THE BOTTLE by: Maria Guyan Feedback to: petlady5@yahoo.com ***** DISCLAIMER: All characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp. and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author. ***** Daniel lay back on the bunk and closed his eyes. He hadn't slept in at least 36 hours. P3X392 had proven to be a wealth of artifacts even though the inhabitants were long gone. He had been up all night translating and had to make two trips through the gate just to bring back a small sample of what the planet had to offer. He would definitely be looking forward to visiting the planet again. His thoughts started to drift as sleep came. *Daniel * He opened his eyes and glanced around the room while reaching for his glasses on the nightstand. No one was in the room it had to be his imagination. He took off his glasses and eased back onto the bed. He closed his eyes and heard it again. *Daniel, you must get up, Daniel* He sat up. No, that definitely was not his imagination. It was definitely a woman's voice, but where was it coming from? He grabbed his glasses again and put them on. The voice called out *The bottle, Daniel. You must get the bottle * Bottle? What bottle? Then, he knew. He didn't know how, but he knew that there was a bottle hidden behind the desk. He got up and reached behind the desk. He felt around until his fingers finally brushed against something. He brought it out. Flipping on the light, he held it up to look at it. A sort of pink vapor swirled around inside. He gently shook it, but the swirl did not change. *Open the bottle, Daniel * He looked around again hoping to catch sight of the woman whom the voice belonged to, but still, no one was there. He looked at the bottle. The voice urged again *Open the bottle, Daniel * He knew that it was a bad idea. His mind was screaming at him not to, but he watched as his fingers tightened around the cap and twisted it off. The pink vapor stopped its swirling for a moment before drifting out of the bottle. It floated into the air and towards his face. He took a deep breath and his mind screamed again to stop one final time before he stopped thinking all together. ***** Jack O'Neill walked out of the debriefing room, heading straight for the elevators. It had been a long and boring mission. No people. No gou'alds. Nothing but artifacts. Yet, who had to sit through the three-hour debriefing? Daniel, the artifacts king? No! Jack O'Niell. Daniel got to go back to his quarters to sleep. Gen. Hammond had thought that he looked too tired to participate right away. In Jack's opinion, the whole debriefing should have been called off then until Daniel could join them. Without him, the whole thing had been: The Gen. asks a question, Jack says, "Well, sir, Daniel would be able to answer that better." And the Gen. glares at Jack. See? No point whatsoever. Even Carter had gotten to go home. Jack was jerked out of his thoughts when the alarms started to blare a moment after he stepped out of the elevator to ground level. "Unauthorized gate access! Repeat, unauthorized gate access!" the speakers shouted. Jack paused a second considering telling the General that he had already been out of the building when the alarms went off. That he hadn't heard a thing, but thought better of it and headed back into the elevator and pressed the button for gate level. ***** Jack arrived just in time to hear the technician say, "No, sir, our side is initiating it." "Well, who's in there, airman?" The general snapped. "No one as far as I know." The gateroom guard burst into the control room. "It's Dr. Jackson, sir. He was the only one in room." "Open this shield." The Gen. ordered indicating the shield over the observation window that prevented anyone passing through the room from seeing the gate. The shield opened to reveal the gate's inner ring spinning as the chevrons locked in. Daniel stood calmly at the bottom of the gate, watching. "Why isn't anyone in there stopping him?" The Gen. demanded. "He's overridden the door locks, sir. We can't get in." The guard informed him. The General looked like he wanted to hit someone or at least something but thought better of it. Instead, he grabbed the microphone. "Just what do you think you're doing, Dr. Jackson?" The General asked into the microphone, which projected his voice into the gateroom. Daniel looked up at the group crowded around the window for a moment. When the last chevron locked, however, he turned back to the gate, walked up the ramp, and was gone. The group stared in silence as the wormhole disengaged behind him. The General regained his composure first. "Where did he do?" The technician snapped out of it and turned back to the computer screen. He punched in a few commands and watched as the chevrons appeared on the screen. There was no need to speak. Everyone knew this sequence by heart. They