Rites and Passage - part 3

[randomfreshink]

Title: Rites and Passage - Part 3
Rating/Warning: PG-13 for some language, gen
Spoilers: References Stargate (the movie), COTG, Enemy Within
Author:  randomfreshink
Recipient:   settiai
Request details: The very first mission-gone-wrong where SG-1 (who are still barely strangers) have to work together as a team in order to survive.
Didn't Want: AU. Any type of non-con. Non-canon character death (unless it's temporary since - hey, Stargate).
Notes: Much thanks to
fignewton for a fast and excellent beta--as always--and for indulging my insanity.

Staring into the blackness, Teal'c oriented himself. A Jaffa did not need sight to know his surroundings--that lesson was learned by those who wanted to survive. He wanted that now, so he hefted his staff weapon and considered the wisdom of discharging it in such small quarters. Then he tipped his head, aimed and fired at the door that separated him from his companions. Smoke and the burn of scorched air filled the room. In the fractured seconds of afterglow given off by the plasma burst, he saw that the door remained undamaged. He tried a second burst, and a third, which gave enough light to revealed the formation of a star-burst scoring. And nothing else.
            This material was not stone, but something that absorbed energy.
            And then he heard the sharp raps.
            Advancing toward the door, he stared at it. Then he stuck it three times with the butt of his staff--and decided that if he escaped this death, he must instruct the others in the coded communication required by warriors.
            Deactivating his weapon, he lowered it, and considered his very unacceptable situation.
            Slow suffocation in utter darkness would make a disagreeable death. That left his other options, and the one with a known outcome was that he could remove his symbiote.
            Without its aid to help him breathe even poor air, he would die. Before that, however, he would have the pleasure of hearing the death cries of the offspring of the false god Apophis. That would bring him satisfaction, but he judged it inadequate compensation.
            Lips pressed tight, he thought of firing at the door, again and again if he must. The three bursts, however, had used a portion of the air; his lungs already burned as they labored. Smoke stung his eyes and his throat, and his symbiote stirred within him, agitated by the need to help sustain the body that harbored it.
            Putting a hand over the pouch that had been carved into him decades ago, resentment swelled. Even without a god to whom he must kneel, he was still slave to the Goa'uld, held captive by his instinct to live, no matter what it took. For all its healing abilities, however, the Goa'uld could do no more than prolong the inevitable. Unless the others found a way to him, or unless he found his own way.
            Stretching out a hand, he walked forward until he found a wall. And then he kept walking. He had not been with the humans of the first world for long, but he had seen their passion for life, and for helping others, and so he knew they would be working to free him. However, he also knew they could blunder into things that were beyond their abilities. They took deplorable risks--he had seen that on Chulak. And they thought they could do more than any humans could.
            This was a grave weakness.
            It was also an irritating strength.
            They did the impossible just because no one had told them such things could not be done; these Tau'ri had killed Ra, and had survived Apophis' prison. And Teal'c knew he did not want them wandering the universe on their own--they would not survive if they kept doing such things. Not without a guardian and a guide.
            Prowling the room, he knew he must make his way back to his charges. On Chulak, he had given into his need to do more than hide his doubts and his transgressions--he had made himself responsible for these three by saving their lives. But then, O'Neill returned the obligation and saved his life. So they were bound now, forever put into the care of each other. It was a care he found himself unwilling to abandon.
            He also dared not think of what might be happening to these three without him to temper their ignorant arrogance. These were humans who thought two guards and a locked door enough to hold a Jaffa. He shook his head at the memory of such things. At the foolishness he had seen. He'd counted a dozen ways, before he got bored with the game, of killing his guards and freeing himself. He'd been given obvious chances to step up behind Daniel Jackson and break the scholar's neck, as he sat in a chair and wrote down the words of Goa'uld Teal'c spoke. Before they had trusted him with anything, he could have taken Captain Carter, or another such as her, as his hostage held for barter. O'Neill, of course, even without a weapon in his hands, had not been unarmed. But O'Neill had also asked for the help of Apophis' First Prime with a calm, clear voice, as if stating a certainty.
            Teal'c had his own certainty.
            He could not die here when he was needed elsewhere.
