When the light dissipated and the rings retracted, Jack and Annika found themselves standing in the middle of a garden courtyard, full of lush green shrubs and trees.

The colonel automatically scanned for threats. Charlie’s men had been confident that there were no tin cans permanently stationed down here, which was one of the reasons this location had been chosen as their official rendezvous, however there was always the possibility of running into Jaffa delivering food to the prisoners held within or running errands for Ba’al. The commander in Jack had to admire Ba’al’s defense set up as his sharp eyes saw the hazy ripple above the ten foot stone wall of the Compound. The ship’s shields had been extended to encompass the entire area below the ship, including the majority of the SGC. From the rebel’s report, besides the glider bay, there were only two exit points from the shields of the ship docked on the mountain. One, twenty-eight levels below, the ’gate room needing to be unshielded to allow ’gate travel, the second was topside on the other side of the mountain, which was the primary entrance and the one where Daniel had sauntered them through earlier. This enclosure had been added soon after Ba’al’s arrival, the part of the mountain that was exposed beneath the ship excavated into an ‘open air’ dungeon. The prisoners being kept in here had nowhere to go except up into the ha’tak or into the underground complex, where they had little chance of escaping the patrolling Jaffa.

Gazing around the exotic garden and catching a glimpse of the elaborate architecture of the three storey dwelling built into the rock face, he gave a rueful head shake. No wonder the rebels thought the families here were living lives of luxury. There were no bars or guards. Nothing to indicate that they were being held in a gilded cage. "Conserve your energy, Casper. There are plenty of places for me to hide." He felt a slight tingle as the fold of air dissolved around him and he stepped back into the shrubbery, blending into the shadows.

Annika was taking in their surroundings bemusedly, her thoughts running along the same line as Jack’s. This was the most opulent house arrest she had ever heard of, the prisoners given free movement within this complex that to the outside observer looked like paradise. Jack was right, this was a totally screwy day. It had been a mix of intense highs and rock bottom lows. Take the last ten minutes. She’d gone from being petrified, to horrified and repulsed, shocked, relieved, thankful, excited, bewildered, all of which she was still feeling right now. Daniel had told her repeatedly that situations changed in the blink of an eye, but today was taking it to the extreme. Oh, shit...Daniel! Slowly she released the block of their bond she’d been maintaining. Maybe if I’m lucky he won’t have noticed… Immediately she felt a tickle beneath her heart and she winced. His emotions were just as jumbled as hers. Concern, love, fear, irritation, relief. She backtracked a little. It was more than irritation, Daniel was angry, and from the way he was trying to push it aside, to deny it, he was mad at her. She didn’t have to be a genius to figure out why, not with the way he inserted his will around their bond like a parent holding a misbehaving child’s hand.

"You still with me, My Lady?" Jack’s drawl broke into her thoughts. He was pretty sure that her vacant expression wasn’t a relapse into shock, but it was always good to check these things.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Daniel’s a little annoyed with me."

"Oh, is he now?"

Annika nodded. "Back in Ba’al’s quarters, I shielded our bond. He’s a tad touchy about me doing that." She saw the frown on Jack’s face. "I’ll sort it out when we meet up." She changed the subject. "That Jaffa, I think he was my…her…friend."

Jack let the subject slide for now, however he decided that he would have a little chat with Daniel before husband and wife met up. "Friend who kept you a prisoner." He didn’t doubt the psychic, but things were complicated enough without adding a possible Jaffa rebel to the mix.

"He’s just as much a prisoner," Annika pressed, starting to walk down the paved pathway through the garden, heading towards the mansion of a house. "He could help us find the mirror."

"Or just as easily run off to tell Balls," he countered. To stop a debate that was beginning to have all the elements of a ‘Daniel Plea’ he said, "We’ll save his recruitment as a backup."

"Okay." Annika accepted her CO’s decision. For the moment arguing about Tarn’el’s loyalty was a slow second to the bundle of excited butterflies in her stomach that now she had no need to contain. Weaving her way through the garden, the soft warble of jazz music could be heard off to the left, away from the building that could be seen through the foliage. She didn’t know how many families were being held in the compound but her parents had loved the jazz bands of the 1950s. Without hesitation she detoured off the path intending to follow the music. The moment she did, a feeling of complete calm descended over her, making her body automatically relax so much she almost slumped to the ground. "Whoa, Jack, do you feel that?" It was so strong she couldn’t imagine how Jack couldn’t feel it even without any extrasensory perception.

"What?"

"Safe, calm, at peace."

The colonel had been focused on their physical surroundings but now that the psychic mentioned it, the knot in his gut that had been his constant companion today had eased, and the itch between his shoulder blades was now barely even a tickle. "Yeah. Which makes no sense considering we’re in a prison under a snake’s ship."

Annika opened herself fully to the surrounding atmosphere, drawing in as much of the soothing emotions as she could. "This was their sanctuary…there were bad times here, but for the most part this is where they came to escape, to cope."

"So it’s a good place to lay low for the night?" Jack pressed. "No sense of betrayal or anything?"

Annika was shocked by the question. "You think our parents or one of the others in here could betray us?"

