AUTHOR: Lady Anne
EMAIL: rneeatexcite.com
RATING: R for adult themes, violence and language
CATEGORY: Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
SUMMARY: When someone close to Daniel is taken, what will he do to get her back?
SPOILERS: minor mentions only

A continuation of the story started in All’s Well…
If you haven't read it yet, I recommend you read it first.

---

Arriving at the library long before she actually needed to be there, Rose Conner maneuvered her car into a space in the parking lot and turned the engine off. But, instead of getting out of the car and going inside as she normally would have done, she sat there – just watching the students. School had started again for the semester and there was a steady stream of people going in and out of the building.

Once the library had been more than just her job, it had been her sanctuary – a place where she felt safe and protected from the dangers of the world. She had been in control there, and it was all she had ever wanted from life. Now, looking at the building, it seemed different somehow – smaller and dingier. It wasn’t as safe as she had thought. And, she realized with a new clarity, not what she wanted anymore.

A week ago the library had been the whole of her existence, the students and the books all she needed to make her life complete. Now her life had expanded to include the existence of a Stargate and a whole universe of discovery and danger, secrets known only to a select few. She had had a first-hand encounter with that danger when she and Dr. Daniel Jackson had been stalked through her library by three crazed men. They had come in search of a journal that the Doctor had inadvertently left behind one evening while doing research. They had barely escaped from the experience with their lives.

In almost losing her life, Rose had found it that stormy night while supporting a wounded Daniel Jackson, trying to keep the two of them alive. Despite the fact that she was sure they were both going to die at any moment, they beat the odds and somehow survived. It was a week later and that fact still continued to amaze her. To live, to come to the library yet another day – to face another day of overdue fines and endlessly reshelving books. It had a certain sad irony to it, she thought. It was life, but it wasn’t living.

Taking her keys from the ignition, she tossed them inside her bag checking to make sure she had remembered the cell phone. She’d only had it a week and tended to forget it, most often leaving it on the counter at home. Yesterday the military police had actually shown up at the library when she had failed to check in at the appointed time.

One of the ‘security measures’ given her by the SGC, she was supposed to check in at pre-arranged intervals with someone at the Cheyenne Mountain facility. The number was programmed in; she just pushed one. The phone had also been programmed with the numbers of other key people there – Daniel, his friends, the General, whom she hoped to never have to call, and Janet Frasier, the base’s chief medical officer and resident matchmaker.

Rose smiled remembering the woman’s not-so-subtle approach to playing matchmaker. While Rose had suffered no obvious injuries from her adventure, the doctor had confined her to the infirmary for 48 hours. Rose hadn’t objected; she’d still been suffering from a major case of shock following her up-close and personal experience with a gun to the head. The infirmary - deep in the heart of a mountain, guarded by the best and the brightest the US Military had to offer, had seemed like the safest place to be. Besides, Daniel had been in the bed next to hers, it afforded her the perfect opportunity to observe him in his natural habitat.

After their first conversation, the Doctor had kept them both sedated – Daniel for the pain, Rose to calm the shakes that plagued her. She had slept away the morning in a restless sleep.

But, by early afternoon, Rose found she was feeling better. The Doctor reduced her sedation to the point where she no longer felt that her brain was stuffed with cotton.  After she was allowed to shower and change into a pair of gray military sweats someone had found for her, she felt almost human again. She had been looking forward to a quiet afternoon just watching Daniel sleep when a parade of visitors appeared at her bedside.

The first to show up had been Sam Carter. She had stopped at Daniel’s bedside for a moment, checking the readings on the monitor to assure herself that all was well with her teammate. She smoothed back the hair on his forehead, flashing a smile at Rose.

"He used to have really long hair, you know? It was always getting in his eyes."

Rose smiled back tentatively, "I know. He’s been coming to the library for years now. I like it better short, he looks more.... mature."

Sam nodded and moved to sit on the bed next to Rose, "Maybe that’s why I liked it long. I like the little boy in him," she mused thoughtfully.

Rose glanced over to make certain he was asleep before leaning in to whisper, "I prefer the man."

Sam looked around before replying in the same confidential tone, "You and all the nurses on base." She rolled her eyes in fond exasperation. "I’m Sam by the way. I think we met last night."

Rose looked down shyly, "I was pretty out of it by the time you guys got there.  I'm afraid I didn't make a very good impression.  I'm not normally the fainting type."  She glanced back askance at the IV hanging over her head as if to imply that she wasn't normally the type that had to be sedated to calm her nerves either.

"I saw what was happening," Sam told her. "And you did fine," she assured the other woman.

The Doctor appeared at that moment, the sound of voices drawing her out of her office. "Well, look at who’s awake," she said cheerfully. She checked the monitors, but then began her own hands-on examination. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I keep hoping I’ll wake up in my own bed to discover that this was just really a bad dream," was Rose’s wry answer.

Sam moved to give way to the Doctor, "I should go," she said. "I just wanted to see how everyone was." She stopped for one last look at her friend, brushing his cheek with her fingers. "I’ll check back later. If he’s rude enough to still be asleep, I’ll see if I can find you something to read," she promised.

Rose smiled drowsily and waved goodbye to her, their brief conversation had drained her. She laid back and let the Doctor do her work. Janet, with that sense she had for the mood of her patients, finished in silence. She adjusted the IV and left as Rose drifted back into sleep.

(- from the journal of Dr. Daniel Jackson

Sam is like the sister I never had. I remember the one thing I always longed for in each of the foster homes I went to was a sister. It seemed to me that those children who had a sibling to cling to, to share the burden of grief with, were the luckiest kids. I know now it was selfish, to want someone else to have to endure that. But I was a kid. Now, I see her there, smiling and laughing with the people of this world and I feel a rush of affection like I’ve never known before. I thought for a little while that I was in love with her and fought against it, but then I realized that it was love for her. Love for my sister.

I’m never quite so angry as when she says something ‘can’t’ be. I always wonder about how she was brought up. Because her first response is always ‘that can’t be,’ or ‘we can’t do that.’ I love it when I can ask that question that sparks discovery for her. Her face lights up and she starts to talk so fast you can’t keep up. In those moments I’m happy.)

She dreamed that shadowy, formless men were pursuing her and Daniel down an endless hallway. She had lost him somehow and she cried out, reaching into the darkness trying to find him when she felt a firm hand grasp hers – rock-solid and steady. A voice called out her name, "Rose Conner."

She jerked awake to find herself in the infirmary bed, the Jaffa, Teal’c at her side, holding her hand, "Rose Conner, you must wake up now." There were tears running down her face and she was shaking again. He stayed, silently holding her hand while she clutched at his as an anchor, struggling to regain her composure.

At last, she untangled her fingers from his, embarrassed to have been so unhinged in front of a perfect stranger. He seemed not all perturbed by the incident and simply handed her a Kleenex from a box on the table between the beds. He didn’t speak, content to allow her time to regain her balance.

She had expected to find him intimidating, instead she found the big man oddly comforting. His presence alone was enough to soothe her frayed nerves. She gathered her courage and asked him a tentative question or two, not sure what they could find to talk about. She must have asked the right question, because suddenly he began to tell her of Chulak and his life there.

Obviously Teal’c did not regard ‘top-secret’ and ‘need to know’ in the same light as the US Military, and Rose didn’t stop him.  She found him fascinating and besides she already knew of the existence of the Stargate from Daniel’s journal. In for a penny, in for a pound, she had thought, and lay back just listening to the big man. She loved his deep, warm voice. It flowed over her like water, soothing her better than the drugs. She could have continued that way for hours, but he brought his stories to an abrupt halt with the promise that he would bring her some things he had from his home world to share with her. He had bowed his head gravely and left her there....

(- from the journal of Dr. Daniel Jackson

I sometimes feel like there are two Teal’c’s. There’s the one I hated who took my wife from me and destroyed my life. Then, there’s the one who’s my friend, who silently stands at my back and keeps my safe. I know that he would die for me or Sam or Jack. It’s hard sometimes to reconcile the two in my mind. To know that they are one and the same man - the one who shattered me and the strong presence at my back who’s saved my life more times than I can count. My friend.)

"You know, I don't think I've ever heard Teal'c talk that much.  He's usually the strong silent type."  She opened her eyes to find Colonel Jack O’Neill standing there regarding her, hands in his pocket, eyes narrowed. The one member of SG-1 that Rose had been dreading meeting. But then he smiled at her in an easy, charming way, putting her at her ease. He drew up a chair and sat down. "So, do you have honorable intentions towards our Danny?" He had asked without preamble.

Rose realized with a start that she was being inspected by the rest of SG-1. She wondered how had she measured up? "Honorable intentions?"

"Well, it’s not every girl who takes our boy out, gets him shot at and very nearly killed. And you looked like such a nice girl." His eyes were unreadable, she couldn’t tell if he were joking or not.

"Give it a rest, Jack," the sleepy voice from the next bed startled them both. 

"Sleeping Beauty awakens," Jack drawled.

Daniel ignored him, "Remember Hathor? Shyla? Kira?"

Rose didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, but the Colonel quirked a smile. "You’re right," he agreed. "At least this one tried to save your life instead of using you, abusing you and holding your friends hostage to control you. We’re grateful for that by the way," he smiled and his brown eyes warmed looking into hers.

"Grateful for?"

"Saving his life. He’s pretty careless with it, you know. We have to pick up after him all the time." He glanced fondly over at the other bed. She could see behind the facade of the easy manner that this man cared a lot for his friend.

"Hey, I am awake over here," the subject of their conversation objected loudly.

Rose smiled back at the Colonel. What was it about these people that made her feel so at ease so quickly? "You’re welcome, but I had ulterior motives," she confessed earnestly.

"Oh?" His eyebrows arched.

"How else was I going to get to see this infirmary of which he is so fond?" With a sweep of her hand she indicated the unending gray walls and ceiling, the machines around them, the uncomfortable beds, the sterile antiseptic smell.

"Am not." He was trying unsuccessfully to focus on them. Rose knew it wasn’t nice, but she giggled at him.

"Now that’s what we need," the Doctor appeared from her office once more to check in on her patients, "more giggling in here. It cheers the place right up."

"Yes, we do indeed," the Colonel agreed. "I’ve got to get going. I have a briefing with the General in a few." He stood and stretched, "I just wanted to see how everyone was and thank you." He lifted her hand and kissed it, surprising Rose with his gentle manner. He leaned in to whisper in her ear, "He means a lot to us. Thanks for taking care of him."

"You’re welcome," she whispered back looking into his eyes. In that moment they shared the burden of looking after Daniel Jackson. Too few people had done it for him over the years and that number had just increased by one. Jack put her hand down gently, patting it.

"Hey," Daniel called, "that’s my librarian. You get your own." She knew he was drugged to the gills, and would very likely never remember what he had said; still she was warmed to her toes as she drifted back to sleep.

(- from the journal of Dr. Daniel Jackson

Who would have ever thought all those years ago that Colonel Jack O’Neill and a flaky archeologist would become friends? Certainly not me. The first time I met him, I thought he was just one of those typical hard-assed military types that couldn’t see beyond their own noses.

I guess you really can’t judge a book by its cover, or at least a Jack O’Neill by his bad jokes and lousy sense of humor. Over the years he’s been the best friend I’ve ever had. I wouldn’t have survived without him. And not just the fact that he’s pulled me out of so many fires, no, I’ve come to depend on his quiet strength and compassion, and yeah, on his bad jokes and lousy sense of humor.)

The next time she woke disoriented and unsure of where she was. She struggled up and hands grabbed her and settled her, plumping the pillows behind her head, raising the bed so she was sitting up. When she finally focused on the person at her side she was dismayed to find herself face to face with none other than General George Hammond himself.

Seeing him sitting there in the chair that Jack had pulled up, she thought he looked more like a doting grandfather than a stern military commander of a top-secret military installation. He smiled at her reassuringly, "I just wanted to come down and meet you in person, young lady. Dr. Jackson told us how brave you were."

She found herself tongue-tied in the face of the man that Daniel respected so much. She just shrugged, "It didn’t seem brave at the time, sir, it just seemed like what we had to do."

He laughed softly, "Very often that’s exactly what true bravery is, doing what needs to be done. Still we’re very grateful you kept that journal out of the hands of those men. It could have been disastrous for the SGC and Earth."

"I’m just glad I could be of help." She blushed and looked down at the blanket.

"Well, you were." He looked over at the sleeping form of Daniel. "We do need to discuss the matter of what you know. Dr. Jackson told us you said you read the journal."

"I know I shouldn’t have. It was stupid." Her face burned and was turning a bright shade of red, she knew. Daniel had assured that everything would be ‘fine.’ Now, she thought, the other shoe was about to drop.

"I don’t really blame you for reading the book, sometimes curiosity is just too strong a force to be denied. However, there are some safeguards we have to take." She took a deep breath and looked at him with a wide apprehensive gaze. He laughed again and shook his head. "Don’t look so frightened. We’re not going to throw you in the brig, although the protected witness program isn’t out of the question." 

No, she didn’t want a new life; she had just found one she liked. 

He continued, "We’ve done some investigating while you were resting. We probably know more about you than your mother.  I agree with Dr. Jackson’s assessment that you can be trusted with the knowledge you’ve suddenly gained."

She was oddly touched that she could earn the trust of this man. "Thank you, sir."

"But, your safety is our top priority, right now. You know things that could put your life at risk. For now, we’ll be instituting some security measures – some you’ll know about, some you won’t." Her eyes were starting to droop again, and he stood, "We’ll talk about this more before you leave tomorrow. You rest for now." He had patted her shoulder and left her there, deeply relieved.

(- from the journal of Dr. Daniel Jackson

I don’t think anyone has ever intimidated me quite as much as General George Hammond. I remember that cold stare he gave me when I returned from Abydos the first time. As if I personally had upset his plans for retirement and invited Apophis through Earth’s gate.

