The moment Daniel and Teal'c materialized on the bridge of the Prometheus, Colonel Ronson spoke. "Colonel Carter is on the comm." He then gave orders for the ship to start its journey to Abydos, using sub-light engines so they could still communicate with the base.

Both men nodded.

"Sam?"

"I'm here with Annika," she began, knowing that the archaeologist's concern for his wife was paramount despite the urgency of getting the cure.

"Hey, Daniel," Annika piped up. It seemed so long since she had heard his voice.

"Hi, how are you holding up?"

"I'm okay," she assured. "Teal'c?"

"It is good to hear you, Annika Jackson."

"What's wrong?" Annika had only just arrived as the transport had been taking place and had thus missed Daniel's arrival at Teal'c's. Hearing the added tension made no sense given that everyone should have been filled with hope now.

"Nothing that cannot wait for a more appropriate time," he replied then changed the subject. "What of the cure?"

Sam took the not so subtle cue. "To cut a long story short, we discovered that the tobacco Kasuf brought with him acts as a barrier against the virus. It holds the virus at bay giving the body a chance to heal itself." It was more complicated than that but after years of working with Jack, the scientist had become accustomed to simplifying her explanations.

"Tobacco?" Daniel didn't try to mask his surprise. Of all the possible cures contemplated, that hadn't even been considered.

"Kasuf called it Ra'sil'ic." Sam continued on, "We experimented with it on two patients so far, one who is in phase four and one in late phase two. It's still too early to tell if it's working on the more advanced case, but there have already been signs of improvement on the phase two patient. We don't know if it's permanent or a stopgap."

"Ra'sil'ic." Daniel rolled the word off his tongue as he tried to jog his memory from nine years ago. "The Abydonians used it mainly for ceremonial purposes, especially in their spring and autumn solstices. Pungent smell as I recall."

"Right, which is why I'm pretty sure the Abydonians of our universe grew something similar. As soon as I smelled it I remembered it from that first trip to Abydos to bring you home." For some it might have seemed unlikely that she'd remember a single smell from so long ago, yet it had been so distinctive that she'd recalled it instantly.

"Daniel, were you involved in the harvesting of the plant during your time there?" Annika knew that he had tried to participate in all the tasks of everyday life of the tribe who had adopted him, and they were all hoping that this particular chore had been included. "Kasuf drew us a diagram of how his Abydos was laid out and it's different to how you've described it."

"Not the harvesting, no, but I do know where the drying process was done." He mentally pictured where the cave was in comparison to the main settlement. "It's directly west of the camp. From a bird's eye view, the camp, the naquadah mine and drying cave form an almost equilateral triangle."

Ronson pulled up a map of the planet on the visual display and marked the coordinates Daniel had described.

Daniel continued on with what he recalled of the planting. "It was harvested in the early summer and the land was re-sown by the end of the season. Once it was dried it was stockpiled in the cave until needed because it had just the right humidity to keep it usable."

"Any idea how much there could be stored in the cave now?" Janet's voice came through having just arrived in the control room to give an update on their guinea pig patients.

Daniel had to take a moment to convert the Abydonian calendar and backdate it. "It was late summer when they..." he cut off as the memory and guilt of that day haunted him. "...when Anubis attacked..." He mentally listed the ceremonies and rituals the tribal people performed from the harvest to summer's end, added in the possibility of an unexpected celebration such as a wedding or birth of a child. "Probably almost a full crop. That's providing the cave is still standing. How much do we need?"

Janet took a deep breath. "There's still no change in our phase four patient. The amount of regeneration in the phase two patient has slowed, almost relapsing, since she finished the joint we made for her. She's going to need at least another two doses. For the people higher than phase two, conservative guess is that they'll need at least the equivalent of a dozen smokes. Right now we have enough for six."

Teal'c cleared his throat. "Doctor Fraiser, I do not know how it is with Earth tobaccos, however, in my youth there was a plant we smoked. Using a water diffuser decreases the harshness and toxicity of the smoke on the windpipe and lungs. The greater the expanse of water the greater the natural effects. I would suggest a bucket."

