned to look at his friend and found his eyebrow rising of its own accord as he made Daniel confirm that he'd just heard what he thought he had. At the time it'd been offhand and casual. After all, Daniel was a guy and guys didn't mix emotions with that sort of thing the way girls did. It hadn't been until later that Jack had realised how deeply the experience had scarred his friend.

<<<<<< [ He'd walked into Daniel's office to find him staring at his monitor. Jack'd been searching for him because he'd been meant to meet up with them all on level 19 so they could take Carter and Dr Fraiser out for some celebratory drinks but he'd never shown. A look at his friend told him that the celebrations should probably be put on ice for a while.

He said, "Daniel?"

Daniel didn't look up, "Do you remember?"

"What happened? Not really. Vague images, maybe."

"I remember. Not clearly... but enough."

"Daniel, you okay?"

"Jack, today I slept with a Goa'uld, betrayed my wife and fathered a swarm of larvae. Frankly, I don't think I could be any less okay if I tried."

"Hey... it wasn't your fault. That bitch had us all jumping through hoops for her."

Daniel wrapped his arms across himself in that way Jack would forever think of as Danielesque and said, "Try having today playing over and over in your head and see how long you can tell yourself you weren't responsible for what happened. That you didn't want it to happen."

"Daniel, she played us all."

"Trust me to end up her favourite toy. Jack, she wanted to make me her Pharaoh."

"Well, unless she was drawing a treasure map on my chest then she wanted to make me a Jaafa. There was nothing we could do about it. We just have to thank god that Carter and the Doc managed to save us all from ourselves before we..."

Daniel smiled without it managing to reach his eyes.

He said, "Did something we'd regret?" ] >>>>>>

He'd seen the utter terror in Daniel's eyes as she'd come towards him in the mock SGC the last time they'd met her. He'd quickly masked it with a sheen of sarcasm and angered indifference but it'd been there. Last time, Hathor had clearly been infatuated with Daniel still but, knowing that he'd never be hers now he was immune to her 'bad breath' (as he'd mockingly termed it) she'd pretended that she couldn't care less. So if she'd gone to all this trouble to capture Daniel again then perhaps she now thought there was some way that Daniel could be her willing slave again. Jack could only pray she'd tried using the mind-softening agent nish'ta because Daniel was, unknown to her, already immune to that. If she had some other way then... well it didn't bear thinking about.

Suddenly, he heard a buzz. Glancing round, he saw the field around the gate show itself fully before shutting off. Bounding across to the DHD, Jack slammed down chevrons quickly.

Grabbing up his radio, he said, "This is O'Neill. The shield is down! I repeat. The shield is down!"

Sam's voice replied, "Sir? How?"

"I don't know. It just shut itself off."

Hammond's voice replaced his friend's, "Get back here, Jack."

"No, sir."

"Jack..."

"General, I'm not leaving without Daniel."

"That's an order, Colonel. There's no telling if the shield's going to activate again."

"Then you'll have to wedge it open for us. Sir, you can't ask me to just leave him here with her."

"Colonel..."

"I'm sorry, sir. You'll have to court-martial me later. O'Neill out."

Switching off his radio, he turned to Teal'c.

"You can go back if you want, Teal'c."

"I will not abandon my friends, O'Neill."

Smiling slightly, Jack said, "Thought you might say that. Come on; let's go see if the other shield went down as well."

>< <> >< <> ><

Sam said, "Maybe the Colonel's onto something, sir."

"Major, I appreciate that Dr Jackson is your friend but it doesn't help him to have Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c trapped on that planet."

"No, sir, that's not what I meant. Could we wedge the shield open somehow? Dad?"

Jacob bent his head down and Selmac looked up, "PERHAPS. IT WOULD REQUIRE A LARGE POWER SOURCE."

"Naquadah reactor big enough?"

"I BELIEVE SO. WE MUST HURRY IF WE ARE TO ACCOMPLISH THIS BEFORE THE SHIELD ACTIVATES AGAIN."

>< <> >< <> ><

No sooner had they made it inside the ruins than the energy field had sprung up again.

Jack said, "Damn! Well, at least we're on the right side of it this time. Now, how do we get the rings to work?"

Teal'c replied, "I am unsu..."

There was a noise from below them.

As the rings surrounded them, Jack said, "Ooops."

As they reappeared, they found themselves surrounded by Jaafa. There were Horus guards, Serpent Guards and even a few Setesh Guards. 'Hey', Jack thought, 'wasn't that a Jaafa joke?' As the guards primed their staff weapons, he added, 'mind you, I didn't find it funny the first time.'

>< <> >< <> ><

Having put the shield down, Daniel had quickly raced in the direction of the ring room. He had to get there before he saw her again because he could feel his determination slipping away with every step.

"OUR CHOSEN ONE, WHERE DO YOU GO?"

Daniel slowed, "Would you believe to get some fresh air?"

"YOU DISABLED OUR SHIELD. WE HAD THOUGHT YOU WERE OURS AGAIN."

"Listen, lady, just because you got me into bed doesn't mean I'm loyal to you."

"IT WAS TO BE EXPECTED THAT THE ORGANISM WOULD AFFECT YOUR SYSTEMS AT VARIED RATES. WE WERE OVERALLY EXPECTANT OF ITS PROGRESS."

Damn it! Hathor's presence was really starting to fog up his mind again. For some reason, he drifted into abstraction. Body, mind and soul. That's what made up a person, wasn't it? Hathor already owned his body and he was beginning to feel her encroaching upon his mind as well but... He shut his eyes for a second and sent a silent prayer to his dead wife. He said, 'Sha're, my soul is yours. Take it now.'

Opening his eyes again, he forgot everything and remembered only that Hathor was more beautiful now than she had ever been and that she'd blessed him with her favour.

"I have failed you, my queen."

"DO NOT WORRY. YOU SHALL SOON HAVE THE CHANCE TO PROVE YOUR LOYALTY, OUR BELOVED."

The tiny part of Daniel that still belonged to him, said, 'that doesn't sound good.'

>< <> >< <> ><

Jack and Teal'c sat in the cell.

"This is helping Daniel oh so much."

"Perhaps Hathor predicted we would come here rather than returning through the gate if she deactivated the shields?"

Jack sullenly replied, "Perhaps."

The cell door opened and Hathor walked in. The Jaafa primed their weapons in case Jack or Teal'c got any ideas.

"TAKE THEM."

The Jaafa roughly dragged them to their feet and pulled them after Hathor. They came into a large hall. At the far end of it was a large torch which wasn't lit with a throne on either side of it. Daintily, Hathor climbed up the steps to the more ornate one on the left. When she'd reached the top, she sat down and was obscured by shadow.

"YOU COME HERE TO TAKE OUR BELOVED FROM US?"

Jack scowled, "That was the general idea, yeah."

Jack saw her stretch her hand out towards the torch. He saw the orange glow burst from her palm and the torch flame up viciously. The glow illuminated Hathor who gestured across at the other side of the torch. As their eyes adjusted to the light, they both gasped. Sitting on the other throne, was Daniel.

"OUR MOST BELOVED?"

To Jack's horror, Daniel turned to her and replied, "Yes, my queen?"

"YOU WISH TO PROVE YOUR LOYALTY TO US?"

"More than anything, my goddess."

She pointed at his friends, "THEY TRIED TO KILL US. THEY WILL PAY WITH THEIR LIVES."

"As you wish, my queen."

"YOU SHALL KILL THEM FOR US AND PROVE YOUR LOYALTY."

Daniel rose to his feet. As he walked down the steps, Jack noted the kohled eyes and the black and gold robe. Daniel reached the first Jaafa and said, "Give me your staff."

The Jaafa blankly refused.

He turned to Hathor, "My queen?"

Hathor said, "JAAFA, COME."

The Jaafa walked over to the throne and climbed the steps to the small platform directly before the throne. He bowed before her. She said, "WHY DO YOU DISOBEY OUR CHOSEN ONE?"

"He is not a god. He is of the Tau'ri."

"HE IS OUR PHAROAH. OUR MOST BELOVED."

"My queen, I..."

He got no further because the energy rippled viciously from her ribbon device and sent him flying the length of the room. He crashed to the ground with his neck at an impossible angle. Glancing across at the other Jaafa, Jack could plainly read the shock on their faces.

Still enraged, Hathor said, "THIS IS OUR CHOSEN ONE. OUR MOST BELOVED. HE IS OUR PHAROAH. HE SHALL BE OBEYED."

Still looking worried, the next Jaafa rapidly handed Daniel his staff. Walking to the foot of Hathor's throne, he knelt, "I live for you, my goddess."

"NOW KILL THEM."

Priming the staff weapon, Daniel turned.

"C'mon, Danny. Don't do this. You hate Hathor. She's brainwashed you."

Daniel growled, "Kneel before your goddess and beg her forgiveness so your soul will not be damned for eternity."

"Daniel snap out of it."

Daniel walked behind them then, using the staff, viciously sliced into the backs of Jack's knees. Yelling in pain, Jack fell to his knees. Teal'c, avoiding getting sliced, voluntarily lowered himself to his knees.

"Now ask your goddess for forgiveness before I kill you."

"Daniel, come on, we're your friends. Don't you remember?"

"I remember, Jack, but Hathor is my goddess."

With that, he placed the tip of the staff against the back of Teal'c's head. Jack, remembering he was still dealing with Daniel here, dove backwards, caught his friend around the ankle and sent Daniel flying backwards. A blast from the staff blackened the ceiling instead. Jack grabbed the staff weapon that had skidded out of Daniel's grasp. It was still primed so he span it around and took out the nearest two Jaafa. Teal'c jumped to his feet and, under a barrage of energy blasts, made it to the safety of the door.

"O'Neill!"

Shooting as he went Jack reached down to grab Daniel by the arm. Before he could reach him, a blast grazed his arm. Unable to reach his friend, Jack raced out of the entrance-way.

Glancing back, he murmured, "Daniel, I'm sorry."

Then he raced out.

"JAAFA, AFTER THEM!"

As the remaining Jaafa raced after Jack and Teal'c, Hathor quickly made her way down the steps from the throne to where Daniel lay dazed.

She knelt down beside him, "OUR BELOVED?"

Daniel painfully sat up, "I am sorry for failing you again, my queen. I am not worthy of you."

"YOU HAVE PROVED YOUR LOYALTY BEYOND QUESTION, OUR PHARAOH. THE JAAFA SHALL DEAL WITH OUR INTRUDERS. THERE IS NOWHERE FOR THEM TO RUN. COME."

Gratefully accepting her proffered hand, Daniel climbed to his feet.

>< <> >< <> ><

Sam, Jacob and Aldwin had been sent through to the planet. It'd been determined that it wasn't safe to send through any ungoa'ulded males in case Hathor had concocted some stronger potion.

"How much longer will our wedge last, Dad?"

Jacob replied, "This should last another twenty-four hours, at least, so long as no-one deactivates it."

They'd brought a metal arch through the gate and hooked it up to the naquadah reactor. It was acting as a doorway. There were several of the SGC's female personnel on this side of the gate guarding the doorway until they got back.

Sam said, "Right, Daniel was in the ruins so that's probably where he was captured. Have you any idea how to get through the other layer of shielding?"

"For the moment, let's say we cross that bridge when we come to it."