were the chevrons for Chulak. ***** Daniel emerged from the gate to be greeted by two Jaffa with their staff weapons activated and pointed at his chest. He looked at them with no fear in his eyes. "Take me to your Queen." He stated simply. One Jaffa approached him and looked at him carefully. He raised his hand as if to strike Daniel on the face, but Daniel remained where he was as if not even registering the threat. The Jaffa stood back. "It is as was told." He announced to the other Jaffa. "Come." He told Daniel. The three of them walked silently towards the palace. ***** "Now, would anyone care to explain to me why Dr. Jackson just went to Chulak instead of being at home sleeping, like he was supposed to?" The General asked. He stood in front of the debriefing table where Col. O'Neill, Capt. Carter, and Teal'c sat. He placed his hands on the table. "I don't know, sir. This isn't like Daniel to go running off without telling us, especially not to Chulak." Capt. Carter said, stifling a yawn. She had been on her way home when the General called her cell phone and ordered her back to the base. "Sir, there must be an explanation for all this. That did not look like the Daniel I know in that gateroom." Jack offered. "Yes, he did appear to be altered. Perhaps we could find the cause for this .. change." Teal'c suggested. The door to the debriefing room opened and Dr. Frasier stepped in. "Glad you could join us, doctor." General Hammond said, motioning for her to sit at the table. "Did you find anything unusual in Dr. Jackson's post-mission exam today?" "No, sir. He was very fatigued, but in perfect health. All the tests came back normal. I just sent him to get some sleep." "And what was his response when you told him to get some rest, doctor?" "Well, I suggested that he have someone drive him home since he was practically falling asleep on the examining table. He said that he would rather just stay on base, since he'd probably fall asleep on the way home and would hate to have an airman have to carry him to his apartment. I didn't see a problem with that so I walked him to the door and he left down the hall." "Then, perhaps that is the place we should look." Teal'c said. "Alright, then. Search Dr. Jackson's room and the area around it. Meet back here in one hour and let me know what you find. Dismissed." The group stood up and walked out the door. They all had the same question on their minds. What could make Daniel go to Chulak alone and unarmed? ***** Daniel and the two Jaffa entered the palace through the front gates. The Jaffa inside gave them a questioning look, but did not attempt to stop them. Daniel silently followed the Jaffa down the hallway, looking straight ahead. One turned to him as they reached a pair of elaborately decorated doors. "Wait here." Daniel nodded. The Jaffa disappearing into the room. A minute later he reemerged and motioned to Daniel. "You may enter." Daniel walked into the room without question. The walls were lined with Jaffa guards. Daniel walked past them without a single glance straight to the throne where a woman sat. He kneeled before her. She stood and walked the few steps to him. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she indicated for him to stand. He did and looked into her eyes. "Excellent," she murmured, looking him up and down. "Did you have any trouble getting here?" She asked as she ran a hand through his long blonde hair. "No, my Queen, I know the gate better than they do. It was easy to keep them from stopping me." She smiled at him, then took his hand leading him out of the room. After a few minutes of walking down hallways, they came upon a room and he Jaffa opened the door. They entered a large bedchamber. She led him over to the bed and pushed back the covers. He lay down and she pulled them back up, tucking him in like a mother would a child. She caressed his cheek as she watched him struggle to keep his eyes open. Finally, she removed his glasses laying them on the table beside her. She leaned down until their lips where almost touching. "Sleep now. You must rest." He nodded silently before she kissed him. When she pulled back, he was already asleep. ***** Jack, Samantha, and Teal'c stepped out of the elevator to the level where the crew's quarters were. It was night, but most of the rooms were probably empty. No one slept here unless they absolutely had to. They would much rather be at home in their own beds. Jack found Daniel's room and pushed open the door. "Well, he obviously tried to go to sleep, the bed isn't made." Jack observed. The others crowded into the small room with him. They began to look around for any indication of why Daniel would have left. Carter spotted a bottle on its side next to the bed. She picked it up. "A perfume bottle, what would Daniel have that for?" Jack took it from her. "Maybe there are