Our responses thus far:

• Barb - new 6/7
• Carrie
• Imskysmom
• Kellie
• Lady Anne

The phrase is, listed vertically for ease of transfer onto a word  document: 

Title: The Way the Ball Bounces, Part I
Author: Barb (barbwire@sprintmail.com – feedback & constructive
criticisms welcome)
Category: Gen
Spoilers: None
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Summary: Overheard in a lab somewhere on level 18….
Disclaimer: Here's the legalese: Any original scenes and characters
are mine. Regrettably the members of SG-1 aren't: they belong to
MGM, Bridge, Gekko, Double-Secret, SciFi, et al. However, what Jack,
Sam, Daniel, & Teal'c do when they're off-duty isn't up to MGM,
Bridge, Gekko, Double Secret, SciFi, et al, now is it? :-) There
was no financial profit on my part from this work of fiction. All
writing is mine: mine, mine, mine! Please do not copy or reproduce
it without asking me first.
Author's Notes: Reply to thegengate's Wordfic Challenge #2. The
acrostic key is THEJOYOFJACKWHUMPING. Given that I'm a rabid anti-
whumper, I've cooked up something considerably lighter & fluffier.

~~~

"Tell me again what you hope to accomplish on this mission, O'Neill."

"`Hope to accomplish'? Are you kiddin', T? You've been here nine
years and you've never seen one in person! Besides, it's not a
mission; it's a football game."

"Even so, I fail to see the need to witness the event in person. I
have seen many of these battles on television. I therefore
understand the fundamental strategies involved."

"Jack, don't you think you might be coming on a little too strong? I
mean, if Teal'c's not interested in going, why force him? Why force
_us_, for that matter?"

"Oh, fer cryin' out loud, Daniel, how could anybody in this country
_not_ be interested in football?"

"You had to drag _me_ to my first game, Sir. Truth be told, I begged
Janet to come up with some kind of medical excuse to get me out of
it. I hated it."

"Only because it was a little chilly, Carter."

"Forty-two degrees and steady rain for four hours, as I recall.
You're right, Jack: what's…what's not to love there?"

"Jacksonian sarcasm at its best. And yet…note my unfazed
expression. Look, it's September; it'll be warm. You'll have fun.
We're all going. End of story."

"And why – with all due respect, Sir, why this…overwhelming…need to
take Teal'c to a football game?"

"Carter, it's our incumbent duty to show T here the nuances of the
game. You can't get nuance on FOX on Sunday afternoons. Anyway,
it's part of the American Way. Y'know, Mom, apple pie…that kinda
thing. _And_ it's a classic rivalry! It's…T, who'd I say we were
playing this week?"

"Kansas City, O'Neill. The Chiefs of that city arrive on Sunday to
challenge the Broncos."

"What'd I tell you?! KC-Denver's _always_ a barnburner! There's no
way we're missing it!"

"How does the incineration of farm buildings affect the outcome of
this contest, O'Neill?"

"Uhh, it's just a figure of speech, Teal'c. Don't worry about it.
Sir, if you're gonna insist on doing this, I'll come along for…moral
support."

"Me, too, I guess. If you're as bad at a game as you are when you're
watching `Monday Night Football,' Sam and Teal'c will _both_ need
backup."

"Precisely what does _that_ mean, Daniel?"

"I've seen you break the remote by throwing it at the television when
you disagreed with a referee's call. Jack, you try that kind of
thing at the stadium, and it's the three of us bailing your ass out
of jail five hours later."

"Not gonna happen, Kids. I'm not going to this one so much as a fan
as I am a teacher. A master with his disciple, if you will. I'm
going to instruct. I'll be detached. Objective. Impartial."

"Gimme a break…. Sir."

Something Wicked This Way Comes
by Carrie

Ten, nine, eight, Daniel counted in his head, seven, six, five. It wouldn't be long now. Four, three, two, one. A pebble hit him on the back of the neck, in the exact spot as the twenty pebbles before that had. Insufferable was a word best reserved for antsy four year olds or as a descriptor in Jane Austen novels. Right now, Jack fit in with the former category very well and would mock him about using the second comparison. It wasn't usually this bad. What a difference having Teal'c and Sam around made. They somehow managed to make Jack check himself. Daniel missed both of them a whole lot for that selfish reason alone. He sighed.