>< <> >< <> ><

Tossing Teal'c the staff, Jack clutched at his arm. They'd managed to give the guards the slip for the moment but they couldn't get out of this place.

Jack pulled off his jacket and examined his arm.

He grimaced, "Superficial. Stings like hell, though."

Pulling his jacket back on, Jack said, "God, what the hell has she done to him?"

"She has a powerful hold on his mind."

"I thought he was just stalling for time when he told us to kneel but he meant it."

"Daniel Jackson does not control his actions."

"I know. I shouldn't've left him back there."

"We were choiceless, O'Neill."

>< <> >< <> ><

Hathor was bathing in a large stone bath. It was seething with newly-spawned larvae. Daniel lay by the side of it.

"DO YOU LOVE US, OUR BELOVED?"

"More than life itself, my queen."

"THEN YOU WOULD DIE FOR US?"

"Without hesitation."

"YOU WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR US?"

"I would."

Hathor snapped her fingers, "JAAFA."

The Jaafa came forward.

"KNEEL."

The Jaafa obediently did so. Hathor reached out, unclipped his breastplate and delved into his pouch. Bringing the larva out, Hathor held it before Daniel's eyes. It hissed and snapped at him.

"OUR FRIEND LIKES YOU, OUR BELOVED. WILL YOU CONSENT TO BE ITS HOST?"

Fear of the symbiote clear in his eyes, Daniel, nevertheless, managed to reply, "If you so wish it, my goddess."

With that Daniel turned away and bared the back of his neck to her. Satisfied, Hathor placed the larva back in the Jaafa's pouch.

"THAT SHALL NOT BE NECESSARY, OUR BELOVED."

As he turned back round, Daniel looked slightly confused that the symbiote was gone.

"OUR MOST ADORED ONE, WE HAVE BEEN TOO LONG WITHOUT YOU. YOU SHALL MAKE A MOST EXCELLENT PHARAOH. WITH YOU AT OUR SIDE, WE SHALL RULE THIS EMPIRE AND ONE DAY WE SHALL CONQUER THE TAU'RI AND THE GOA'ULD AND RULE THIS GALAXY."

Snaking a pale arm around his neck, she turned and pulled him into a kiss.

>< <> >< <> ><

Sam said, "Okay, so here's the bridge. How do we cross it?"

Aldwin said, "I see no bridge."

Jacob and Sam looked at each other.

Selmac said, "IT IS WHAT THE TAU'RI CALL A METAPHOR. I SHALL ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN THE CONCEPT TO YOU AT SOME LATER TIME."

Jacob looked up, "Never mind, Selmac, Aldwin. I'll explain it to you later."

He turned to Sam and murmured, "Selmac may have a good sense of humour but... with metaphors... well, put it like this... Selmac makes Teal'c look like a pro."

Sam smiled slightly, before saying, "Metaphor or not we still need through this thing."

"I don't... naquadah?"

Jacob picked up one of the pebbles.

"I sense naquadah in this thing."

"Yeah, there is. The beach is littered with it. I mean, the sand's full of powdered stuff."

"Powdered naquadah?"

"It's been eroded for billions of years."

"You brought C-4, by any chance?"

Sam nodded and undid her pack. Dropping it lightly to the ground, she reached inside.

"Yeah, I've got 4 blocks on the same control."

"Great... d'you know how much naquadah's in the sand?"

"Yeah we just got results back. About 15 percent of the sand's powdered naquadah but almost 50 percent of the rock the pebbles are made of is naquadah. What's your idea?"

"We can't wedge anything into this shield unless it goes down but the sand's already in it. If we can trigger a big enough explosion then it'll rupture a hole in the field. It'll close very quickly which means we'd have to stay very close. It's not exactly going to be safe to do because I'm not exactly sure how much more powerful the powdered naquadah will make the explosion. Maybe we should just test it and go back for more C-4?"

Sam shook her head, "Radio signals travel through this field. If the Colonel and Teal'c hadn't been captured they'd have responded by now. I don't think we can afford the delay. How close?"

Jacob pointed to one of the ruin's decaying walls that was outside the force shield.

"That oughta give us a little protection."

"How many blocks of C-4 should I set?"

"Set two. It'll make a smaller hole but there's less chance we'll be blown to kingdom come."

Sam crept forward and set the charges. Then she headed behind the wall.

Jacob pulled his radio out and said, "All right. Aldwin, you stay here. If we lose radio contact then head back to the SGC and apprise Hammond of the situation."

Aldwin nodded, "Very well."

"You should probably head further back. Sam, give him the controller. We have to concentrate on running."

Sam handed it over, "It's set. Just press the button when we say."

Aldwin nodded and headed back to a safer distance.

Jacob said, "Ready? We've gotta make a run for it before the smoke clears."

Sam nodded.

Jacob shouted, "Now!"

The blast was huge. Sam had to duck as the top of the wall was blasted off. Ignoring the heat attempting to scorch her feet off, she ducked around the wall and, covering her face, ran through the cloud of smoke and blistering sand. Daring to peek through her fingers, she saw her father running through the hole but it was closing fast. Sprinting, she threw herself forward and dived through the gap. Rolling to a violent stop, she crashed into the stone floor and lay there, panting. She didn't move and tried to fight through the breathlessness and burning.

Eventually, a voice said, "Sammy? Y'okay?"

She rolled over onto her front and rasped, "Yeah, I think so."

Jacob brushed his fingers down her smoky face, "Sure?"

She pulled herself up to a sitting position, "Yeah. That blast might've alerted the Jaafa. We'd better hurry."

"Well, there're a set of rings centred... uh..."

Brushing away a little debris, he said, "Here. Get in."

She stood next to him as he activated the back of his ribbon device. Suddenly, the rings burst from the ground and enveloped them.

They reappeared in a long corridor.

Sam said, "We need to find the others and destroy the shield generator."

Jacob brandished his ribbon device, "With this, that shouldn't be a problem. Got your zat? We're not gonna wanna leave a trail for Hathor to follow."

Sam nodded and pulled the zat gun from her belt.

Quietly, she pressed down the button on her radio, and whispered, "Aldwin, come in."

"I hear you, Major Carter."

"Hold your position. We're inside."

"Very well."

Suddenly, there was a lot of noise coming from the far end of the corridor. To their horror, they saw a platoon of Jaafa heading towards them. Quickly ducking into a side room, they waited for them to pass. The march stopped and a voice said, "JAAFA, KREE."

It was followed by a dialogue in Goa'uld.

Carter said, "What's she saying?"

Jacob listened and translated, "She's asking why they've not found the Tau'ri intruders yet. He says they've looked everywhere but they've disappeared like phantoms. She's really not too happy about that. She's giving him one more chance to find them and then he dies."

The marching began again and they looked out to see Hathor, flanked by a couple of Jaafa, storming angrily down the corridor.

Sam said, "It sounds like the others have escaped."

"We should find the generator. Until the shield's down, we're all trapped in here."

"Okay, let's do it."

>< <> >< <> ><

Towelling his hair dry, Daniel looked up to see Hathor walk back in.

"My queen, what's wrong?"

"THE INCOMPETENT JAAFA HAVE FAILED TO FIND YOUR FRIENDS."

Pulling a new robe over his head, Daniel said, "Please, let me help. It's my fault they escaped in the first place. I know how they think and I know their tactics."

"NO, OUR BELOVED, THEY ATTEMPT TO RETRIEVE YOU. AS LONG AS THEY DO NOT, THEY WILL NOT LEAVE. OUR JAAFA WILL FIND THEM. THE FORCE SHIELDS ARE IMPENETRABLE."

"But my people are resourceful and inventive. We can improvise. I fear for your safety if they are not dealt with."

"WE ARE GLAD OF YOUR CONCERN BUT WE WILL NOT RISK OUR PHARAOH."

>< <> >< <> ><

Jack, arm still hurting like hell, crept along the corridor.

"We are going after Daniel."

Teal'c calmly whispered, "We cannot, O'Neill. We are both unarmed and outnumbered. Our escape may not facilitate the rescue of Daniel Jackson."

"Teal'c, she may have screwed with his head but that doesn't mean he's in any less trouble than we are. Nobody gets left behind."

It was like his inner mantra. Nobody ever got left behind. Not by him. Not if he could help it. Not if he had to walk barefoot over red-hot coals just to bring everyone back. You didn't leave anyone behind unless there was absolutely, positively and categorically no other alternative to it. He wasn't about to change his tune now. He wasn't going to leave Daniel behind. Not Daniel, of all people, who he'd already broken his oath to by leaving him behind more than once before. Not after it was his fault that Daniel had been captured in the first place. What had happened in the throne-room didn't count for squat because that hadn't been Daniel. Nobody gets left behind and, with Daniel, that counted double.

"The longer we remain here; the greater the chance we shall be discovered. We should endeavour to locate the shield generator. If it is destroyed this facility shall no longer be shielded. Nor shall the gate. It would enable the SGC to send reinforcements to this planet and give us a means of escape."

"Hathor'll know we need to get down the shield to get out of here. It'll be guarded."

"As will Daniel Jackson."

"Yeah, but we take out Hathor and we lose our biggest threat. We take out the generator and Hathor triples protection around Daniel."

"Your logic is flawed, O'Neill."

"This has nothing to do with logic."

"Then it is because you wish to alleviate your guilt over the capture of Daniel Jackson."

Angrily whispering, Jack replied, "Ya know, Teal'c, you really know just how to make a guy feel better."

"I did not mean to suggest that you were responsible, O'Neill, but that you blame yourself. Your tactics are not based on military strategy but rather your concern for Daniel Jackson. If we are to succeed in rescuing him then you must make decisions as the commander of SG-1; not as Daniel Jackson's friend."

Jack pulled up short in front of his Jaafa friend, "Teal'c?"

"What is it, O'Neill?"

"Generator room. Where would it be?"

"I am unfamiliar with the layout of this complex."

"Then we forget tactics. We find the generator first then we blow it; we find Daniel first then we grab him. Agreed?"

>< <> >< <> ><

Selmac said, "HERE. THE NOISE HAS TO BE COMING FROM THE GENERATOR."

Jacob glanced back briefly, "Sam, stay behind me."

Sam nodded. Jacob opened the door to the generator room. There was a blast of energy then he stepped inside. There were five Jaafa lying on the floor.

Stepping over them, Jacob said, "Zat 'em."

As the blue energy bursts of Sam methodically zatting Jaafa began, Jacob started pressing buttons.

Disintegrating the last of the Jaafa, Sam glanced up, "What're you doing?"

Selmac answered, "DEACTIVATING THE DEFENCE GRID AROUND THE GENERATOR. KEEP WATCH AT THE DOOR. I CANNOT DESTROY THE GENERATOR WITH THE RIBBON DEVICE UNLESS THE GRID IS OFF-LINE. IT WILL TAKE SEVERAL MINUTES TO BYPASS THE PRIMARY ACCESS CODES."

"All right."

Sam crept over to the door. She stood behind it so that anyone who opened it would see her father and come in but wouldn't see her until they were caught in the zat's web of blue lightning. She watched as her father tapped away at various keys. Then she heard footsteps approaching the room. Zat at the ready, she waited anxiously as the door opened. Two figures rushed in. Sam saw the staff weapon and squeezed the zat. A bolt of blue energy crackled between the two figures and they, slowly, crashed to the floor.