"Captivity changes a person, Casper," he said quietly. "Good people find themselves doing stuff they never would ordinarily consider."

She reluctantly adjusted her perception from soaking up the warm fuzzies, to a search for any signs of deception. It was impossible to distinguish one prisoner’s residual essence from the others because all of them felt the same way, at least in regards to this issue. "None. These people, they are the only ones who know the truth of our counterparts’ positions, of what Ba’al has done to them to ensure their obedience, of the façade they created to survive. What happens down here, stays down here. I’d bet my life on it."

"You willing to bet the lives of the rest of us?"

Without hesitation she replied, "Yes."

That was good enough for Jack. Annika may be a tad blasé about the risks she took with her own skin, but she wouldn’t put her team at risk. "Sweet. I didn’t fancy cuddling up to a bush all night. Now haven’t you got a dad to see?"

Annika was already once again following the music. And as the gravelly voice of Louis Armstrong became clearer, there was another softer and very much off-key baritone that sang along. The soft scent of cigar smoke tickled her nose. She stopped, savoring the moment.

The bush beside her rustled and Jack’s head poked out from between the leaves. "You gonna stand there all night?"

"It’s my Dad, Jack." Those simple words expressed so much.

"So go say hi." He gave her a little nudge. "I’m going to scout around, find a definite meeting point for when the others arrive."

"Okay." Annika pushed aside a palm frond to see her dad sitting on a bench with his legs stretched out casually. One hand rested on his belly, the other held a cigar, which he was lightly tapping with his finger, ash-ing to the beat of the music. He looked thinner than she remembered, the lines deeper on his face, hair greyer. But there was no mistaking that it was him.

At the sound of her approach, one eye lazily popped open. When he saw her he sat up straighter, his eyes lighting up in delight, then immediately clouded with concern. "Hey, kiddo, we heard what happened. Are you okay?"

She had answered that same question from others today and had had been able to respond somewhat coherently. However hearing it from her dad’s lips totally unraveled her. Must be a father-daughter thing she decided a split second before she burst into tears.

He was on his feet in an instant and she found herself wrapped in his loving arms. He held her, rocking her gently, whispering the soothing words she remembered from her childhood…which only made her cry all the harder.

Eventually she managed to compose herself, but she didn’t pull away from him. "I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that."

"Better out than in." He tenderly stroked her hair. "I just wish I could do more for you."

"This is enough." Annika placed a kiss on his cheek. "More than enough."

A voice spoke through the foliage. "Carrie’s running a bit late…" A dark haired woman appeared her eyes downcast as she concentrated on balancing a drink tray she was carrying. "But Claire and Melburn are on their-" She cut off when she saw Annika.

Her mom smiled, placed down the tray on the bench, then gave her daughter a tight hug. Pulling away she wiped a tear from her daughter’s cheek. "Bad day, huh, Anny?"

Annika nodded, more tears threatening to spill over. "But it’s better now."

"Did you want to talk about it?" Her dad gestured for her to sit by him, which she more than eagerly did.

"No." She shook her head. "Let’s talk of other things."

"Of shoes and ships and sealing wax?" he teased, his arm dropping loosely around the back of the bench.

"Or whether pigs have wings." Annika smiled, leaning into his embrace. "Whatever topic tickles your fancy."

Jack had scouted the garden and had found another manicured pocket that would be suitable as a congregation point for him and his kids when they arrived. It was tucked away, yet through the shrubbery he could see both the ring transport point and the single entrance to the quarters, so they’d have warning if anyone approached from either side.

He’d done a check in. Teal’c had responded within a few seconds, putting his mind at ease that he and Sam were okay, and giving the good news that the mirror had been found. So that was two things off their shopping list, only one item to go. He glanced at his watch. It was pushing five minutes and he hadn’t heard a peep from his son. He tried his best not to let his imagination run riot with the things that could have gone ass up. Technically the pair weren’t late for the rendezvous yet, but his worry wouldn’t let up.

He heard the whine of the rings and his heart thudded with relief to see Daniel and Charlie appear on the platform. Stepping out of the shadows, he scanned them both for any sign of injury. Zoned in on the red rash on Daniel’s forehead, recognizing it instantly for what it was. "Trouble?"

"Surprise appearance by Hathor," Daniel answered. "Ba’al must have freed her from the sarcophagus but she didn’t seem very grateful. She was up to something behind Ba’al’s back."

"Snakes will be snakes. You’re both okay?" Jack’s eyes raked over Charlie again to make sure. "Sam and Teal’c found the mirror, they’re on their way down now. And we’ve got the key."

Daniel acknowledged the progress report glad that at least some luck had been on their side. "Nothing we couldn’t handle. Disintegrated Hathor with her own zat’…Had to zat’ Charlie to snap him out of her spell."

"You zatted’ my son?"

"You hit my wife. Consider us even."

Jack caught the edge to Daniel’s voice. "You figured that out, didja?"

"Hard not to when I felt every blow."

"Plan B was necessary."