But once I got to know him, I found him to be a man of honor and courage. He has the hardest job of us all, to send us through the Stargate knowing that we might never come home. How often does he stand and watch us leave, expecting us to never return? I’ve never gone through the gate or returned to not finding him standing there, keeping vigil. Even when a mission goes wrong, and we think we’ll never see home again, it’s reassuring to know that he’s there, waiting for us, expecting us to come back.)

A car pulled into the space next to her then, radio blasting, suddenly jerking her back to the present. The bass was turned up so loud it vibrated her bones. She looked at her watch and was dismayed to find that she was now late. She opened the door and climbed out. She didn’t really know if she wanted to stay at the library much longer, but for now her sense of responsibility drove her inside.

*****

Across town, a secret meeting was taking place. The meeting was being held, as secret meetings often are, in a darkened room in a protected facility. The windows and curtains were closed to protect the occupants from prying eyes. The conspirators gathered round a table, the only light to illuminate the shadowy figures was cast from a video monitor set into the wall. There was the sound of keys clattering, a picture appeared on the screen and the meeting began.

"Colonel Jack O’Neill," a voice spoke from the darkness, indicating the handsome silver-haired military man looking out at that them from the screen.  His brown eyes were hard and cold. "Leader of SG-1 and 2^nd in command of the Cheyenne Mountain facility where the Stargate is housed. Not a good target for our purposes. He’s Black Ops trained, we’d get no cooperation from him. His only kid is dead and he’s divorced, so he doesn’t have any close ties Earth-side."

"Oh, I don’t know," a voice interrupted from the back of the room, from the deepest shadows, "he seems pretty fond of the archeologist." There was rude laughter from around the room.

"Still," the original voice continued, "the return probably wouldn’t be worth the effort. Too much collateral damage in the end." A keystroke and another picture flashed onto the screen, a big black man with a gold tattoo on his forehead, "Teal’c - Jaffa warrior and member of SG-1. His family is all kept in the Land of the Light. As fun as it might be to take them and torment him," there was regret in the shadowy voice, "again, the return wouldn’t be worth the trouble. At present." There was promise and threat in the voice.

The image of a smiling blonde woman came next. "Major Samantha Carter. She does present some interesting possibilities - a brilliant mind acquainted with all the Stargate technologies? If we could control her, we could gain some very valuable information. We do know she has a brother who has children."

"She’s also military, and with that brilliant mind she would, like O’Neill, cause more trouble for us than she’s worth," the shadowy voice interjected. "Go on."

The Major’s picture was replaced by that of a serious-looking, dark haired man, his intense blue eyes framed in glasses. "Dr. Daniel Jackson – civilian archeologist and linguist. More letters after his name than is decent. This, gentlemen, is the weak link and our way onto the base."

"Do we have any leverage against him besides his team?" A quiet voice asked.

"A couple of weeks ago I would have said no. But then there was the incident with the journal."

"Ah, yes; the infamous journal episode. I trust any ties to us have been severed?"

"Yes, sir." An officious voice out of the darkness informed them. "The original operative who attempted retrieval of the journal was dead at the scene. His two accomplices haven’t talked so far. We’re taking steps to eliminate the risk they pose before they change their mind."

His voice was replaced by the former man, "But the whole journal fiasco brings us to," the keys clicked and a new picture slid into a place, "Rose Conner. She was the librarian involved in that business." A pretty, smiling woman with warm grey eyes; she was sitting at a table in a library with the archeologist, their heads close together.  Another picture slid into place of the two of them walking down a busy sidewalk, hand-in-hand, the woman smiling up at whatever the archeologist had said.  "Matters between the good doctor and the librarian seem to be progressing nicely for our purposes."  

"It’s only been a matter of days, a week at the most," the quiet voice objected. "Surely he wouldn’t be persuaded to help a woman he barely knows."

"The good doctor is a bleeding heart," a new voice interjected, scornfully. "We could pick up a stranger on the street and he would try to protect them. But, yes, this is good. This is very good. Feelings brought on by a life and death experience, we can use this. Do we have everything in place?" There was a rustle and a squeak as if someone had just shifted forward in their seat.

"We're ready to go at your word."

"Can we manage the woman?" was asked.

"She’s a librarian," was the scornful answer. "She’ll never even know what’s going on until she’s dead."

"Good," even in the dark, everyone around the table could see the flash of fire in his eyes, "pick her up. Let’s get this operation underway."

The projector went dark and everyone left quickly in the dark. They had their instructions.

*****

It was early evening at the SGC and the hallways were nearly deserted, most personnel having already left for the day. Still, Colonel Jack O’Neill exercised due caution as he strode through the corridors carefully carrying two cups of steaming coffee. You never knew when an archeologist would come charging down the hall, head buried in a book, unheeding of all around him until he ended up dripping with coffee. All seemed to be quiet. Those on-duty personnel he did pass, wisely stepped back and saluted as he continued on his way.

The Colonel arrived at his destination without incident, both cups full and steaming satisfactorily. The aroma from the coffee curled up lazily, tickling his nose with the scent. Yes, this was just what was needed to pull his friend out of the funk that he had been in of late.

Jack paused at the door to Daniel’s office and took the opportunity to watch him unobserved. Daniel was completely absorbed in his work - leaning forward in his chair, eyes locked on the video playing in front of him, brow furrowed in concentration –the model of the absorbed scientist.

On the computer screen Jack could see the video that SG-5 had brought back for Daniel’s analysis. All of the SGC teams knew the dangers inherent in what they did. Video footage of each new discovery was brought back to the SGC for analysis before anything was touched or disturbed. If only they could teach that concept to Daniel himself, the rest of his team would have a much easier life.

Jack watched as the video displayed the outside of a temple that even to his untrained eye looked Grecian with rows of graceful columns that rose high to support the marble roof. The camera left the temple to pan around to a terrain barren of any signs of life. All Jack could see from his vantage point was an abundance of the white rock that formed the temple and an angry orange sky.

The camera zoomed back onto the door of the looming stone structure as the operator approached it, the camera lurching at odd angles as the operator moved while continuing to film. There was no writing on the columns. In fact there were no inscriptions of any sort on the walls of the outside of the building. There weren’t even any fun sculpture or carvings that Jack could see – just smooth white walls that revealed nothing of the secrets of what might be contained inside.

The view switched abruptly to the dim interior of the alien building. The change in light caused the picture to fuzz out momentarily, and then it cleared up to show... Oh, fun, more nothing. As the camera panned around, the inside of the building was revealed to be as empty, the walls as smooth, as the columns outside. Then the operator passed something that flashed by quickly, the camera backtracked in a dizzying sweep to pick it up again.

There, against a wall on a low stone table, was a set of carved stone tablets, carefully and lovingly placed. To all appearances the entire structure had been built to house those tablets. What could be so important that it would require a whole temple to contain them? A shiver passed through him as he thought of the possibilities. The camera zoomed in to pick up the characters on the tablets, carefully pausing at each one, filming it at every angle.

Jack flicked a glance at the young archeologist. Normally this should have been enough to keep Daniel in archeologist heaven for days, but not this night: nope, nadda, nothing. He knew Daniel well enough to know that the absolute stillness of his posture wasn’t a sign of total concentration. No, the man moved all the time - he took notes and checked references, he tapped his pencil annoyingly, he clicked his pens, he never, never sat still except when something was eating at his very soul. But sitting there watching the video of the Temple from P94-322 he moved not at all. Eyes were fixed intently on the screen, for all the world, giving an impression of absorbed attention. Jack knew it to be false; in fact, he suspected that Daniel really wasn’t seeing the video at all.

His gaze dropped to Daniel’s hands to the picture he held so tightly there. Aha. Sha’re. Hm....

Jack coughed as he finally stepped fully into the office. He sat down next to the desk in a chair placed there. Daniel shoved the picture back into a drawer, turning his attention to the video that was stilling playing, wiping his eyes under his glasses surreptitiously.

"Hey," Jack said as he handed the other man the coffee, "don’t you know it’s quitting time?"

"I got behind while I was in the infirmary. I’ve got to figure out what this is," he waved vaguely at the tablets once again displayed on the screen. "It might be important. And, uh... I’ve got a lot of translating that’s been piling up. I may never catch up." Daniel was doing a great job of not meeting his eyes, always a sure sign that something was wrong. Okay, Jack, you already knew that, now you just have to figure out what.

He decided he would just have to take a shot in the dark, "Daniel, you’re allowed to have a life, you know."

"Am I? There are people fighting and dying out there. Their lives just may depend on whether I get a translation done in a timely manner." The anger in Daniel’s voice took Jack by surprise, but it did tell him that he had found at least one of the sore spots. Score one for the Colonel.

He sat back and made himself comfortable in the chair, he had a feeling he was going to be there for a while, "This doesn’t have anything to do with your workload, does it? Or even with people dying, just one person." He looked pointedly at the drawer where Daniel had shoved the picture.

The air seemed to go out of Daniel, the anger left as abruptly as it had erupted. "Jack, what am I doing? How can I think I might try to have a normal life with a normal relationship? Nothing we do here is normal."

"And this has to do with a certain librarian by the name of Rose I believe." Jack smugly took a sip of his cooling coffee as the other man just nodded. And that was two. "So, what’s wrong? You’ve only had one real date, if you don’t count your little rendezvous in the infirmary. Surely she can’t have realized yet what a total and complete geek you are?" He teased gently.

"Jack," Daniel said in that reproachful tone he used so well.

Jack just smiled and stretched his long legs out in front of him, "Come on, tell big brother Jack what happened."

"Oh, like you’re such an expert on relationships."

"Hey, I’ll have you know that I am very good with relationships. I’m a natural people person."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Oh, yeah, and where is your wife today?" It was out before he could stop it. But Jack in mother-hen mode always brought out the worst in him and his shoulder ached, making his foul mood even worse. He was going to have see the Doc for some pain medication and she was going to give him a lecture on overdoing it. He hated those.

Jack allowed the hurt that one had caused to show in his eyes, "Now, that was a low blow, Doctor Jackson"

"I’m sorry, Jack. I just..." He looked down at his hands as if he could still see the picture of Sha’re there.

"What?" Jack knew he was pushing, but you had to sometimes with Daniel. When it came to talking about his personal life, he was more closed-mouthed than a certain Colonel could be.

"Jack, can’t we skip this now? I have a lot of work to do." Jack knew he was getting close to the crux of what was bothering his friend. He wasn’t going to let a little thing like the very real pain he heard in his friend’s voice stop him now.

"No, we can’t stop now, Dr. Jackson. Now, you’ve been moping around here for two days and I, for one, am getting damn tired of it. So, spill it. What’s going on?"

Daniel shot him one of his best imploring looks, but the Colonel was determined and just returned the gaze with his own best hard-ass gaze.

Finally, Daniel gave in, "I know it’s stupid, I just don’t want her to fall in love with me. There, are you happy now?" He looked away and savagely turned off the video that had continued to run unheeded.

Way, way too late for that, was Jack’s personal opinion. Only a week and the girl was smitten, but he didn’t say it. Instead he asked, "And why exactly is that?"

"Because the people who love me die." His voice was hardly more than a whisper, but there, he’d said it, the crux of the problem.

A perfect three for the Colonel. "That’s just so much bull, Daniel," O’Neill’s answer surprised Daniel so much, he was nearly speechless.

"Excuse me," he stammered.

"You heard me. Now I’ll admit you’ve had some bad luck."

"Bad luck?" Daniel asked incredulously.

"Alright, wrong word. You’ve had some monumental bad luck," he conceded. "But Daniel, you can’t stop living."

"It just hurts so much to keep losing people. My parents, Sha’re… I don’t think I can keep doing it."

"I know it’s hard." Daniel could hear the pain in Jack’s voice. Rarely did he let other people glimpse his own wounds, but Daniel knew that they were there just the same. "I know that sometimes it just seems easier to give up and never try again, but you know, Daniel, that’s not the way. You taught me that back on Abydos the first time."

"I was a different person then, Jack. I don’t know if I can keep doing this. Losing the people I love." His voice was so quiet Jack had to lean forward to hear him.

"You haven’t lost SG-1 yet. We’re all still here." Jack pointed out.

"I know." He looked up into Jack’s eyes, the pain shining in his blue eyes, "But every time we step through that gate, I’m terrified that this is the time when one of you won’t make it back. You guys are my family now and I’m afraid of losing any of you." He looked away." Sometimes I think it would be easier to go first so I wouldn’t have to face life without you."

"Hey, that’ll be enough of that talk." The Colonel told him, his eyes intense and hard, "I don’t want to hear that ever again. There will be no dying – by you or any of the rest of my team. That's an order, by the way."

Daniel smiled wryly, "Yes, sir," he said with a mock salute. "But Rose isn’t part of the team. I can’t keep her safe when I’m off-world, which is most of the time. I just keep thinking of all the things that could happen to her or to anyone that I love." He gestured vaguely encompassing all his fears.

"Hey, you know what? She’s a lot stronger than you’re giving her credit for. Remember? I read your report after that whole journal party, which I am so not over giving you hell about, by the way." Daniel winced and ducked his head as Jack continued, "She kept her head and made some very smart moves, I was very impressed. She can take care of herself, and maybe even manage to keep you out of trouble." Daniel looked slightly taken aback by Jack’s glowing endorsement of the woman. All of the things he said were true, but Daniel hadn’t thought anyone else had noticed.

He smiled shyly, "She is pretty amazing, isn’t she?"

"Well, I’ve got to admit that her taste in men is somewhat off, but otherwise, yeah, I think you’ve got a pretty good one there, Daniel." He turned serious for the briefest of moments. "Don’t let fear stop you from finding out if you could be happy with Rose." Jack stood, stretching. His coffee was finished and Daniel was looking more at peace. My work here is done. "Are you going to be alright?"