As Sam focused on the figures, she gasped, "Oh... god... my career is so over."

Teal'c and Jack, stinging from the zat blast, sat up painfully.

"Ya got that right, Carter. What're you doing here anyway?"

He looked up and saw the scorch marks on her clothes and skin, "What happened to you?"

"We found a way to penetrate the shield but it involved a big explosion and a lot of running. Sir, I'm really sorry, I thought you were Jaafa."

Teal'c said, "In my case you were correct, Major Carter."

"No, I meant Hathor's Jaafa. Are you two okay?"

"I will be fine, Major Carter."

Jack groaned, "Could've done without it but I'll live."

"Have you found where Daniel is yet, sir?"

The two men, sprawled on the floor, froze slightly. Teal'c pulled himself to his feet then helped Jack to do the same. Neither man spoke.

Carter noticed the atmosphere, "What? You don't know where he is?"

Jack, carefully, said, "Not at this particular moment, no."

"But you've seen him? Is he okay? Where's he locked up?"

"Yeah, we've seen him but he's not locked up anywhere."

Carter said, "Then why isn't he with you guys?"

"Because last time we saw him, he tried to kill us."

Sam said, "He...?! No..."

Teal'c said, "Hathor instructed him to do so as a test of his loyalty to her. He is to be her Pharaoh."

"How? You're all immune to her love toxin and nish'ta."

Jack said, "I don't know but she's done something to him and I don't even wanna think about what she's been doing with him while he's like this."

"Well, we have to get him outta here."

"I know, Major. That was my plan too. Jacob, you bust this generator?"

"Soon as I get its shielding down. Just a few more..."

There was a high pitched buzz for a second then the generator's shielding went off-line.

Raising a hand to the generator, Jacob said, "You may wanna consider running."

The others dashed out the room as the orange shock-wave crashed into the generator. Jacob scurried out the door and slammed it behind him.

Jack said, "Right, Teal'c, secure the rings. We need a way outta here. Carter, Jacob, with me."

Sam, who grabbed one out of her pack, said, "Teal'c, here, take the extra radio."

After Teal'c grabbed it and ran, the others sprinted in the opposite direction. They'd made it to the end of the corridor before the generator went up and blew the door off of its hinges.

>< <> >< <> ><

As the floor shook, Daniel looked up, "What was that?"

Hathor glanced up, "YOUR FRIENDS ARE MAKING TROUBLE AGAIN, NO DOUBT."

"Look, I know Jack and Teal'c. We can't let them live or they'll kill you."

"YOU WOULD KILL YOUR FRIENDS OUT OF CONCERN FOR US? EVEN WERE WE NOT TO REQUEST IT?"

"Yes. I can't lose you. I can't let them take you away from me and I'm worried that that's what they're going to do if I don't stop them. I can stop them."

"HOW?"

"Friendship was our strength but now it's their weakness."

Hathor smiled, "YOU HAVE A PLAN."

"I can hand you them. Even after I tried to kill him, Jack tried to pull me after him. He believes my love for you is an illusion."

"AND WHAT DO YOU THINK, OUR BELOVED?"

"I think everything but my love for you is an illusion. I've never felt anything as real in my life."

"WE ARE PLEASED. WHAT IS YOUR PLAN?"

"Injure me with the ribbon device."

"WE WOULD NOT DO SUCH A THING TO OUR BELOVED."

"Not badly. Just enough to show I was hurt by one. Don't worry. I've been hit by so many that I'm practically immune."

"WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE REASON FOR THIS."

"Just give me a zat and wait in the next room. Have some Jaafa standing by. Trust me, my queen, and I swear I shall not fail you."

"VERY WELL. WE SHALL TRUST YOU, OUR ADORED ONE."

Splaying her hand, she hovered it over Daniel's forehead. As the beam started, Daniel's breath caught in his throat.

Eventually, Hathor cut off the beam and said, "OUR BELOVED?"

Slumping forward and pressing his hands against his head, he said, "Oh boy... forgot how much that hurts."

Hathor shouted, "JAAFA?"

The door opened and a Jaafa walked in. Hathor pulled his zat from his belt and dismissed him again.

Handing it to Daniel, she said, "WE SHALL AWAIT YOUR SIGNAL."

"Oh! Leave a couple of Jaafa outside the door or Jack'll get suspicious and make sure you look really angry when you leave in case they're nearby."

Hathor looked confused but nodded, "VERY WELL."

She left and Daniel, groaning, lay down and shut his eyes. He hadn't been kidding about the pain.

>< <> >< <> ><

Jacob, handing Jack a zat, said, "Jack, look over there."

Hathor came storming out of the room and snapped, "JAAFA, KREE."

Then there was a flurry of Goa'uld.

Jacob said, "She's telling them to make sure he doesn't escape and to watch out for you and Teal'c."

Carter said, "She doesn't look too happy."

After she and the rest of the Jaafa had left, Jack and Sam zatted the guards and disintegrated them.

Jack said, "Watch yourselves. If this is Daniel then he's not on our side right now."

The others nodded in understanding and they crept in. Sam saw Daniel lying sprawled across the bed. There was no-one else in the room.

Jack muttered, "Could be a trap, Major."

Sam nodded, "Cover me."

She headed in. Reaching the bed, she looked down and gasped.

She looked up, "It's not a trick, sir. She used the ribbon device on him."

Jack came forward as well.

He breathed, "Damn."

Sam said, "Daniel?"

"S'm?"

"Yeah, it's me. Y'okay?"

Slowly opening his eyes, he said, "Is she dead?"

"Hathor? No."

Daniel carefully sat up, "Then why amn't I?"

"Daniel, why did she do this?"

"Her... chemical was breaking down... and I... stopped doing what I was told so she... she... well, I thought she meant to kill me but I guess not. Maybe she's got more of the chemical or something."

Jack said, "Let's not let her get back with it. Teal'c's guarding the rings and the shields are down. You walk?"

Daniel said, "Yeah, give me a hand up..."

Sam bent down and reached for him. Like a shot, the zat was in his hand and Sam was crackling. As the blue light faded, he grabbed her and held the zat to her temple.

Jack said, "Damn it, Daniel!"

Daniel laughed, "You think I would betray her? I'm sorry about this, Jack, but I can't let you hurt her. Now, you could shoot me with that zat but with me holding Sam like this then there's no saying she won't die. Even a Jaafa'll die with two shots."

Daniel yelled, "Rin'tel'nok!"

Hathor and her Jaafa came flooding in.

"Drop your weapons, Jack."

Sam, barely conscious, gasped, "Daniel, please... this isn't you..."

"Jack?"

Jack growled and dropped his zat to the ground. Jacob slipped the ribbon device off and a Jaafa relieved Major Carter of her zat.

Daniel said, "They've taken out the shield generator. You'll find Teal'c at the rings."

Hathor turned and sent three Jaafa to go get Teal'c. The other Jaafa each grabbed one of the intruders.

"WE ARE MOST IMPRESSED, OUR BELOVED."

She walked forward and kissed Daniel deeply. Still woozy from the zat blast, Sam really felt like throwing up as she saw that. It'd been her worst nightmare the last time they'd met Hathor. Her first words after the red-head had revealed herself had been, 'Daniel, don't let her breathe on you.' She'd been terrified that Daniel would fall under her spell again. Now the nightmare had come true.

"TAKE THEM TO THE HOLDING CELLS. WE SHALL DEAL WITH THEM LATER. FIRST, WE MUST REWARD OUR BELOVED."

As they were dragged out of the room, Jack joined Sam in really wanting to throw up.

>< <> >< <> ><

Sam said, "This isn't like last time. Whatever she used is a lot more powerful than the love toxin."

Jacob said, "You sure you're all right, Sam?"

"I'm fine."

"Sam, he hit you with a zat at point blank range. You sure?"

Sam nodded painfully.

Jack said, "Sure hope Teal'c made it out."

Suddenly, the door was flung open and Teal'c was thrown in.

"Oh... Teal'c, what happened?"

"When you did not appear at the rings, I grew concerned and came to search for you."

Jack sarcastically replied, "Well you found us."

Teal'c smiled slightly, "Indeed."

As he spoke, the door was outlined with an orange glow.

Still smugly smiling, Teal'c continued, "... and Aldwin has found me."

The door opened and Aldwin walked in.

Jack said, "How...?"

Aldwin said, "While attempting to contacted Selmac and Major Carter, I made contact with Teal'c."

Teal'c continued, "When neither of us could contact you, we believed you had been captured. I allowed myself to be captured to lead Aldwin to your location."

Sam said, "Sir, we better get out of here before Hathor gets round to dealing with us."

Jack said, "Right, Aldwin have you got a GDO?"

Aldwin shook his head, "It is not necessary."

Sam added, "There's SGC personnel guarding the gate this side, sir."

Jack said, "All right, then we need to get ourselves rearmed."

Jacob, who'd been first out the door, said, "Well, that shouldn't be a problem, Jack."

Jack peered over Jacob's shoulder at the Jaafa lying dead on the ground. There were four of them and each was armed with a staff and a zat.

As they helped themselves, Teal'c said, "How were you captured?"

Jack's face darkened, "Daniel tricked us into thinking he was on our side again then handed us over to her."

Sam and Jacob had zatted all the Jaafa into oblivion.

Sam said, "What now, sir?"

Jack slipped the zat into his belt and picked up a staff, "Well, freezing her didn't work; I say we tie her to a stake and let the damn witch burn."

>< <> >< <> ><

Daniel said, "Oh."

Hathor had brought him with her as she went to assess the damage to the shield generator. They'd found the room itself had been completely destroyed with the blackened door lying out in the corridor and the walls cracked and warped.

"WE CANNOT SALVAGE THIS. WE SHALL HAVE TO HAVE OUR JAAFA CONSTRUCT ANOTHER."

"How will your homeworld be defended from attack through the gate? More people may come from my planet."

"WE HAVE SENT A LEGION OF JAAFA AND..."

When she'd said it in Goa'uld, Daniel translated for his own benefit, "Death gliders?"

"WHAT?"

Daniel said, "Oh... it's what we call them. Death gliders."

"AN APT NAME. OUR KINGDOM SHALL BE PROTECTED."

"Good. What're you going to do to the others?"

"WHY DO YOU ASK, OUR BELOVED?"

"It's just that if you were planning to kill them you'd have done it straight away."

Hathor smiled, "THE GOA'ULD CHILDREN OUR JAAFA CARRY DID NOT COME FROM US. WE SHALL REPLACE THEM WITH OUR CHILDREN."

"I... what's that got to do with the others, my queen?"

"ONE OF THE CHILDREN OUR JAAFA NOW CARRY IS ALMOST READY TO TAKE A HOST. SINCE WE SHALL DISCARD ALL THE OLD LARVAE, IT IS AS WELL THAT IT BE PUT TO SOME USE. WE SHALL REPLACE THE TOK'RA SYMBIOTE WITH THE CHILD AND ALLOW HIM TO RETURN THROUGH THE GATE. NOW WE HAVE CAPTURED THE SHOL'VA, WE SHALL GIFT HIM TO APOPHIS."

"Why? You hate Apophis as much as I do."