some thing Daniel hasn't told us about." Jack said sarcastically. He sniffed the bottle even though it was empty. His eyes took on a dazed look and he shook his head. "Hathor." He almost whispered. Carter grabbed the bottle from him and sniffed it also. "I don't smell anything." Jack looked at her, blinking as if trying to clear his mind. "Yeah, Carter, you wouldn't. Remember, doesn't affect women." Carter nodded. "Are you all right, sir?" she asked Jack. "Yeah, Captain, I'm fine. It's powerful stuff, that's all." "It appears Hathor left this for Daniel Jackson in the possibility that she would be defeated." Teal'c thought aloud. "OK, let's get this to Dr. Frasier and see what she makes of it." Captain Carter said heading for the door. ***** Daniel was in a dreamless sleep. All he could see was darkness, but his mind kept calling out to him. *We have to get out of here * His mind urged. Why? It's nice here. Everything will be fine. You'll see. *Nice here? Can you hear yourself? It's anything BUT nice here * No, no, you'll see. Our Queen will come back and everything will be fine. *This is Hathor we're talking about. Don't you remember the last time we met her? She used you. She just wants to do it again! * Daniel was growing tired of this argument. Why couldn't his mind understand that this was for the best? He wanted it to understand, but didn't know how to convince it. Suddenly, another voice was heard. It was Hathor. *You must rest, my beloved. We will come for you tonight. Sleep. * He smiled in his sleep and relaxed. The voice of his mind died away. All he could hear was the soothing voice of his Queen. ***** "It's definitely Hathor's." Dr. Frasier said as she glanced over the test results. "She must have breathed some of her pheromones into the bottle and told Daniel where to find it in case she was forced to leave." "Yeah, but why wouldn't Daniel remember that and tell us." Jack asked. "Do you remember everything that happened to you while she was here, Col.?" Dr. Frasier asked. "For all we know, she could have one of these bottles hidden for every man on this station." "That's it. I want a base-wide search. Anyone finding one of these is to report immediately. And whatever you do, don't open it!" The general told the two airmen standing next to him. They hurried out the infirmary doors to inform the rest of the base. "Why would he open it now?" Captain Carter asked. "It's been over 2 weeks since Hathor left. Daniel's been acting perfectly normal. He gave no indication that he was going to do something like this." "That's a good question, Sam. Unfortunately, I don't have a definite answer. I can only see two possibilities. Either, A, he came on it by accident and opened it to see what was inside. Or, B, the link to Hathor wasn't completely broken when the wormhole disengaged. Maybe it still exists on a subconscious level until she activates it. There's no way of knowing." "OK, maybe she does still have a link to him." Jack said. "But, if that's true, then why hasn't she mobilized the entire base? We were all affected by her little potion. Why just Daniel?" "Because he is her beloved." Teal'c stated. ***** "The search has turned up nothing. This is the only bottle on the base, which leads me to believe that Hathor only wanted Daniel in case of an emergency." General Hammond began when they returned to the debriefing room. "Well, I would say almost getting burned to a crisp would constitute an emergency? Wouldn't you Teal'c?" Jack said. "I would, O'Neill." "OK, then let's go get Daniel!" Jack said standing. "Not just yet, Col." General Hammond stopped him. "We both know that any men you take to that planet would be under her control before they knew what was happening, yourself included." Carter started to open her mouth to speak, but the General cut her off as well. "Before you say it, Captain, we don't have enough female troops here to launch a rescue operation. It worked here, and we're all grateful, but you have more to deal with on Chulak than Hathor and a base full of men. She probably has an army of Jaffa ready for you as soon as you step out of the gate." Jack was silent for a moment, then spoke, "Alright, sir, then what's the plan?" General Hammond was interrupted by the door opening to reveal Dr. Frasier. She nodded to the group and walked over to General Hammond handing him a small pistol. "Wasn't aware that weapons were your specialty now, Janet." Jack joked. "They aren't, Col." "Thank you, Doctor. Seeing as you're already here, why don't you explain our plan of attack?" General Hammond offered. "Thank you, sir. Since Hathor left, the general's been having me develop an antidote for her pheromones in case we ever met her again. I had a few possibilities, but no way to test them. Thanks to that bottle and Lt. Brody volunteering to test it, I've found one that works." "And