Daniel smiled at him, "Yeah, thanks, Jack."

"Hey, no problem. It’s part of my job as commanding officer."

"What? Hard-ass Colonel and relationship counselor?"

"Watch it, Dr. Jackson. If I turn the old O’Neill charm on your librarian she’ll be dumping you like last week’s garbage."

"Hah! She has so much better sense than that. You know she saw through you first thing, she said you were a pussy cat in a wolf’s suit."

"She said that? Hm… Like I said, a smart lady." He turned to leave, satisfied that Daniel was okay, or at least on the right road. And all was once again right with the O’Neill world. Maybe he should stop by Carter’s office? See if he could give her the benefit of his advice. He whistled jauntily as he sauntered off down the corridor.

Daniel watched as he left. Briefly he considered calling Sam and warning her that Jack was on the loose. But then, no, she was a big girl; she could take care of herself.

He reached down to open the drawer where he had shoved the picture of Sha’re, pulled it out and set it on the edge of his desk. Looking at it, seeing her beloved face there, it was hard to believe that she was dead. He remembered when the picture had been taken - the precise time and place, as if it was only yesterday. It had been that day all those years ago, when Colonel Jack O’Neill had returned to Abydos after Apophis had attacked the Earth’s Stargate. They had returned to Abydos to find out if the hostile aliens had come from there.

Sam, then Captain Carter, had been filming the Stargate chamber on Abydos. Daniel had called out to Sha’re as he had left with the SGC team to tell her that he was going to take his friends to the Map Room. She had looked up at him at the same moment that Sam had swept over her with the digital recorder. She had looked at Daniel with such love as she had smiled at him to acknowledge his words. Now she was dead and all hope of ever seeing that smile again was gone.

She was so beautiful, it made his heart hurt just to look at her. He touched her face and all he felt beneath his fingers was the cold glass of the frame. He had loved her so much, and now she was gone. He couldn’t save her. When it came right down to it, he had been powerless to do anything to help her. What right did he have to happiness when he had allowed his one chance to slip through his fingers? How could he even think of loving someone else when his heart was still full of Sha’re?

He knew that she would have been angry. Angry that he was holding onto her memory so tightly that it kept him from moving on with his life. She had been so wise, his Sha’re – not with the technical knowledge that he was so full of. For most of her life it had been forbidden to her and her people on Abydos to learn to write or to pass anything on in written fashion. No, her wisdom had been in the ways of life. She had taught him so much in their year together about love and family. What would she say to him now, he wondered?

"I loved you, my Dan-yel, and I wish we could have had a life time together. But it was not to be so for us. But you must go on with your life, you must live and love, my Dan-yel. Honor my memory that way." It was almost as if she were there with him, so clearly did he hear her voice. He had loved her, but she was gone now. He had to go on with his life or the enemy would indeed have won the battle.

He picked up the phone and dialed an outside line. Yes, it was long past time he began to live his life again.

*****

For the first time since arriving that day, Rose escaped into the sanctuary of her office, shutting the door behind her with a resounding thump. Collapsing into her chair, she let out an exasperated sigh. It had been a busy day and she was ready to let her assistant, Amy, take over for a while. The students had been trying her patience for hours and she was ready to scream or cry – it could go either way. To be fair, she knew it wasn’t really their fault; they were just doing what they always did. No, the fault, if any, lay within her own mixed-up emotional state.

Rose knew she’d been distracted all day, listening for the phone, waiting for a call that wasn’t coming. Every time the phone had rung, Rose had practically jumped over every obstacle to pick it up. Amy had finally given up trying to answer it, instead electing to just stay out of her way. Now finally, Rose needed to sit in the quiet of her office for a moment and be alone with her thoughts.

She didn’t know why she’d expected a call from Daniel. He hadn’t called for two days. It was silly to be upset she knew, two days was nothing. At least that’s what she kept telling herself. And, to be honest, she’d thought that she’d worked through her feelings – from worry and anxiety to anger to, finally, quiet resignation. How did she think that he could have been attracted to her? He’d been merely polite.

Okay, a little warmer than polite, but theirs had been feelings born in the heat of the moment, when they’d had to rely on one another to survive. Sure they’d spent four days together and they’d seemed to have clicked; but now he’d had two days for his feelings to cool, to realize that a librarian was a complication that he didn’t need in his life. Still, she had thought he was that special sort who would have called to tell her instead of letting her squirm in eternal anticipation of a call that never came.

She rested her heard on her arms, her eyes shut. She had just been so sure when she woke up that morning that he would call. The sun had been streaming in the window, casting its rays across the foot of her bed. Her cat, Dewey, lay stretched out across her feet, soaking in the first rays of the day. She had woken, smiling, from a dream of the two of them walking hand-in-hand. It was a pretty silly dream, but it had left her warm and glowing. She had been so sure that today he would call...

Now her day was nearing the end and there had been nothing – no phone call, email, note or even carrier pigeon. Had she been wrong? Had she imagined the spark of chemistry between them? She remembered how they had spent the entire day that second day in the infirmary absorbed in one another – laughing, talking, and just getting to know one another. Janet Frasier had even commented in a teasing tone that Daniel had never been such a good patient.

She leaned forward and pulled the strip of pictures from her bulletin board. She had pinned it there where she could see them whenever she was at her desk. It was a series of pictures from one of those mall photo machines. They had gone to the local mall for their one and only official date, just wandering through the mall window shopping and enjoying each other’s company.

She had caught sight of the photo machine and had dragged him to it, he had protested halfheartedly all the way. She had wanted pictures of him - some sort of evidence of the change he had wrought in her life. They climbed inside laughing and giggling like teenagers. He had pulled her onto his lap as the machine began to click the portraits. Smiling up at him, he leaned down and their lips had met for the first time...

She sat with her eyes closed, savoring the memory of those sweet moments with his mouth on hers… She looked down at the pictures in her hand. There it was, the moment, the evidence of attraction, caught for all time. He’d said he would call her when he left her at the door to her apartment, but she hadn’t heard from him since – two long days now.

Had he gone through the Stargate and something disastrous had happened to him and SG-1? Would anyone even think to tell her if something had happened? Did they, whoever the infamous they were, even know that she would want to know? She knew he was part of a top-secret project. Thanks to a moments unguarded curiosity when she had read one of Daniel’s journals that he had left behind in the library, she knew much more about the SGC and the Stargate project than she was supposed to. And, thanks to nearly perfect recall she could remember the words as if she had written them herself.

(It is always with a sense of awe and wonder that I walk through the Stargate. It never ceases to amaze me that it is a gateway to other worlds. Who would have thought all those years ago when I was the pariah of the archeology world that I would get the opportunity to study ancient cultures and societies firsthand? Certainly not my esteemed colleagues. Sometimes I wish I could tell them. Not to prove that my theories were ultimately correct, but to share the amazing and incredible things I’ve seen. It would turn the archeology world on its ear! I have seen living breathing examples of so many of earth’s ancient civilizations.

But I know I can’t, national security issues prevent it. Maybe someday...)

Or maybe he just wasn’t ready for anything more demanding than the oh-so casual relationship that had developed between them over the years. She knew that he had lost his wife recently and the death still haunted him, he still wrote to her in his journals.

(Sha’re, you would have loved this place. It is so beautiful here. Every world we visit has it's own unique personality. Abydos was all sand and sun and desert. This place, now, this place is like some South Seas tropical paradise. The colors are so vivid – I’ve never seen such a riot of greens and reds and yellows. Sam says that it’s a combination of the rainfall and the intense light of the sun, all I know is I’ve never seen any place that was as beautiful as this. There is a waterfall here that cascades down a mountainside into a pool so warm and blue. It’s like a sapphire when you look down on it. How I wish I could share it with you...)

The words had been so haunting, she had almost cried at the heartache she sensed there, the longing. She had thought that perhaps she might be able to ease that pain.  She knew she would never be able to replace Sha're in Daniel's heart, but she had hoped that there was room for her too.  She had imagined that perhaps someday Daniel might write about her, but those daydreams were disappearing with the coming of the night.

It was at that moment that the phone rang, startling her from her thoughts. Automatically she reached for the phone. She had long since given up hope of THAT phone call, but Amy was out there with the Mongol hordes, the least she could do was answer the telephone.

"University Library. May I help you?" was her automatic greeting, her eyes on the photos she held in her hand.

"Hi, Rose?" There was a question in his voice, as if he was afraid she was going to hang up on him. "It’s Daniel Jackson." As if she wouldn’t know that voice anywhere! "I just wondered if you’d found a journal lying around this week?"

"I.... uhm... no." Was he serious? "I don’t seem to recall finding any. Have you lost another one?"

"Well, no," he hesitated. "I just thought it sounded better than, ‘hey, remember me?’" She could see him shrug in her mind’s eye and smiled.

"I have a better line. What about, How are you?"

He hesitated mulling it over, then, "How are you?"

"Much better now that you’ve called. You’ve no idea of the things I’ve been imagining."

"Oh, I think I can," he assured her. "I’m sorry, I just needed to think."

"And what did you think about?" Her tone was light, it belied the fear in the pit of her stomach.

"Well, about you mostly," he finally admitted.

"And this is bad because?" Breathe, she had to remember to breathe.

"It’s not, unless of course, I’m supposed to be working. You’re very bad for the concentration, you know?"

"Daniel, I’m sorry if this blunt, but why are you calling?" If he was saying goodbye let it be quick.

He was smiling, she could hear it in his voice, "Well, first I was calling to apologize.  My mother taught me better manners than to tell a girl I'd call and then leave her hanging - especially after she's saved my life."

"Daniel, it's library policy, patrons are not allowed to die.  It's bad for business."

"And yet, I'm still apologizing.  Are you going to make me grovel, or just accept?"

While groveling did have interesting possibilities, she relented.  "I will graciously accept your apology.  Is there a second to that first?"  She realized she was holding her breath again.

He was mercifully swift, "I was calling to see if I could take you to dinner tonight, after the library is closed. If you're still speaking to me, that is."  

"Daniel, it’s only been two days, I just figured you were busy." Or not interested.

"Rose, two days can be a lifetime." His tone was very serious.

"Well, that’s true," she conceded. "Then, yes, I’m still speaking to you. And yes, I would love to go to dinner tonight."

His voice was suddenly serious, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"We can talk about it over dinner. Can I pick you up when the library closes?"

She frowned; thinking of the zoo the place had been. "Better give us...oh... at least twenty minutes more to get things settled." It would also give her time to freshen up and look presentable.

"Twenty minutes? I’ll be there. See you then."

"Okay." She hung the phone up. Once the receiver was safely back in it’s cradle, she let out a delighted cry of triumph, "Yes!"

Amy opened the door to make sure everything was all right. Seeing the crazed grin on Rose’s face, she rolled her eyes heavenward. "So, he finally called?"

"Yes."

"Thank heavens. If you had gotten any crankier I was going to call him myself. And?" Amy, ever the nosy teenager wanted details. She’d been badgering Rose for tidbits regarding the incident the week before. Rose had only shared the minimum information with the young woman and it was making her crazy.

Rose blushed, "Dinner tonight," she finally confirmed.

"Woo, hoo, girlfriend," she cheered. "What are you still doing here? You need to go home, wash your hair, get ready..."

"Amy," Rose grinned at the other girls enthusiasm, "I just can’t leave. This is my job."

"Oh, well, if you’re going to let reality interfere." She looked the other woman over with a critical eye, "I guess you look alright," she said grudgingly. "I have make-up with."

"Amy, he knows what I look like," Rose protested.

"Come on, Rose," Amy said in a wheedling tone. "Let him know that you think he’s special enough to take a little extra effort."

"Okay, okay, if we have time," Rose gave in, "a little lipstick and blush might be fun."

"Cool," the young woman was nearly bouncing in her excitement. "Make sure he has protection."

"Amy!" Rose’s face flamed in mortified embarrassment. "This is only our second date," she protested.

Amy regarded her seriously, "Oh, Rose, it *is* the 21^st century, after all. You are so old-fashioned." She rolled her eyes to emphasize her disdain.

"Amy, old fashioned is not a dirty word. Besides, Daniel’s not like that, and I... need... to go slow." She wasn’t about to go into the reasons why, but the other girl must have caught the serious under-tone in her voice.

"Fine," she said, "but I’m still giving you some of mine.  You know...., just in case." She flashed a wicked smile.  "They're flavored."

"If it will make you feel better," Rose gave in, desperately hoping that Amy would drop the subject. "Don’t you have books to check out, or something?"

Amy just grinned cheekily, "They’ll wait. Oh!" The reason she had come back finally came to her, "There are these two creepy guys who’ve been asking for you. I told them they’d have to wait."

"Amy!" Rose frowned her displeasure as she smoothed her dress and followed the young woman out of the office. As they walked through the door, she immediately spotted the two men that Amy had been talking about. They stood out in the library of casually dressed young people in their dark suits and glasses. Geez. What a cliché. Every spy novel she’d ever read had men in dark suits and glasses.

"I’ll take care of it," she assured her assistant. She tucked the pictures she was holding into a pocket. She walked to join the men where they stood, "May I help you, gentlemen?" They reminded her strongly of the men who had terrorized her and Daniel, what... was that only days ago? She smiled at them pleasantly.

"Agent Michaels, Ma’am," one of the men stepped forward and flashed a badge for her, flipping it shut too quickly to really get a good look at. He pulled her away from Amy’s curious gaze into a quiet corner. "We don’t want to alarm you, but we have an urgent situation on our hands. We need you to come with us now."

"Excuse me." She looked from one man to the other. It was impossible to read their expression from behind the glasses. "I can’t just leave. I’m responsible here." She indicated the library full of people.

"You can, Ma’am, and you will. Your life may be in danger and it’s our job to keep you safe. We can’t do that here, it’s too exposed."