"DO NOT WORRY, OUR BELOVED, WE HAVE A PLAN TO USE HIM TO DESTROY APOPHIS AND WE SHALL SEIZE CONTROL OF THE FLEET HE SEIZED FROM SOKAR."

"Then why were you willing to let me kill him?"

"APOPHIS KNOWS WE DESPISE HIM AND WOULD SUSPECT A TRICK IF HE WAS TO DISCOVER THE JAAFA CAME FROM US. WE MUST KILL THE JAAFA BEFORE WE SEND HIM."

"What about Jack and Sam?"

"THEY SHALL BOTH DIE FOR WHAT THEY ATTEMPTED UPON US. THEY TRIED TO KILL US, FORCED US TO ABANDON OUR PHARAOH AND DESTROYED OUR LAST HOMEWORLD."

"Yes, my queen."

"NOW, WE MUST REST. OUR FIRST PRIME HAS BEEN INFORMED OF ALL OF THIS. WE WISH FOR YOU TO PREPARE FOR THEIR EXECUTIONS, OUR BELOVED. WE WISH FOR THEM TO SUFFER GREATLY AT THE HANDS OF OUR BELOVED. WHEN WE AWAKEN; WE SHALL MOST ENJOY WITNESSING THEIR DEATHS."

Daniel looked unshaken by the idea of executing his friends as he replied, "Any requests or d'you want it to be a surprise?"

>< <> >< <> ><

As the three SG-1 members and two Tok'ra made their way through the complex, their radios came alive.

A female voice shouted, "Major Carter, this is Captain Lewis, gate defence. Major Carter, come in! Rescue team beta respond!"

Jack grabbed the radio from Aldwin, "This is Colonel O'Neill. Major Carter is with me. What's your situation?"

"Sir, we've got a problem here. Hostiles approaching our location."

"How many?"

"Approximately thirty Jaafa."

Before answering, Jack asked Carter, "How many people have we got gate-side?"

Carter said, "Seven, sir."

"Armed with?"

"P-90s, sir. They should be able to handle thirty."

Jack pressed down the button, "Hold your position, Captain. Keep the gate secured. I repeat, hold your position."

"Yes, sir!... What the hell?!"

"Captain, what is it?"

"Sir, eight death gliders approaching fast!"

"Captain, get your people the hell outta there! I repeat, get through the gate now before your position is overrun!"

"Sir, we're not going to abandon SG-1."

"That is an order, Captain!"

"No, sir!"

"Fall back, Captain! We'll find our own way outta this mess. You are no match for that amount of death gliders!"

Carter said, "Sir, please give me the radio."

Jack handed it over.

"Captain, what's the ETA of the hostiles?"

"The Jaafa maybe ten minutes but the gliders'll be here in five."

"Have you got claymores or C-4? Anything explosive?"

"Yes, ma'am. Twenty blocks of C-4 on two controls."

"Listen to me very carefully, Captain. Set the delay on both to ten seconds but don't start the clock. Plant the blocks into the sand and wait for the gliders to arrive. The more pebbles around the better. Dial home before the gliders overrun your position, set the clock ticking and get the hell out of there. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Jack said, "Carter, C-4 won't take out gliders."

"C-4 enriched with powdered naquadah should, sir. If it causes the reaction I think it will then it might take out the Jaafa as well. It's how we got in here in the first place."

"Well, here's hoping."

Jacob suddenly said, "Sam, the reactor!"

Eyes widening, Sam quickly pressed down on the radio again and said, "Captain Lewis!"

The voice crackled over the radio again, "Major Carter, what is it?"

"It is imperative that you take the naquadah reactor back through with you. I repeat, it is imperative that the naquadah reactor is taken back to earth. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Sam explained to the others, "If the reactor was still here when the explosion went off then we'd be lucky if there was even a gate left... and if there was it'd probably be buried at the bottom of a hundred foot crater filled with molten naquadah."

Jack replied, "Can see why a little thing like that would've slipped your mind."

As Sam went to reply, she was cut off by Teal'c who had raised his clenched hand to signal the need for immediate silence. As they fell silent, they heard a distant squealing and hissing coming from one of the doors up ahead. Carefully sidling up and opening it, Teal'c zatted the two guards inside. Walking in, the others gasped. In the centre of the room was a large stone pool. The water seethed with larval Goa'ulds.

Jack breathed, "Daniel's been busy."

"God... look at them..."

Jack and Teal'c approached the pool.

"Watch yourself, sir. Hathor might be in there."

"Sweet, anyone got a flame-thrower handy?"

Jacob replied, "No, but a zat'll do just as well."

"Maybe, but it won't be as much fun."

Sam glanced at the larvae then turned away and went to the door. Keeping guard, she blinked back the tears.

<<<<<< [It was during their first return journey to Chulak - when they'd gone back at Teal'c's request to try and save his son from receiving his first prim'ta - that they'd found the large container filled to the brim with squealing larvae. She and Daniel had been alone when they'd found it. After she'd pulled one out and put it into a flask for study, Daniel had voiced his desire to kill them. She'd talked him out of it, saying killing the defenceless young ones would make them as bad as the Goa'uld - of course, that was long before they'd found out that Goa'uld were basically born evil. Cool and rational, he'd agreed, turned and walked away. What had happened next hadn't been Daniel. It'd been pure animal rage at the creatures that had so deeply wounded him. Whirling back around with his gun in his hand, he'd aimed at the larvae tank and fired and fired and fired.] >>>>>>

That had been a long time ago but Daniel's hatred of the Goa'uld had only deepened since then. What must it be like to hate the Goa'uld that much and then be involved in the creation of more? What must it be like to hate the Goa'uld that much and then... oh don't start thinking about that, Sam, you'll throw up.

Jack, Jacob and Aldwin were transfixed by the hissing swarm but Teal'c, more observant than the others, saw Carter's distress.

Walking over to her, he said, "Major Carter, what is wrong?"

"Just thinking of the hell Daniel's going through."

Sam turned to Teal'c, "We can't leave him like this."

"We shall not leave him, Major Carter."

Sam smiled weakly and turned back to the door. As she heard the zat blasts start behind her, she remembered Daniel's face as he fired at the tank. She remembered the comatose she'd found him in in Hathor's quarters that first time. She remembered the disgust written across his features when Hathor had reminded him of what had happened between them. They had to get him out of here. They had to get him away from her.

Jack came over, "Well, that was refreshing. Now let's go find Mom and Pop."

"Sir!"

Apologetically, Jack said, "Sorry."

>< <> >< <> ><

Daniel sat in the throne room. Hathor was nowhere to be seen.

The first prime of Hathor knelt before him, "<My Lord Daniel.>"

"<What happened?>"

"<The prisoners escaped, my lord. My mistress will be displeased.>"

"<Your mistress shall not know of this. She is not to be disturbed. We shall deal with this problem.>"

"<As you wish, my lord. What would you have us do?>"

"<Bury the gate. Have the buried gate guarded. Even if they are able to overpower the guards, it'll take them time to unbury the gate. Be sure to send a patrol to check on the guards at regular intervals.>"

"<I shall see to it at once, my lord.>"

"<The instant they are captured, I want them rendered unconscious.>"

"<For what reason, my lord?>"

"<If they're awake then they'll think of a way to escape. Once you have them: kill the Jaafa; have the mature symbiote placed into the Tok'ra's host and bring the two humans here so that they can be prepared for their execution when your goddess awakens.>"

"<If there are others, my lord?>"

"<Kill them. Immediately.>"

"<Yes, my lord.>"

Outside, the escaped team were standing - somewhat shell-shocked. Teal'c and Jacob had given them the gist of Daniel's conversation and, even knowing Daniel was being influenced by the chemical, it was disturbing to hear him calmly planning their deaths. With a nod, Teal'c confirmed Daniel and the first prime were inside and alone. Silently co-ordinating, Jack gestured to the others about timing and positions.

Rushing in, Jack's zat felled the Jaafa. Sam fired at Daniel but he dived behind the throne and fired at Sam, sending her flying away into the shadows. They saw a swift movement through the air and heard something metallic clink into the ground. It took a few seconds for Jack to realise what it was.

"Shock grenade! Get out!"

As the screeching blast went off, Jack fell to the ground with eyes scrunched up and hands firmly over his ears. Teal'c and Jacob managed to stumble through the door in time. Sam curled protectively up and buried her head in the darkness as the blinding flash started. It shut off as Aldwin managed to raise his ribbon device and destroy it before he collapsed. Sam painfully struggled to her feet but was helped up by a pair of strong hands. She could barely see and hardly think through her killer headache. The combined effect of a zat blast and shock grenade had seriously knocked her off-balance. She guessed the Colonel had grabbed her and she stumbled after him.

Then her father yelled, "Sam!"

Suddenly she realised that the figure was too short to be the Colonel.

She slurred, "Dan...iel?"

She felt her back hit against something hard as Daniel quickly pulled her behind the throne and set her down against it.

Daniel yelled, "Teal'c! Jacob! Jack's going to be out for a long time and Sam's not in a good way here! So unless you want me to kill your daughter, Jacob, you better surrender right now. Teal'c, I've got a clear shot at Jack from here and even I can hit a stationary target!"

Sam groaned, "Daniel, don't do this. Don't let her do this to you."

"I wish I could make you understand, Sam. This didn't need to happen. All you had to do was leave. I belong here with my queen. I could never leave her and if you all have to die to make sure that happens then I'm willing to do it."

Sam blearily realised that she'd subconsciously shoved her zat into the back of her belt when she'd thought the Colonel was helping her to her feet. Daniel must not have realised. He was crouched beside her with his zat aimed at Jack's still form. Carefully moving her arm, she curled her fingers around the handle of the zat, slowly eased it out and brought it round. Pressing it into Daniel, she fired. Crackling, Daniel fell to the ground.

She eventually managed to summon enough strength to shout, "Dad! Teal'c! He's down!"

Teal'c and Jacob dashed across the room. Teal'c dropped between Jack and Aldwin whilst Jacob dashed onward to check on Sam and Daniel.

Jacob said, "Sammy?"

Sam breathed, "I'm... okay... but Daniel?"

Jacob checked for a pulse, "He's alive... Teal'c, there're gonna be Jaafa through that door any minute and they are not gonna be happy. Aldwin should be all right but you'll need to carry Jack."

Teal'c shook Aldwin awake. His symbiote had already healed his vision. Carefully, Teal'c picked up Jack.

Jacob shouted over, "Aldwin, you all right?"

Aldwin said, "I am."

"You strong enough to carry Daniel?"

"Yes."

Aldwin came over. Jacob took possession of the ribbon device before Aldwin scooped up Dr Jackson. Helping his daughter to her feet, Jacob moved to the head of the party and they began to make their way to the entrance.

>< <> >< <> ><

Jack opened his eyes to total darkness.

"Carter? Teal'c?"

Teal'c's deep voice sounded very close, "O'Neill."

Carter's voice joined in, "Sir."

"Is it dark or am I blind?"

"It's only temporary. Daniel threw a shock grenade, remember?"

"Where are we now?"

"Vorash, sir. You're in the Tok'ra equivalent of the infirmary."

"We... made it?"

"Yes, sir."

"What happened? Is Daniel...?"

Knowing by the tone what the Colonel was asking, Sam quickly replied, "No, he's alive, sir. Daniel's here in a holding cell."

