by

Karen Greim Mullian
©December 8, 2003

The bright blue event horizon shut down behind SG-1 just as Daniel Jackson stepped through into the misty morning sunshine on PX3-829.

"A second later, Daniel," Colonel O'Neill shouted over his shoulder with that "I've told you about this before" tone, "and you'd have been toast."

The archaeologist knew well enough without being told. He'd logged nearly three hundred missions through the Gate, yet during the time he'd been grounded, he'd almost forgotten how cold Gate travel made you and how sick if you weren't prepared for it, and he wasn't exactly prepared; but he was determined not to lose what little breakfast he'd been able to get down. Daniel had tried not to show it, but because of the excitement - he wasn't sure what to compare it to, but certainly not like Christmas because he remembered so few happy ones - he'd gotten almost no sleep last night, and it had been all he could do in the Gate room to keep from hopping up and down with anticipation.

There had been a lot of people in the Gate room this morning to see him off. The entire second shift of technicians had come on duty early, and a few from the third shift had stayed late. Daniel had no idea why, but these people apparently had a fondness for him, one that he reciprocated simply because they did. Once, Sam had told him, he had known all of them by name, their wives', husbands', or significant others' names - or if there was a significant other - as well as their kids'. Over the past few weeks she'd helped him set up a database on his computer to remind him. During the data entry phase, a lot of it had actually come back, and more than once he wondered if Oma wasn't lurking somewhere in the background helping him to remember.

Usually, General Hammond remained in the Control Room and watched through the window overlooking the Gate when a team went off-world. This time he had actually come into the Gate room to see SG-1 off.

"Godspeed, SG-1," he had told them. Then he had looked at Daniel and smiled. "Godspeed, Doctor Jackson."

"Thank you, Sir," Daniel had answered, the smile on his own face a joy for those who loved him to behold.

Jack had practically pushed Daniel up the ramp, not because he appeared to vacillate but because his awe of the power of the Gate had redoubled with this final step in his recovery from that dark season of his life. His one goal since coming back from Nicaragua had been to get back to work - not just to his office and to the mountains of paperwork he so detested, but back through the Gate, to the worlds far beyond Earth. He had hesitated a nano-second after the others had stepped through the event horizon in order to take it all in, and that was what had caused a near miss at the other end of the wormhole.

"I know, Jack," Daniel answered seriously. He made a slight face as he beat himself up silently for his lack of vigilance.

He drew his head back and closed his eyes tightly, his hands raised to his face. As the sneeze came forward, he realized he was sneezing into a Kleenix provided by the dour Jaffa standing next to him.

"Thank you, Teal'c," Daniel said sincerely. He hated sneezing into his hands. You'd think after seven years, he'd be ready for a sneeze caused by Gate travel. A few more trips would take care of that problem, but it would be annoying until his system adjusted.

"You are welcome, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c replied. His face remained serious, but a mischievous light twinkle in the huge man's dark eyes. "I merely thought to prevent your loud Earth weapons from frightening the indigenous inhabitants of this world."

In front of them Sam laughed outright. "Good one, Teal'c. Especially since there aren't any."

She was delighted to have her menfolk around her. SG-1 had been through the Gate fifteen times without Daniel over the past twelve weeks. It hadn't felt right the entire year he was gone from them, and it certainly hadn't felt right knowing he was back on Earth struggling to find his way after his kidnaping. This time she hadn't allowed herself to get used to his not being there.

The Colonel was right - there was no SG-1 without Daniel. The four of them spoke a language all their own that not even another Stargate team could fathom. Sometimes they didn't even have to speak. They had served together so long that their minds worked in tandem. When one had a thought, they all did. Okay, so sometimes the right brain-left brain thing came into conflict, but at the end of the day, they were a team. The missing piece of the puzzle was finally in place.

"Okay, Daniel," Jack said, surveying the horizon with a practiced eye. "Do your thing."