"How about you stop doing that?" Daniel said. He didn't look away from the glyphs he was studying. He counted down again when Jack didn't bother answering. Jack was becoming very predicable in pattern and impeccable in aim. Another pebble hit his neck. He rubbed a dusty hand across his forehead and dropped his head in frustration. "I guarantee you this will be over so much sooner if you stop distracting me."

"Eh. That sounds like an empty promise to me," Jack said. "Besides, you're assuming I'm bored. Maybe I'm enjoying the heck out of myself."

"Just..." Daniel curled the fingers of his right hand slightly, using his own version of hand signals to show Jack exactly what the interpretation he had of the whole self-enjoyment idea. "Go enjoy yourself by yourself. That sort of thing is usually done in private for a reason."

"Ouch."

Yeah, so he had been a little harsh. Daniel counted down once more, but this time no offending pebble came. Surprised, he turned away from his work at last and discovered Jack had managed to sneak off without even making a sound. It wasn't like Jack to leave someone's six unguarded; Daniel assumed he'd stepped over the line...or Jack was lying in wait somewhere nearby and ready to scare the crap out of him. The choice was his on whether or not he wanted to walk into that trap. He turned back to his work, figuring Jack would get bored of that game soon enough. The glyphs suddenly didn't hold much interest anymore, most likely because he was so focused on when Jack was going to get him. The pebble thing, he realized now, had not been that annoying after all.

Ollie, ollie, all in free, Daniel thought, come out wherever you are. The back of his neck prickled, right in the spot Jack had been pelting. He dropped his notebook onto the ground, puffs of dust wafting up from it and into his nose. He sneezed loudly, then rubbed at the back of his neck to dispel the strange feeling. It didn't go away. Glancing at the glyphs again, he frowned and squinted. Did that...did that say 'danger lurks' or 'angry ducks'? Neither option surprised him, or boded well. The itchy feeling on his neck got worse and he really wished Jack would come out of hiding. He stood up.

Fearing what method Jack might use to scare the wits out of him took a back burner to fearing, quite inexplicably, what the planet itself might use to scare the wits out of him. Daniel turned around in a circle, looking for spots where Jack might have tucked himself away in. Of course, if it was obvious to him, that wouldn't be where Jack was. He took a couple of steps, planning a circular search pattern. He didn't get very far. Crashing through the underbrush came Jack, right into his path and, whether a planned event or not, made Daniel jump. For one second, Daniel felt the fool for letting himself get so worked up in his head that Jack's freak out was so effective. And then it all came crashing down when he realized...

"Jack," he said. His voice sounded strange and removed, like he wasn't actually the one talking. But he was the only one here besides Jack and it couldn't be Jack talking, not with that...thinggodwhatwasthatthing on his throat. It was spiky and green and malicious-looking. Daniel stumbled forward as Jack's legs started to fold, and he tried, really tried, to catch him but he didn't get there in time and blood; that was blood. Jack's eyes were bleak and glassy. Daniel was no medic, but he recognized the symptoms. His hands shook slightly as he reached for the thing attached to Jack's neck. "God, hold on. Hold on."

All Daniel could think about as he carefully peered at the ugly thing on Jack's neck was how Jack wouldn't have ventured out on his own if he hadn't driven him away. He shook his head, both at the blood seeping from around the edges of what, upon closer inspection, looked like some sort of barbed pod and to try to get rid of useless self blame. The thorns were fairly short, and the pod was not attached anywhere vital. He thought. He didn't want to think about what could be inside the pod. He didn't want to consider what could be happening to Sam and Teal'c right now and hoped radio silence didn't mean they were, like him, too busy to deal with it. He caught one of Jack's flailing hands and held it down, alarmed by how cold the skin was. He frowned.