Jacob's voice appeared, "We thought we'd better give you and Sam a chance to recover before sending you back through the gate. The human body's really not designed for the kind of punishment you'd taken."

Jack said, "Carter? You blind too?"

"I didn't get the full blast, sir; my sight's just a little fuzzy."

"Teal'c, you okay?"

"I am, O'Neill."

"Good. What about Daniel?"

Sam said, "He's still under the influence of Hathor. It didn't wear off when we left like we were hoping. He's very angry, sir."

Jacob said, "The language we're getting from him. He's worse than the marines. It wouldn't be so bad since most Tok'ra don't know modern American cursewords but he knows all the Goa'uld ones as well. Of course, as an American Tok'ra, I get it from him twice as bad."

Jack grimaced and pulled himself to a sitting position.

Sam said, "Anise is running some tests to see if see can work out what Hathor used."

The twinned voice of the Tok'ra scientist appeared, "I FEAR I HAVE FOUND LITTLE SO FAR OTHER THAN A PUNCTURE MARK LEFT BY A GOA'ULD KA'NEK."

Teal'c said, "It is an advanced form of the Tau'ri syringe."

Sam said, "So she injected him with something?"

"YES, THOUGH I FEAR THE CHEMICAL AGENT IS NO LONGER IN DR JACKSON'S BLOODSTREAM. I BELIEVE IT HAS INFILTRATED INTO HIS MIND AND CREATED NEW NEURAL PATHWAYS BUT IT IS A TECHNOLOGY THE TOK'RA HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. IT APPEARS TOO ADVANCED TO BE OF GOA'ULD ORIGIN. I CAN FIND NO TRACES OF THE CHEMICAL AGENT BUT I HAVE NOTED CHANGES IN DR JACKSON'S BRAIN STRUCTURE AND CHEMISTRY WHEN COMPARED WITH READINGS TAKEN PRIOR TO THE TRIALS WITH THE ARMBANDS. I DO NOT KNOW IF THE CHANGES ARE REVERSIBLE."

Jack said, "That's not acceptable."

Anise's voice quietened leaving only the gentle lilt of Freya, "Colonel, I am sorry but Anise cannot perform miracles. She will try everything in her power but it may not be enough. Now, you should rest. Anise's medicines will help with the pain but you are still physically exhausted."

"I'm fine."

"I SHALL HAVE YOU SEDATED IF YOU REFUSE TO FOLLOW MY ADVICE, COLONEL."

"You sound like Dr Fraiser."

"I SHALL TAKE THAT AS A COMPLIMENT, COLONEL. NOW I MUST GET BACK TO MY WORK."

Jack muttered, "It was an insult, actually."

Then his eyes closed of their own accord. Didn't make much difference really except that the voices slowly faded away as he sank into blissful unconsciousness.

>< <> >< <> ><

Teal'c stood outside the holding cell. Daniel prowled about like a caged animal. He'd calmed from his original blind rage and had fallen into an anguished depression as he realised they weren't going to let him out.

"Let me outta here! You don't understand!"

Teal'c stoically replied, "Then you must explain it to me, Daniel Jackson."

"I can't live without her!"

"Hathor is a Goa'uld, Daniel Jackson. You hate the Goa'uld as much as I."

"Not her. The others I hate but not her."

"Why should this be so? There is no logic to it."

"Logic? This is about love. It's not logical, it's not rational but it's real, Teal'c. I have to go back. I have to be with her."

As Daniel prowled across to the other side of his cell, Teal'c murmured, "What has she done to you, Daniel Jackson?"

Sam hobbled up, "Teal'c, any change?"

"None. Daniel Jackson is highly agitated. He demands we release him and allow him to return to Hathor."

"The Colonel wants to speak to you, Teal'c. I'll watch Daniel."

"Do not allow Daniel Jackson to deceive you, Major Carter. If he believes it will win him freedom, he will use your friendship against you."

"I know, Teal'c. I'll be okay."

Teal'c bowed his head in acceptance and walked away. Sam slowly stepped up to the shielded doorway. Daniel was now sitting against the wall and staring at the floor.

"Daniel?"

Daniel looked up, "Sam?"

"Daniel, you know we're not going to let you go back to her."

"I know you'll never trust me again because I chose her over SG-1 but we were friends once."

Getting to his feet, Daniel came up to the barrier. His expression was so miserable and lost that Sam found it hard to believe that Daniel wasn't himself.

Looking deep into her eyes, he said, "Sam, I love her too much to bear. She's all I think about. I can't get her out of my mind."

"I know you think that but she gave you a chemical that imprinted her into your mind or something. Daniel, you literally can't get her out of your mind. We're going to try and help you but we're never going to let you go back to her."

"Help me? You wanna help me then let down this shield."

"I'm not gonna do that."

Darkly, Daniel growled, "Then don't even suggest that you can help me."

>< <> >< <> ><

The next day, SG-1 was assembled around the Tok'ra's meeting table. Anise, Jacob and Aldwin were also present.

Anise said, "I BELIEVE I HAVE FOUND A POSSIBLE SOLUTION TO THE PRESENT SITUATION WITH DR JACKSON."

Jack, with his newly-regained, albeit fuzzy, sight, said, "Great."

"YOU MAY NOT BE SO PLEASED AFTER HEARING MY SOLUTION, COLONEL."

"Hey, if it brings back our Daniel then I'm all ears."

Dipping her head slightly to the side, Anise said, "VERY WELL..."

Pressing a button on the holographic projector, she made a 3D model of a brain appear before them.

She said, "I HAVE BEEN CONDUCTING COMPUTER SIMULATIONS TRYING POSSIBLE TREATMENTS TO REVERSE WHAT HATHOR HAS DONE. I HAD LITTLE SUCCESS UNTIL I ALTERED MY APPROACH."

After she pressed a button, they all watched the glowing red of the irregular neural pathways turn green as the pathways were restored to their original routes.

Sam said, "You found a way of reversing the changes?"

Anise nodded, "YES. HOWEVER, THE PROCEDURE I REFERRED TO WAS THE IMPLANTATION OF A SYMBIOTE."

There was an apprehensive silence amongst the humans at the table. Whilst they knew that a Tok'ra symbiote wouldn't take Daniel over the way a true Goa'uld would, none of them were personally too keen to have a symbiote implanted themselves and knew Daniel felt the same. For a start, it would basically mean losing Daniel as Tok'ra stayed here rather than on earth.

Sam, diplomatically, replied, "It wouldn't really be a choice on Daniel's part."

Freya said, "Anise knows this, Major Carter, and she is aware that Dr Jackson was not willing to undergo blending the last time the proposition was made. However, surely he would prefer life as a Tok'ra to his current situation."

"Maybe, but how certain are you that the symbiote will reverse the damage?"

"THERE IS A GOOD PROBABILITY THE SYMBIOTE WOULD BE SUCCESSFUL."

Jack, suspicious, asked, "How good?"

"APPROXIMATELY SIXTY PERCENT."

"So there's a forty percent chance that it won't work?"

"IT IS A VERY GOOD PROBABILITY GIVEN WHAT LITTLE WE KNOW OF THE CHEMICAL."

Sam said, "But it still means there's a good chance that, even with a symbiote, Daniel would still be affected?"

"IT IS POSSIBLE, YES."

"A Tok'ra under Hathor's control would be even more dangerous than Daniel is now."

"I DO NOT BELIEVE YOU UNDERSTAND, MAJOR CARTER. A TOK'RA'S MIND IS NOT AFFECTED BY THAT OF THEIR HOST UNTIL TRUE BLENDING OCCURS. UNTIL A SOLUTION TO THE SITUATION AROSE, THE SYMBIOTE WOULD BE ABLE TO SUPPRESS THE WILL OF DR JACKSON WITHOUT BEING AFFECTED BY...."

Jack stood up, "No way!"

"COLONEL..."

"There is not a chance in hell that that's happening! You say you and the Goa'uld aren't the same but keeping him trapped inside his own head sounds pretty damn goa'uldy to me!"

"I AM AWARE THAT WHAT I PROPOSE IS FAR FROM A PERFECT SOLUTION. IT IS CONTRARY TO EVERY BELIEF OF THE TOK'RA TO SUPRESS A HOST IN SUCH A WAY..."

She dipped her head slightly and Freya continued, "Anise will attempt to find an alternate solution. We only wished you to know that the possibility exists so that you may consider it."

Jack said, "Well, consider it a last resort after we've tried removing Danny's brain."

Freya went to answer when Jacob said, "He was joking."

"No I wasn't."

Freya said, "Oh... were I Tau'ri I am sure I would be in sutures by now."

Jack's jaw dropped, "Huh?"

Jacob said, "Stitches, Freya; not sutures... and it wasn't that sort of joke."

"I apologise, Colonel. Jacob has tried to explain Tau'ri humour to me but I still do not comprehend it fully."

Jack was still suffering from shock so Sam was next to speak.

"Anise, I'd like to take a look at your test results."

"MY LABORATORY IS AT YOUR DISPOSAL IN THIS MATTER, MAJOR CARTER."

"I'd appreciate it. Could we go now?"

"OF COURSE, MAJOR CARTER, COME WITH ME."

Anise and Sam got up and left the meeting room.

>< <> >< <> ><

When Jack came to the cell door, he saw Daniel sitting across the other side with his legs crossed and his palm pressed hard against his dipped forehead. He must have heard footsteps approach because he looked up slowly.

"Jack, I was wondering when you'd show up. Already had Teal'c and Sam round."

Levelly, Jack said, "Daniel."

Clambering to his feet, Daniel walked up to the force field.

Equally levelly, he replied, "Jack."

Sourly, Jack said, "What? No 'let me outta here's? I'm hurt."

"Sam wouldn't let me out so there's not a snowball's chance in hell you would."

"True. Daniel, have you any concept just how screwed up you are right now?"

Daniel ignored him and pushed his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose.

After a while, he muttered, "You wouldn't understand."

"No, I wouldn't because this whole scenario only makes any sense in your screwy head. Danny, she's a Goa'uld and - just in case the Goa'uld part didn't make it obvious - she's insane and evil... and, by the way, there's an age gap of like two thousand years so she's also a cradle-snatcher..."

"None of that matters."

Jack's face grew more puzzled, "It doesn't matter that she's evil and psychotic? I mean, you are aware that she's evil, right?"

"I'm not an idiot, Jack. I know what she's done; I know what she is and I know she's never going to change because she can't. None of that can change the fact that I love her."

"You... remember everything she's done to us and you just don't care?"

"No-one ever said love was rational, Jack."

"Hathor, Daniel. The same snake-head you had nightmares about. The woman has tried to take over earth, kill us all and put a snake in my neck"

"I told you. None of that matters. I still love her."

Nastily, Jack said, "They're thinking of putting a snake in your neck, ya know."

Daniel's head shot up, "What?!"

"Tok'ra snake, mind you, but, diplomacy aside, a snake's a snake far as I'm concerned."

Daniel raced up to the doorway, "Jack, no! You can't let them!"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't."

"Jack... please."

"Oh, that's gonna work real good. Did I mention I don't have a whole lotta time for people who try to kill me and my team?"