how effective is this? Hathor's is pretty strong. A lot stronger than what's in that bottle." "There's no way to be sure without testing it without Hathor here and I seriously doubt that she'll offer to help us test it." Janet joked. "Lt. Brody said that he didn't feel anything and wasn't even able to smell it after taking one of these." She held up a small bottle of pills. "In other words, his reaction was then the same as a woman's would be. I couldn't smell anything either." Janet handed the bottle of pills to Jack. "You'll be the only one needing these since Sam and Teal'c are immune." "So, how many am I supposed to take?" Jack eyed the pill he had shaken out, suspiciously. "Take one now, then whenever you start to feel something. I wish I could give you a timeline, but I can't speculate how strong Hathor's is." "Trust me, it's strong," Jack said as he poured himself a glass of water and downed two of the pills. Captain Carter watched Jack, then turned to General Hammond. "With all due respect, sir, why are we going alone? There are more than three women on this base and you wouldn't let us attempt a rescue saying that there weren't enough. But you are willing to send just the three of us go?" Carter was starting to get agitated. "Captain, the plan would not work with a group of women. You'd be shot on sight." "What exactly is the plan, sir?" "It's simple, Captain. We already know that Hathor dislikes you. She probably already has an order out for your capture. The three of you are going to go through the gate and allow yourself to be captured. I doubt that she'll have any of you killed on sight. Once in, the Col. will likely be taken straight to Hathor. Once he shows her that he is under her spell again, he'll be given access to Daniel." Sam interrupted him. "What about Teal'c and me, sir?" "You and Teal'c will likely be taken to a holding cell until Hathor wants to deal with you. You are to remain there until Col. O'Neill comes for you." Carter looked like she was about to protest, but thought better of it. The General continued, "Col. once you get to Dr. Jackson, make sure he's alright, then release Capt. Carter and Teal'c. The three of you need to get him out of there as quickly and silently as possible. He's not going to want to leave with you. If you can get him to swallow one of these pills, great. If not, use this." He held up the pistol Dr. Frasier had brought him. "It contains a dart with a strong sedative. He'll be unconscious for at least three hours. That's more than enough time for you to get him back through the gate." "Sir, wouldn't it be easier to just shoot Daniel with a liquid form of these pills? He's heavier than he looks. It would help if he could walk rather than drag him around Chulak." Jack suggested. "Granted, Col., that would be the preferred way, but we've tested that possibility. The antidote only works in the pill form." "Now, if there aren't any more questions, SG-1 leaves in 10 minutes. Dismissed." ***** Daniel woke up feeling better and more rested than he had ever felt in his entire life. He took a deep breath and Hathor's pheromone-laced breath filled his lungs. He smiled and turned towards the source. Hathor sat in a chair next to the bed. She handed him his glasses. "How long was I asleep?" Daniel asked as he put them on. "Many hours, our beloved. We awaited your awakening with great anticipation, but could not hurry the process. You are well rested now?" Daniel sat up and stretched. "Very." "Excellent." She handed him a small stack of clothing. "Dress, then we shall speak." With that, she stood and left the room. Daniel got out of bed and quickly dressed, eager to rejoin Hathor. When he emerged from the bedroom, the Jaffa motioned for him to follow and guided him to a small hall. In the middle of the room was a table filled with delicious looking food. Hathor was seated in one of the chairs. When he entered the room, she stood and crossed to him. She looked over his new clothing and nodded her approval. Taking him by the hand, she led him to the table. "Please, sit and eat. You must be hungry." Daniel sat himself next to her and began to slowly eat. The food tasted as delicious as it looked and he was soon full. He looked around the room that they were in. Many tapestries lined the walls. They told of the countless battles that Apophis had fought and won. He noticed Hathor watching him. "You seem puzzled." "I am." Daniel replied and glanced around the room for Jaffa. Seeing none, he continued. "I thought that Apophis was your enemy. Isn't he here? This is his palace." Hathor studied him. His face was filled with concern. She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Fear not, our beloved. Apophis is here, but will not harm us. He is powerful, too powerful to defeat directly. Therefore, we must ally ourselves with him until the