"Cold hands, warm heart," he said. It was a stupid thing to say, but Jack squeezed his fingers. Good, that was good. Daniel needed his pack, but there was no way he was leaving Jack alone to go grab it. He winced as he manhandled Jack onto his side, pretending to not hear the soft gurgle of discomfort that was emitted. He needed Jack's pack, for the medical supplies he hoped were in it and to use it in getting Jack in normal shock position. He eased Jack back down and riffled through the pack. It wasn't a full medkit, but he'd take what he could get. He pulled items from the bag and then eased it under Jack's legs. Daniel leaned over and checked Jack's eyes again, glad to see they still focused on him. "I'm sorry, Jack, but I'm going to have to look more closely at that. Okay?"

"'kay," Jack whispered with a nod, then blanched a whiter white. "I swear. Plant attacked. Came outta nowhere. Get it...out."

With a deep breath, Daniel gingerly began pressing his fingers around the pod. As far as he could tell, there were no probing offshoots planting it more deeply into the flesh. The trick was going to be getting it off Jack without getting pricked by the sharp spikes himself, or without breaking said spikes off into Jack. He glanced up to Jack's face again, looking for any indication poison was being pumped into his friend's veins. He didn't want to make Jack speak again. That wasn't important. First things first. He decided that getting pricked was worth the risk, as long as it meant helping Jack. Peeling open a pack of gauze and setting it at the ready first, he then got a hold on the thing. Several of the barbs stabbed at him, but he ignored the pain. He couldn't ignore Jack arching slightly and clawing his hands out again.

He grabbed one of Jack's forearms, hoping to lend some type of support. He started to ease the pod out. Blood flowed more freely as he extracted the spikes one by one. There were so many of them. Daniel winced, his fingers slick with blood his and Jack's. He didn't know if it was his imagination or if his hand started to feel strange. Concentrate, he told himself, and then pulled the pod free at last. He flung the bloody thing away, watching where it landed; if there was poison involved, they might need it when they got back to the SGC. Once he finished up with this, he'd retrieve it. He grabbed the gauze pad and pressed it against the wound, which didn't look as bad as he'd thought. He reduced the pressure a bit. He didn't want to choke Jack. Glancing back up, he noted Jack's face hadn't paled further and his lips weren't showing signs of cyanosis. All positives given the circumstances. He wished he had opened two packets of gauze and found the tape before he'd started this.

"Ugh," he said. His hand was starting to feel really funny, and he wasn't sure if he was using too much or not enough pressure on the wound. He patted Jack's arm once and let go to hurriedly fumble with another gauze packet. He managed to locate the tape. It was awkward doing it left-handed, but he couldn't risk letting up the right, as useless as it was starting to feel. "I'm trying to make this fast."

Motioning an affirmative with a bare nod of the head, Jack made another gurgling noise. The longer the relative silence went on Jack's part, the more disturbed Daniel became by it. He didn't expect a big speech, but something, a smart remark or two, would really ease his mind right about now. Of course, there hadn't really been room for talk. He put the second gauze pad on top of the first and taped it down with too much tape. It was not a very good patch job, but he had more than a sneaking suspicion that the wound itself wasn't the real danger. He shook his right hand, flexed the fingers. He didn't have much feeling in them. In fact, it seemed like his hand was four times the size it really was.

Probably nothing, he told himself. It had to be, because if his hand really was affected by somethinghe clumsily bandaged up the worst of the piercesthen Jack was probablyJack. Daniel abandoned his tiny wounds and leaned over Jack. Jack's eyes were closed. God, it didn't look like he was even breathing. Daniel bent so his ear was right above Jack's mouth, listening and feeling for breath.

"I'm okay," Jack whispered.

Not so sure about that, Daniel thought as he straightened. At least Jack could still talk. His own head swirled, like he had just stood up too fast. Something was definitely affecting him. The only thing he could think of was poison in the plant pod, so if it if was affecting him, it should really be affecting Jack. He blinked a couple of times and tried to smile. Jack grimaced back up at him, then opened his mouth and said something. Tried to, anyway. Daniel certainly didn't hear anything beyond the strange buzz in his ears.