Daniel looked at the ground for a long time before saying, "I'm sorry for everything that happened, Jack. I never wanted to be your enemy... but I knew you'd kill her or take me from her... I couldn't let that happen... I'm sorry that you made me choose because she was always going to win."

More gently, Jack said, "You're not my enemy, Daniel. You're just completely out of your mind."

Daniel looked down, "Kill me."

"What?"

"I said, kill me!"

"Not gonna happen, Daniel."

"Damnit, Jack! You won't let me go back to her! Don't make me spend the next couple of hundred years imprisoned inside my own head. Kill me!"

>< <> >< <> ><

Having left Daniel under Teal'c's watchful gaze, Jack blundered around looking for the laboratory. All these Tok'ra tunnels looked the same to him. Of course, he could ask for directions but that would imply he was lost which he certainly wasn't. He knew exactly where he was. He was here.

Eventually, he stumbled across Jacob.

The Tok'ra said, "Going to the lab?"

"Yep, just on my way there."

Jacob started walking down one of the tunnels. Jack looked around; trying to guess which one was the way to the lab. Jacob glanced back and noticed.

"Need directions?"

"No."

"Glad to hear it. When you get there tell Sam I said goodnight."

Jack glanced down at his watch, "Jacob, it's 1300 hours. Good afternoon might be a little more appropriate."

Jacob chuckled, "I know what I meant, Jack. See ya tomorrow."

As Jacob walked away, Jack reran the last twenty seconds in his head. Goodnight? See ya tomorrow? Hey, hold on just a second. He meant...

He shouted after Jacob, "I am not lost, thank-you very much."

"Right you are, Jack. Second tunnel on the left then take the third right."

"I already knew that!"

"You're welcome, Jack."

>< <> >< <> ><

Entering the lab, he saw Carter pressing buttons on some type of touchscreen computer. Anise was studying some device over the other side of the room.

Jack said, "Hey."

The girls both looked up.

Sam said, "Sir?"

"Any progress?"

Sam shook her head slightly and said, "How is he?"

"Well, Hathor's screwed up the logic centre of his brain. Get this, he knows she's evil and he 'doesn't care'."

Freya nodded vaguely, "Anise's results would have predicted responses such as that."

"Can 'Anise's results' come up with anything a little more useful than predictions?"

Freya replied, "Colonel, Anise is doing all she can."

Jack fell into a sullen silence.

>< <> >< <> ><

It was an hour later when Sam called a meeting. Since she, Jack and Anise were all already in the lab, they decided just to meet there instead of the meeting-room.

Everyone was already sitting there when Teal'c entered. Jack was - as he had been doing for the last hour - mindlessly fiddling with a random piece of Anise's equipment. He was sure it was only the fact that Freya was attracted to him that was stopping Anise from killing him.

He and Sam looked up at Teal'c.

Jack said, "Any change?"

Teal'c shook his head, "He has grown extremely agitated and twice attempted to deceive me into releasing him from the cell with claims of his recovery. The guards have been instructed that there is to be no interaction between themselves and Daniel Jackson."

Sam turned back to the Tok'ra, "Like I was saying, I think it's time we took him back to earth. Anise, you've collected all the data you can so Daniel being here or on earth doesn't make much difference, right?"

Freya nodded, "Anise has no objections to your departure."

Jack said, "Daniel's gonna need restrained if we're gonna get him back to earth."

Jacob replied, "I'm sure we can arrange something."

Anise inquired, "MAJOR, WOULD YOU WISH ACCESS TO MY RESULTS? TAU'RI DIAGNOSTIC EQUIPMENT IS NOT AS ADVANCED."

Deciding to ignore the dig at Tau'ri technology in light of Anise's uncharacteristically generous offer, Sam replied, "That would be great."

Jack said, "All right. Teal'c, go with Jacob. Carter, get whatever info you need. I'll go keep an eye on Danny until we're ready to go."

>< <> >< <> ><

Daniel paced one way across the room, "She is my Queen. My Goddess. My love. My soul..."

Shaking his head, Daniel continued sharply, "Your goddess? She's a Goa'uld!"

As he continued muttering, the two Tok'ra guards looked at each other. He'd been going on like this since Teal'c had left. He seemed to be arguing with himself.

"Who cares if she's a Goa'uld? This is love we're talking about."

"Newsflash. Falling in love with Goa'ulds may be hazardous to your health."

"Shut up! I love her."

Whimpering, Daniel replied, "But she's evil."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

Daniel's movements were getting jerkier and more agitated as he paced back and forth.

"She made me hurt my friends."

"The same ones that locked me up. Who needs enemies?"

"Get out of my head!"

"It's my head!"

"No it isn't! I was here first!"

"You're pathetic!"

Grabbing at his head, Daniel looked up pleadingly at the guards.

"Please, make him shut up!"

With that, Daniel's eyes rolled backwards into his skull and he collapsed heavily to the ground.

One of the guards said to the other one, "GO AND FIND ANISE. QUICKLY."

As the one guard ran off, the other one shut off the shield and walked into the cell. Crouching down next to the unconscious human, he laid down his zat and felt for a pulse. Finding one, he went to get to his feet when he heard the sound of a zat priming. Looking down, he saw that Dr Jackson had his eyes open and was watching him with a cruel smile on his face.

"Host and symbiote think and feel as one, right? How the hell d'you end up with the combined IQ of a total idiot?"

With that, Daniel zatted the guard and, sprinting out of the cell, reactivated the energy field.

>< <> >< <> ><

Jack made his way back towards the holding cell. He was pretty sure he was heading there, anyway. He'd tried to memorise the route on the way to the lab and he was fairly sure this was the way back. These damn Tok'ra tunnels were like a huge labyrinth. Contemplating leaving a trail of breadcrumbs next time, Jack turned the corner to where the holding cell was.

All thoughts of breadcrumbs left his mind as he saw that there were no guards to be seen. Sprinting the rest of the corridor, Jack looked round into the cell. Inside, a Tok'ra guard was painfully getting to his feet.

Shouting in, Jack said, "Where the hell is Daniel?"

Looking blearily out of the cell, the Tok'ra replied, "I..."

Deciding the guard didn't know, Jack span around. If Daniel was loose, there was only one place he was headed. Looking round, he realised he didn't know how to get there. Normally, he wasn't one to ask for directions but this was going to have to be an exception.

Jack turned back to the Tok'ra and asked, "How do I get to the rings?"

>< <> >< <> ><

He could hear the sound of the chevrons on the DHD being pressed down from here. Sprinting the rest of the way, Jack ran out into an exposed position and narrowly missed being zatted down by Daniel who was standing at the DHD.

Rolling back behind the nearest dune, Jack unholstered his 9mm and used his forearms to pull himself up to the top of the dune. Daniel aimed the zat at him again. Jack clicked the safety off of his gun and aimed straight for Daniel.

"Daniel, you're not going anywhere."

Daniel reached for the glowing centre of the DHD.

"Touch that and I swear I will shoot you."

"Then you're just gonna have to shoot me, Jack."

Reaching behind him, Daniel pressed the glowing centre of the DHD. As Daniel went to move towards the gate, Jack shifted his aim and - hoping he was as good a shot as he thought he was - he fired.

Daniel crumpled to the ground with his eyes wide as the pain bit into him. Somehow, he managed to keep his grasp on the zat and kept it aimed at Jack. Jack watched, stunned, as Daniel managed to pull himself back to his feet. Recovering before Daniel could zat him, Jack aimed at Daniel's head and said, "The next one won't be so superficial."

The irregular breathing betraying the pain he was enduring, Daniel said, "Two options... Jack... You kill me... or you let me go."

"Daniel, for god's sake! How can she be worth this?"

"Worth dying for? Jack, when you really love... someone then you... would kill for them and die... for them."

"Yeah, maybe you'd do it for her but she wouldn't do it for you. She doesn't love you."

For the first time Daniel looked uncertain, "She loves me."

Jack hoped he could keep Daniel talking long enough for either back-up to arrive or the pain in Daniel's leg to become debilitating, "Daniel, if she hasn't completely screwed up your head, then tell me if she'd do anything for you."

"She'd kill for me."

"She'd kill anyway. You know as well as I do that Goa'ulds get off on death and pain... but die for you? Not a chance in hell."

Daniel didn't answer and, instead, scanned the sandy ground, "She loves me. She wants to be with me."

Jack didn't like having to tread onto this territory but he was running out of ideas, "She raped you, Daniel. Drugged you and took advantage of you. That isn't love; that's control."

"Anything that happened between us... I wanted to happen."

"That's her drug talking; not you."

"Why can't you just let me go? I just want to be with her."

Jack said, "I can't let you go back to her, Daniel. Even forgetting everything I just said; you're a security risk."

"I won't let the Tok'ra put a snake in my neck. I'd rather die."

Cursing himself for having threatened Daniel with that, Jack shouted, "We already told them that wasn't an option. We'll find some way to fix this... I swear, Daniel, just, please, put the zat down and come away from the gate."

"So what happens after that? I rejoin SG-1? No, as long as I'm in love with a Goa'uld; I'll be a threat. Either my body or my mind will be imprisoned if I stay here so I'm left with... no... you are left with two options. You pull that trigger or you don't. The choice is yours, Jack."

"I won't let you do this to yourself, Daniel. I won't let her win."

Even through the pain, Daniel managed to chuckle, "Is this a 'if I can't have you; no-one can' moment? Jack, I'd no idea you felt that way about me."

Jack ignored the comment, "You don't want this to happen, Daniel. Don't let it happen."

"Well, go on. Shoot me. 'Save me from myself'."

"I'm serious, Daniel."

Daniel's face straightened, "So am I. I love her so much that... I don't even care if she loves me as much as I love her. I am going to go through this gate. If you can't accept that then shoot me."

As Daniel began to back towards the gate, Jack, more urgently, said, "Daniel! Don't make me do this!"

Daniel had made it to within a foot of the event horizon when he said, "Goodbye, Jack. One way or the other."

The emotional turmoil written in his eyes, Jack yelled, "Daniel! Don't!"

Daniel stepped back. Jack pulled the trigger.

Eyes wide and blank, Daniel fell backwards. The ripples swallowed him.

Jack whispered, "Goodbye."

>< <> >< <> ><

Having ringed up to the surface, Sam and Teal'c were racing across the desert. They slowed as they neared the gate. It was eerily silent up ahead. Looking at each other, they crept onward.

There was a figure sitting against the inactive gate.

Heading in, Sam said, "Colonel!"

Racing forward, she said, "Sir, are you all right?"

Jack nodded listlessly.

Teal'c asked, "Has Daniel Jackson returned to Hathor?"

Jack shook his head.

Sam asked, "Then where is he?"

"He's dead."

"What?"

"I shot him. He... his body got swallowed by the gate."

"You... shot him?"

Nodding silently again, Jack said, "Yeah, I shot him, Carter."

"But... he could be lying injured right on the other side of the gate. If we go through right now we..."

She trailed off as Jack locked eyes with her. She saw the truth there. Daniel wasn't going to be lying injured on the other side of the gate. He'd probably been dead before he even hit the ground on the other side. And they couldn't risk going back there just to retrieve his body.

Her eyes darting around the empty circumference of the gate, as if that would somehow make this all make sense; Sam felt her insides twisting up. This wasn't meant to happen...

She asked, "Sir, how did... how did he escape?"