"I know that, Jack," he snapped. "But the next time Plan B is worked out in advance and it involves beating my wife, I’d appreciate a heads up." He started to move in the direction of the garden path but Jack stood in his way.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

"To see Annika." Daniel couldn’t help his clipped tone. Now that they were in relative safety, ugly emotions reared their head. He didn’t want to have this anger inside him. Logically he knew that there had been a reason for Annika blocking their bond, but it was the not knowing that was eating at him; not being able to give his silent support to help her.

"Not in the pissy mood you’re in, you’re not." Jack wasn’t exactly a happy camper himself. He was still emotionally raw at coming face to face with his grown up son, wasn’t at all pleased that Plan B had had to be used, or that he’d had to let the situation in the bath chamber go as far as it did, let alone the big game plan coming up. And to top it off, Daniel’s reaction was forcing a conversation that Jack had been hoping to avoid. As much as he loved that the non-frat rule had been revoked, he knew there was a legit reason for it to have existed in the first place.

"You’re going to stop me from going to my wife?" Daniel asked incredulously.

"No. As the leader of SG-1, I’m stopping one team member from going off half-cocked at another when he doesn’t have the whole story."

"Well, I would have more of the story if Annika hadn’t of blocked our bond."

Jack stifled a resigned sigh, motioned with his head to his son. "Charlie, why don’t you take a gander at the fascinating plants in this place?"

The young man was more than willing to escape the sudden tension between the two men and he melted into the shadows.

The colonel fixed his gaze on his belligerent friend. "Okay, Doctor Jackson, you want the whole story? Before we could search the room, Ba’al arrived. Annika tried to get rid of him, but Lord Snakiness decided he wanted to screw." Jack purposefully spoke harshly to give Daniel an idea of not only what Annika went through but for how hard it was for him to watch. "When Ba’al took off his shirt Annika saw that the key was hanging around his neck. She delayed the distraction to get it. To do that, she had to let him strip her, kiss her, paw at her. The bastard wanted a head job-"

Daniel paled. "Did she…?"

"No. The alarm sounded. But it was close, real close. I don’t pretend to understand that bond you two share, but I do know that if I had to fuck a Goa’uld then the last thing I’d want or need is having Sam experience every damned humiliating moment."

"No, Danny." Jack softened his tone. "Your honeymoon ended the second we stepped through the wormhole and landed in this crazy timeline. In that instant it became a mission. She’s still the woman you love, but primarily she’s a member of our unit. Most of the time the difference is irrelevant, but there are times when it’s needed to get the job done."

Daniel realized that his friend was speaking from personal experience. That the reason Sam and Jack kept up the formality of using their military titles when on missions was to maintain that fine line between the closeness of teammates and lovers.

Jack hesitated, wondering if he should continue. Well, he’d come this far, may as well lay the rest of it on the line. "You have got to keep that distinction, otherwise when we get back home I’ll recommend that you two be split up on different teams."

The archaeologist was silent for a moment, looking at the last half hour with new eyes. He didn’t particularly like what he saw. In his blind rush to help Annika, he’d almost gotten himself and Charlie killed. Besides that, he could have blown the whole mission and that would have jeopardized the entire planet. "That won’t be necessary, Jack."

A  A  A

Annika knew the moment Daniel ringed down, could feel his emotions building. Not just his ire, but all of them that this day had caused. It pained her that the nervous excitement at seeing his parents was being overshadowed. She didn’t want any issues he had with her to cloud his reunion, so she excused herself from her dad’s casual hug, determined to sort things out now. She ducked through the foliage and saw Charlie doing his best to ignore the quiet heated discussion a few shrubs away.

"I, uh, wouldn’t interrupt just yet."

She gave him a tight smile. "I’d rather face ten pissed off Daniels and Jacks than one amorous Goa’uld." However she hovered on the outskirts openly eavesdropping. Realized that this talk was as much for her ears as her husband’s. Felt the gut wrenching torment from Daniel as he hated admitting Jack’s words were true. She responded with her own reluctant acceptance of how things would have to be. Daniel knew she was there listening, and he lifted his head towards her as he agreed to the colonel’s ultimatum. Annika stepped out. "Now isn’t one of those times, is it, Jack? A minute ago it was, but not now?"

Jack switched his gaze between the two civilians. Saw that his point had been made loud and clear, and that neither would close the distance given the chastisement he’d just given without his say so. "No. Pulling rank is over."

Annika flew across the clearing so fast she almost blurred. Daniel’s arms wrapped around her, craving the physical contact to confirm that she was unharmed.

That wonderful sense of safety she only felt in his embrace cocooned her, and she whispered into his neck. "You can yell at me all you want, just don’t let me go."

"I’ll never let you go," he murmured the promise, tightening his hold. Using their bond he told her silently that his temper had cooled, replaced with his love and concern for her. She opened herself up to him completely and he sensed the bundle of mixed emotions she’d tucked away regarding what had happened with Ba’al. Gently he encased them. "We’ll sort that out, but you can get rid of this." He singled out a stream of guilt. "There’s nothing to be guilty over." He felt half of it dissipate, intuitively knowing it was whatever guilt he had caused her over blocking their bond. What remained puzzled him.