            Dragging his fingers over the smooth, cold material that was not stone, he searched for the escape that must be hidden. All he found were walls, and a few lines, groves that dipped under his touch. He scowled at them, but that did not force them to reveal an answer. So he walked the room again, and he tasted the air as it turned stale.
            He would not last long. An hour, perhaps two in his darkness. Three if he stopped moving and did as he should. He could slow the functions of his body--calm his heart rate, deepen his breaths. But he found himself unable to consider that choice.
            Would O'Neill sit down? Would Captain Carter, or even Daniel Jackson?
            That left him frowning and hesitating, for he was uncertain as yet what that scholar would do if he were trapped in this room. Work magic perhaps--was that not what words were said to do? The written word contained the secrets of the gods, and Daniel Jackson could read them, and Teal'c could not help but think of the old stories: those given rebirth by Ra were blessed. And he had heard that Daniel Jackson was among those very few. But, still, it seemed unwise in the extreme to bring a man with soft hands and such a soft voice into a war against the gods. That, however, was what O'Neill did--he had taken Daniel Jackson to Abydos and there they destroyed Ra.
            Teal'c wished to be with them when they destroyed Apophis as well.
            It was an impossible idea, this thought of killing a god, but he had not told them so, which meant they would do it. But to live to see such a day, he needed his freedom.
            He shook his head, and knew his mind was now affected by the vanishing air. It struck him as odd that if he had been left in a locked room on Earth, he would not be in a locked room here. In either place, however, his life was forfeit. He had defied his god. So he was dead. Yet, he was not so.
            It was a circumstance for which he had no precedent; there were no stories, no legends, no whispered tales of Jaffa who survived such blasphemy. That was, perhaps, the best reason to remain alive. If nothing else, his existence served as a beacon that the gods could be disobeyed. But he had had time enough in his few weeks with the Tau'ri to learn to want more.
            He wanted to see the world that O'Neill had promised to show him. He wanted Captain Carter to show him how the technology he had been taught only to use actually worked. He wanted to assist Daniel Jackson in finding his wife, so he could bow low to the man and offer an apology for the wrong done, and know his forgiveness had been earned.
            Even more, he wanted to ensure these three would not find too much trouble without him there to offer his protection and aide. And he did not want the image he could picture--of the others working long hours, succeeding at last, and then stepping into this room only to find his lifeless body--to come true. But he remembered the old saying that the shadow of death falls not where you wish.
            Which meant, he must make a better choice now.
            With a grimace, he sat down in the darkness, and began to slow his breaths so he could wait for the others to again find him.
#
            Jack was pacing still, and Sam had--thank god--given up on any more first aid. She'd offered the sling again, but Daniel had turned it down. If they had to move fast, having his arm trapped against his side would slow him, and he couldn't put the others at risk like that--and wasn't it odd to know he could hinder them? Then he thought about getting tossed into here--okay, maybe he actually wouldn't be allowed to slow anyone down, so much as they'd speed him up to whatever they needed. Now Sam stood with her arms folded, staring at the walls. She'd been over every inch with her hands, searching for some hidden trigger. There wasn't one. So there had to be something else.
            Getting to his feet, Daniel kept his right arm--and it would have to be his right--close to his side and went to the doorway.
            Jack stopped pacing long enough to stare at him, so Daniel lifted a hand, and said, "It has to open." He heard the frustration tight in his voice, but he knew this was the truth, even if it didn't look like it right now. "It closes, so it has to open," he said again.
            Shaking his head, Jack said, his voice softening, "Daniel, I don't think one implies the other."
            "Well, actually, sir--" Sam bit off the rest of the words at Jack's edged glare. Daniel ignored that--the man was just frustrated like the rest of them--and pointed to the lines on the door.
            "Door opens," he said. "That's how. That's got to be how."
            "And that would good, Daniel, if I could read squiggle. Or even if you could read squiggle."
            "Jack, a Neanderthal doesn't have to understand the physics of trajectories in order to throw a spear to kill something."
            Elbow propped on his gun, Jack tipped his head, then said, "You do realize you just compared yourself to a Neanderthal?"
            Daniel threw his good arm up and out. "That's because I am--at least, here I am. This culture was obviously highly advanced."
            Turning, Jack stared at the door. "Oh, yeah. I'm seeing real advanced."