"I don't know exactly, Carter, but those idiots are going to pay."

"Pay, sir?"

Climbing to his feet, Jack said, "Dial earth and apprise Hammond of the situation, Carter. Teal'c, you're with me."

"He's with you for what, sir? Who's going to pay?"

"Those idiots who were guarding him. I mean, for god's sake, Teal'c told them not to listen to anything Daniel said!"

Before Carter could raise any objections, Jack said, "Dial earth. Tell Hammond. That's an order, Major. Teal'c, come on."

>< <> >< <> ><

There was an overwhelming brightness around Daniel as he inhaled sharply and opened his eyes. Where was he? All he could see was brightness. However, he recognised this brightness. This was the inside of a sarcophagus. How had he ended up here?

A voice echoed in his mind, 'Daniel! Don't!' followed by a sharp bang. Oh, yeah. He'd been shot. Jack had shot him.

The sarcophagus began to open and Daniel saw, standing over him, the woman he'd been willing to die for.

Hathor smiled down at him, "OUR MOST BELOVED."

Sitting up, uncertainly, Daniel said, "How did I get here? I thought Jack shot me before I could get to the gate."

"WE ARE NOT CERTAIN. OUR REMAINING JAAFA FOUND YOU WHILST SEARCHING FOR SURVIVIORS OF THE EXPLOSION."

Making vague gestures with his hands as he spoke, Daniel said, "I... must've... stumbled back... into the event horizon, I guess."

"WE WERE MOST ANGERED WHEN WE REALISED YOU HAD BEEN STOLEN FROM US..."

Her snarl smoothly metamorphosed into a smile, "BUT WE KNEW OUR LOVE WOULD DO ALL IN HIS POWER TO RETURN TO US ONCE MORE."

Climbing out of the Sarcophagus, Daniel said, "Well, I said I'd die for you, didn't I?"

"YOU DID. AND YOU HAVE PROVED IT BEYOND MEASURE."

Distractedly, Daniel replied, "Thank-you, my Queen."

As Daniel walked across the room, Hathor turned and said, "OUR LOVE HAS MOST PLEASED US."

Daniel glanced round at her for a second before saying to the Jaafa standing at the door, "Leave us."

After the Jaafa had, obediently left, Daniel set his hands down on the table beside the sarcophagus. His back to Hathor, he said, "Do you love me?"

Hathor said, "WE DO, OUR BELOVED. WHY DO YOU NEED TO ASK SUCH A QUESTION?"

He replied, "If you'd said no, it wouldn't have changed the way I feel about you. I was just curious."

"THEN TURN TO US AND WE SHALL SATISFY YOUR 'CURIOSITY'."

Daniel turned. The seductive expression dissolved from Hathor's features as she looked at him.

She asked, "WHAT IS THIS?"

Pointing at the item in his other hand, Daniel replied, "This? This is a zat gun."

"WHY WOULD OUR BELOVED...?"

Daniel cut her off, "I think you should've read the small print on that purple goop because I'd bet you anything that it said that 'eternity' didn't include after death."

Hathor's expression had been bewildered until this point but now fear began to creep over her features.

Daniel saw the change, "That's right. I'm not under your little love spell anymore."

"YOU WOULD KILL US?"

Zatting her once, he replied, "I died for you... seems only fair."

Since she was a Goa'uld, the zat blast didn't knock her out completely. However, it did cause her a lot of pain.

Daniel crouched down next to her, "The way I feel about you hasn't changed, Hathor. I still feel sick."

Hathor went to shout for the guards. Daniel reactively squeezed the zat again and she slumped. Looking to the left, Daniel saw the sarcophagus and slowly raised the zat to Hathor for a third time. As the blue lightning encircled her, she disintegrated.

Daniel muttered, "No-one comes back from a zat-blast. Not even you."

>< <> >< <> ><

Jacob hugged Sam tightly.

Still hugging her, he released his grip, slightly. Drawing back, he brushed a stray bang off of her face and said, "Sammy, I'm so sorry."

"I... god... I just can't believe he's gone. And I know it's stupid but I... I can't stand the thought of her having the body. I know we can't... risk getting captured just to retrieve... him but..."

Words failing her, she buried herself into her father again.

Freya walked in and said, "Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill have agreed to desist in their attacks. They both wish to apologise for their actions."

Jacob nodded over his daughter's head. For the last couple of hours, Jack and Teal'c had been storming around the base with Jack yelling so loudly you could hear him the length of the tunnels. They wanted to know how the hell Daniel had managed to escape from the holding cell. Jacob had swiftly had the two guards hidden away because he knew Jack and Teal'c well enough to know that it wasn't a good idea to let them catch up with those two. However, deprived of their intended targets, Jack and Teal'c had started waylaying random Tok'ra in the hopes that one would tell them where to find the guards. It had been getting to the point where Tok'ra were actually running in the other direction when they saw them coming. That was right about when Sam had started yelling.

<<<<<< [ "Oh, for god's sake! Stop it! Both of you!"

Teal'c and Jack, who had one of the Tok'ra backed up against a wall, looked round at the furious Major. She, Jacob and Freya had been running around the base for the last ten minutes trying to find Jack and Teal'c after no less than four Tok'ra had come to complain that Jack and Teal'c had threatened them.

She continued, "What do you think you're doing? This isn't helping anyone!"

Jack pointed over her shoulder to where her father stood, "Then get him to tell us where he's hiding those lousy idiots!"

"Why? So you can bully them too?"

"They let Daniel escape! It was their fault I had to shoot him! If it wasn't for them then he'd still be here! I am going to find them and then they are going to pay. Teal'c's with me on this, Major. Why the hell aren't you?"

"Of course Teal'c's with you on this! He left Daniel with those guards. He regrets doing that every bit as much as you regret shooting him! You both want to able to blame someone!"

Teal'c's eyes dropped to the floor but Jack was still staring Carter down, "Major, they are to blame!"

"And making them pay... that's going to bring Daniel back, is it? Hell, if it will then I'll do it myself!"

Teal'c said, "Daniel Jackson should be avenged."

"Hathor did this, Teal'c. The guards just fell for Daniel's trick."

Turning to Jack, she continued, "So did we, sir, if you remember. We believed his lies when he told us he was on our side again. We let him capture us."

Jack said, "We suffered for our mistake. Daniel suffered for theirs."

"Fine. Forget everything I said. Do what the hell you feel like. If it makes you feel better then go attack Tok'ra until one of them tells you what you need to know. Make the guards pay. I hope it takes away the pain. I really do."

With her eyes filling with tears, she stormed off with Jacob running rapidly after her. Freya was left with the two SG-1 boys - the Tok'ra they'd been bullying had escaped in all the confusion. ] >>>>>>

Sam said, "They were just upset... Teal'c left Daniel alone with the guards and the Colonel had... to shoot Daniel. They just want to be able to blame someone for it all."

"I know that, Sam. Still, think it might be better if you lot went back to earth. I doubt Jack'll be able to control his temper for long if he stays here."

Nodding, Sam said, "I'm due back in a quarter hour anyway. I'll take them with me."

>< <> >< <> ><

Holding the zat in his hand, Daniel listened at the door again. Just as he'd been going to try escaping this place, there'd been the heavy stomping of several Jaafa. They'd stopped just outside the room he was in and he couldn't find another exit. Desperately hoping they'd move on, he waited.

Leaning wearily against the Sarcophagus, Daniel tried to think. She was gone now. He was going to have to get out of here before the Jaafa found out or he'd be dead. Where was he going to go without a GDO? Back to Vorash? Back to the people who used to be his friends? Daniel shuddered as he remembered the desperation in Jack's eyes as he'd backed towards the gate. He'd forced Jack to kill him. He'd tried to kill them all. How could he ever face them again? After putting them through all that? How could they ever forgive him for betraying them so badly? How could he even ask them to? He'd been so weak! He'd known what he was doing. He'd been in control of his own actions. He'd just let her brainwash him because he was weak. He'd let them all down so badly this time. He didn't deserve their forgiveness.

Becoming aware of footsteps approaching the room, Daniel surfaced from his contemplation and focused on more urgent matters. Whoever had been approaching stopped just short of the door. Nearing the door again, Daniel tried to listen to what the Jaafa were saying.

"...not to be disturbed."

"It is an urgent matter. I must speak with her immediately."

"For what reason?"

"Something is occurring on this planet. The cliffs begin to shake. I must speak with her now."

"She is with her Pharaoh. I shall not stop you but be warned that your interruption will likely ensure your death."

Pressed flat against the wall, Daniel waited for the Jaafa to enter. 'The cliffs begin to shake'? What was going on? Hang on; skipping the middle bit, didn't sand basically come from the sea eroding away at cliff-faces? And the sand on this planet was full of naquadah. Logically, that meant that the cliffs were full of naquadah too. What if that explosion that destroyed the death gliders had started something?

There was a knock at the door.

Daniel said, as impatiently as he could, "What is it?"

"My Lord Daniel. I must speak with my mistress."

Nearly choking on the words, Daniel replied, "Your mistress and I are busy. We do not wish to be disturbed. Go to your duties."

"My Lord I cannot. The ground begins to tremble. The cliffs begin to crack. We do not know what is happening."

Trying to think of some way to get them to go away so he could get out of here, Daniel said, "The people of my world must have returned. Assemble as many warriors as you are able and head towards the cliffs. They must have brought some device with them to cause these illusions in the hopes we would leave this place and allow them to steal the naquadah. Do not allow them to escape."

"You are certain of this, my Lord?"

Sharply, Daniel snapped, "Do not question me! I am the beloved of your Goddess. Go now. All of you. If you are not successful then do not return!"

He breathed a sigh of relief as the Jaafa replied, "Yes, my Lord."

He listened as the Jaafa all stomped off. Suddenly, though, their stomping grew louder and began to shake the walls. No, wait, it wasn't the Jaafa. The whole place was shaking. The footsteps were gone. This was his opportunity to get out of here and - judging from the rumbling - it was probably his only opportunity to get out of here.

Sliding the door open, he looked round the door. The corridor was empty. Trying not to look, too obviously, like he was escaping, he hurried towards the rings. The corridor was really shaking now. Cracks were beginning to appear in the walls. If this shaking got much worse then this place was going to come crashing down around him.

Getting to the ring device, he smashed down on the controls and tried to keep his balance as the floor heaved below him. As the rings enveloped him, he primed his zat.

Reappearing within the ruins, he hurried out of the opening and froze. The beach was covered in deep cracks which the sand was rapidly pouring into. More were appearing by the second. Something bad was happening to this planet. He had to get out of here now.

As he neared the gate, he saw, to his horror, that the DHD was tipping over as it began to sink down with the sand. Racing towards it, he started pressing down chevrons as quickly as he could. If the gate got buried...

He suddenly became aware of an energy blast behind him. Turning to see what was happening, he was knocked off his feet by the force of it. He found himself lying over one of the crevices. Looking blearily down into it, Daniel's eyes widened. Below him was a seething vein of bubbling black ooze tinged with red. He could feel the heat of it from here. If he had to guess, then he'd guess it was, at least in part, molten naquadah.

Remembering himself, he crawled behind the DHD and looked up to see that several Jaafa were advancing towards him. Slamming the centre of the DHD, he fired a flurry of zat blasts. He felt the force of the vortex as it appeared close behind him. He had to get back to the...