There was silence on both the bridge and the control room as that comment sank in, then Annika gave a low chuckle. "Teal'c, you little pothead! Who knew you know what a bucket bong is?"

"I could say the same for you," Daniel grinned.

"Oh...um..." Annika considered the hole she had just dug herself into. "Don't suppose you'd believe I just had a vision about it?"

"Yeah, sure," Daniel agreed sagely. "But using a bath is better than a bucket. The more bubbles in the water the greater the filtration of the toxins, leaving only the enjoyable components." He felt all eyes on the bridge turn to him incredulously. Inwardly admitted to a little bit of smugness at shocking the crew that the 'geek' had taken his nose out of a book long enough to smoke some weed. He shrugged with a mischievous grin. "What can I say? I'm an anthropologist who loves experiencing culture first hand."

Sam gave a shake of her head. "Janet, are we the only ones who didn't smoke pot?"

There was a slight pause and Janet gave an embarrassed cough. "Um...not exactly."

It took a moment for Sam to comprehend what one of her closest friend's was saying. "Oh come on...Really?" She heaved a sigh. "I really was a geek."

The soft chuckles that echoed around both rooms helped diffuse the anxious tension in the air.

Janet got them back on track. "We're planning on setting up smoking rooms..." the doctor gave a disbelieving shake of her head. Never would she have thought that she'd be prescribing smoking to any of her patients. "By the time you get back we'll have the tubs set up."

"On the trip back we'll chop the leaves, prepare as much as possible." Daniel was following everyone's lead that they would be successful in finding the tobacco and that it would be a cure rather than just a stopgap for the virus.

"Any other questions?" Sam eyed the women in the room with her and waited for a verbal response from the Prometheus. She watched with concern as did Janet, Annika absently massage her arm above the elbow to reduce the numbness creeping up her limbs. The redhead gave a shake of her head at the comm unit, indicating that she didn't want those aboard the Prometheus to know just how advanced the numbness had become. The colonel gave a single nod of agreement. There was nothing they could do about it and the information would only unnecessarily worry Daniel and Teal'c. Had to clear her throat when her eyes locked with Janet and she saw the first signs of petechial hemorrhaging in her caramel depths. "Then I'll let you go. Good luck."

The communication was cut off and Colonel Ronson gave the order for a hyper light window to be opened then turned back to the members of SG-1. "We have BDUs for you to change into."

"Thank you, Colonel." Daniel gave the commander a small smile though his eyes followed the stalking figure of Teal'c who had set off the moment the comm had shut down. Knew his friend well enough to know where he was going to wile away the two hour trip to Abydos. "We'll be in the rec room if you need us."

Ronson nodded, though didn't comment on the Jaffa's obvious foul mood. Put it down to the stress of the outbreak, though he would admit to never seeing Teal'c so out of control of his emotions before. Usually the warrior wore a single mask for all occasions. It concerned him that this time his expression was so transparent.

Daniel first detoured to science lab to rid himself of his 'baggage'.

The scientist looked up from the report he'd been given regarding the Ra'sil'ic plant, curiously eyeing the tin tucked under Daniel's arm. "Bringing your own coffee now, Doctor Jackson?"

"Not exactly." Daniel began to pry off the lid. "I need a containment vessel."

"Ah, must be the base coffee then, that stuff can melt iron," he grinned, locating one of the containers from a side cabinet. His eyes bulged when he saw what Daniel actually tipped into it. "Where in the world did that come from?" Then almost immediately he bent closer to examine the symbiote through the glass. "What's wrong with it?"

"That's what we'd like to know. Feel like running a few tests?"

He nodded, already reaching for a swab. "I'll let you know if I find anything unusual."