moment is right." "But he knows that you hate him. Why would he ally himself with you?" "His power consumes his mind. He needs more gou'ald to attain complete control. For that, he needs us. Therefore, we need you. He will not harm you or us." Daniel considered this, then looked back at her as another thought crossed his mind. "What about Sha--," he stopped himself as he looked into her eyes. "Ammonet? She must be able to produce more gou'ald for him. Why does he need you?" Hathor cupped his face in her hands and tilted it to look into his eyes. "Because, she does not have a beloved. We do." She replied, kissing him. She pulled back, then leaned in next to his ear and whispered, "Besides, Ammonet is not here." ***** SG-1 was suited up and standing at the bottom of the ramp. They did a last minute check of their equipment. Dr. Frasier entered the room and walked over to Jack. "Final check, Col." she said and handed him the bottle of pheromones Hathor had left. Unscrewing the cap, he took a deep breath and waited. Everyone in the gateroom and control room watched him. "You can all stop staring now. The stuff works." He announced. "Good. You have the pills I gave you?" Dr. Frasier asked. "Right here." Jack patted his jacket pocket. "Should I be worried about overdosing on these things?" "Col. there's no way of knowing what they'll do at this point. I never had a chance to test them properly. Take as many as you need. I'd rather have you take too many and come back sick, than not take enough and not come back at all." "Great. I feel much better." Janet gave him an apologetic look and headed out the door as the Stargate began to lock in the chevrons. The final chevron locked into place and the wormhole engaged. "SG-1, you are cleared for departure. Good luck." ***** Daniel followed Hathor into the main hall. Apophis was waiting for them, seated on the throne. He rose to greet them. "Hathor, all is as planned?" "Yes, my lord. You will have new gou'ald soon." Hathor said, lowering her eyes slightly. Apophis stepped over to Daniel and looked at him. His eyes flashed, but Daniel showed no fear. "You said that this one would help you to produce more gou'ald. He was brought here last night. I should have my gou'ald by now. I will kill him if he will not cooperate!" Apophis raised his hand with the ribbon device as it began to glow. Hathor stepped in front of him. "No, you will not harm our beloved! He will cooperate. Blame those on his planet for the delay. He was too fatigued to create more gou'ald for you last night, but soon we will." Apophis watched Daniel throughout this. His expression never changed. He then turned to Hathor. He toyed with the idea of killing them both, but that would do him no good. "Very well, but I will tolerate no further delays." Hathor was about to speak when a Jaffa burst into the room. "My lord, the Taur'I have arrived!" "Bring them here." "Yes, my lord." Hathor motioned for another Jaffa to approach. "Take our beloved back to our chambers. We shall come for him shortly." "Yes, my queen." The Jaffa placed his hand on Daniel's arm, but he shoved it away. "No, I want to stay with you!" Daniel protested. "Yes, we know, our beloved, but you must remain safe. Now go and await our return." She kissed him lightly and watched as he left the room with the Jaffa. ***** As expected, SG-1 was greeted by a group of a dozen Jaffa as soon as they left the Stargate and promptly relieved of their weapons. They entered Apophis's palace and were taken directly to the main hall. Apophis and Hathor stood there, side by side smiling at them. SG-1 was forced to kneel as Apophis approached. "You came, as I knew you would. Now we will have the pleasure of eliminating all of you." He brought the ribbon device towards Col. O'Neill. Hathor stepped forward. "No! This one will not cause a problem. I wish to keep him." "He cannot be trusted." Hathor knelt down next to O'Neill and leaned in close to him. He could feel her hot breath on his neck, but nothing else thanks to Janet's pills. "You will not cause trouble for us, will you Col.?" Hathor whispered. Jack tried to put on as much of a dazed expression as he could manage as he looked into her eyes. "No, my queen." Hathor smiled and stood. "Release him." She commanded the Jaffa. They glanced at Apophis and released Jack as he gave his approval. Jack obediently stood at Hathor's side. Carter looked at him nervously and was relived when he winked at her. Hathor caressed Jack cheek. "You see, Apophis. This one is loyal to us. He will still make an excellent Jaffa. Have the others held until we can properly dispose of them." Apophis considered her request. She was a valuable asset to have, despite her habit of disobeying his commands. Also, he was quite pleased to see Jackson and O'Neill behaving so well. "Do it." He told the Jaffa. Carter and Teal'c