            Lips pressed tight, Daniel decided actions would be better than words at the moment and…what the hell. All he had to lose was that he'd end up looking like an idiot, which had never stopped him from anything before.
            Wetting his lips, he let out a whistle. He started at high C, since the first wave forms were tight. The stare Jack locked on him shook him from his concentration, and he stuttered on a note. He glanced over at Jack, who had his eyebrows up and the phrase 'speaking expression' drifted into Daniel's head--as in Jack was saying, 'have you lost your mind?'
            But Carter stepped forward and brushed Daniel's good arm with a touch, an encouraging smile and a muttered, "Perfect pitch."
            Daniel glanced at her, then back to Jack, and he got a wave from him--or maybe that was just a hand thrown out for a whatever. Starting back at the high C, Daniel went up the scale. An octave later, he heard a click, so he sustained the note he was on while the rock slid down. The others froze, and then the door stopped after moving about a quarter of the way down.
            Stretching up, grinning, Jack took the flashlight from Carter and shone it into the gap. "Hey, Teal'c!"
            "O'Neill?"
            "We'll have you out of there in jiff."
            "What is a jiff?" Teal'c said, and Daniel wondered if it was his imagination, or was there faint relief in his voice. That would be a first--Teal'c actually expressing any kind of feeling, other than looking like he was thinking about thumping someone. Hard.
            "It's a real good thing--Daniel, you want to pick up the beat there?"
            "Right--sure, Jack." Wetting his lips again, Daniel switched over to middle C--the next set of lines looked to be middle register, not tight and high, and not shallow and low. They didn't get any results, so he switched to minor keys. And he thanked providence for the piano lessons he'd been forced to endue by well-meaning foster parents who'd thought it would help him think of things other than how fast your parents could die, but nothing had. However, a G minor took the door down to half way, and Daniel stepped back as Teal'c climbed over.
            Teal'c gave him a nod.
            Jack picked up his cap and slapped it on this thigh, then said, voice brusque, "Let's go."
            "Uh, Jack, don’t you think we should…."
            "Finish? No."
            "But I--"
            "Daniel, let's move. If you're right, we should be getting out of here soon."
            "But what if we have to finish everything?"
            Jack stopped and turned back to him.
            And Daniel's patience snapped. He'd been tossed around, scared out of his wits by some drug--and god only knew if it was still in his system--interrupted countless times, and his damn shoulder ached. "Fine. You guys go on. I'll just finish up."
            A strong hand grabbed the neck of his jacket, and Daniel braced for a hard shake, or to be thrown someplace again. He shot a glare over his shoulder, and found Jack staring hard at him. "Daniel, get one thing clear. You stay--we stay. We go--you go."
            "That's two things."
            "No, that's one thing. We're one thing."
            Blinking, Daniel tried to process this, but all he came up with was that his shoulder hurt, Teal'c looked pleased about something, and Sam was ducking her head to hide a smile. He glanced at Jack, wondering what he was missing, then realized--oh, yeah, that whole team thing Jack was so big about. He wasn't really sure he put much faith in it. For all his love of words, he'd found actions didn't always follow either the spoken or unspoken intent, which was why he tried to do both. But he nodded, then turned back to the door.
            Jack's hand fell away, and it only took another ten--okay, maybe twenty or so--minutes to get the door fully open.
            By then, Daniel's shoulder was a steady throb that told him he should have taken the sling, and his mouth had gone so dry he wasn't sure he'd ever wet it again. Turning, he followed Jack into the next room--and he hoped to god it really was the last one.
#
            It was empty. Bare. And the second Carter came into the room, bringing up their six, the door disappeared. Jack swore, and Teal'c's mouth pulled into the kind of grim that would look good on a death head. Teal'c started walking around the walls, trailing his hand along them. He came back when he was done, shaking his head.
            Jack swore again. And turned to find Daniel and Carter both staring at a yellow dot on the floor. It was in the center of the room, like the one that had gotten them here.
            Walking over to stand with them, just in case there was some kind of sensor that needed them in the middle, Jack waited. Teal'c took the spot opposite.
            Nothing happened.
            Jack looked up. The yellow dot seemed to be illuminated by a hole that was letting sunlight through. Jack glanced over at Daniel.
            "Rite? Passage? Trial? I'm thinking we're not getting a passing grade here."