"My life is in danger?" She bit her tongue before the, ‘oh please,’ escaped. Instead she asked, "Who are you? Why exactly should I believe you?"

"Please, ma’am, you will come with us now. Doctor Jackson said to tell you that you could trust us."

"Doctor Jackson?" Did they know that she had just been talking to Dr. Jackson? Obviously not. "Just what’s going on?"

"I’m not at liberty to give you that information, Ma’am. Could you just come with us now?" She could tell by his tone that refusing was out of the question.

"Can I just call the SGC and find out what’s going on?"

The man’s mouth tightened, she couldn’t push any further, "Ma’am, that wouldn’t be a good idea right now. You could endanger their lives if you don’t come with us now."

Their story was so full of holes, but looking around the library full of innocent students blissfully unaware of the danger, she said, "Of course, just let me get my purse and tell Amy I’m going."

That seemed to satisfy the man, he nodded reluctant agreement. The second man followed her as she moved quickly into her office to get her coat and purse, standing just inside the door watching her every move. She looked inside her purse to make sure her cell phone was there, shutting it before the other man could see its contents. She went back out to the desk to Amy.

Rose smiled tightly, "Amy, I have to go with these men."

"But what about..." Amy began.

Rose quickly interrupted her, "Are you going to be alright to close everything up tonight?"

Amy swallowed her words, nodding reluctantly. Rose turned to the two men who were watching intently. "I’m ready to go. Will I get to see Doctor Jackson soon?"

Agent Michaels smiled at her. Rose was sure it was meant to be reassuring, but it was a feral smile, cold and chilling, "Oh, if all goes well, I’m sure the two of you will be reunited before the night is over." He indicated that she should precede him. The other man casually took her elbow, brushing her breast with his fingers as if by accident. It took all her self-control to not jerk away from his touch, allowing him to guide her from the library.

Rose looked back to see Amy standing at the desk watching them leave, a puzzled look on her face. Rose didn’t know how she knew, but she was certain that she wasn’t in protective custody as the men claimed. She was fairly certain that she was a prisoner.

*****

Daniel spent the next hours translating the tablets filmed by SG-5. Now that he had talked to Rose his mind was clear and he happily spent the time working furiously.

Like Earth’s own Ten Commandments, SG-5 had found a list of ‘Thou Shalts." It was a code to live by that the people of P94-322 had considered important enough to build an entire temple for. It was a remarkable and enlightened document, one that Daniel would have liked to research further. He longed to take a team back to the site of the temple and see if they could discover more about the remarkable people who had developed the text. He was astonished at the sophistication and compassion he found implied therein.

But there was no indication of advanced technology or weapons so he knew that it would be low on the priority list for the SGC. They would never mount the type of expedition necessary to uncover the ancient civilization, or whatever was left of it, just because it was worthy of study. Like so many of his other dreams, this too was a casualty in the continuing war with the Goa’uld System Lords.

Turning off the video, he stood and stretched. His shoulder protested mightily the hours spent hunched over the computer. He considered a painkiller, but it was almost time to pick up Rose. He wanted to have the full use of his faculties at dinner. He reached, instead, for the bottle of aspirin that had a permanent and honored place on his desk.

Shaking a couple of tablets into his hand, he picked up the now-cold cup of coffee Jack had brought him. He frowned and looked at his watch, he had just enough time to find a final cup of coffee and to write a brief report for the General regarding the stone tablets. Then it would be time to leave for the library. He picked up his coffee cup and headed for the commissary. It sounded like a plan.

As the sounds of his footsteps faded, a figure appeared at the end of the hall. A young airman, newly arrived at the SGC, she was one of a handful of specially selected candidates assigned to duty at the top-secret facility. She had worked hard to get there, beating a large number of other candidates all vying for the posting.

She had only been there a few weeks and had been looking forward to her time at the SGC, it fascinated her. She had actually hoped to get to through the Stargate before she had to leave. But, she realized now, it wasn’t to be. After this night’s work she would leave, and never return.

She had known the call could come, it was the reason she was there. She was just sorry it had come so soon. Still, now was her time and she must do as instructed. She pulled her cap low over her eyes and walked swiftly into the archeologist’s office. In her hand she carried a large brown envelope.

*****

As far as prisons went, Rose had to admit that hers was fairly benign. As long as she didn’t try to look out any of the windows or head for the door, her guards let her have the run of the place. They were maintaining the facade that this was for her protection. She hoped that as long as she cooperated with the game she’d be all right.

She sat curled on the couch, pretending to read a magazine and surreptitiously looking around the ‘safe house.’ She turned the page of the magazine. From where she sat she could see security cameras. They covered every angle of the main rooms. She could only speculate what they were for, her vivid imagination supplying a multitude of possibilities, none of them pleasant. The only guards she could see were the two who had been her constant companions since they left the library. Of course, that didn’t mean that there weren’t a hundred more somewhere outside the house.

It was a comfortable little house with an open floor plan – the kind where you could see from one room to the next. The living room, dining room and kitchen flowed easily from one room to the next. Good for entertaining, but just as easy to guard, she supposed. There was no television or radio that she could see and also no phones. Obviously her captors meant for her to have no contact with the outside world. A plan she did not mean to cooperate with. She could see a little hallway leading from the living room with a couple of closed doors at the end. Bedroom and the bathroom she hoped. She needed someplace private to enact her own plans. Plans she was hoping to put into action very soon.

"When am I going to get to talk to Dr. Jackson?" It was probably the tenth time she’d asked, and she guessed she would continue to get the same answer. Still, she thought they expected it of her, if they were to think she was buying into their story.

Agent Michaels looked up from his cards, "I’m sorry, Ma’am. But SG-1 is involved in a dangerous and risky mission at present, one that requires the utmost secrecy. We’ll stay here until we get the all clear," was his amazingly patient answer, but it was running thin she could tell.

"You know, honey, we could find something to do to keep you busy until he gets here," the other man said suggestively.

Rose’s heart froze. He’d been looking her way since they’d arrived at the ‘safe house’ with a hard, hungry gaze that made her shiver. She had resolutely avoided his eyes, pretending that she saw nothing wrong. She sighed and smiled innocently, "I’m sorry, I’m absolutely no good at cards," she said breezily, praying that he wouldn’t press the issue.

She was saved by none other than Agent Michaels himself, "Can that, Manny," he told the other man with a hard look. "We’re here to protect the lady. That’s all." She didn’t like his emphasis on the word protect, but she let it go.

"I appreciate all you’re doing, but can’t you at least tell me exactly how I’m involved in this?" She kept hoping if she asked enough questions in as many ways as she could think, one of the men might let something slip.

"Ma’am, we don’t know anything. We take orders. Our orders were to bring you here and not let anything happen to you. That’s what we’re doing. Now, the only thing you have to be afraid of is one of us getting tired of your questions and gagging you." Okay, their patience had run out; time for a new plan.

*****

The search for coffee took considerably longer than Daniel had anticipated. The Doctor had cornered him in the commissary with her standard lecture about wounds and the care thereof. He had missed his appointment earlier in the day.  She had insisted that he stop by the infirmary so she could check his shoulder. Of course, once there, he received the expected lecture on over-doing and the requisite poking and prodding of the wound. By the time he made it back to his office, he had no patience left for reports, it would wait for tomorrow.

He considered briefly calling and canceling his date, but dammit, he didn’t want to do that. No, he’d take the aspirin and just go. Seeing Rose would restore his good mood, he was sure. Just thinking about her, he felt himself relax and some of the tension drained from his body. Yes, dinner and a late movie might be just what he needed.

He looked over at the picture of Sha’re sitting there on the corner of his desk. She regarded him serenely. I love you, Sha’re, but it’s time to move on.

"Goodbye, my Dan-yel, we will meet again someday. Until then, be happy, my love," he heard her beloved voice as if from a distance.

Reaching over to turn off his computer, he noticed the package on his desk – a large brown envelope with his name printed on top. Lying on top of the keyboard, it had been placed where he would be sure to find it. He picked it up curiously. Turning it over, there was no indication of who sent it or what was inside. Then a thought came to him and his face split with a smile. Jack. Jack was always playing pranks. Dollars to donuts whatever was inside was going to be Jack’s idea of a joke. Heaven help him!

Ripping open the envelope, he dumped the contents out onto the desk. He cocked his head in surprise, okay that was strange... He found a pair of glasses, something that looked like a comm earpiece and a folded piece of paper. Jack’s sense of humor was decidedly odd, but this was just plain bizarre.

He picked up the scrap of paper. Unfolding it, he stared in horror at what he saw there. A handful of sentences, but the first stood out as if lit in neon –

‘Dr. Jackson, we’ve taken Rose Conner. She’s in protective custody and safe at the moment, but her continued well-being depends on your cooperation,’ he read, his heart turning into ice. ‘If you value her life, you will follow these instructions exactly.

‘1. Replace your glasses with those provided. You should know we will be able to monitor your actions with them. Wear them at all times.’

Was that possible? Daniel really didn’t know, but he knew the SGC had similar technologies, he could take no chances with Rose’s life. He took off his own glasses and replaced them, they were even his prescription. He read on,

‘2. Put earpiece into ear. Do whatever you are told.’

He picked up the tiny object carefully. He had a suspicion he knew what it was. With a quick thrust he put it into his ear. "Hello," he said tentatively.

"Ah, Dr. Jackson," he heard in his ear. "Good of you to join me. I take it you’ve received our little gift?"

"Where is Rose? I want to talk to her right now."

The voice tutted, "Dr. Jackson, I don’t think you’re in any position to make demands. But just to show you my good faith, check your computer. I think you’ll find a web site that greatly interests you."

Daniel looked around his office. Someone had been in his office long enough to leave the package and get into his computer. What was going on here? Leaning over he moved his mouse back and forth to activate his computer. It had been in the power saver mode, the screen black. Slowly, the screen faded into view, the Internet up and a web site active.

Across the top, the logo proclaimed ‘Rose Cam Live,’ along one side was a streaming video. He found himself looking at a living room with a couch and chairs strewn around. He could see Rose seated on the couch, feet tucked up under her, flipping through the pages of a magazine. From his vantage point, Daniel could see two men seated at a table playing cards; big hulking men that could break a petite woman without even trying.

The voice in his ear was speaking again, "Now, Dr. Jackson, please believe me when I tell you that we can see and hear everything you see and hear. Don’t even think about trying to involve Jack O’Neill or anyone else, we’ll know and the girl dies."

The picture in the room shifted. Now he was looking at Rose straight on. The camera zoomed in and he could see that she seemed unconcerned, chewing a nail, glancing at the men occasionally. "As you can see she is unharmed. Her continued well-being depends on your cooperation totally."

"What do you want from me?" He felt this unknown person was backing him into a corner and he didn’t know what he was going to do about it. He took a deep breath. Okay, Jack would tell him, first find out what they wanted. Then, figure out what to do about it.

"You have some alien technology there at the SGC, Dr. Jackson, we want it."

Daniel didn’t even pretend to not know what the voice was talking about it, it never did any good any way, "You seem to have the run of the place. Why don’t you get it yourself?"

"While it is true that we have a certain amount of assistance inside the SGC, our people don’t have the, shall we say, access that you have. There are certain codes and access points that we just can’t get around, but you can. Now, no games," the voice turned low and menacing, "We want the ribbon device along with the healing device you have there.  And don't try anything clever, remember, I’ll be keeping an eye on you." The voice chuckled at its own joke."

"Are you insane?" Daniel felt the world closing around him. What was he going to do? It was true, he did have access to those things. He could conceivably take them without anyone being the wiser for several hours, but he couldn’t just give those technologies away – not for Rose, not for anything. "What do you want me to do? Put them in my pocket and just walk out the front door?"

"That about sums up the plan." The voice sounded pleased he had figured it out all on his own.

"The Air Force is not just going to let me walk out of here with those things." He was desperately trying to think.

"Of course they will, how often do you walk out of the SGC with restricted information on your person?" the voice was impatient, "Now go collect the toys." The image on the computer stopped streaming and went black. "Do it fast if you ever want to see your girlfriend again."

Daniel started to object, "She’s not my girlfriend," but stopped. It wasn’t really true and they just might kill her if they thought she couldn’t be used against him. He pushed the button on the computer monitor, plunging the screen back to darkness. It would be just what he needed right now for Jack to stumble across this mess.

Then his thumb hovered over the button to power the screen back up. Would Jack understand if he found it up? Probably yes, but his first course of action would be to find Daniel himself and question him – and Rose would die. Every scenario he ran in his head involving Jack ended that way. No: better to play it safe and do what they wanted until he could figure out how to alert Jack without tipping off the shadowy conspirators.

He picked up his empty briefcase and headed through the deserted halls of the SGC to the safe where they kept their confiscated Goa’uld devices. He very carefully kept his gaze ahead of him as he walked, looking neither to the right nor the left.

*****

Leaning back in his chair, Jack stretched to work out the kinks in his shoulders. He was infinitely proud of the fact that he had finally done it. He had finished his outstanding paperwork. Now he could head for home and watch the hockey game with a clear conscience. Okay, so his unfinished paperwork would have in no way interfered with his enjoyment of the game, still, it felt good to have the blessed stuff done, at least for now. That was the thing about paperwork, there was always more. He glanced at his watch. Sheesh, it was way past time to go home. The game was going to start any minute.

A shadow passed his door and he glanced up curiously just in time to see Daniel walk past. Jack frowned in deep displeasure. It was past time the kid had gone home. He was still recuperating from a gunshot wound, what did he think he was doing pushing himself like that? Oh, yeah, that was what Daniel did. He was preparing to track him down and send him home, forcibly if necessary, when the tinny sound of his cell phone stopped him.