"Good. That's good," he said. He thought maybe now would be a fine time to hail Sam and Teal'c. Instead, he passed out.

The End?

Read Part 2
send feedback to Carrie
Read more of Carrie's stories

Writers welcome feedback and constructive criticism.  No flames please.

What's Good for the Goose...
by Imskysmom

The event horizon closed behind them, making that weird sucking noise Jack hated - like a drain that's almost, but not quite, stopped up. His team moved off around him as he took in the scenery, scanning for anything that might be a danger. They were scouting for a planet that could be used as a holding spot for immigrants fleeing from the System Lords. There were a surprising number of habitable planets that the Goa'uld just didn't seem all that interested in. He supposed it was the lack of really exciting resources, but for the simple farming folk that seemed to bear the brunt of the continuous battles between the bickering System Lords, just some peace and quiet and a safe place to grow crops and raise their children was pretty exciting.

He watched as Daniel wandered around, sneezing occasionally and scrubbing at his nose with a Kleenex. For all the grief he gave the guy about his allergies, Jack had to feel bad for him. It couldn't be fun downing heavy-duty antihistamines and still feeling like crap on a world where the pollen count just happened to be through the ceiling the day they visited. But Daniel never let it slow him down. Crossing over to where the younger man stood, he looked at what had Daniel so mesmerized, but for the life of him, Jack wasn't sure what he was staring at. It was pink, and kind of frilly with a weird blue freckled pattern on it. Kind of a sissy flower, decided Jack. He preferred tulips, or roses, especially the red ones. Looking around he saw Carter taking soil samples, and Teal'c... well... being Teal'c, gazing meditatively off into the distance and looking majestic.

Edging away quietly before Daniel noticed, he started heading for the trees lining the meadow the Stargate sat in.

"Jack, come here, you've got to smell this," called Daniel before Jack had moved more than a few steps away. "It's incredible!"

"Oy!" Howled Jack after taking a deep whiff of the incredibly obnoxious aroma of the creamy pink flower Daniel had been so engrossed in. He glared at Daniel who looked surprised and wounded.

"You have got to be kidding me," he said indignantly, rubbing vigorously at his nose as if to wipe the smell off. As he rubbed, his nose started to tickle, then burn, and he rapidly found himself exploding in a long series of sneezes.

Only Daniel, Jack thought furiously as he continued to sneeze, only Daniel would find the one flower that he was allergic to. He finally managed to stop, but not until he had sat down hard. Looking up, he saw his team standing around him in a semi-circle, all regarding him with mildly worried expressions.

"Fercryinowdlowd," he croaked out, mopping at his streaming eyes and nose.

"Ja-a-ack?" said Daniel, drawling his name. He tried to speak, but before he could say anything he was sneezing again, and beginning to gasp to breath.

"Allergies," said Sam and Daniel together, exchanging knowing grins that changed to concern when they saw how hard he was working to breathe.

"Cud id owd!" Jack snapped. Or tried to snap. It's hard to snap when you're snarfy, he reflected ruefully. His head was starting to throb from the convulsive sneezing.

"Know what they say, Colonel?" said Carter as she reached down to give him a hand up. "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger." Jack tried to glare at her, but his eyes were burning and blurry from tears and his chest was starting to feel tight.

"We'd better get you back to the infirmary, Jack," said Daniel, pulling Jack's arm over his shoulder and supporting him. Jack wanted to protest, but he was starting to feel lightheaded and it was getting more and more difficult to breathe.

"He's having a really severe reaction, Daniel. I think we'd better give him some epinephrine now just to be on the safe side." He wanted to speak up, but for some reason that seemed to be beyond his abilities. Jack could feel Daniel loosen his hold a little to turn and look at him, then settle him gently back down onto the ground.

"Under the circumstances, Sam, I think you're right." Jack could hear his own labored breathing loud in his ears, and the sounds of Teal'c's murmured questions, the pack being opened and a syringe being pulled out and prepped. A few seconds later he felt the needle sink into his thigh. Distantly he heard Teal'c ask if they shouldn't lay him down and with relief heard Daniel's response that it would just make it more difficult for him to breathe.