            Daniel let out a breath, then looked up. "Maybe it's broken?"
            "Maybe it's them running rats through a maze," Jack said, the words sarcastic and sharp. Daniel and Carter swapped a look, and Jack saw the gears turning. "What?" he asked.
            "Not a test--experiment?" Daniel asked.
            Carter bit her lower lip, then asked, "What if this was set up after Ra had taken one of them as host?"
            "Oh god." Daniel's voice sounded hollow.
            Jack swapped a glance with Teal'c, but he looked about as clueless as Jack felt, so Jack asked again, "What?"
            He put an order into it this time, and if Daniel was keeping his head down and had his eyes closed, Carter at least responded and turned to him.
            "Sir, what if the story is true…"
            "It is. I know it is," Daniel muttered, eyes still closed.
            Carter glanced at him, then looked back, and for once she was keeping it short. "Let's assume the…beings that lived here were dying. They had the Stargate, so they went through--maybe exploring, maybe looking for something--someone--that could help them."
            "And one of them got snaked," Daniel said, the words bitter and harsh.
            "Ra," Teal'c said, breathing the word out, reverence there, as well as something Jack could only call loathing. Jack glanced at him, and he realized that you might topple a god, but belief bled out a lot slower.
            Turning back to Carter, he asked, "So not-Casper comes home with delusions of godhood?"
            "To a dying race--in a dying body," Carter said, then she glanced at Daniel, worry in her eyes. He seemed to feel the stare, since he looked up and met it. Then Daniel pulled in a breath and took over the explanation.
            "Ra arrives. He finds technology he can use. Maybe he's even able to fit in for a time--the way Ka--" Daniel broke off at the name, glanced at Jack, and Jack shook his head. He'd meant it when he said that his friend had died on an operating table. The thing that had died with its head sliced off in a Stargate that was shut down--that had been a thing. Not the guy he'd served with. And, sure as hell, not his friend.
            Daniel nodded as if he understood, and picked up his words again. "Anyway, Ra arrives. We all know what the Goa'uld are--so how long is it before he's taken over and exploiting this world. Searching for a more viable host?"
            "And this is the way to find one?" Jack asked.
            "I don't think it started that way. Maybe. But I think--the hall, it had a different feel, didn't it? This might even be the origins of the stories about underworld passages to the land beyond the dead. Tests in order to prove your worth and find entry to the eternal afterlife. With it, Ra found species he could better use."
            Jack shook his head. "Us. So he came calling."
            Mouth pulling down, Daniel nodded. He looked about ten, and like a kid who'd been told he wasn't adopted and was never going to be adopted--Jack knew that story, too. And his hands curled around his gun as Daniel kept on in a tone of resigned loss, as if this was nothing new to him.
            "He probably stripped the place. Used what resources there were to build a ship. And having met Ra, I'm betting he wouldn't have left anyone alive. Not even his lab rats. He didn't like sharing. So he must have sealed this off like it was a tomb. And then he left--to become the sun god who made night into day with his presence."
            "And so he could steal some other kid's body--can we go back and nuke him again?" Jack asked, then he looked up. "Or maybe we just need a nuke here."
            "Oh no," Daniel said, at the same time as Carter's, "Sir, you can't."
            He glanced at each of them, took in the pale faces, then nodded to a corner of the room. "You two over there. Teal'c, give me your staff weapon."
            Carter and Daniel swapped stares, and Jack figured this could be where it fell apart ended. He'd had Daniel balk once so far--would he dig in his heels and head over to total insubordination, and take Carter with him? Because Carter would see Daniel's reasonable side of things?
            He looked over at Teal'c and glimpsed more of the same hesitation--that uncertainty about trusting him. Hell, not that many minutes ago, he'd been one move away from blowing them all up in order to get Teal'c out. He'd done something to Daniel's shoulder by tossing him over that closing door, but he'd had Teal'c's help for that. And now it came down to the line--how far would these three follow him?
            He needed them willing to pretty much go over a cliff with him, and this was the current cliff. Because they had to trust that he was getting home, and he was taking them with him.
            Daniel was the one whose eyes cleared first. He just went over to the corner and sat down like the good soldier he wasn't. Jack looked at him, met the faintly amused look he got back, and he just knew what Daniel was thinking.
            At least we'll all die together if this goes wrong.