were dragged away. ***** Daniel anxiously waited for Hathor to return. He paced the room for a while and considered going to look for her. She would be angry if he did that, though, she had told him to stay here, so he decided against it. He busied himself reading one of the books and a small desk in the corner. He looked up as the door opened to reveal Hathor. Behind her, Jack walked in and she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Jack!" Daniel was happy to see him and started forward, but stopped after a step, looking at Hathor questioningly. She nodded. "He is safe." "Hello, Daniel." Jack tried to keep all of the emotion out of his voice, drawing on what he remembered from the last time they had been with Hathor. "He will guard you until tonight." Jack heard Hathor's words and silently gave a shout of joy. This was working out even better than he had hoped. "You have to leave again?" Daniel asked, his eyes pleading with her to stay. "Yes, our beloved, but we will return tonight. O'Neill will keep you safe for us." She turned and left. Daniel paid no attention to Jack after Hathor had left the room. He wandered back over to the desk and picked up the book he had been reading. "Daniel." Daniel turned around. "Yes, Jack." Jack opened his hand and showed Daniel the pill he was holding. "Hathor wanted me to give this to you. She wants you to take it." Daniel took the pill out of Jack's hand and eyed it suspiciously. "Why didn't she give it to me herself?" Jack silently cursed. Dammit Daniel, couldn't you just do something without questioning it for once? "She is busy preparing for tonight. She needs you to take it." Daniel looked at the pill again. "What is it for?" Jack gave him the only answer he could think of, "Our Queen does not inform me of her plans nor does she need to. It is important to her that you take that and so it is important to me." He watched Daniel and was thrilled when Daniel seemed to buy it. He crossed the room for a glass of water and took the pill without another word. Jack stared at him as he swallowed, then continued reading his book. Jack slowly counted to five hundred in his mind waiting for the pill to take effect. When he reached it, he guessed that at least ten minutes had passed. "Daniel." "Jack?" Daniel looked up from the book. "How are you feeling?" Jack asked cautiously. "Fine. How should I feel?" Daniel was starting to get suspicious. Jack decided to cut straight to the point. "Hathor just wants to make sure you feel ok about what's going to happen tonight." "What about it? We're going to make more gou'alds. It'll be great." Daniel replied happily. Jack muttered under his breath, "He didn't take enough." "What was that, Jack?" Jack cleared his throat. "I said, you should take another one." He reached into his pocket and shook another pill out of the bottle. He was about to put the bottle away again when Daniel spoke up. "Let me see that bottle, Jack." "Daniel—-" "I SAID, LET ME SEE THE BOTTLE!" Jack reluctantly handed it over, preparing for the worst. Daniel looked at it for a moment. "SGC. You're trying to stop Hathor. You betrayed her. You betrayed ME!" He threw the bottle into the corner. "Look, Daniel. I can explain. You're not thinking clearly. Just calm down. The pills will help you." "I'm thinking very clearly, Jack. JAFFA, HELP!" Daniel screamed. Luckily, Jack had been the only one assigned to guard Daniel. "I'm sorry, Daniel." Jack apologized as he pulled out the pistol and shot Daniel with the dart, glad that his performance had earned him his weapons back. "Ja-ck." Daniel whispered as he collapsed and Jack caught him. "Sorry, Daniel, I had no choice." Jack told his, now unconscious friend. Jack dragged Daniel over to the bed and lifted him onto it. "You'll be ok here until I can go get Carter and Teal'c. I'll be right back." He promised him as he grabbed a handful of pills off the floor and ran out the door. ***** Carter and Teal'c heard Jack's voice echo down the corridor. "Hathor wants to kill the prisoners now." Carter hoped that Jack was himself, but couldn't tell as he walked down the hall towards the cell. The Jaffa unlocked the door and held his staff weapon ready as they exited. Jack took a staff weapon lying against the opposite wall. "I will need this." He poked Carter in the back. "Move." They started forward and the Jaffa moved to follow them. Jack addressed the Jaffa, "That will not be necessary. Guarding these two is an easy task." The Jaffa thought it over, then agreed. "Very well." Jack waited until they were down two hallways before stopping. "It's ok, Captain. I'm fine." "You put on quite a show, Col." Carter told him. "You were very convincing, O'Neill." "I'll make sure to thank you when I get my Grammy." Jack joked and almost laughed as Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Have you seen