One of the perks of working for the SGC was that they had the best technology available at their disposal. As a consequence, his cell phone got a strong signal, even when in the heart of a mountain. It took him a minute to locate the device and another to get it open. Whoever it was, wasn’t giving up. The phone had stopped ringing once when it had gone to voice mail, but had begun again seconds later. He flipped it open curiously,

"Jack O’Neill."

"Colonel O’Neill?" The voice on the other end was oddly muted as if the speaker was whispering and he could swear he could hear... what... a shower?? running in the background.

"Speaking. Who is this?" He thought the voice was familiar but he couldn’t quite place it.

"It’s Rose Conner, Colonel. I’m in trouble."

"Trouble?" Jack’s mind flipped to car trouble, trouble with Daniel, she wanted him to go find people with over-due books and bring them in kicking and screaming to pay their fines. What kind of trouble did librarians get into?

"Two men came to the library tonight. They said they were sent by the SGC to put me in protective custody." Oh, trouble! Instantly Colonel Jack O’Neill snapped into full military mode. "I apologize if I’ve stuck my foot into something by calling you, sir, but I didn’t know how else to find out if these guys were really telling the truth."

"Rose, you’ve done exactly the right thing. What’s your situation?"

Her voice was low and urgent, "Colonel, I don’t know how long I’ve got. They’ve been pretty lenient, so far, as long as I seemed to buy into their story. I managed to smuggle my cell phone with me when they took me from the library. They think I’m in the shower so we have to talk fast."

And she had had the presence of mind to call him and not Daniel? He was impressed. "Okay, What do you know?"

"There are two men that I’ve seen. Listen, Colonel, they came to the library, we have security cameras set up there."

"I understand. Keep talking," he was making notes furiously. He hit the button that would also record their conversation for later playback. Yes, the SGC had all the good toys.

"They put me in one of those paneled vans, so I couldn’t see where we were going. But I’m pretty sure we were on the Interstate for about 20 minutes before we turned off. We crossed a railroad track, and then it got really rough. They took a lot of turns after that; I just couldn’t keep up with them, but we drove another 20 minutes or so. It was dark, but it looked like a fairly deserted area where we stopped, kind of foresty with lots of trees."

"Did you get a look at the license plate of the van?" It was too much to hope for, but he had to ask.

"There wasn’t one in the front, I never got a look at the back. It was just your average white van. It didn’t have anything on it to tell me make or model. I’m sorry, Colonel, I just don’t know cars."

"Hey, don’t worry about it. You’ve already done better than most field agents I know. Now listen to me very carefully. Keep this phone on you at all times. Put the phone on vibrate. We don’t want a repeat of last week’s mess."

"I’ve already done that."

"Good. Keep doing what you’re doing. Don’t make them suspicious. If I need you to contact me, I’ll call and leave a message. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Rose."

"Yes?"

"Call me Jack."

"Okay..., Jack. I’m scared." Her voice broke just the smallest bit.

"You have every right. Now, hang up. Take your shower and take your time. Women take forever in the bathroom. I’ll try to get back to you just as soon as I can. When you feel the phone vibrate, get by yourself as quick as you can and call me back. But don’t take any chances. Alright?"

"Yes, thanks, si... Jack. Jack?"

"Yes?" His mind was racing already racing ahead trying to figure out the best plan of action, only half of his mind on the conversation.

"Don’t let Daniel do anything stupid. That’s why I was taken wasn’t it? They’ll use me against him, won’t they?"

She was absolutely right, he knew. "Don’t worry. We’ll take care of him." And you too, he silently promised. "Hang up now."

She did exactly as he ordered, he heard the phone click in his ear. Jack didn’t waste time; he picked up the phone on his desk and dialed Carter’s extension.

*****

When he made it back to his office with his mission complete, Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. He set down the briefcase that was now full of alien gadgets. It was obvious to him that whoever was behind this operation knew a lot about the day-to-day workings of the SGC. Was there some super secret spy manual out there – ‘The SGC and You’? How much did they know?

Did they know, for instance, that the briefcase he had just put all those alien devices in was his favorite? He had purchased it, all those years ago, when he had received his first paycheck from the Air Force. It had been to him the triumph over all those who had told him his theories were crazy and had literally laughed him out of academia. He might not have been able to tell anyone, but he had bought the most expensive case he could find, paying for it with the monies he had earned whilst proving those same insane theories. He had loved its leathery soft surface and all its pockets. Jack had kept it for him while he had been on Abydos, returning it when Daniel had been forced to return to Earth a year later.

Did they know he had misplaced it several months ago? He’d been so distressed over its loss that Sam had bought him an identical case to replace it. His friends had laughed at him when he’d finally unearthed the original case under a mountain of files on his desk. He had kept both cases, loving the new as much as the old. Would the people behind this newest plot know such intimate details of their life at the SGC? Daniel fervently hoped not.

"Now what?" he demanded of the empty air of his office.

"Problems?" For a moment he thought the voice had changed to a woman, but then he turned and saw Sam standing in the doorway.

"Get rid of her," the voice hissed into his ear. If he had doubted whether the mysterious other could truly see and hear what Daniel himself saw and heard; now he knew the truth.

"Hey Sam," he said as casually as he could manage. "No problems. I’m just on my way out." She was usually quick to take a hint, but not tonight. She sat in the chair beside his desk and took a comfortable position, clearly intending to stay.

"Well, I had a problem. I was hoping I could bounce some ideas off you; see if you could help me out. Do you have a second?"

"No," the voice in his ear barked.

"I’m sorry, Sam." He hoped his voice didn’t sound as strained as he felt. "I have plans. I’ve got to go." He bent and picked up his case, hoping against hope that Sam would get the clue and leave.

No, she just turned in the chair, "It’ll only take a second, really. You see..."

The voice in Daniel’s ear was hissing and he was having a hard time concentrating on both voices at once. "Sam, I don’t want to be rude, but I really am in a hurry." He leaned over and turned off his computer. Then, taking Sam by the elbow, he forced her to stand and marched her with him out of the office. He stopped in the hall to turn off the light and pull the door closed behind them. "I’ll see you in the morning, we can talk then." He turned his back on her and moved in the direction of the elevators. Sam watched his receding back in open-mouthed astonishment.

Daniel walked as quickly as he dared without actually running. He breathed a sigh of relief when he was actually in the elevator headed for the surface. "Now what?" He asked again.

"Just get in your car and drive. I’ll give you directions as you go." This time it was only the voice in his ear that answered.

Daniel leaned back against the elevator wall, trying to gather his thoughts. How could this be happening? Rose was a complete innocent. She had done nothing except to have the misfortune of knowing one Daniel Jackson. The elevator doors opened and he straightened with resolve. He didn’t know how he was going to accomplish it, but he would see her safely from this situation and then he would tell her goodbye – for her own safety and well-being.

*****

The only other time Sam could ever remember Daniel truly being rude to her, he had been under the influence of a Goa’uld sarcophagus. She hadn’t liked the experience then, and she didn’t like it now. Now, as then, she suspected there was an outside influence at work on her friend. The Colonel had told her to hold him as long as she could and she had done the best she could, she just hoped it had been long enough. She didn’t know what was going on, but she intended to find out.

She watched the elevator doors close behind Daniel and then she turned, heading back to his office. Opening the door and turning the light back on, she looked around curiously, trying to see if there was anything out of place. Her eyes narrowed as her gaze fell on the second briefcase, sitting on the floor. Curiously she picked it up and she crossed over to the desk to pick up the phone and dial the Colonel’s extension. She set it down as she began to rifle through the papers on his desk.

A part of her felt a little guilty that she was invading Daniel’s privacy this way. But there was another part, the much larger part that was his friend that said that Daniel was acting really weird. Not just his usual brand of flaky where he forgot to eat or sleep for days on end, no this was something different. And when Daniel acted really weird there was usually something going on. As his friend, it was her responsibility to find out what that something was and help if she could. If she had to do that by going through his stuff, well then, so be it. She’d apologize to him later.

The first thing she saw on his desk, among the books and files scattered there, were his glasses. She was certain he’d been wearing glasses when he left; she would have noticed if he hadn’t, he looked so different without them. She tucked them into the pocket of her shirt. Next to the glasses was a crumpled piece of paper. She picked it up just as the phone was finally picked up on the other end.

"Jack O’Neill."

"Sir, I kept him here as long as I could. I hope it was long enough."

"You did good, Carter," he assured her. "We got a GPS tracker on his car. He isn’t going anywhere that we can’t find him." The Colonel sounded infinitely pleased with himself. He’d been wanting to put a bell on Daniel for the longest time. "We’ve also got a tail on him, so if he switches cars or anything tricky, hopefully we won’t lose him."

"Sir, may I ask what’s..." It was then that she unfolded the crumpled note in her hand and began to scan it. "Holy Hannah, Sir. They’ve got Rose."

"I know that, Major. What else can you tell me?"

She scanned the note quickly and then turned to the briefcase she had laid down on the desk. Opening it, she whistled softly in amazement.

"Report, Major." She could hear the faint irritation in his voice that he wasn’t there seeing what she was seeing.

"I found a note from the kidnappers. Somehow they have Daniel wired for sight and sound."

"So they know whatever he knows. Do we know what they want?"

"Well, sir, I have Daniel’s briefcase here. It’s full of every Goa’uld gizmo and gadget he could fit in it. Funny thing is, I watched him walk out of here carrying this bag."

There was a pause as the Colonel assessed the information, "Do you think he pulled a switch on them? The other one is empty?"

"I think so, Sir. He and Rose are going to be in real trouble when whoever’s behind this finds out they’ve been tricked."

"Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Rose managed to get a call to me after she was taken. She gave me enough information that we have a couple of pretty solid locations to check. With any luck Daniel’s headed to her and we’ll only have one fire to contain."

"When are we going, sir?"

"They’re warming up the chopper now. You have 5 minutes to find anything else helpful in Daniel’s office. Then suit up and meet me at the helicopter. We’re going to get our kids."

Sam hung up. It didn’t take her the five minutes to boot up Daniel’s computer or to find the ‘Rose Cam’ site in Daniel’s history file. The streaming video was still blank, but she was able to search the cache files and see the video of the young woman alone in the house with two hulking men.

She was out of the office at a dead run. She was ready and waiting when the Colonel and Teal’c joined her at the helicopter.

*****

Reaching out of the stall, Rose grabbed the towel from the bar and wrapped it around her wet, dripping body. She had stayed in the shower as long as she dared. She had simply sat on the floor of the stall letting the hot water run over her, trying to quell the cold fear that threatened to swamp her. She knew that she couldn’t let that happen. Her life, and maybe Daniel’s, depended on her staying calm. Staying in control of the dangerous game she was playing. She didn’t know how much longer she had before the men outside grew tired of being her protectors and became her guards. She had to play her part, maintain the facade as long as she could. She had to give Jack time to plan and act.

The small room was now filled with steam and her fingers and toes were white and wrinkled. But still, she shivered with fear. Now she had to leave the relative safety of the bathroom. She had to go out again and face her captives with a smiling face and an unsuspecting air. She had to face the man who had been leering at her all night and pretend she didn’t see.

Slowly she wiped the beads of water from her arms and legs, letting the simple everyday motions lull her back into a sense of normality. She bent and used the towel to briskly dry her hair, using her fingers to comb out the tangles. That done, she pulled the gray sweats from the overnight bag. She didn’t know why the men had taken her by her apartment, letting her pack the little bag. Maybe they thought to maintain the charade in their own way, lull her into complacency. Whatever their reason, she was grateful for the small kindness.

She pulled on her bra and panties, smoothing the silky garments into place. And then the sweats, the same ones she had been given at the SGC for her overnight stay. With them she felt some measure of courage returning, as if she were a gladiator armoring herself before going out to face the lions. She pulled out a clean pair of socks and slipped her feet into them and tied on the simple white sneakers that were her favorite shoes.

She was startled by a sudden knock on the door. The knob rattled and she thanked G-d that she’d locked it. "You need any help in there?" A male voice called out, "I could scrub your back."

Rose struggled to maintain her cheerful voice, "No, thanks. I’m almost done. I’ll be out in a second."

"Just checking," the hateful man answered, with a low threatening chuckle. "Just want to make sure your stay with us is as comfortable as possible."

She leaned on the counter for a moment shaking as she heard him walk away, trying to push back the fear. She knew her time was running out, she had to finish quickly. Breathing deeply, she leaned over the bag one more time and pulled the little book of matches she carried wherever she went and slipped them into her pocket. She wasn’t a smoker and yet she had found them to be invaluable to keep on hand. She couldn’t imagine what use they would be in the circumstances, but she would be prepared. Then, in the bottom of the bag, under another layer of clothes, she dug around to find the roll of duct tape she always kept in the bag, and the Swiss army knife was in the side pocket where she had remembered putting it.

MacGyver had always been one of her very favorite shows on television. She admired the way he could get out of any situation with just duct tape and that little red knife. She had begun to carry them herself wherever she went and had been amazed at the number of times they had come to her rescue; like now. She cut a couple of strips of the duct tape and then put the roll back in the bag, hiding it as best she could beneath her clothes. She took the little knife and tucked it into her sneaker.

As she had sat in the shower, she had puzzled over the problem of what to do with the phone. She didn’t want to risk just putting it into a pocket or a waistband, she was too afraid that it might fall out and be discovered. After much thought, she had decided that the best thing was to secure it to her person. And that’s exactly what she did. Lifting the hem of her sweatshirt, she picked up the phone and, using the strips of duct tape, she taped it directly to her body. If it vibrated she would be sure to feel it there against her skin, and hopefully the relative shapelessness of the shirt would disguise the curve it created. Wiping the steam from the mirror, she regarded her reflection critically and decided that it was the best she could do. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and went out to face her captors.

*****

Daniel drove into the night, following the directions of the faceless voice in his ear. Worry for Rose was his main concern. It was so stupid to have left the case with her ransom back at the SGC. At the same time, he couldn’t just hand over the Goa’uld technology. He knew of at least one Goa’uld that had been hiding out on earth, who knew how many more there were. He couldn’t be responsible for the death and carnage that would result if one of those parasites got their hands on their devices of power. No, he would be responsible for just one death – Rose.