            He shook his head at Daniel, but that faint, ironic amusement didn't go away.
            Carter went next, eyes so bright they could just about burn. And he knew, if this went wrong, she'd be haunting his ass for all eternity. Joining Daniel, she tried for a positive smile for him, and Jack turned to Teal'c.
            He held out his hand, and wiggled his fingers. Teal'c glanced down at that open hand, then at his staff weapon, and Jack knew he'd have had an easier time if he'd told Teal'c to strip. In fact, when he thought about it, he'd rather give up his uniform and his boots, instead of the gun at his side. Which was one of the reasons he was asking Teal'c for his weapon.
            With an eyebrow arching high, Teal'c took the staff in both hands, and Jack had an uneasy flash of how quick Teal'c could slam the end of it into someone's head. But Teal'c handed it over like he was handing over his pride. With a small bow, he headed over to the others.
            Jack gave Teal'c a nod and was glad to see the guy staying in front of the others, keeping them shielded. Then Jack got busy with the C4.
            This was going to be dicey. He wanted enough of a boom to give them rubble they could climb up, without such a big bang that he brought the house down--literally--on them. Slicing a chunk of C4, he wrapped it around the staff weapon's trigger, then put in a detonator. Then he took another chunk of C4, put another detonator on it, and set it to two minutes--and he hoped like anything his high school baseball days didn't fail him.
            Looking up, he slammed up the second slab of C4. It smacked into the hole in the ceiling and clung, and Jack told the mother to stay put. Then he lit out for the corner with the others. They all huddled, him over Carter and Daniel, and Teal'c over all of them, as the blast echoed. Choking dust billowed swirled into the room, and Jack rose, his ears echoing as he went to stare at the damage.
            About what he thought--a hole, but not big enough for anyone to fit through, and no way to get up there. He glanced down at the staff in his hands and when he looked up--Teal'c stood in front of him, boots planted wide and his hand held out.
            "You will allow me, O'Neill."
            Jack smiled and shook his head. If anyone was doing this, it was him. Then he had that soft nagging voice calling his name--just his name. Just that one word.
            "Jack?"
            He glanced over at Daniel, and took in that he had both of them--Carter and Daniel--staring at him, willing him to listen to reason. That's when he knew that it wouldn't be long before he'd have their voices nagging in his head if he so much as forgot to brush his teeth--he could tell. He glanced from one to the other--Carter telling him without words that he'd done enough in coming up with the plan, and Daniel's glare saying that he damn well better learn how to let the people who could do their job do their job.
            And they were right--damnit.
            He pushed the staff at Teal'c. "You've got time for one try, so make it work."
            "I have a good aim, O'Neill. And a steady hand. And I have been handling a staff such as this for more years than you have been alive."
            "Yeah, well, let's hope you're also a lucky son-of-bitch." He slapped the guy's arm, and went over to crouch next to Carter and Daniel, then said, "Let 'er rip when you're ready, buddy."
            He thought about how it was a little odd to be calling an alien any kind of 'buddy'--and then the world exploded.
#
            Daniel wasn't sure when things stopped falling on him, but it was after the gong in his ears stopped ringing. He blinked, coughed, and could see nothing. Dust coated his glasses. He coughed again, wincing as pain flared in his shoulder. So he kept still. He had weight on his good shoulder, and on his legs, and he had his head bent over.
            Buried alive, he thought. And the detached interest in that left him certain that he had a minor concussion, because under normal circumstances this situation would be causing serious panic. He'd had a concussion once before and knew how you felt fine, and then couldn't remember things like which end of the tent was the one you went into. He could also remember Sam saying something about the impact of sound in a small space, but this was his first experience with anything like that, so he started to sit up so he could take better note of what it was like. That had the pain flaring again, so he let out a muffled, "Ouch."
            "Daniel?"
            Jack's voice sounded a long way off, and for some reason that just plain irritated. "Well, it's not Casper, or whoever the hell you thought we'd find here."
            Something shifted off his legs, then off his shoulder and head, and he was able to look up and over his dusty glasses. Jack was a blurry figure to the left--and seemed to be leaning on something since he wasn't quite vertical. Then Daniel looked over and saw Sam crouched next to him. He almost laughed at how she looked. Instead, he put out a finger and drew a line down her cheek.