Annika placed a light kiss to his lips. "Later, okay?" Violet eyes pleaded with him.

"Later," he agreed, then indulged in a longer, sweeter kiss.

There was a loud clearing of a throat behind Daniel’s back and it took a couple of seconds for them to register it was not Jack or Charlie. They broke off their kiss and Daniel swung around. There was no sign of the colonel and his son. In their place were a middle-aged man and woman with surprised looks on their faces.

Annika didn’t need to peek over his shoulder to know who these people were. The jumbled mix of love, joy and heartache threatened to overwhelm Daniel as he drank in the sight of his parents.

Daniel took a hesitant step closer to them. "Hello, Mom, Dad."

"Hello, yourself." Melburn adjusted his glasses in a manner very similar to his son. "Sorry, we didn’t mean to intrude." He curiously tried to see who his son had been kissing with such passion, delighted that in this hell of a life Danny had found someone.

"You’re not intruding," Daniel smiled. Unable to resist he took the two steps to close the distance and embraced his parents. "God, it’s good to see you."

They automatically hugged him back, happy at the show of affection but more curious about the woman who’d lit the fire of love in their son.

Claire noticed the slight tremble to the arm hugging her tightly. She pulled back to study him. "Everything okay, Danny?"

Daniel looked down at the blue eyes that he had inherited looking up at him with such concern and he brushed his fingers against the slightly weathered cheek. "Everything’s perfect." He felt his dad stiffen. Wondering if his father was more Alpha male than he remembered, he looked up to see his attention wasn’t on himself, but on Annika. He pulled away. "Mom, Dad, I’d like you to meet-"

"We know who she is, Danny." Melburn’s voice was unreadable. "She visits her kin as often as you do."

With a frown, Daniel moved back to Annika, clasping her hand in his. "I imagine you do. But you don’t know Annika as my wife."

"Wife?" Claire had turned just as solemn. Over her shoulder she called out, "Melinda! Justin! Come quick!"

Their response wasn’t something Daniel and Annika had thought of, but really should have expected. They had been so enamored with the idea of seeing and introducing their loved ones as they knew them, it had slipped their minds that their enforced positions in this timeline as Ba’al’s lackeys would color their parents’ reactions.

Annika gripped Daniel’s hand tighter, murmuring, "I feel like Romeo and Juliet."

Daniel gave a small smile, fighting his own bout of nerves. He lifted their entwined hands to place a tender kiss to her taut knuckles. "Not really liking the comparison. How about the Little Mermaid?"

Annika’s nose crinkled, recalling that fairytale’s ending was just as bad as the Shakespeare tragedy. "How is that any better?"

"Not the original Hans Christian Anderson version. The altered Disney version."

She chuckled. "Appropriate given today."

"I thought so," he grinned back.

Their nonsense chat was doing wonders for their anxiety, both drawing confidence from each other.

"So I get to save your sexy butt from the sea witch?" Annika teased, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Yep, after I save yours," he replied, his cheek nuzzling into the top of her hair. "And we live happily ever after."

"Good plan."

Claire and Melburn had been tensely silent as they waited for Annika’s parents to arrive, watching the gentle banter, having difficulty with the bombshell that had just landed in their laps. A rustle of leaves and the couple rushed into the clearing, taking in at a glance the intimate pose of their daughter with their friend’s son, their expressions quickly mirroring Claire and Melburn’s.

"They say they’re married," Claire blurted out.

"Are you insane?" Melinda demanded.

"No, Mom, just head over heels in love," Annika replied, flashing a loving look at her husband.

"But if Ba’al should find out, even his warped obsession with the two of you won’t save you." Justin voiced everyone’s fear.

"Dad, you always said to follow my heart. Well, it led me directly to Daniel."

"Some things are worth the risk, sir." Daniel spoke softly, yet firmly, then addressed both sets of parents. "I can no more deny my love for Annika than I can stop the sun from rising."

Movement in the shadows beside Daniel gave Melburn something else to focus on. "Who are you?"

"Jack O’Neill. I’m the best man," Jack quipped, stepping out into the open, with Sam by his side "And I bring the maid of honor."

Another new arrival burst into the scene, providing a further distraction. A blonde woman whose resemblance to Sam was undeniable. "What’s the matter? I heard you call out…" She sounded a little puffed, her eyes going wide at the sight of her daughter’s linked hands with a strange man, becoming saucers at the adoring pose of her friends’ children. "Oh, boy."

"Please," Annika pleaded. "Just for tonight, don’t think about Ba’al or the consequences, just be happy for us."

The parent’s all looked torn. There was no denying that their children loved each other and they were all ecstatic that they had found someone to fill their hearts, yet they feared what that love would mean for them.

Claire was the first to cave, hesitantly giving Annika and Daniel a hug. Her whisper was tinged with worry but also held a trace of motherly matchmaking smugness. "I always thought you two would make a good pair."

After that, Justin, Melinda and finally Melburn gave their congratulations, doing their best to mask their concerns of the danger.