Daniel walked down the stone steps, his eyes as big as saucers. These first few moments after arriving on a new world had once held both anticipation and fear - fear that again he wouldn't find Sha're and anticipation that whatever they did find might help save her. Those incentives were only vague memories now, replaced by the more mundane thrill of discovery. There was also that transient hope that the past seven years were no more than a dreadful nightmare and that he'd awaken to find Sha're alive and well beside him in their tent on Abydos.

"And don't touch anything," Jack warned, shaking Daniel out of his thoughts. "General Hammond specifically ordered me to bring you back in one piece."

"I hear you, Jack," Daniel replied. His hand slid down his right thigh to feel the security of his nine-mil.

The Colonel looked at Teal'c and cocked his head in the archaeologist's guidance. As Teal'c bowed his head and followed in Daniel's wake, Jack signaled for Sam to accompany him in the opposite heading.

"The MALP showed no life signs, Sir," Sam said, rechecking the readings on her remote sensor, "but the atmosphere is viable to human life. I'll collect some soil samples. This might be a good place if we need a beta site, Colonel."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Carter," Jack said. He fought a very strong urge to turn around and follow Teal'c. He wanted to see for himself that Daniel didn't do anything stupid. Not that he didn't trust the man, but -

He put up his hand for silence, then asked, "What the hell are we doing here exactly?"

"We're explorers, Sir," Sam reminded him needlessly. "We explore."

"Right," Jack answered. He picked up the pace.

He stopped again.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Hear what, Sir?"

"It sounded like Daniel saying 'stop' at the top of his lungs." Jack pressed the button on his radio. "Teal'c, do you copy?"

"I copy, O'Neill," the Jaffa replied. "Is there a problem?"

"Everything all right?"

There was a pause, and then Daniel's voice came over the radio. He sounded a little irritated. "Yes, Jack, everything's just fine. Why?"

"Thought I heard something," O'Neill said casually. He turned toward Carter. "Everything's okay," he said with a shrug.

She smiled. She knew Jack was nervous about Daniel.

Daniel was swearing. Teal'c merely looked at his friend.

"God damn him, he doesn't trust me," Daniel said angrily. "He thinks I'm gonna screw up. He thinks I'm not ready for this. Damn it! Who does he think he is?"

"Colonel O'Neill is your friend, Daniel Jackson," Teal said calmly. "As am I and Major Carter."

Daniel took a couple of deep breaths and regained his composure. "I don't need training wheels, Teal'c," he commented as he examined the ground for anything resembling a civilization that might once have existed in this place.

Finding what appeared to be a suitable spot to dig, Daniel marked out a three-foot-by-three-foot square, shoved nine pegs into the ground, and with Teal'c's assistance measured out the twine to divide the square into four quadrants. While they worked, Daniel explained the concept of training wheels on bicycles. It didn't matter that he had never owned a bike of his own or that Teal'c had not yet learned to ride one. Daniel decided it was one of the things they both needed to do when they got back. He had a burgeoning list of things he intended to do in the coming months that he'd not permitted himself or been permitted to do in his youth.

A shy smile creased Daniel's face, remembering something he'd done at Jack's cabin when he was alone. He wondered if Jaffa had discovered that simple pleasure.

"What is it, Daniel Jackson?" the Jaffa asked.

"What do Jaffa do for fun, Teal'c?" Daniel asked.

He had scraped the first layer of soil from the upper right-hand quadrant and was beginning on the right just below it.

Teal'c's face froze as he thought, and then a single eyebrow rose at a particular memory.

"What do kids do?" Daniel asked pointedly.

"They learn the ways of the Jaffa so that they will be prepared to be warriors when they reach manhood."

"And that's fun?" Daniel wondered.

"Do not Earth children play with imitation guns?"

"I guess you have a point," Daniel conceded. "The purpose of play is preparation for adulthood. Did I show you the pyramids Jack and I built at the cabin?"

The Jaffa smiled as Daniel reached into his pocket to pull out the photos he had shot of the Minnesotan Giza Platteau. Daniel enjoyed showing those pictures, and Teal'c humored him by putting out his hand to see them yet again.

Daniel made a face. "What am I doing?" he asked, self-consciously slipping the pictures back into this pocket. "You've see 'em a million times already. Sorry, don't mean to bore you with what Jack and I did on our winter vacation."