Daniel?" Carter asked. "I saw him, Carter. I got him to take one pill, but her potion must be built up too much in his system. Even after he took it, he told me that it was great that he was going to make more gou'alds. I tried to get him to take another one, but he caught on. I had to knock him out. He's sleeping in Hathor's bedroom." "Do you really think that's the smartest place to leave him, Col.?" "I didn't have too many options. Besides, Hathor told me herself that she wouldn't be back till tonight." "I suggest we hurry, O'Neill in case she returns early." "Right Teal'c, let's go." ***** Jack led the way to Hathor's bedroom, keeping the staff ready in case they met any Jaffa. The halls were strangely empty, however. He stopped in front of a door. "In here." He whispered. They filed into the room. "Col., where's Daniel?" "What do you mean, where's Daniel? He's right, th—" Jack looked at an empty bed. "Perhaps this is the wrong room?" Teal'c asked. "No, this is the right room. I left him right there. He was out cold. See? There's the rest of my pills he threw." Jack pointed in the corner. "Speaking of pills, Col., when was the last time you took one?" Carter asked. "Oh, yeah, thanks." Jack took one out of his pocket and popped it in his mouth. Grabbing the glass of water Daniel had poured earlier, he washed it down. "Someone must have taken him. There's no way he left on his own. You two stay behind me and out of sight, I'll find out what happened." "And how are you planning to do that, Col.?" "Ask a Jaffa, of course. I'm just the love-dazed man, remember?" Jack smiled as he headed out the door. ***** Jack entered the main hall and was greeted by a welcome sight. Hathor was crouched near the throne next to a still unconscious Daniel. She looked up as he entered and her eyes flashed with anger. "You have allowed someone to harm our beloved." "No, my Queen, Daniel asked me to get him something. When I returned, he was gone. Is he alright?" Hathor accepted his story. "A Jaffa went to check on him. He found him upon the bed and was unable to wake him." She looked at him again. "You should not have left him." Jack raised his voice so Carter and Teal'c in the hallway could hear him. "I'm glad that you and Daniel are here. If one of the two guards here with you had been there, one of them could have guarded him." Carter and Teal'c burst into the room holding the weapons he had given them. They easily overtook the two Jaffa with their surprise attack. Jack took the weapon from Teal'c and pointed it at Hathor. "Grab Daniel, Teal'c." Teal'c carefully lifted the unconscious anthropologist. Hathor began to scream, "No, you will not take our beloved." Jack was glad that Apophis hadn't given her a ribbon device. She turned to Jack. "You will stop them!" "Sorry, Hathor, you can't control me." Jack said as the backed out the door. ***** They finally made it to the Stargate after a few brief skirmishes with Jaffa. Carter punched in the seven symbols for Earth. The wormhole engaged and Jack let go of the breath he'd been holding. Just before he entered the shimmering liquid, he turned and saw Hathor standing at the top of the hill, eyes glowing in rage. ***** The medical team already had Daniel on a stretcher and on his way to the infirmary when Jack emerged from the Stargate. "Is everything alright Col.?" Carter asked. "Yeah, everything's fine, Captain, just wanted to see Hathor see us off." "SG-1, good work. Report for your exam immediately." General Hammond's voice said over the speaker. "You heard the man, let's go." Jack said, happily. ***** Daniel was just starting to regain consciousness when Jack, Carter and Teal'c walked in. He moaned and Jack walked over. "Jack!" Daniel tried to sit up and fell back against the bed. "Bad idea." "How ya feeling, Daniel?" Jack asked. "Horrible, you shot me!" "Relax, it was just a dart. You were ready to turn me over to the Jaffa." "I was? Sorry." "It's ok, Danny. You weren't yourself." Dr. Frasier walked in carrying a tray. "Hello, Daniel. Ready to take your medicine?" "No, thank you. I've had quite enough of your medicine for one day." Daniel eyed the tray. "Well, if you had just taken these for Jack on Chulak, you wouldn't have to take them now." Daniel took the pills from her looking at them. "I took one of these already, tell her, Jack." "Yeah, you took one, Danny, but it didn't do anything. How many times have I told you not to let women breathe on you? Just gets you into trouble." "Never, Jack." Daniel answered as he swallowed the pills. "Good, that should flush it out of your system." Janet said approvingly. "As for the rest of you, I need to do a complete workup. Let's go." "Yes, ma'am." The team chorused. "Get some rest, Daniel, you look terrible." Jack teased. "This from the man who shot me." Daniel called after him. He closed his eyes. *Daniel*