How could this keep happening to him? Just when he thought he had found someone that he could be happy with, someone that he might have a chance for a normal life with, she was snatched away. As he drive on, into the night, his thoughts whirled in a vicious cycle of guilt and despair, he kept coming to the same conclusion – in order for Rose to be safe, he had to never see her again.

Listening to the voice, he exited the interstate. Turning the car onto a little country lane he slowed to cross a set of railroad tracks. Around him the countryside began fill on either side with trees that bent over the road, blocking his view of the sky.

"It’s not too far now," the voice assured him.

****

The house was quiet, with only the small creaks and groans that houses make in the middle of the night to disturb the stillness. Rose stood in the little bedroom trying to quiet her thoughts. Hoping, hoping, that the Colonel would stop Daniel from doing anything foolish to try and rescue her, that he would save them both as he had once before in the library.

That time, when she and Daniel had been running for their lives, there had been no time to think, no time for fear to take hold, only time to act and to do. Now there was no action she could take, she had done everything she knew to do. All she could do now was wait and think. She felt like she was floundering in high water, paddling for all she was worth to keep her head above water.

She had emerged from the bathroom smiling and yawning, claiming fatigue after a long day. "And I want to look my best when Daniel finally gets here," she had said brightly. To her own ears, her words had sounded false, but the two men seemed to accept it. To her relief, it had been Agent Michaels who accompanied her into the bedroom, making a show of checking it out, warning her to stay away from the window.

Thanking him, she turned the light out, listening from behind the closed door as the sound of his footsteps receded down the hall. Carefully she had checked the window, not really sure what she was looking for. She found no suspicious wires or anything to indicate that it was booby trapped or alarmed in any way. She peeked through the curtain, trying to see if there was anyone outside guarding the house. All she could see was deep shadow, trees hung over the house hiding even the light of the stars.

She paced the little room, listening to the night noises the house made, trying to figure out what to do. Some sixth sense warned her that time was running out and she needed to have a plan of action in case the Colonel wasn’t able to help them in time. Her steps kept taking her to the window. For the life of her, she couldn’t see anyone out there. No sign that there was anyone guarding her but the two men actually in the house with her. Deciding she had to take the chance, she took a deep breath and put her hands on the casing. There was a squeak from the hallway and she dove for the bed. She made it, none too soon.

"I thought you’d like to know," the door to the room opened. Light from the living room spilled in to silhouette the big man standing there. It was Manny, the one who’d been watching her all night. He’d taken off his suit jacket; his muscles bulged beneath his shirt. "Dr. Jackson is on his way now."

She sat up, not liking the way he was eyeing her lying there. "Thank you. How long before he’ll be here?"

"Oh, I think we have enough time for us to have a little fun before he gets here." He moved into the room, shutting the door behind him.

Rose’s heart hammered in fear as he moved across the room to stand next to the bed, looming over her.

"Excuse me?" was all she could think to say, her mind paralyzed.

"Well," he sat next to her, the bed creaking under his weight. She started to scramble away, but he caught her easily, "I just thought we could get to know each other a little better, that’s all."

Her mind was awhirl, this couldn’t be happening. "I thought you were supposed to be protecting me," she spluttered in protest.

He leaned over her, his face close to hers, "Just who did you think we were protecting you from?"

Rose struggled beneath him, but he was too strong. There was nowhere for her to go and nothing for her to do. She could feel his mouth and his hands touching her, and her mind froze in panic.  Then he shifted in the bed, crouching over her and she drew up her knees and kicked with as much strength as she could muster. He shifted backwards at the last minute and her feet missed their target, catching him instead squarely in the chest. He was flung from the bed, and lay for a moment stunned on the floor. Taking her chance she scrambled from the bed, headed for the door. She really didn’t have any idea in mind except escape from the room and the man behind her.

She had reached the door when he caught her again, throwing her back against the wall, knocking the breath from her body. He pushed himself up against her, mashing his lips to hers. She stood absolutely still, refusing to give him the satisfaction of feeling her squirm beneath him. He held her easily with one hand, using the other to grope her body under her sweatshirt. At the last second she realized, that was where the phone was. She tried to jerk away, but it was too late, he’d already felt it’s hard surface. He ripped her shirt in two to reveal the tape covered bulge at her waist.

"What do we have here?" He pulled the tape and the phone came away in his hand. He stared at it a moment as if trying to figure out what it was. Then he looked at her with a hard, calculating look in his eye, "Did you call anyone with this?"

"I called my stockbroker to check on my stocks," she spat at him. He hit her once with his fist, pain flaring in her face as stars danced before her eyes. She could feel warm blood running down her cheek, but she just set herself and stared at him defiantly.

"I asked if you called anyone," he said in a low dangerous tone. He twisted her arm behind her back, putting enough pressure that she actually thought she heard the bone creak. "Now who did you call? O’Neill?"

She hissed in pain as the arm bent farther in a direction that it wasn’t supposed to go, "I called everyone. I called the Air Force. I called the National Guard. I called the President of the freakin United States." She spit out at him, knowing what she courted, "They’re all on their way right now." She felt the moment the bone snapped and closed her eyes to the white hot pain that threatened to overwhelm her.

He let her go then and she fell to the floor in a heap, trying to protect the injured arm as best she could. She didn’t see the foot that connected with her ribs. But she felt the burst of agony and eagerly embraced the darkness that came with it.

When she came to again, she was lying on the bed, her body a mass of pain. She felt as if she’d been used as a battering ram against a door that had never yielded. The hulking man was again crouching over her, leering expectantly, "I don’t expect you to have much fight left now," he whispered. His body was close enough she could feel the heat coming from him in waves. He put both hands on her face, making her whimper. He moved in slowly, grotesque mouth looming towards hers.

The door opened again, the other man stuck his head in, "You need to leave that for now, Jackson’s here."

"Well, shit," he growled not moving from where he was - mere inches from her face, "we were just getting to the good part." He kissed her then, hard, and patted her cheek, causing the pain to ricochet through her abused and battered face. "Remember where we were, because I’ll be back," he whispered in her ear. He reached over and ripped the cord from the lamp that was placed on a table next to the bed. He used it to bind her wrists, careless of the pain he caused in the broken arm. He lifted her arms over her head to tie them to the iron post of the bed. The awful pain that accompanied the movement was more than she could bear and the blackness rose to claim her.

Pulling the knots tight, he whispered, "You just stay right here. After we’re done with Loverboy, I’ll be back. We’ll finish later when you’re awake to enjoy it." He mashed a kiss on her unconscious lips, ran a careless hand down her body and departed the room.

*****

Manny joined Agent Michaels in the living room of the little house. Michaels stood at the ready, gun in hand when the knock came at the door. He opened it to admit the archeologist.

"Dr. Jackson, we’ve been expecting you," he said congenially.

The archeologist came into the room warily. The door closed behind him of its own accord shutting off his escape route and Manny stood there, his gun also at the ready.

"I believe you have a package for us," Agent Michaels said.

Daniel clutched the case to him protectively. "I want to see Rose first."

Manny chuckled evilly, "Oh, I’m sure you do. But you’re not in charge here. We are. Goods first. Then maybe we’ll let you see the girl. If you play nice."

Daniel swallowed hard against the bile that rose in his throat. They were going to find out his deception and things were going to get ugly....

*****

The helicopter carrying the remaining team members of SG-1 and a full team of marines set down a half mile away from the little house where Daniel had finally parked his car. It chafed against O’Neill’s need to do something, but he knew they couldn’t just go in shooting. Daniel and Rose would very likely die if they did that.

They had to go in slowly and carefully. They needed to scout the perimeter, make sure there weren’t any alarms or guards that could alert the occupants of the house to their presence. They had to find out what they were up against and plan accordingly. He swore to himself that if anything had happened to either of them, that someone would pay.

He thought about calling Rose and alerting her, he’d thought about it constantly over the last hour, just to make sure she was alright. But remembering the disaster in the library, he had refrained. She was smart; she would know they were on their way. Instead, as they moved out, Jack said a silent prayer to whatever Gods kept watch over archeologists and librarians to keep them safe. He signaled for his team to spread out. They made their way slowly and methodically through the woods toward the house.

*****

When Rose regained consciousness she just lay there, for how long she never knew, wondering how she could hurt so bad and still be alive. She had never known pain like this was possible. Her arm, in it’s unnatural position stretched above her, was on fire. But she was also aware of a pain in her stomach and her back that seemed to white out all of the rest of the damage to her body.

She couldn’t believe that she had even for a second considered leaving the safety of the library to join this world. Not if it was like this, full of crazy insane men bent on murder and mayhem. Because she had no doubt in her mind that the hulking man intended to kill her. It just wouldn’t be soon enough, she was sure, to spare her the rest of what he had in store for her.

Try as she might to block the thoughts, to concentrate on her physical injuries; she could still feel his hands on her body, the way his mouth had pressed against hers - hot and heavy, suffocating. In so many ways those memories hurt worse than the physical injuries she had suffered. She couldn’t help the tiny sob that escaped her.

"Jackson’s here." Had she really heard that? Oh, Daniel, what were they going to do? She had thought she could love him, had even dared hope she could join him in his world, but she didn’t think she was strong enough for this.

The door opened and someone was shoved inside, the door slamming shut behind them. Before she could focus on the shape on the floor, determine who it was, it moved to sit on the bed beside her. Without thought, Rose moved away, shutting her eyes and whimpering in fear.

"Oh, G-d," a low voice murmured. "What have they done to you?" There was anguish and pain in his voice and she forced herself to open her eyes and look at him. Daniel!

"The room service here really sucks," she rallied to answer through cracked and bloodied lips. "Can we go home now?"

He touched her cheek with a gentle trembling hand, taking in the torn clothes, the way she flinched when he touched her. "What did they do to you?"

She turned away, unable to look in his eyes, "They didn’t... I just...," tears rolled down her face, not just from the pain. She took a shuddering breath and turned back to him, "I just want to go home. Can’t we do that?"

He was afraid to touch her, afraid of causing her more hurt. "I’m so sorry. Please forgive me."  

She smiled then, a small smile that barely touched her bloody lips, "You always seem to be saying that to me."

He moved to look at the cord that was holding her bound to the bed, "Let me see if I can at least get these loose."  He brushed her arm, and she cried out.

"Don't, please.  It hurts."  He pulled his hand away from the cord as if scalded.

He swallowed his own despair, looking at her lying there, bloody and broken.  "It's okay, I'll stop."  She winced again when he moved.  "It's okay," he said soothingly, "I won't do it again."  Deliberately he took off his glasses and put them in his pocket, then he took something out of his ear and stepped on it. She watched him in confusion, not certain what he was doing. He smiled reassuringly, "Just giving us some privacy." 

He knelt on the floor beside the bed, being very careful not to jostle the bed and cause her more pain.  Taking out his handkerchief, he tried to wipe the blood off her mouth, "I wish I could take you home. I wish I could make your life safe again the way it was before... me." He took a breath and just told her, "I’m so sorry, Rose; I didn’t do what they wanted me to. They’re making me go back to the SGC; they said if I don’t, they’ll kill you. They’re just giving me time to see you, see that they’re serious."

She knew what was going to happen to her when Daniel left, but panic welled up within her, this couldn’t be for nothing. Her pain couldn’t be used to force him to give in. She twisted against her bonds and cried out, "Daniel, you can’t give them anything. They’re going to kill us both anyway. Or worse." The tears leaked out of her eyes leaving a pink trail through the blood on her cheek.

He wiped them away, "This is all my fault, you know. If you didn’t know me, if you didn’t know about the Stargate, these people wouldn’t be hurting you now." He took a deep breath, "I promise you, I’ll get you out of this – somehow. And when you’re finally safe, I’ll just walk away. You’ll never see me again."

She just stared at him for a moment with wide frightened eyes and then a new emotion coursed through her - anger. "How dare you do that to me?"

"Wha...? What?"

"I think I’ve at least earned the right to be consulted before you write me off."

"Rose," he protested, "it’s your safety I’m thinking of here. Please, they’re going to come back for me any minute. Let me try again to get you untied, I'll be careful."

"Don’t touch me. I can take care of myself thank you very much."

"Rose I’m sorry, I don’t..."

"Stop saying that," she shouted at him, and then the anger was gone. He just wanted to keep her safe. Just moments before, she herself had longed for just that safe sterile world he would see her returned to. It wasn’t what she wanted; she knew that now. She took a deep breath, the time for self-pity was over. They had to save themselves. "Daniel, you’re right, could you untie me, please? I think we need to get out of here."

He hesitated a moment in confusion, but then bent to examine the cord binding her. It was stubborn, try as he might he couldn’t get it undone. The man who had tied her there had drawn the knots too tight and they resisted his best efforts.

Her hiss of pain drew his attention, "I have a knife in my shoe," she panted out.

He didn’t ask, simply slid the shoe off to find the little red knife exactly as she’d said. With it in hand, he made quick work of the cord.  Lowering her arms gently, he did his best to be gentle with the one that was broken. Despite his best efforts, she moaned, barely managing to hold onto consciousness. He helped her to stand and she leaned against him, gathering her strength.

He pulled his belt off and fashioned a sling. Slipping it over her head, he asked, "I’m not so sure this is a good idea, but what next?" He settled her arm in the sling, securing it as best he could.

"The window. They told me it had an alarm on it, but I think they lied."

"It’s too bad we don’t have a distraction," he muttered as he helped her to the window. He looked around the frame, coming to the same conclusion she had earlier. He looked back when she tugged on his sleeve.

She was holding up a book of matches, a wicked gleam in her eye, "I don’t know how much of a distraction it will make, but it’ll make me feel a whole lot better." She clutched the book awkwardly.