            "Face powder," he said, and grinned. Then he heard a clatter and glanced toward the sound. Teal'c was standing and just as grime coated. "You look like a ghost. Like Casper?"
            "I assure you, Daniel Jackson, I am a living being."
            "Well, some people think spirits are alive, too. God, I'm babbling, aren’t I?"
            "No more than usual. You need a hand?" Jack asked.
            Daniel thought about it, willed his legs to move--they did, and that was about as far as it went. "Yeah, I think I could do." He held up a hand as he frowned at that sentence, because something was wrong with it.
            While he thought about words, Teal'c pulled him up, left him propped against a wall, and then he pulled Sam--Captain Carter--to her feet, so it wasn't as embarrassing as it could have been that he needed to be hauled around like this. Daniel leaned toward her. "It's like being drunk without the fun part."
            She smiled up at him, her teeth white amid the dust. "Just the day after--I'll take a day after this anytime."
            He swiped a matching mark down her other cheek, then told her, "War paint."
            With a nod, she took his glasses off, folded them and tucked them into his vest pocket. Then she drew wavy lines on his forehead. "That means I like you in the local dialect."
            "Will you two get your dusty butts over here!"
            Jack's muted shout had them both glancing over at him, and Daniel hoped he didn't look as guilty as Sam did. Then she blanked the look, and he decided that when he got back to the base, he could trust her with the secret to where his snack cache was kept. It was a habit he'd acquired in grad school, when he'd more or less lived off rice and anything else cheap and able to survive storage. Teal'c helped them both get their butts, and the rest of their bodies, over to where Jack stood beside a sloping pile of rubble.
            "Careful going up. Test everything before you trust it not to move."
            Daniel glanced at the pile of rubble, then looked at Jack. "You've got to be kidding me. Up? That?"
            "Yes. Now."
            "I will carry you, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said, and the offer sounded about as solid as Teal'c, so Daniel almost took him up on it. But then he thought how his weight might over-balance both of them. Back teeth gritted, he knew he'd better take the other option.
            He went up fast, scrabbling over the unstable rocks, not giving them time to roll out before he was onto the next. He used both hands, and his boots and even his knees, and he scraped the hell out of his palms, but the Air Force seemed to make uniforms with the idea you'd be doing this to them, because it came out better that he did. Once on flat ground, he gave into the pain and sat down hard, trying to breath through his mouth and the worst of it.
            Then he realized Jack was yelling, so he got up and sidled over to the edge of what was a good sized pit.
            "Hey, Jack."
            "Daniel, so help me--you have got to stop--"
            "What? You said up now."
            "I didn't mean hare outta here like a desert rabbit with its tail on fire."
            "Oh, very funny, hare…rabbit."
            Jack was starting to get red-faced from staring up--or maybe from something else--so Daniel decided to move away from the pit and sit down.
            He heard a muffled debate--Sam saying something about how it was a good idea to go fast, and Jack still grousing about the need for caution.
            "Didn't see you thinking about that when you were making a good size crater, Jack," Daniel yelled. Then he started counting, because the concussive shock was wearing off, meaning he was feeling every ache in every muscle, and about to crash from fatigue.
            But Sam--not Jack--came up next. Scrambling up, so he'd bet she'd gone fast. Brushing off her hands, she glanced around.
            They were just outside the largest building again--the gathering hall, Daniel had named it, in his head--and back in the main plaza, not far from the Stargate. The sun was starting to go down, and a bitter chill left Daniel happy to huddle against a stone wall that still held some warmth from the sun. Then Sam came over to sit next to him.
            She'd shucked off her pack so she was missing it now, but she pulled a couple of aspirin from her vest pocket and he decided he'd not only show her his snack stash when they got back, he'd give her half.
            "Where'd you learn that?" she asked. He paused with her canteen halfway to his mouth and just looked at her. She grinned back. "Oh, dumb question--right. You've been climbing over ruins since when--college?"
            "Oh, long before then." His mouth twisted. "About another lifetime before then."
            She frowned and started to ask something, but Teal'c came up out of the rubble. Then he turned and lay belly to the ground and reached down. Jack's voice lifted, cursing, telling Teal'c he could make it on his own. They heard rocks slide, and more curses, and Daniel shook his head.