Carrie while equally concerned over the safety of Daniel and Annika, was more distracted by the light in her own daughter’s eyes. "Sammy, are you also going to drop a marriage announcement?"

"Well, not yet, Mom." Sam was suddenly shy at seeing her mother, at seeing her kind eyes that had helped her through all her childhood mishaps, again.

"But it is definitely in the works, ma’am." Jack helped his fiancée out. "I proposed two weeks ago and lucky for me, Sam accepted."

"Then I guess congratulations is in order for you both too." Carrie embraced her daughter, then added Jack into the fold.

Sam felt tears sting the back of her eyes as she felt her mom’s arms around her. "Thanks, Mom."

"Well, this calls for a toast," Justin declared. "I know I could do with a stiff drink around about now."

Still a little shell shocked, the parents agreed and began moving back to the clearing where they had originally planned to meet up before their children’s unexpected arrival.

The members of SG-1 held back.

"We’ll be along in a moment," Daniel called after them, though he wasn’t sure any of the parents heard him.

A silent shadow moved from the direction of the ring transport.

Daniel and Annika were as surprised to see Teal’c in a white lab coat as they were to see Janet following close behind having an in depth conversation with Charlie.

Sam quickly explained about her unexpected ally.

"How’d you work ‘pear’ into the conversation?" Annika asked curiously about the codeword.

"It’s called desperation," the blonde replied ruefully.

"So we’re down to one item on the shopping list," Jack recapped, after they had given a brief summary of what had happened while they’d been separated. "Thoughts? Ideas?"

"Do you think Ba’al could have taken it off-world?" Annika’s question brought grimaces from the others.

"Let’s hope not." Jack rubbed at his temple, getting an instant headache at the mere idea. "Searching every one of Balls’ strongholds is not something we have the time for."

"It is unlikely Ba’al would remove such an important device from his immediate vicinity," Teal’c responded. "He would covet it if only to stop any other Goa’uld stealing it."

"If you tell me what it looks like I can have my people do another search," Janet suggested. She was still looking a little stunned by the quick debrief her leader had given her. "I’ve got ten people in various positions in the ha’tak and underground base. They may know of extra hidden compartments that are different in this timeline."

Daniel, being the one who had spent the most time examining the device, described the ancient technology.

"It’d probably be best if you lay low for the night," Charlie put forth. He knew how much this time with their respective parents would mean to Annika, Sam and Daniel, not to mention to him and his dad, and he gave the team a legit excuse. "Your counterparts are rarely seen roaming the ship at night."

"Oh, the summit!" Janet recalled a detail that this team wouldn’t know about. "If you’re still here, Annika’s expected to perform."

"Say what?" Annika asked warily.

"Holy crap," Annika exclaimed, glad to have the heads up. "Do any of your people know more details?"

Janet looked a little uneasy, remembering the snide comments that had been reported in to her. "The rehearsals have been behind closed doors."

"But?" the psychic pressed.

"Well, the music was…um…let’s just say it would fit in at a strip joint.

"Oh, great," her sarcastic huff was drowned out by the immediate and vehement responses of her team.

"Like hell…Not gonna happen…Absolutely not…Not a snowball’s chance in hell."

"Teal’c, you must have attended these sort of ceremonies before." Daniel fought down his horror of Annika doing a strip tease for anyone but him.

"Indeed, I have," the Jaffa confirmed. "Apophis hosted many a summit. Usually they were boasting displays of his dominance and achievements. The lo’tar’s performance is oft one of seduction, pandering to the host Goa’uld’s vanity and ego. If the summit were to discuss an alliance it would also serve to distract the visiting Goa’uld during negotiations."

"So what else would stroke a snake’s ego?" Jack asked.

For a few moments they pondered the possibilities.

"Worship?" Sam threw the idea out. "They all demand fawning and groveling."

"Extravagant displays of adoration have been substituted for the lo’tar’s introduction, in the form of gifts and tributes paraded in from the masses." Teal’c recalled the hundreds of events he’d attended as First Prime. "However, only when it was a celebration, never at a treaty summit."

Daniel clutched at that straw. "Janet, do you have any more details? What’s the summit for?"

"Not much. The Jaffa refer to it as ‘carlartiss’ or something similar. My Goa’uld pronunciation isn’t that great." The doctor gave an apologetic smile.

"T, ringing any bells?"

"Unfortunately not, O’Neill."

Annika and Daniel gave a start.

"Did you mean ‘Ka’laeti’is’?" Daniel held his breath for the response.

"That’s it," Janet nodded. "You know what it means?"

"Not a clue." Daniel looked to his wife for confirmation. "But we’ve heard of it. That’s when Apophis is going to launch his attack and when Bra’tac starts the rebellion."

Annika gave an eager nod. "My visions from Teal’c’s loincloth told us that, we just didn’t know what ‘Ka’laeti’is’ was. Have you heard of the word ‘Dor’maeti’us’?"

All eyes were on the small woman as she gave a single nod. "That’s what they called the opening ceremony."

"That’s the moment they’re going to strike," Daniel said confidently. "Directly after the Dor’maeti’us, when they are lulled into relaxing."