Seeing what she had in mind, he took them from her. Pulling off a match, he swept it across the black strip watching it flare to life with satisfaction. Carefully, he threw it onto the bed, and then another. The matches bit into the bedspread with satisfying speed and quickly moved out to engulf the whole bed. They both watched a moment in fascination before they realized the additional danger they had put themselves into.

*****

The night was quiet, punctuated only by the sound of the wind through the leaves and the crickets singing in the grass. The little house surrounded by trees looked deceptively calm; there was no sign of whatever was happening inside.

O’Neill, Carter and Teal’c crouched outside, in the shadows afforded by the trees. The marines were patrolling the perimeter around them. So far, no guards or alarms had been found.

"Carter, you ready?" The colonel asked.

The blonde major had removed her jacket and untucked her black T-shirt. She tousled her short hair, so it spiked up. She took a hand gun and tucked it into the waistband of her pants, against the small of her back. She was as ready as she was going to get. "Ready, Sir," she affirmed.

"Okay, Carter, this is recon only, see what you can see," he instructed her. "Do not, I repeat, do not, try to go in there alone. Do you understand me, Major?"

"Crystal, Sir." She grinned at him, her teeth flashing brilliantly in the dark, "I can follow orders at least as well as you, Sir."

"Major." His tone held a hint of threat.

"Don’t worry, Sir. I know the plan," she assured him.

"Good luck, Major Carter," Teal’c said solemnly.

"Thanks, I’ll take it." She saluted O’Neill and then headed for the house.

The colonel and Teal’c watched as she approached the house and knocked on the door.

*****

Sam walked to the house quickly, keeping watch for any guards that might be posted outside. She went straight to the front door and knocked. There was the sound of furniture inside and men’s voices, then a pause before the door opened cautiously. One of the men she remembered from the video on Daniel’s computer stood there, larger and more imposing than even she had thought he would look. She smiled brightly.

"I’m really sorry to bother you, but I am so lost." She looked beyond him into the room. All she saw was another man sitting at the table, eyeing her with interest. "I was just wondering if I could borrow your phone? I was supposed to visit some friends and they’re going to be worried about me."

The man at the door looked her over suspiciously, eyes narrowed, "We don’t have a phone. We come out her to get away from it all."

"Hey, don’t be so rude, Michaels," the other man said, standing. "Invite the lady in. I’m sure we could figure out some way to help her out." He hitched up his pants and took a step forward.

Sam wanted to take him out right then and there, but she controlled herself, "I don’t know where I went wrong. And on top of every thing else I’m out of gas. Maybe one of you could drive me back to town so I could get gas? I could call my friends from there and get better directions." She saw no sign of Daniel or Rose, but this was definitely the room from the ‘Rose Cam,’ and she had walked past Daniel’s car to get to the door. "I’d be so grateful," she drawled suggestively, smiling seductively. From where she stood she could see doors at the end of the hall.

The other man moved forward, ready to help her out. Michaels glared at him, "We don’t have time for this. Look, lady, you’ve come to the wrong house. We can’t help you. So if I were you..."

"Oh, come on," she said in a wheedling tone, "surely you could take an hour and give a girl a ride?"

Manny pushed past the other man, "Hey, we ain’t got nothing better to do than babysit. What’s wrong with having a little fun?" He reached for Sam and she moved toward him.

The other man pulled him back into the room, "Because that’s not what we’re being paid to do. Now shut your mouth before you say too much."

"Hey, what’s going on? I could be interested in a little excitement." Sam turned her smile on Manny and the man practically melted where he stood. But Michaels was having none of it. "I said no," he told the other man, when he tried to push past him again to get to Sam. "As for you, lady," he turned back to Sam, "If you value your health, I would advise you to leave here now and forget you ever saw this place."

Sam pouted, "Well, geez, I was only trying to be friendly. Now, I have to walk all the way back to my car all by myself. This is the only house for miles, you know that don’t you?"

"You’re breaking my heart, lady," the man said with disdain. "Now get lost now." He slammed the door in her face.

Sam shrugged and walked away slowly with a nonchalant air for any audience she might have.

In the house, Manny rounded on his partner. "Hey, why did you have to send her away like that? We could have had a party."

"Because we’re not here to have a party, you idiot. You know what’s going on here. Any mistakes and you and I are taking the fall. Now, he’s been in there long enough. Go get him. He’s going back for the stuff."

Manny turned and huffed back down the hall

*****

Daniel opened the window slowly, sure that at any moment an alarm would sound, betraying them. But there was nothing, just the crackling of the bed behind them. He quickly pushed the screen out, wondering how long it would be before the thugs in the next room came back for him and discovered they were gone. He climbed through and then turned to help Rose follow into the cool night air. He allowed himself a moment’s triumph that they had made it that far.

Then he heard a shout from the room behind them and knew they had to move. He put his arm around her waist, giving her as much support as he could. Hugging her tightly to him, they headed for the shelter of the trees.

*****

"Sir," Carter ran when she reached the safety of the trees. "No sign of them. But there are some rooms around the house." She pointed, then she gasped. He followed her motion and saw two figures running through the darkness, disappearing into the trees. Was it Daniel and Rose? Chances were good as sounds of shouting erupted from the house, followed by gunfire. The three members of SG-1 followed the line of trees to intercept the pair who had been swallowed by the darkness.

*****

Behind Daniel and Rose, gunshots rang out, piercing the stillness of the night. Daniel hung onto Rose, moving as fast as he could. Her good arm was flung around him and she clasped him tightly, panting for breath. They reached the relative safety of the tree line and plunged inside.

Daniel chanced a backwards glance. The man had disappeared from the window that now glowed with a warm golden light. As he watched, it seemed to spread and grow. He turned away and pushed on, knowing the gunmen wouldn’t be too far behind them.

They hadn’t gone many steps further when Rose stumbled and fell to her knees. I’m sorry," was all she could get out. Through the blood, he could see that her face was white and drained.

He helped her to sit, leaning her gently against a tree. "I’m going to see if I can lead them away from you," he whispered.

Her only response was to nod and lay her head back against the tree. It went against his every instinct to leave her there alone, but he didn’t know what else to do. He moved quietly away, soon lost in the darkness.

Rose sat with her head back, feeling the roughness of the bark there, just glad for the time to sit. She didn’t think she could run anymore but she hoped that Daniel would get away. Maybe if he could escape, he could find the colonel and the two of them could come back for her. It was a good plan, she opened her eyes to share it with him, and discovered that Daniel was gone; she didn’t see him anywhere. Had he left her there? She dimly remembered him telling her something, but she couldn’t quite think what it was. She looked back the way they had come; she could see the light of the fire through the trees. Did they do that?

Suddenly she sensed movement coming towards her. She didn’t know where Daniel had gone, but she couldn’t take the chance that it was him returning. Surely he would call out and let her know if it was him moving silently through the trees. She scrambled around, looking for something to defend herself with, her knife having been abandoned back on the burning bed. Finding nothing, she used the tree to slowly lever herself to her feet. She tried to moved deeper into the darkness when a hand grabbed her around the waist, the other going over her mouth to short circuit the cry of pain and fear that escaped her.

Having nothing at hand to defend herself with, she did the only thing she could and bit the hand over her mouth and shoved her good elbow firmly into the ribs of the person holding her waist.

"Shit," exploded into her ear. The arm around her waist didn’t budge. "You’re not supposed to bite the hand of the person who’s come to rescue you."

"Jack?" She didn’t even have the strength to turn and see his face. She was just glad of the strong arm that now held her up. "Daniel. You’ve got to help Daniel," was all she got out before the darkness rose and engulfed her.

Jack felt her go limp in his grasp. She fell backwards into him and he gently lowered her to the ground. He called out for Carter to join him. Quickly the Major joined him and knelt to see to Rose.

Taking her vitals, Sam looked up at the Colonel in concern, "Sir, we’ve got to get her out of here now."

"No kidding," his sarcasm hiding his very real concern, "you stay with her. I’ll find Daniel and Teal’c."

Behind them, the house exploded into a ball of flame, lighting up the night as bright as day. Not far away, Jack could see a slim figure; a few paces from him stood another man with a gun trained on him. Before Jack could call out and warn Daniel, he heard the discharge of the staff weapon Teal’c carried. The man with the gun collapsed within feet of Daniel, a smoking hole in his back.

"Daniel," Jack called out softly. The other man turned and made his way to them, followed closely by Teal’c.

"Remind me not to piss the two of you off," Jack commented, as he took in the sight of Daniel, dirty and disheveled from his run through the wood, but whole for once. "Let’s get out of here." He radioed their position to the waiting helicopter.

A medical team arrived quickly with a gurney for the injured Rose. They loaded her onto it, working with practiced efficiency. Leaving the marines to take care of whatever was left of the conspiracy, SG-1 climbed aboard the helicopter to make their way home.

*****

Daniel and the rest of SG-1 spent long hours sitting outside of the infirmary waiting to find out what was happening. He longed to be inside, but the Doctor wouldn’t allow them in while she was working hard to save Rose’s life. It was in the early hours of the morning before she finally emerged, smiling a weary smile of triumph and let the four in.

Too often it was Daniel himself who was lying in the bed, surrounded by machines and lines. He would gladly have traded places with her this time. Rose’s face bore the most visible marks of the brutality visited upon her. It was bruised, with bandages covering the places where the Doctor had had to sew the cuts. Her arm was encased in a cast from shoulder to fingers. It rested on top of the covers which were pulled to her chin, hiding the rest of her injuries from sight.

Daniel pulled a chair up and sat at her side, taking her good hand. He intended to sit and watch with her while she slept.

"You guys go on," he told his friends. "I’m just going to stay here with her for a while. I don’t want her to wake up and be alone."

It was Teal’c who answered for all of them, "I think we shall stay also, Daniel Jackson. We would not have you wake and find that you are alone."

He looked at them one by one and they nodded. Teal’c took up a position at the head of the bed. No one would harm either of them while he was there to guard them. Sam lay down on the bed opposite, Jack pulled up a chair and sat next to Daniel.

"We’ll just stay with you for now," he said. "The general’s got people working on the situation. They won’t need us for awhile yet. Besides, whoever left that stuff in your office might still be around."

For the first time that long night it suddenly dawned on Daniel that his team had been there exactly when he needed them, where he needed them. "How did you...?"

"Hey," Jack shrugged. "You know you can’t keep anything from us. I’m really pissed off that you tried. But," he paused, taking in Daniel’s drawn and desperately tired face. He was hurting too from his own half-healed injury, though he wouldn’t admit it, "you did good tonight. You could have done better by sharing with the rest of us, but you did good."

"Thanks, Jack." He looked at Rose, "but I didn’t do good enough. G-d, just look at her. How can I ever look at her again without knowing what pain I caused her? I think one of them might have raped her," he confessed quietly.

There was a stunned silence at that. No one knew quite what to say. The silence stretched on and then there was a whisper from the bed, "Daniel?"

"Hey," he leaned in to see that her eyes were open and looking at him, one of them was an angry black and nearly swollen shut. "You’re supposed to be asleep. If the Doctor comes in and finds out we woke you up, she’ll have us up by our thumbs." He spoke calmly and soothingly.

"No," she said.

"No, what?" He asked patiently, he knew the disorientation you felt when you first woke up like this, drugged and in pain.

"It didn’t happen." She licked her lips. "He... started to..., you know..." tears began to fall, and he wiped them away. "But he didn’t. You came and you saved me," she told him with quiet strength, grasping his hand with hers. "Please, don’t leave me alone."

The rest of his team was silent, they faded back trying to give the two the privacy the moment demanded. "Rose, we can talk about this later." He assured her, smoothing her hair back gently. "You need to sleep now."

"No," she said again, stubbornly. "Now." She licked her lips again and he picked up a cup with ice chips that he found next to the bed and put one in her mouth. She swallowed and continued, "I’m afraid."

"Afraid of what? You’re here with us now."

"I’m afraid you’ll decide for me, Daniel. That you’ll decide I don’t need you." The monitors in the background began to beep faster as her agitation increased.

"You would be safer without me," he agreed with her sadly.

"But it wouldn’t be a life. Please..."

"It’s okay," he leaned in close to whisper soothingly to her. "I won’t make any decisions until we talk, okay?" She looked into his eyes, and deciding that he meant it, she nodded, a mere tilt of her head.

"You’d better not," she breathed. "... be really angry with you." Then closing her eyes, she fell back into sleep.

"So, what are you going to do?" Sam finally broke the silence.

"Wait until she’s well enough to face the facts."

The colonel snorted from his chair. "Good luck, Danny Boy."

Daniel just glared at him and then turned back to Rose, trying to convince himself that cutting himself out of her life now before they became too close was the best thing for both of them. Before they became too close, yea right!

*****

When the doctor came in to check on her patient, she found them all there, as she had known she would. Teal’c was at the head of the bed, seated on the floor, doing his kel-no-reem. Sam was actually laying in one of the empty beds. Daniel and the colonel, she saw, were both seated next to Rose’s bed in the hard plastic chairs afforded by the US government for use in the facility. They were going to be stiff and sore in the morning, she knew.  Daniel had fallen asleep holding Rose’s hand between his, his head laying on her bed. The colonel was stretched out as far as he could, his arms crossed on his chest. She couldn't help but grin, they were quite a sight. 

She picked up some blankets and made sure they were tucked in as well as they could be in their various and bizarre positions, making a mental note to bring them aspirin along with their coffee when they woke. Then she continued on with her work, satisfied that Rose was in the best hands possible.

*****

Following a tip from the doctor as to where SG-1 was to be found, the general made his way to the infirmary early the next morning. At the sound of his steps, Teal’c opened his eyes and acknowledged his presence, but the others were well and truly asleep. He hated to wake them, but there was work to be done and it had to be done quickly. He touched them one by one, leaving Daniel for last.