            "Is this going to get ugly?"
            It didn't. Jack came out of the hole, dusty and grumpy, but with his gun still slung over his shoulder, and Daniel blinked at that. He'd gotten his glasses back on, and managed to wipe them somewhat free of dust by pulling his trouser pocket inside-out. But that had dust on it too. About the only place he figured he didn't have that fine powder was next to his toes, because he knew how to lace boots tight enough that not even fine desert sand could make it inside.
            Jack glanced around at them, then he pulled his cap out of his back pocket, slapped it on his thigh--which raised enough of a dust cloud that Teal'c coughed and moved away. Jack glanced at him then lifted a hand. "Hey, sorry…"
            Daniel was pretty sure Jack wasn't talking about the dust and he glanced at Teal'c--who had his hands behind his back as if he didn't know what to do with them without something lethal in his grip. Daniel almost wanted to offer him his sidearm, but Teal'c inclined his head and said, "I shall endeavor to acquire another weapon before our next mission."
            "Uhm…have you thought about switching to a gun?" Daniel asked.
            Teal'c glanced at him, his head tipped, and Daniel wondered if he was getting this condescending courtesy because Teal'c thought non-warrior types needed to be indulged because of their inadequacies. But, then, Teal'c gave this kind of courtesy to Sam, and to the general, so maybe it was just his way of being nice.
            "O'Neill's weapon is formidable. As is a staff weapon in the right hands."
            With a smile, Daniel nodded. And no way was he stepping into that and saying Teal'c's hands were anything but right. "Well, uh, new staff weapon--getting one? Sounds dangerous."
            Teal'c allowed an almost smile and his eyes brightened. "Indeed."
            Sitting up, Sam brushed at the dust, then said, "There might be something left behind by Ra. We do have two more days here."
            Looking at her--the bright eyes and the wind blush stung onto pale cheeks--Daniel decided he wasn't the only one who'd come out of this a little concussed. Then Jack looked up from staring into the hole, and glanced over to Sam.
            "Think we could dig those rings out of that hall and--"
            "Jack--you're talking about vandalizing a site that's probably the only thing left of these people!" Struggling to his feet, Daniel hugged his aching arm. "Besides, I doubt you could get those rings out without major destruction--Sam, could you get them out without destroying the hall?"
            Biting her lower lip, she turned to spit out dust, then shook her head. "We don’t even know how they work--plus, if we got them out, it's doubtful we'd be able to interface working controls or a power source. And there's the risk that--"
            "This is a find we should leave intact until there's technology that can be used to study it--that should become standard procedure."
            Jack let out a breath, and Daniel braced for the verbal explosion. Instead, Jack looked at him, then said, "You're right."
            Blinking, Daniel felt for a wall behind him so he could lean on it. "What?"
            "It's a good idea. We'll button it up, and if we ever figure out how we can check this stuff out, we'll come back."
            "Really?" Daniel said, and almost winced at that trace of wistful hope in his voice. He must be shockier than he knew to let that out. But he kept trying to remember the last time someone had agreed with him like this. Then he remembered people sitting around a table and agreeing that cultural imperatives were important, too. And he decided he could get to like this.
            "Daniel, I get it. Really. Now let's go home. We'll go shopping with Teal'c later, after we get cleaned up."
            Jack started to walk away, and Daniel glanced over as Sam started to follow Jack. Teal'c nodded, then fell into step the others. And Daniel blinked and for some odd reason, he wanted to sit down right where he was. Everything he'd been through in the past weeks hit in a rush, and he wondered suddenly if that damned whatever from those tunnels was still affecting him, since there was a fine tremor in his chest and a burn at the back of his eyes.
            "Daniel!" Jack called out, startling him, and he looked up and over at Jack--then looked around at the ruins.
            But he'd just made a good argument for leaving. He'd also lost his pack with his video camera, and the only equipment they had was on the MALP. He'd even lost his journal, so he couldn't notate or record anything. And Jack was right--they really did need to get cleaned up.
            Trailing after the others, he found them waiting, and he remembered what Jack had said.             You go--we go. You stay--we stay.
            He didn't think that was actually practical or possible, but it was a good sentiment. And it began to sink in that Jack meant it. Trying to piece that together, he looked at Jack--really looked--and he wondered then what Jack saw in each of them. And suddenly, he had to know. He had to because it was important--something he could notate and record in his head.