Minutes passed, a million at least as he fought to breathe, felt another needle pinching his leg, fought not to panic about the two ton elephant that appeared to have taken up residence on top of his rib cage. Finally the elephant started to shift, and then head for a more comfortable spot and Jack gratefully sucked in deep breaths. After a few more minutes he became aware he was sitting upright, cradled against a soft yielding form. He looked down to see Daniel's pants, the pockets overstuffed as always with chocolate bars, rocks, spare notepads, and for all he knew, emergency coffee rations.

"Pay up, Sam," he heard Daniel say, and hold out a palm into which Carter placed a Hershey's Symphony chocolate bar.

"I'm dying from an allergic reaction and you're betting on me?" Jack wheezed out indignantly.

"No sir, of course not!" Carter responded smartly but he could see the smudge of red on her cheeks. He wanted to turn and look at Daniel but didn't have the strength yet. "How are you feeling, Colonel?"

Glaring at her, Jack answered, his voice still creaky, "Like I'm glad it's Daniel with all the allergies and not me!"

send feedback to Imskysmom

Writers welcome feedback and constructive criticism.  No flames please.

A Light to Guide Me
by Kelly

To many people, the dark was something to fear, a danger veiled in the soft glow of stars too faint to distinguish.  But for Colonel Jack O'Neill, the dark was his ever present companion, and he had become well acquainted with it long ago.

However, that did not change the fact that he did not enjoy being in a pitch black room, with no windows or doors, and no recollection of how he had managed to get there. 

Even after what must have been several hours, his eyes still remained blind to all around him.  Only by using his bruised and scraped hands was he able to determine the size of his prison and the limits of his new world.

"Just great," Jack sighed, running a hand through hair that felt grimy and rough.  He could not remember the last time he had showered, ate, or slept. 

"Oh, give me a home," he sang softly, not for the first time, trying to distract his bored and angry mind with the lyrics which had taken on a more poignant meaning.  He stopped after the first sentence, the silence suddenly closing in around him.

"You have got to be kidding me," he growled, and, finally at his rope's end, stormed to his feet.  His head hit a solid ceiling long before he was fully upright, and he fell back, groaning out a curse.

"Okay, whoever you are!" he bellowed, clutching his aching head as he glared into the darkness.  "I don't know who you are, what you want, or what you think I may have done.  Get.  Me.  The.  Hell.  Out.  Of. HERE!" 

For long seconds only the sound of his voice echoing through his prison could be heard.  Then, slowly, blindingly, a sliver of light appeared at his feet, and before he could stop himself, he found himself falling.  He did not remember the landing.

"Jack?"  The voice was soft, worried, stirring something deep in the blackness that had consumed him.  With a Herculean effort, he managed to pry his eyes open.

"At least keep your voice down," Jack managed to whisper to the figure kneeling above him, worried blue eyes crinkling into a smile.

"Can you tell me what you remember?" Daniel asked, cheeks pale in the dim lighting that surrounded them, casting a faint halo about his head. 

"Klingons," Jack whispered, closing his eyes once more.  "Big, oh-my-God-they're-real Klingons.  After that it gets kind of fuzzy."

"Weeeeelllll," Daniel hissed through his teeth, and Jack squinted against the light once more to see his archeologist staring at a point somewhere to his left.  "Not really.  They - well, they call themselves the Justerians, and they thought we were the Goauld.  Before we could tell them differently, they zapped you with something and you vanished."

"How are you feeling, Sir?" Carter's voice asked above him, and he suddenly became aware of her presence beside him, just out of his line of sight. 

"Under the circumstances," he grunted, closing his eyes again.  "Just peachy."

"Mantep, that's their leader, is talking with Teal'c right now," Daniel explained, resting a hand on his friend's shoulder.  "Just lie still.  You took a nasty bump to the head."

"Perhaps you should try and drink something, Sir," Carter suggested, placing the lip of her canteen to Jack's mouth.  He took a few sips gratefully.