"Well, that puts an interesting spin on things." Jack was already working out how that information could work to their advantage. "Providing we find the device by then, that’ll be the ultimate distraction for us to destroy the box and get to the mirror."

"However the Dor’maeti’us must still be performed, as it is the catalyst." Teal’c brought the conversation back to their original problem.

"We can do a ‘tribute’ parade that Teal’c mentioned," Sam suggested. "Regardless of the reason behind the summit, Ba’al won’t have a chance to question it. Especially if we spring it on him at the last second."

Annika picked up that line of thought. "He won’t let himself lose face in front of the other Goa’uld by calling me-"

"Us," Daniel interjected. "A parade needs more than one person, so we’ll all be there, right, Jack?"

The colonel nodded. Daniel may have been speaking as a husband trying to protect his wife, but from a strategy point of view, if Casper’s vision was right, and so far she hadn’t been wrong, all hell was going to break loose, and he’d rather have his team all in one place.

"Okay." Annika was relieved to know that she wouldn’t have to face Ba’al alone. "Ba’al won’t call us on the change of the opening act, he’d wait until he could extricate himself and get us behind closed doors, but thanks to Apophis’s and Bra’tac’s attacks he’ll have other things on his mind."

"Then all we require now is a suitable tribute," Teal’c concluded.

"We have a bauble or two that would work," Charlie offered. "We’ve liberated quite a stash over the years."

"It’s easily accessible?" Jack asked.

"Well, it’ll take a few hours to gather, but we’ve more than enough time before the summit." He paused. "The only thing is how do we get it in? Ba’al’s security is tight, and if we’re keeping it secret from him…" he let the sentence hang.

"Those Jaffa at the gate were pretty willing to snap to when I demanded to be let in," Daniel said thoughtfully. "I could say they are artifacts from the dig that Ba’al wants to inspect personally. Or better yet, go with the ‘truth’, they’re a gift from the people to be presented at the summit. If it’s timed correctly, then they won’t have time to double check with Ba’al."

"That could work." Jack read the agreement on his team’s faces, then turned to Charlie and Janet, their resident experts in the goings on in Ba’al’s den. "I’m guessing that all crates coming in are inspected?"

Janet nodded. "If they’re brought in by the slaves, yes."

"Damn, I don’t fancy going into that throne room armed with only one zat’ and two nine mils."

"We’ve been trying for years to turn even one Jaffa, with no luck," Charlie sighed.

"Well, it’s hard to do when they’ve been brainwashed from birth." Sam gave the man’s shoulder a commiserating pat. "Out of curiosity, why bring it up?"

Charlie blinked blankly, for a moment he’d forgotten that the majority of the people around him had had less than a day’s experience in this time. "Because any deliveries with a Jaffa escort go right on through."

The colonel could feel Annika’s gaze swing to him though she didn’t say a word. Knew what she was thinking because the thought had jumped instantly to his mind as well. "Casper, how sure are you about this Tarnie fella?"

"About sixty-forty," she admitted.

"You sounded more confident before."

"It’s hard to explain." The psychic struggled to put into words what her sixth sense had shown her. "His aura tells me he has a very big soft spot for me. But there’s a duality to him that I don’t understand. He is unfailing loyal to Ba’al and at the same time is completely disloyal."

"He is questioning his faith in the gods?" Teal’c asked.

"Well, that’s the thing, the auras are like two transparent sheets overlaying each other. The disloyal sheet is predominant now. The loyal sheet is a little fuzzy like a premonition of the future."

"That’s odd," Daniel frowned. "Logically it should be the other way around. Once the invalidity of a Goa’uld’s position as god has been formed, it opens the eyes to the obvious hypocrisy and flaws in their actions, it doesn’t reaffirm their godliness."

"Hence my dilemma." Annika let her frustration show.

"Do you sense when this reversal of loyalty will happen?" Sam prodded.

"Nothing concrete." What the psychic felt about the time frame was even more confusing than the loyalty issue. How could it be instantaneously both tomorrow and a quarter century down the track? "But the where I’m pretty sure won’t be here…even though we’re connected to his loyalty switch."

"Oh, did you have to add that?" Jack grumbled half seriously. "We are responsible for convincing Tarnie that Balls is a god?"

"I didn’t say that, only that we’re connected someway." She grinned at Jack’s pained expression. "Hey, you’re the one who insisted on knowing every little detail of my visions. It’s not my fault they make no sense."

"That’ll teach me to open my mouth," the colonel groused then turned serious. "Okay, Charlie when you speak to Hammond, get him to include one crate of weapons. Casper, when you proposition this chameleon I’ll be with you. If it looks like he’s gonna scarper off to tell Balls, I’ll triple zat’ him, and get word to Hammond to remove that particular crate. It’s not ideal, but we may have to wait for the chaos of Apophis’s and Bra’tac’s attacks to really arm ourselves."

"Well, it’s a plan," Sam summed up. "And really, it’s stronger than some of the plans we’ve come up with."

The others nodded, feeling somewhat confident that they had a remote chance of pulling it off.