            Stopping, he asked, "Jack, what do you see in us?"
            Everyone turned and stared at him, and the silence started to stretch to uncomfortable. Great, this was one of those times he should have kept his mouth shut.
            Then Jack walked over to him, gave him a hard look, and jerked a thumb towards Sam.
            "Carter there--she's an overeducated overachiever who wants to be one of the guys. And if anyone ever tells me she's not, I'll let her kick his ass for him."
            Daniel glanced over at Sam, saw her expression move from stiff to a startled smile that she was trying to hide--so this must be a compliment. At least, it was good she was taking it that way, because Daniel wasn't sure he would.
            Jack nodded to Teal'c next.
            "Him? Trouble on two legs, and if I tell him I know he's signed on for the long ride, he's going to make my life hell, because he is going to cut you two way too much slack, and me none. And he's going to give Hammond headaches like no one else ever has. He's also going to keep you two from giving me those same headaches--aren't you?"
            Jack glanced over to Teal'c and the larger man gave a small nod, and he also looked pleased with the summary, although Daniel doubted it was intended as flattery. But maybe that was the point--it wasn't flattery. It was honest. And blunt. Which pretty much summed up Jack, too.
            "And you?" Jack said.
            Almost wishing he hadn't asked, but still needing to know, Daniel glanced at the other man, then lifted his eyebrows and his chin. "Yes, me?"
            Jack's eyebrows lifted even higher and a smile started but didn't quite escape. "Yep. You."
            With a thump on Daniel's shoulder, Jack turned and started back to the 'gate. Sam's eyes tightened with a question, and Teal'c stared at Daniel for a long moment before nodding as well and then moving off. Following, Daniel fell into step with Sam and she leaned closer.
            "What was that about?"
            Daniel thought about it, then looked at her and this time he did smile. "Honesty. I think."
            "But--he didn't say anything about you?"
            Daniel nodded. "Sam, aren't there things you just know? And--well, I'm probably going to end up saying them at some point anyway." Daniel let out a breath--self-evaluation was important, but sometimes it was just damn exhausting. Today was one of those times so he'd just put off the rest of this if he could.
            Sam scuffed her boot on the paving stone and glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. But then she nodded. "So you think we're his kind of people, then?"
            Jack's voice lifted again, nagging, "Come on, kids. Bus is leaving, and we need to get Daniel patched before his warranty expires."
            Hugging his injured arm even tighter, because every step jostled it, Daniel shook his head. But as Sam dialed home, Daniel looked at the city, trying to absorb details. Jack was next to him, bumped him with an elbow, so Daniel glanced at the man and thought about everything here they didn't understand--all the things almost in reach, but not.
            Then he asked, "Do you think the number four here was something mystical--maybe a lucky number, even?"
            Putting his hand on Daniel's good shoulder, Jack tried to keep his stare on the city, because, for some weird reason, when you looked at Daniel, you found yourself telling him things you didn't want to say in the first place. There were times the guy acted like a truth serum, and Jack knew it was because the guy demanded honesty from himself with such an intensity that it spilled out and started pulling the same from the people around him. Despite, his intentions, Jack found his stare pulled to Daniel anyway.
            This close he had a good view of the wide blue eyes behind the dust smeared glasses. All that focus that Daniel could bring, sizzled like a live wire sparking in those eyes. And Jack found himself revisiting the almosts and the what ifs.
            They'd had a close scrape here, but it would have been worse without Daniel poking into things, and without Carter and Daniel getting their heads together. And without Teal'c there to ground them all, like that favorite uncle you'd always wanted who'd spoil you crazy but remember your bedtime and get you there.
            There was lots to work with these three, yet, but not a bad start. And he'd at least gotten what he'd wanted from these ruins. Glancing at the other two, Jack gave them a nod.
            Sam sent them a smile, then stepped through the active wormhole, Teal'c a step behind her. Jack left his hand on Daniel's good shoulder, kept the touch light, but made it strong enough to turn Daniel to the 'gate and start pushing him through.
            "Oh, yeah, Daniel," he said, as he let a smile out. "Four's lucky all right." 
Rites and Passage - Back to Part 1

Rites and Passage - Back to Part 2