"I don't think I shall ever watch Star Trek again," Jack mumbled, feeling the darkness begin envelop him again.  This time, he did not try and fight it. 

"Not that I blame you, but Jack..."  Daniel's voice faded into the shadows, a bright light amongst the darkness.

Guiding him home, as a candle on the darkest of nights. 

send feedback to Kelly

Writers welcome feedback and constructive criticism.  No flames please.

Holes
by Lady Anne

The day started off like any other: the alarm went off too early, the sun came up, shower, breakfast, drive to the mountain, harass Daniel, go through the Stargate. It was normal. Everyday. There was no reason to think that it would be different than any other day. But the one thing Jack had learned in his years working Black Ops and now at the SGC appearances could be deceiving. Just because the day seemed like any other day didnt mean it was going to be like any other day.

His first clue should have been when his coffee maker went on the fritz. While it was true that Daniel was the legendary coffee drinker of the SGC, it didnt mean that he was the only coffee drinker of the SGC. Jack needed a cup of coffee in the morning to jump start his bones. Having the thing gurgle and die with only a thin stream of coffee-colored water dripping into the pot below didnt bode well for the rest of the day.

Even after he stopped at his favorite coffee place only to find a closed for renovations sign in the window, it didnt occur to Jack the mess the day would turn out to be. Some days you just turn a blind eye to all the signs and portents and go blindly forward doing all the things you normally do because theres no sense of dread, no pretentious music to warn you of whats going to happen next. You just step blithely forward and, without warning of any sort, step into a hole and end up alone and hurting in the dark.

Just because youd been sitting in said hole for an hour wondering where everyone was, why no one had even bothered to come look for you was no reason to think that anything was wrong. No, there was lots of things that could be keeping his team from noticing his absence. When hed left to do a perimeter check, Daniel was absorbed in his archaeologist stuff, studiously working at ignoring Jack. Things had been strained between them since the whole business with Makepeace and his rogue NID team of thieves. Jack really didnt have a choice about going along with the plan, but Daniel in particular hadnt taken it well that hed been lied to. Jack had truly regretted the no foundation comment, but hed had to get Daniel out of the house before anyone suspected anything. Jack sighed, leaning his head back, letting it rest against the cold packed earth. If it were up to Daniel, it could be days before he noticed Jack was missing. Besides, it was Tealc and Carter that he was counting on missing him and coming to pull him out of his current predicament.

Only they had gone to scout the area, leaving Jack to look after their archaeologist. And Carter had taken her little case for collecting samples with her. She was a little like Daniel when she went into scientist mode and she could be gone for hours, happily putting little clumps of dirt into tiny individual bottles.

You just hadnt lived until youd spent hours watching Daniel happily translate and Carter filling up those little bottles of hers. Still hed much rather be doing that, then stuck at the bottom of a deep dark pit with a bum knee and a radio that was in pieces from his having landed on it. Exploration of the known universe was supposed to be a grand adventure filled with evil villains and saving the world on a twice-weekly basis. Jack thought they needed to rewrite the brochure because he sure wasnt having a grand adventure today. In fact the whole day just sucked swamp water. He peered up at the small hole hed fallen through. It was so grass covered that hed missed it. Just stumbled right into it. No way was Carter and Daniel going to find it. Even if they were looking for him. If.

Of course that still left Tealc. Tealc was probably his best chance of getting out, too. Tealc wasnt as mad at him as the other two. Hed been the First Prime of Apophis. He understood doing damn distasteful things because it was your duty, been forced to do a few of those in the service of his god. Yep, if he was going to get rescued, Tealc was his best bet. The big Jaffa would be able track his footsteps and find the hole hed fallen into. Studying the sheer walls of prison, Jack knew he wasnt climbing out without help. Hed fallen at least twice his height. Normally that might not have been a problem, but he hadnt seen it coming. Now his knee was shot from impact with the packed earth, just standing was problematic. So, all he had to do was sit tight until someone missed him. All.. Right. Patience wasnt something Jack ONeill had in abundance. But it was all he had left at the moment. Hed already tried calling for help thinking perhaps Daniel was close enough to hear him, but that got old fast. He could see the light changing as the sun shifted above him. Soon it was going to be dark. Everyone would gather around the campfire for the evening meal. Would his team come to look for him then?