"I should get back to the ship," Janet announced, picking up the medical bag she’d been carrying as a prop. "My ruse of doing med checks on the prisoners is just about expired."

"Would we be pushing the friendship to ask one more thing?" Jack asked hopefully.

Charlie saw the colonel’s inadvertent concerned glance at Annika. Intuitively he knew what the favor would be. "Don’t worry, Dad, I’ve already asked Frenchy to make sure there’s a steady stream of alarms to keep Ba’al distracted through the night."

"Thanks, son." Jack again felt that fatherly pride in the leader Charlie had grown into. "Frenchy?" He raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar name.

Janet waggled her fingers, indicating herself. "That’d be me." She started heading to the ring transporter. "Any problems and I’ll get word to you someway."

"Frenchy?" Jack repeated. He’d read Janet’s service history, and knew quite a bit of her personal history, and there was nothing even remotely ‘froggy’ about her…which meant it must be a call sign she’d earned…and he only knew of one ‘explanation’ for that particular name… On second thoughts he really didn’t want to know how Charlie gave Doc Fraiser a nickname based on a style of kissing. O’Neill, repeat after me, ‘Altered timeline, altered timeline’…

"It’s her codename," Charlie replied, oblivious to the turn of his dad’s thoughts. "All my key people have them. Michael, the man in place to watch Daniel at the dig is Turtledove, I’m Partridge, Janet’s French Hen because she’s always mothered me since we met."

"Oh, right, of course," Jack cleared his throat to cover his slip of adding two and two and getting five. "Thank God for that."

The young man was bewildered by last comment muttered under his dad’s breath. Then his eyes widened as realization struck. "You thought, she and I…oh, Dad, that’d be like kissing Mom!"

Sam jumped in to rescue her embarrassed fiancé. "And your ‘help’ codeword was ‘pear’. I’m sensing a running theme."

"All lyrics to the Yuletide song ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’." Teal’c knew that particular tune well, since he had been subjected to a drunken performance from his teammates a few months before.

"What made you choose that theme?" Sam asked.

Charlie shrugged. "Ba’al forbade the celebration of Christmas. I’d heard that ‘Twelve Days’ was a catechism song written to help Catholics learn the tenets of their faith when they were forbidden to practice during the 1700s. The parallels seemed appropriate."

"That’s actually an urban myth," Daniel pointed out. "The tenets of Catholicism and Anglican are basically the same."

"It’s not a myth anymore," Charlie gave a wry grin. "Dad, can I use your radio? Mine got fried."

"Ooh! I think we just found our ‘tribute’ song." Annika’s face lit up.

"Kinda risky," Jack mused, though the idea appealed to his sense of humor. He handed over the radio so Charlie could get the ball rolling with Hammond.

"Well, we could always use Cher’s ‘If I could Turn Back Time’," the redhead suggested innocently.

Jack clapped his hands together. "Right, ‘Twelve Days’ it is." He began ushering them down the path. "Now, you guys have some catching up to do."

Sleep, though they knew they should get some rest, was not something SG-1 even considered. None of them were willingly to sacrifice one precious moment of this surreal experience. And the parents, though unaware of reason behind the all night chat, weren’t in any hurry to call it a night either. Alcohol was replaced by strong cups of coffee, fetched by Claire and Melinda.

Daniel accepted the mug of coffee from his mom with a bright smile. In transferring the mug, her fingers brushed against his and he felt a slight roughness. He caught her hand in his and turned it palm up. There were small calluses on her skin, not something he’d expect from someone kept ‘idle’ for near on to a decade. Calluses that were very similar to the ones he had earned working as an archaeologist. Daniel covered his surprise. "Ba’al’s keeping you busy?"

"No point in letting two trained archaeologists go to waste." His dad gave a dry smile.

Claire gave her husband a playful elbow jab. "Stop it, we’d be going insane here if not for those crumbs Ba’al sends down."

"What’s he got you working on now?" Daniel asked.

"A series of tablets. The language is a deviation of Sumerian." Claire was unaware of the light that lit up her eyes when talking of the ancient stones.

"Must be from one of Ba’al’s other planets," Melburn added. "We’ve never had this variant of the language on Earth. Some of the context is causing us all kinds of trouble."

Daniel was overcome with a sense of longing that he couldn’t, wouldn’t, deny. "Maybe I could give you a hand?"

"This night isn’t about working," Claire hesitated even though she wanted to say yes to his suggestion.

He grinned. "Since when is exploring ancient cultures work?"

"If Annika doesn’t mind us stealing you away for awhile." Melburn was just as eager, but didn’t want to deny his son this time with his wife, knowing that their time together must be only snatched clandestine moments when they could sneak away from Ba’al’s watchful eye.

"Not at all," Annika waved them away cheekily. "I know better than to become between my man and his rocks."

As the three Jacksons began walking away with an added bounce to their step, Jack gave a mock sigh.

"Daniel had no chance."

"Of what?" Sam asked, rousing from a conversation with her mom.

"Of not finding a stack of moldy, crumbling ruins utterly fascinating. Clearly it is a genetic anomaly of the Jackson family. He was doomed from birth."