"The time you spent with Colonel O'Neill means a great deal to you, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said with compassion.

"Yes, Teal'c," Daniel answered without looking up from his scraping. "Yes, it does." He continued with his work for awhile in uncustomary silence. Then sitting back on his heals, he murmured, "People talk about us. About Jack and me. They think -"

"Why do you care what they think, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked honestly.

"I don't care for myself," Daniel confessed. "I'm used to people saying things about me that aren't true."

"People have said nothing to me."

Daniel gave a little laugh. "Well, I don't expect they would."

"I have heard much spoken of Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill," Teal'c said plainly. "People do not know that I hear, but I do. Humans are the same everywhere throughout the galaxy, Daniel Jackson. They take great pleasure in spreading falsehoods regarding those about whom they know nothing. I believe the Earth saying is 'They need a life'."

Daniel's laugh was louder, a little freer.

"You hold a very special place in O'Neill's heart, Daniel," Teal'c added. "A true friend for a true friend, a father for his son, a brother for his brother. Never doubt that."

"I don't. Not anymore. Not since I've been back. It's just that - "

"Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said, touching the archaeologist's shoulder and making eye contact with him, "if anyone ever tries to harm you, Major Carter, or Colonel O'Neill in any way, they will have me to answer to. Now let us not speak of it again. We have work to do."

SG-1 met up at the Gate four hours later. Jack was limping slightly and pushing Sam away. His fatigues were filthy, and his chin and hands were scraped.

"I've suffered through your attempts at first aid before, thank you, Major," he growled, as he sat down on a rock near the DHD - or at least where it had been when they arrived. "Uh, Carter, Daniel."

"It was here, Sir," Sam replied.

"Well, where could it have gone?" Daniel asked. "Teal'c?"

The Jaffa gave Daniel a look as if to ask, "Why are you asking me?" but he said nothing. He rarely spoke if he had nothing to say.

"Carter?" O'Neill said. "Is it possible that we gated to Nox-ville by mistake?"

"Uh, Jack," Daniel said slowly, "the Nox buried their Gate after we left."

"No, Sir, it's not possible," Sam said in answer to Jack's question. "Even if they unburied their gate, which is unlikely, the Nox homeworld is on the other side of the galaxy."

"Well, there was a DHD when we got here," the Colonel said firmly. "Wasn't there?

Sam, Teal'c, and Daniel looked at one another, then at Jack. They all agreed that they had seen the DHD when they came through the Gate.

Jack spread his hands wide. "So where'd it go?" he asked.

Daniel walked up the steps to the Gate, turned around abruptly, and started pacing off. He took a dozen strides.

"It should be..." he announced as he stopped right in front of the rock where Jack sat, P-90 cradled in his lap, "here. Where you're sitting."

Jack jumped up as if he'd been bitten by a snake.

"I was sitting on it?"

They all observed the rock.

"I don't think so, Sir," Sam said.

"It does not appear that the DHD was dragged from this location," Teal'c observed.

Defensively, Daniel said, "Don't look at me. I didn't touch it."

"Well, this sucks," Jack announced. "I had a big night planned. I was gonna ice down my knee and watch a hockey game."

"I was going to wash my hair, Sir," Carter said, rather perturbed, "and catch up on the latest reports from the Pentagon on naquadah research that Major Davis sent me."

Teal'c looked at his companions. "I had planned to watch the Terminator marathon on the SciFi Channel."

Daniel realized that it was his turn. He licked his lips. "Uh...I wasn't going to do anything."

"Now that I find hard to believe," O'Neill said incredulously.

"No, I mean it," Daniel replied. "I wasn't going to do anything."

"As in nothing?" asked Carter.

"Yeah. Nothing. A big fat nothing."

"Not even those Spongebob tapes Teal'c made for ya?" asked the Colonel.

"Nope. Nada."

"How do you do nothing? Jack asked. "You've never done nothing in your entire life."

"I'm practicing. I just lie on my bed in my quarters and do nothing."