The next blast hit one of the crevices. Everything exploded.

>< <> >< <> ><

They walked towards the gate in silence. Jack was still smarting from Carter's lecture and both he and Teal'c were walking with their heads down. As they neared the gate, Jacob froze.

Noticing the change in her father, Sam turned, "Dad?"

The other Tok'ra were also looking stunned. Following her father's gaze, Sam tried to see what it was that he'd seen. Shocked, she stumbled back so quickly the she ended up sprawled backwards on the sand. Jack saw her go down and was instantly at her side.

"Carter! You okay?"

Looking dazed for a second, Sam didn't reply. Then, suddenly, her eyes widened in disbelief and she scrambled around so that she could see the gate again. As she stared, helplessly, at whatever had shocked her, Jack turned his head to follow her gaze and Teal'c looked up.

Unlike the others, however, their instant reaction was to ready their weapons and sweep their gaze around the surrounding area in a great arc.

Jack yelled, "Nice try, bitch, but dead people don't travel through the gate on their own."

Sam, still staring at the body lying before the gate, heard her father muttering in Goa'uld - presumably to the Tok'ra behind him. She could hear her two friends pacing up and down as they scanned for signs of hostiles. She, however, couldn't tear her eyes from the immobile form of her friend. She knew she should be focusing on the trap rather than the bait but it had been hard to believe that Daniel was really dead. Being confronted by the body so unexpecte... oh god... did he just...?

Blinking, Sam's eyes widened. Mouthing wordlessly, she turned and looked at the Colonel; round at Teal'c and back at Daniel again. Still on her knees, she began to move forward. First, she moved at a speedy crawl with hands and knees clawing into the sand but, as she sped up, she straightened and raced forward; heedless of the cries behind her.

Dropping down onto the sand beside Daniel, Sam turned him over and looked down into his bleary gaze.

A desperate longing in his eyes, Daniel said, "Sam?"

He might be good or evil but, at that moment, Sam didn't care. He was alive. A tearful smile upon her face, she said, "Hey."

Brushing sand gently off of his face, she searched those eyes. They remained like that until she heard Jack's no-nonsense voice come from almost directly behind her. She felt the grip on her collar as he said, "Carter..."

Dragging her to her feet, he continued, "...what the hell do you...?"

Another voice cut him off, "Jack..."

Jack's head snapped down to look at the body. His eyes widened as he realised that the body was looking back at him. Jack looked round at Teal'c - who was now at his side - as if to confirm that the Jaafa was seeing the same thing that he was.

The stunned look upon Teal'c's face confirming that he wasn't seeing things, Jack turned back and said, "Daniel?"

Breaking free of the Colonel's, now weak, grasp, Carter dropped back down next to Daniel and said, "Are you hurt? What happened?"

Daniel replied, "I... There was an explosion. I guess I got thrown... into the... gate... by it...."

Stern, Jack's voice appeared again, "Get away from him, Carter."

Carter turned, "Sir, we..."

"That's an order, Major."

Getting to her feet, Sam replied, "At least let me..."

"I shot him, Carter. He died. So if he's alive that means she brought him back."

Daniel spoke up, "She... did. She had a sarcophagus. She brought me back."

Harshly, Jack said, "Why are you here? What's the trick this time?"

Recoiling from the venom in his former friend's voice, Daniel pleaded, "It's not a... trick, Jack... you have to believe me... When the sarcophagus brought me back I.... wasn't under her control... anymore..."

Jacob had come up by this point and murmured to Jack, "We're ordering an evacuation as soon as we've searched round the gate. Daniel must have given her the address."

Sam spoke up, "We need to take Daniel to Anise's lab."

Teal'c, Jack and Jacob all looked across at her so she continued, "If he's cured then..."

After glancing across to check Jacob's view on it, Jack nodded, "All right, Carter. Take him down there. Teal'c, go with them. Radio as soon as you know anything."

Sam crouched down slightly, "You walk?"

Daniel replied, "I think so... just give me a hand..."

He trailed off as he saw Sam back off slightly and the others all take a firmer grip on their weapons.

Suddenly remembering that he'd used the same line just before zatting Sam, he continued, "I'll get up."

Struggling to his feet, he grimaced. Teal'c motioned his zat in the direction of the base so the three of them headed back.

Jacob said, "You think he's really cured?"

Jack shrugged helplessly and replied, "I don't know what to think. Let's not take any chances until we know for sure."

Jacob nodded and ordered the Tok'ra to spread out and search the dunes.

>< <> >< <> ><

Daniel sat on the metal table. Teal'c was standing, six feet away, with a primed zat in his hand and a neutral expression on his face. Sam was standing at the door with her arms folded but she, too, was armed. Her zat was unprimed but it was in her hand so it could easily be primed at the first sign of trouble.

Anise stepped forward. On both her hands, she wore palm devices of some sort. Unlike the ribbon and healing devices, however, there was no gem. Instead, there were two bands of silver metal with a dark line between them.

Standing before Daniel, Anise said, "IT WILL ASSIST MY DIAGNOSIS IF YOU ARE TO REMAIN MOTIONLESS."

Daniel nodded and tried to stay as still as the pain would let him. Teal'c moved round so there was a clear line of sight between him and Daniel as Anise pressed her palms together and closed her eyes. A gentle hum began.

As Anise opened her eyes and pulled her hands apart, Sam saw there was now a wide horizontal beam of blue light between the two devices which widened still further in the middle. Stretching forward, Anise placed a hand either side of Daniel's head and slowly scanned from the top of his head down to his neck and back up again.

As the light cut out, she pulled off the palm devices and placed them into another, larger, device. Pressing a couple of buttons, she cocked her head to the side and pressed several more buttons in rapid succession.

Sam, impatiently, asked, "What? Is he...?"

Anise said, "YOU WILL BE PLEASED TO HEAR THAT THERE IS NO INDICATION OF HEAD TRAUMA FROM THE BLOW TO THE HEAD YOU RECEIVED, DR JACKSON..."

Turning, Freya smiled, "And you will all be pleased to hear that his scan indicates a reversal of all alterations caused by Hathor's chemical."

There was a clatter as Sam's zat dropped to the ground in her haste to rush over to where Daniel sat. Throwing herself around his neck, she said, "We thought we lost you for good."

Walking over to Anise, Teal'c muttered, "Is this result certain?"

Anise dipped her head in assent so Teal'c unprimed his zat and placed it back into his belt. He looked over at Daniel. Sam was still around his neck but Daniel was looking over her shoulder. His look was one of pain.

Teal'c said, "Daniel Jackson is still injured, Major Carter."

The words eventually seemed to get through to Carter who pulled back from Daniel and said, "Oh god, sorry..."

Then she appeared to remember something, "The Colonel!"

Pressing down on her radio, she said, "Sir! Sir, come in!"

>< <> >< <> ><

Hammond was standing in the control-room impatiently awaiting the arrival of Major Carter. When she had radioed in, she'd assured him that she'd be back within the hour to fully debrief him, on everything that had happened, but it was coming up on five hours now and there'd been no sign of her.

He hoped SG-1 was okay... and he meant that in more ways than one. He'd seen the deadness in the eyes of the Major as she'd reported that Dr Jackson had escaped and that Colonel O'Neill had been forced to kill him. Though she was trying to be strong, Hammond could hear the tremble in her voice. As for Jack... well, he couldn't see how Jack could get over what he'd been forced to do. And, knowing Teal'c, he'd think that he'd failed Dr Jackson. To think he'd given SG-1 the mission as a favour... a treat, even. It had looked like paradise. How could he have known it would turn out to be hell?

He was broken from his contemplation by the sound of the gate as it began to turn.

"Incoming wormhole..."

Hammond said, "Are we receiving a code?"

"Not yet, si... Yes, sir, we're receiving SG-1's IDC."

"Open the iris."

It had to be Major Carter. Hammond hurried down to the gate-room. He was proved right when she stepped through the gate along with Colonel O'Neill.

He said, "What happened? You were due back four hours ago."

"Well, sir..."

Then, before Carter could continue, Teal'c stepped through the gate. He was supporting someone else. It took a moment or two for Hammond to realise that it was, in fact, Dr Jackson.

The shock clearly written on his features, Hammond said, "Major, didn't you tell me...?"

No-one appeared to know what to say. Eventually, Daniel, himself, replied, "She had a... sarcophagus, sir."

Carter added, "Daniel's no longer under her control, sir."

Hammond said, "Are you sure he's genuinely cured?"

"Yes, sir. Anise checked him and the changes have been reversed."

Hammond said, "Well... SG-1... go for your medical. We'll debrief immediately after."

Jack said, "Would it be all right if Daniel sits it out, sir?"

"I'm afraid not, Jack. I need to hear from him more than anyone."

Daniel spoke up, "It's okay, Jack. I'll be there, sir."

>< <> >< <> ><

Sam dropped some sugar into Daniel's coffee. She knew he generally didn't have any but he looked like he could use the extra energy right now. Setting it down in front of him, she went and took her seat across from him. He picked up the coffee and took a sip.

Hammond said, "Dr Jackson, in your own time."

Focused on the coffee, Daniel flatly asked, "Where d'you want me to start, sir?"

"Is there any important information which Hathor was able to extract from you? Anything she knows that could pose a direct threat to us?"

Daniel shook his head slightly and set down the coffee, "She's dead."

There was a silence around the table. It was clear to Hammond that the rest of SG-1 was hearing the news for the first time as well

"Dead?"

"Yes, sir."

"Are you certain?"

"I was the one who killed her, sir, so yes."

Teal'c said, "Is there no possibility that her Jaafa placed her in her sarcophagus?"

"Not after I disintegrated her."

Hammond said, "How about anything she could have passed on to her Jaafa?"

"Best I can tell, the whole planet was self-destructing when I left so I doubt there're any of them left. But I didn't tell her anything, sir."

"You were able to resist her on some level?"

Sam saw the shadow of self-loathing cross Daniel's face as he honestly replied, "No, sir, I wasn't. She just never asked."

>< <> >< <> ><

After the debriefing, Sam headed down to the infirmary. After what had happened, Janet had insisted on keeping Daniel in for observation for a few days to ensure there were no residual effects from the chemical. Sam didn't like the fact there were still guards posted outside the room. Daniel was back to normal now; he wasn't going to hurt anyone. All the guards were doing was making him feel like he couldn't be trusted. Like they didn't trust him.

Daniel was sitting on one of the beds with a distant look in his eyes.

She said, "Hey."

Daniel looked up at her. She came and sat on the end of the bed. He blankly refused to meet her worried gaze.

Trying to break the ice, she said, "We sent a UAV through to the planet. You were right... the planet seems to be destroying itself. I'm guessing that when the C4 destroyed the gliders, it set off a chain reaction in veins of naquadah underneath the sand which headed straight back towards the cliffs. The DHD's long gone and it won't be much longer before the gate buries itself in molten naquadah. It already looks like hell on the other side."

Daniel shrugged listlessly at the news.

"Look, I understand that it's going to take time for you to come to terms with what happened, Daniel, but I just want you to know that, when you're ready to talk, I'm here for you, okay?"

Daniel finally looked up into her eyes, "How can you be okay with me? After what I did?"

"You didn't do anything,