For once in his life, Jack was stuck, uncertain what to do. Surely he hadnt alienated his team so much that theyd just leave him stuck down a dark hole? Maybe theyd go back to Earth and report to Hammond, "Sorry, sir, we lost him." And that would be that. Hammond would replace him with Ferreti or maybe even promote Carter. Theyd have a memorial service where everyone would say really nice things, but privately theyd all be relieved that he was gone. Life would go on. Hed die in a hole on an alien planet and maybe the world would be a better place without him...

"Jack?" Daniels voice from overhead startled him. Hed almost convinced himself that his team would forget him, leave him, just write him off. Deep in his own pity party, he hadnt actually expected to be rescued. "You down there?" There was a too-bright flash in his eyes as Daniel used his flashlight to peer down the hole. Then there was a small shower of dirt and pebbles that rained down on Jack before they were joined by the archaeologist himself.

Astonished, Jack couldnt even think of anything witty to say except, "Daniel?"

Calling up, Daniel said, "Sam, Tealc, hes down here." The sun disappeared as presumably the other two members of his team peered down the hole. "Were going to need a rope to get out though."

Kneeling next to him, Daniel surveyed him critically. "You hadnt been by to bother me in an hour, I got worried," he said with an easy smile.

"Worried?" Jack shrugged. "You know me, I was just hanging out here." He felt a surge of warmth that Daniel had missed him. Maybe he hadnt been as big as an ass as he thought. Daniel extended a hand, helping him stand. He tried putting a little weight on his knee and it shot pain through his whole body. Getting home was going to be such a treat. But it felt good knowing that he was going to be going home.

Home. Who knew that such a small word could have so much meaning? Home is where the heart is. Home on the range. Theres no place like home. Home, sweet home... A rope fell down through the hole and Jack shifted away putting all his weight on the bad knee. The pain took away his breath. Home was still really far away.

Unable to stifle a moan, Jack clutched Daniels shoulder until the pain subsided to a manageable level. Daniel didnt say a word, just stood, providing him an anchor and a crutch. When he could see that the pain had passed he asked, "Do you want something for the pain before we get you out of here?" Jack could see the concern in his friends eyes.

Mutely, Jack shook his head. He didnt like the pain medications. They made him sleepy and muddled. Maybe once they were back on earth and he was safe in the clutches of the Napoleonic power mongerer, then he would submit to pain meds, but not now while they were still off-world. There was still too much that could happen to them, and he needed to keep his wits about him. Jack just stood as Daniel wrapped the rope around him and tied it off expertly.

Pulling on the rope, Daniel called up, "Hes ready, Tealc. Be careful, hes injured his knee." The rope tightened around him and he found himself hanging in mid air. Daniel steadied his body and Tealc pulled from above. Pulled him out of the pit both literally and figuratively, out into the sun. Jack had never been happier to see that big ole yellow ball high in the sky.

In less time than he would have thought possible, Carter had seen to his knee and Tealc retrieved Daniel. Actually it was a nice change to sit and let Carter be in charge. She did a good job of getting everything organized as Tealc built a make-shift stretcher. He fussed about being put in the stretcher just so theyd know he didnt have a concussion or more serious injury.

Never had he been so glad to find himself in the infirmary, under warm sheets with an IV of blessed pain-killer. His team gathered around his bed, laughing and joking about the great "ONeill rescue" until his eyes grew heavy and sleep drug him into its depths.

Great, Jack thought, just what he needed. As soon as he was well enough to leave, his team would be camped out at his house, motherhenning him to death, fussing over him, refusing to let him do anything for himself, just generally making a nuisance of themselves. Then he smiled as he drifted off to sleep. It was just what he needed, just what his team needed. Maybe it hadnt turned out to be such a bad day after all.

send to feedback to Anne

Writers welcome feedback and constructive criticism.  No flames please.