"As was your son, O’Neill, whom I believe inherited your obsession with fishing with no physical results," Teal’c intoned.

"Ah! Not true!" Jack exclaimed. "Finally I have someone who can confirm my great fishing tales. Charlie, tell these non-believers of all the fish we caught in our lake."

The young man put on his best innocent face. "But, Dad, you taught me not to lie."

Everyone else managed a full two seconds before laughter burst from their lips.

Jack raised his hands in surrender. "Betrayed by my own flesh and blood!" he grumbled, his own chuckle mixing with the others.

A  A  A

A soft sigh escaped from Daniel, making his mom look up from across the table. "Something wrong?"

It had been over an hour, though none of them realized the time since they’d begun working in the small workroom that had been set up on the second floor. He couldn’t help but notice the similarities between his own office at the SGC and this one. Artifacts and stone tablets were scattered all around, handwritten notes on top of, underneath or beside whatever relic they referred to, a coffee maker the only ‘modern’ technology in the room. Daniel was filled with warmth at the knowledge that his chaotic filing system and work habits were something he shared with his parents.

He shook his head. "Nothing." Working side by side his parents, carefully brushing away centuries old dust caked into the engraved text of ancient relics, talking about what one difficult to read symbol could be, simply working out the puzzle of the stone, filled him with such joy and contentment. He’d found a different kind of those emotions since joining the SGC and yet another deviation when Annika had come into his life, but this set he hadn’t felt in over thirty years. "I just miss this. Those digs you used to take me on are some of my happiest memories."

"Ah, yes," Melburn sighed dramatically. "The good ol’ days when Ancient Egyptian was just an archaic language for us to debate the pronunciation of." He reached across to wipe off the smudge of dirt his wife had left in place of the dust on her nose. The humor left his eyes. "You know, Danny, as dreadful as this sounds, when Ba’al first invaded I was filled with happiness."

"Why?" Daniel frowned in confusion, especially when his mom also looked a little guilty, indicating she’d felt the same way. Taking joy in mass destruction was completely out of character for his parents who were pinups for the flower-power generation.

"When one of his ha’tak’s docked on the Great Pyramid of Giza…it vindicated you. Your theories, that everyone mocked, were proven true."

Daniel felt his throat close up at the pride he saw reflected on their faces, despite what the consequences of discovering that truth had been. He realized that they had supported his ‘far-fetched’ ideas when the rest of the archaeological community had laughed at him; they had believed in him. "It would have been better if I was wrong."

"No, Danny," his dad said quietly. "It would have been better if the truth had been revealed in a different way."

He had to fight down the urge to tell them that it had been different. That Earth hadn’t been enslaved, that he and his team had defeated a dozen Goa’uld, and had made some powerful and amazing allies; that his life was filled with exciting adventure and tales that defied imagination; that this time was a horrible, waking nightmare except for them being alive. An oddly appropriate quote, the origins of which eluded him, floated into his mind. "Maybe what we know as life is just a dream, and death is when we wake up."

"Then, here’s to dreams and waking up." Claire raised her coffee mug with a wistful smile of the fanciful hope her son’s comment had raised for the future. Melburn joined the toast thinking the same thing.

Daniel clinked his cup against his parents’, equally as wistful, but thinking of this time’s past before Ba’al, and what could have been. Taking a sip, his eyes once again roamed around the room, wanting to commit every detail to memory. They were drawn back to a marble tablet propped up against the wall. It was a piece of a mural, with precious stones inlaid and gold tooled into the grooves that had been carved out. He crouched down to get a closer look.

"Magnificent, isn’t it?" Melburn followed his gaze. "Probably part of an altar."

"Hmmm…probably." He absently ran his finger over the text, automatically translating it out loud.

"How’d you know that?" Claire asked surprised. "We couldn’t make heads or tails of it."

"Um…it’s a simple derivative of Ancient." Daniel was more focused on the picture above the text than what he was saying. The pictograph was rare by Ancient standards, he didn’t remember seeing any ‘traditional’ drawings in any of the Ancient technology or scrolls they’d found. He’d always assumed that sketches were too frivolous for the scientific ‘gate builders. But the original artist wasn’t what had captivated him. The picture was a simple composition despite the gems, and it was one of the gems specifically that had his attention. It was slightly misplaced. He could see remnants of a poxy crusting the edges and surmised it was a botched repair job. And he sent up a prayer thanking the careless sod who had done it.

"We know it’s old, Danny."

"Huh?" Bewildered by his dad’s comment he looked up to see both of them looking confused. Realized his slip. "Oh, yeah, um, it’s old, very old. Ancient in fact. Must have picked it up from one of Ba’al’s digs." He jumped to his feet and gave them a quick excited hug. "Can you excuse me for a moment?"

Without giving them a chance to reply he dashed out of the room, bounding down the stairs.

Mother and father blinked at the retreating whirlwind that was their son.

Claire drained the last of her coffee, giving her husband a mischievous grin. "He gets that from you." Then she was running down the stairs to find out what the excitement was all about. With a chuckle, Melburn set off at a more sedate jog.