"Well, that's not doing nothing," Jack argued. "That's lying on your bed. And when you lie on your bed, you usually fall asleep."

"Not these days," Daniel answered without apology. "And I'm getting better at doing nothing than I used to be."

"Geek," Jack replied.

"What did you say?" Daniel asked, looking hard at O'Neill.

"Geek."

"Once more."

"Geek. What don't you get?"

"This isn't real," Daniel said slowly, his hands beginning to accent his words as his agitation increased. "You haven't called me that in years. None of this is real. We're not on PX3-829. We're inside my head. This is a dream. This is all a dream. The DHD isn't missing. There never was one. I must still be in my quarters."

"Doing nothing?" asked Jack.

"No, I'm dreaming." Daniel put both of his hands on top of his head. "And if I don't wake up, I'm going to miss going through the Gate with you guys."

Jack squinted at him. "What the hell are you talking about, Daniel? We're through the Gate. We're on PX3-829. We have an entire planet at our disposal. We need a DHD so we can all go back home and do nothing."

"No, Jack, I need to wake up or we'll all go through the Gate and there won't be a DHD."

"Don't worry, Daniel," Sam said, gently touching his upper arm. "They'll establish a wormhole when we don't report in."

"But we won't be able to get back through an incoming wormhole, Sam, and I don't think the Russians have a backup DHD to ship here for us to dial out."

"Don't panic, Daniel," Jack said. "We'll be fine."

"Jack, don't you see," Daniel shouted at him. "If you don't let me wake up, I won't be able to go with you. And if I don't go with you, I won't be able to stop you."

"Well, maybe you don't wanna go with us."

"How can you say that? Of course, I do."

"Do not."

"Do."

"Hey, guys," said Sam, stepping between them. "Sir, Daniel's right. If we don't let him wake up, we'll never know there's not a DHD on PX3-829. We have to let him wake up. He's the only one who knows."

Jack pulled off his sunglasses and made a face, shaking his head as he shrugged.

"Fine, Carter, have it your way."

Sam turned to Daniel and took hold of his shoulders. "Come on, Daniel, wake up. You have to wake up."

Daniel blinked. The bright light cast by the event horizon reflected in his blue eyes just as Jack took a step toward it.

"NO!" Daniel shouted. "Jack, stop!"

Jack jumped back about three feet, turned, and ran back down the ramp.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud," he shouted at Daniel.

He was afraid something like this was going to happen. Daniel was flipping out over going through the Gate for the first time since Nicaragua. Damn it, Jack swore to himself, he should have seen this coming.

"Daniel, what's wrong?"

"We can't go to PX3-829," Daniel stammered. "We won't be able to get back."

"Why not?" asked Sam.

"Check the visual again," he insisted. "Go on, check it. There's no DHD. We won't be able to get back."

From the Control Room, Sergeant Davis was peering at the monitor. "He's right, Colonel O'Neill," he said into the microphone. "There's no DHD."

"Didn't the MALP show a DHD when it first went through?" Jack thundered.

"I'll have to replay the video, Sir," the sergeant replied, "but I could swear there was one. Now there isn't."

Daniel's legs trembled, and his knees buckled under him, forcing him to sit down on the edge of the ramp. Teal'c knelt beside him.

"How did you know, Daniel Jackson?" he asked.

"I must have been there...when I was..." His hands fluttered in the air. He hated saying the word ascended. "...You know."

Jack tilted his head. Daniel had saved his life and Teal'c's and Bra'tac's during "that Other Time." He was willing to accept anything Daniel told them about...then.

Daniel looked up at Jack. "This was supposed to be my first trip back through the Gate," he said.

Jack asked, "Disappointed?"

"Not now."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to find something else to do today?" the Colonel said. "Anybody got any ideas?"

The four of them looked at one another. They all shook their heads.

"I got nothing," Daniel said with a shrug.

"Me either," Carter said.

"Teal'c?" asked Jack.

"I think I should like to ride a bike," the Jaffa announced offering his hand to Daniel to assist him back to his feet. "Without training wheels."