They followed him into the hall to talk so as not to disturb the sleeping woman.

"General," Daniel implored, "can’t I just stay a little while? I don’t want her to wake up and be alone."

"I understand, son. but we need to get your statement and I need the four of you at work on this. You’re the best I have."

"General!"

"He’s right, Daniel," Jack spoke up quietly. His was probably the only voice Daniel would listen to at the moment. "Now, if we don’t get to work on this now, the trail will be cold and we’ll never pick it up again."

"I’ve had people working all night, but we’ve done all we can do without you. Now, the doctor has assured me that she’ll make sure someone stays with Miss Conner, and she’ll call you the minute she wakes up. I’m posting a guard outside the infirmary to make sure that nothing else can happen to her." The general’s voice was firm. He understood Daniel’s feelings, but there was no time to waste.

Daniel looked from the general back through the door to the still form lying there. He finally nodded in agreement, "Alright. But I’m coming back the minute Doctor Frasier calls." He led the way up the hall to the conference room.

*****

The meeting had been going on forever and Daniel rebelliously thought of breaking and running for the door. They had been there for most of the day, sitting around the conference table going over everything they knew about the shadow conspiracy that had threatened the SGC. They had looked at the security tapes from the library and inside the SGC itself.

They watched the footage of the young airman going into his office and working at his desk. A quick search of their records had identified her as Lisa Pierce, newly assigned to the SGC. MP’s who had been sent to bring her in for questioning found that she had left her apartment with no forwarding address.

They had watched the video from Daniel’s computer over and over to see if there were any clues as to the identities of their assailants. Photos had been sent to several of their fellow agencies, hoping to turn up some clue as to who they were. Daniel’s office itself had been turned inside out and upside down as a special team had fingerprinted and searched, in the end turning up nothing but a very upset archeologist when his files were disturbed. Investigators were sifting through the ashes of what was left of the safe house where Rose had been held, but no one really held any hope that anything useful would be found.

Doctor Frasier had called an hour ago to tell them that Rose had woken up and was alert. Daniel fidgeted in his seat anxious to see her. Their conversation kept coming to him and he didn’t know what he was going to do, what they were going to do. But he needed to see her, to know that she was alright.

Finally they were done and the General dismissed them with one last admonishment, "Keep an eye open for anything the least suspicious. These people can’t be as good as they appear to be."

"I don’t know, General," Jack commented, "They've managed to cover their tracks pretty thoroughly. The body Teal’c shot disappeared and the marines didn’t find anyone else at the site. Maybe they really are shadows."

"Shadows didn’t beat Rose to within an inch of her life," Daniel objected.

"You’re right," Jack agreed, instantly regretting his flip comment, "and whoever they are, they’ll pay. Trust me on this." He looked into his friend’s eyes, sealing the promise.

"Thanks, Jack," he said softly.

"Good job, people, that’s all for now, you’re dismissed." Daniel was up and nearly out the door before the general added, "Dr. Jackson, would you mind staying for a minute?"

Daniel returned to his place at the table and reluctantly sat down, "Will it wait, General? I really need to check on Rose."

"I know that, son. This will only take a minute," he assured him gently. "This actually concerns Miss Conner."

Here it comes, Daniel knew it. They wanted to send Rose away for her own safety. And he couldn’t even argue that it wasn’t the best thing for her continued well being. Hadn’t he himself been trying to convince her that it was necessary? But it wasn’t what his heart wanted. "Yes, sir?" he asked in the best neutral tone he could manage.

"She’s a target now, just like the rest of SG-1 and it’s our responsibility to see to her safety. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking of just how best to do that."

"Sam and I were talking, sir. Sam said Rose could probably move in with her. Sam has a big place and thought she would like the company."

The General nodded gravely, "That could be made to work. Actually it’s her job that I’m worried about. As we’ve seen, anyone can walk in there and take her and there’s little that we could do to stop them."

"She couldn’t just confront them there. She was afraid innocent people would get hurt." Desperately Daniel was trying to figure out a way to convince the general that they could keep Rose safe, but how?

"And I’m not faulting her for her actions, Dr. Jackson. Throughout this whole episode, you’ve both managed the situation admirably. I think you’ve learned a lot in your years here with us. But the fact remains that the library is too accessible."

Any other time Daniel might have felt a glow of pride to be so complimented by the man he both admired and respected, "General Hammond, sir, surely there are other security measures we could take. I don’t know, put a global tracker on her..." he floundered unsure what else he could say.

"Please know that whatever we do, I will be keeping Miss Conner’s best interests in mind." The general leaned back in his chair. Steepling his fingers in front of him, he changed the subject completely, "There is one other matter I wanted to bring up with you Dr. Jackson,"

Daniel sat wearily and waited.

"I’ve been thinking that what our facility needs to have is a library," the general began.

"A library, sir?" Daniel’s mind refused to turn the corner for a moment.

"Yes, we have personnel who are here at all hours of the day and night. Sometimes we have people who can’t leave the base for one reason or another - not really on duty, but they can’t leave. I thought it might be nice to have someplace where they could go and relax." Daniel nodded as he began to catch up with the general’s reasoning. "It would also be useful from a research standpoint. It would be a good place for you to have all your sources for other people to use when you’re not around. They really don’t want to go rooting around in your office, they could go to the library instead."

Was the general saying what he thought he was saying? Daniel’s eyes narrowed in eager speculation. "I... uh... I think it sounds like it would be an excellent idea, sir."

"Of course, we would have to have just the right person in charge of it." The general was enjoying himself, reeling Daniel in like a fish on the line.

"Oh absolutely!" Daniel was nearly giddy in his delight.

"It would have to be someone who would have some knowledge of the program and the Stargate."

"That could be difficult to find." Daniel agreed, having difficulty just staying in his seat.

"Yes. And it should be someone who is familiar with you and your... um..., shall we say, unique research needs?"

"That would be a must, sir."

"So, you see my problem, Dr. Jackson? Finding just the right person could be nearly impossible. I was wondering if, perhaps, you had a suggestion?"

Daniel wondered if the smile on his face was as wide and idiotic as it felt, "I do think I know just the person, General."

Hammond smiled back, "I thought you might. Would you like to ask her?"

Daniel bounded out of his chair and was out of the room before the general could say another word.

*****

(- from the journal of Dr. Daniel Jackson

I can’t believe I’ve ended up in the infirmary – again. I’m sure the nurses think I do it on purpose, just so I’ll see them again. Somehow being the galactic whipping boy was not high on my list of five-year goals. Every time I wake up here, I’m afraid it’s going to be the last time. This is the time that Jack and General Hammond are going to get fed up with saving my sorry butt and forbid me to go through the gate again.

I know that Janet and her staff are the very best, but I really hate waking up in here.)

Hearing the sound of footsteps in the hall, Rose craned her neck trying to discover who they belonged to. She was disappointed to find that it was just another nurse coming in, no doubt, to check vitals, adjust her medication, plump her pillows, any one of a number of vital tasks that Rose was totally indifferent to.

Rose turned her face away, not wanting to talk to the endlessly perky nurse. She knew she was being rude, but she hoped the medical staff would just put it down to the severity of her wounds or the amount of medication she was currently on. The only person she really wanted to see was remaining conspicuously absent and she was afraid. Ever since she had woke up alone in the little room set apart from the main infirmary she had been afraid.

The nurses had explained to her patiently that she had been moved to the ISO room because they had needed all the beds in the main infirmary for one of the SG teams. It seemed that SG-4 had gone to investigate some ruins in the middle of an alien forest where they had encountered that planet’s version of poison ivy. The main infirmary was now full of nearly naked, whining marines covered from head to toe in Janet Frasier’s pink concoction which kept them from itching their rather nasty looking sores. She had thought it prudent to move her only female patient to a more private location, out of harm’s way.

So Rose lay in the little room, hardly bigger than a closet and tried to reconstruct what had happened after her collapse in the woods. But, try as she might, all she had was a nightmare impression of pain and flight. She thought she remembered a conversation with Daniel and a promise, but she wasn’t sure if it was real or if it had only been dream. And the longer it took him to come to her, the more afraid she became.

Doctor Frasier and the nurses had assured her that he was fine, he had actually come through the night without further injury. They seemed rather amazed by the fact. But until she actually saw him for herself, she had a deep abiding fear that he had died out there saving her and they just didn’t know how to tell her. Or, he’d decided after all that her life would be better off without him in it. She had a feeling that once he made up his mind on a matter, he was not easily swayed. How could she convince him otherwise if he wouldn’t even see her?

Finally she had turned her face away from the hall and shut her eyes. She could hear people passing but she refused to look, refused to be disappointed yet again. So it was that when Daniel did appear at her door she didn’t stir, expecting the footsteps to pass as they had so many times before.

"Rose, are you asleep?" He asked quietly as he entered. He didn’t want to wake her, but he really needed to talk to her.

At the sound of his voice, she turned slowly. She had wanted nothing more than to hear that sound, to see him standing there, alive and well. But now that he was actually there – looking handsome and smiling, his own bruises faded to yellow and blue, she was suddenly acutely aware of how wretched she looked. Her face was a mass of bruises, her left eye nearly swollen shut, stitches along one temple, hurting in every bone and fiber of her being. She didn’t mean to, didn’t even want to, but she suddenly burst into tears. Wild, hysterical sobs tore at her, and she couldn’t stop them.

For a moment, Daniel was totally at a loss. This wasn’t the welcome he had expected at all. Now, looking at her sobbing, he realized what fear she must have been living with. He went to her side and perched as best he could next to her on the bed. Careful of the lines and tubes that surrounded her, he gathered her close, holding her as she cried. He stroked her hair gently and rubbed her back, slowly, feeling her sobbing ease and her breathing calm.

"I’m here, now. It’s alright," he reassured her softly. Holding her, he realized that he liked the feel of her there in his arms; it felt natural and right. The way holding Sha’re had felt. Even after her tears had subsided to little hiccups, he continued to hold her close needing to feel her breathing as much as she had needed him.

She rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, steady and even. She felt safe there within his arms; she wished she could stay there forever, in that room cut off from the rest of the world. Finally she murmured against his chest, "I feel like such an idiot."

"Hey," he fished out a handkerchief and handed it to her, "don’t ever say anything like that to me again. You are the most amazing person I know."

She didn’t know what to say to that, so she said nothing. She just took the proffered handkerchief, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose, all the while staying in the safe circle of his arms. "What are we going to do?" She whispered.

"I still think the best thing for you, is to forget you ever knew me."

She sighed heavily, "Never going to happen."

"Rose..."

She pulled away and he could see the light of anger there, not as strong as last night, but there, "Daniel, I can’t stop you from walking away from me. But don’t do it because it’s ‘for my own good.’ Don’t ever think to choose for me."

He gave a soft snort, "Never would I dare. But Rose, you’re part of this now, you’re a target. How am I going to keep you safe?"

"It’s not your job to keep my safe," she sighed in exasperation. "That’s the Air Force’s job. You know they’re going to have to do it no matter where I am." She pointed out. She didn’t know if her logic was sound, but Daniel seemed to accept it. "And we can’t live in fear. If we let these people, whoever ‘they’ might be, make our choices for us because we’re afraid, haven’t they won anyway?"

"How did you get so smart?"

"Hey, you learn a lot from reading books, but sometime you have to put down the book and go outside and live. Speaking of which," she frowned at him, "wasn’t I promised a movie?"

"You are hardly in shape to be going out." He pointed out the obvious.

She didn’t answer, just pointed at a small television someone had wheeled into the room.

"Aren’t you supposed to be resting?" He did not want to be the cause of invoking Janet Frasier’s wrath.

"I’m not going to be doing anything but laying in this bed," she said reasonably. "I think there’s a tape in there."

He went to the set and pushed eject on the machine. He read the title, "Raider’s of the Lost Ark. I thought you liked spy movies?"

"Hey, you’ve got a handsome archeologist, a plucky heroine, some bad guys, what more could you want?" She asked smugly.

Feeling like he’d been set-up, he pushed the tape back into the player. He pulled a chair around next to her bed and pressed play on the remote control.

"Daniel?"

He stopped the tape and looked at her.

She looked down at the cover shyly, "Do you have to sit all the way over there?"

He looked uncertainly around the room, seeing nowhere else to sit, "Uh, no... Where would you like me to sit?"

She didn’t answer, just moved over a little as best she could and patted the bed next to her.

"Rose, I don’t know if that’s a good idea..."

"Daniel," never had she been so bold in her life, but the thing she had learned through her whole ordeal was that life was short. You had to take your moments when you had them and not waste any of them. "I’m not up to any sort of acrobatics, at the moment. I just... I need to feel you next to me, hold me so I feel safe." She looked at him with earnest appeal in her grey eyes and then she smiled, mischief glinting through, "But lock the door. If the base is overrun with aliens, I want two hours alone with you before we let them in here."

He rose and did as she asked, locking the door. He pushed the play button and then sat next to her, carefully laying on his side, pulling her close. They settled into one another as the opening credits rolled across the screen.

Leaning her head against his shoulder, she breathed in the scent of him, feeling his body next to hers – warm and strong. While it was still true that she hurt everywhere, with him lying there next to her, she had never felt so alive in her life.

It didn’t take long before he felt her breathing even out into sleep. He moved carefully and settled back into the chair beside her bed. The movie continued, but he wasn’t watching. He sat and watched her sleep.

Tomorrow he would tell her about the general’s offer and they could figure out where to go next. Tonight he would stay at her side and make certain that if she woke with nightmares; as she was almost certain to do, he would be there to keep her safe.

---

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to my beta, Sue, for making my story the best it could be. 
Also special thanks to Bess, you asked all the right questions and made me see my story in new ways. Your help and encouragement means the world to me. Thank you.

DISCLAIMER:  The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author. ©August, 2002