His sense of timing was rewarded with a slight head nod of agreement from Teal'c. Okay, he thought. Still not talking. Not necessarily a bad sign considering Teal'c rarely used small talk. Daniel downed the last of his coffee and tossed a towel to him to wipe the sweat coating him. "We'll be orbiting Abydos soon."

Another head nod and the pair set off for the locker room to change.

From the corner of his eye Daniel continued to study his friend. Despite the workout, the Jaffa was still so tense that Daniel suspected if anyone dared to so much as hiccup he'd probably put the guy against a wall before he realized. In the interest of stopping any broken bones and wall repairs, he decided that it was now or never. "Teal'c, about what was going on back at the house..."

"I do not wish to discuss it." Teal'c yanked his shirt off. Scowled at the blood staining it, screwed it up into a ball and tossed it in the bin. Muttered a curse when it missed and wound up hanging around the rim.

"Okay." Daniel in contrast neatly folded his shirt and slid it into the travel bag they'd been given to temporarily hold their personal effects until they returned to Earth. Teal'c's action surprised him. The man's hand-eye coordination was usually perfect and he never wasted anything. In hindsight he realized that Teal'c's behavior had been a little bit off balance since he and Keelah had become an item. He was pretty sure the crux of the issue was sexual tension since he knew the couple hadn't slept together yet. However, since Daniel didn't have a death wish there was no way he was going to voice that opinion out loud. Instead he tried to broach the subject in a roundabout way. He gestured to the missed shot. "Skip a dose of tretonin?"

The question diverted Teal'c's foul mood for moment as he thought back to when he had last used the serum. Was surprised when he realized it had been over forty-eight hours. Normally he administered his daily dosage while changing for the beginning of his shift. With all that had happened yesterday he had forgotten about it. Oddly, he hadn't felt any adverse effects even with the exertion of this morning. Was the missed dose the reason why he was so unsettled and reacting so harshly? "In fact I have. Thank you for bringing the oversight to my attention."

"No problem." Daniel shucked his boots but slowed the rest of his changing to keep pace with his friend. He was determined to give his usually closed mouthed teammate every opportunity to talk or at the very least vent.

Teal'c fished out the small case that he kept on his person at all times, which held the small vial of the blue liquid he was dependent on. Administering it to the crook of his elbow he waited for the usual rush to spread through his body. Frowned when it did not occur. Perhaps it was from on old batch. Absently he recalled that the last few doses had also failed to give an immediate stimulant burst. Made a mental note to discuss the matter with Doctor Fraiser once the current crisis had passed. If his body was growing an immunity to the tretonin then that would adequately explain why he was so on edge. However, such a logical reason did not account for Keelah's behavior.

"Something wrong?" Daniel had caught the frown.

"I have already said I do not wish to talk." He eyed the showers stalls and then the pile of fresh clothes. Decided that there was no point showering considering they were going to be working in the desert heat. Settled for roughly toweling the worst of the sweat from himself.

The archaeologist blinked at his friend. "I was referring to the tretonin."

Teal'c grimaced, "I apologize."

The pair lapsed into silence. Daniel was prepared to get his head bitten off again if he thought it would coax Teal'c into opening up, but was trying to figure out how to phrase his words. If this were Jack he'd have no problem; just keep pressing and wheedling until Jack spilled his guts just to get Daniel to shut up. With Teal'c no amount of cajoling would work if he didn't want it to. Before he could speak Teal'c heaved a sigh.

"I do not understand why she would suddenly regress in her behavior."

"Keelah?" In Daniel's opinion, the scene he had walked into Keelah had looked anything but like a slave.

Teal'c gave a curt nod then launched into a description of what he had come home to as he stripped off the rest of his civvies and reached for the BDUs.

The diplomat took a moment to consider his reply, buttoning up his shirt. It was clear that Teal'c expected him to agree with his assessment and yet he recognized Keelah's actions as a defense mechanism. It surprised him that Teal'c hadn't also seen it. "Teal'c, did it occur to you that what Keelah did was find her comfort zone?"

"What do you mean?"

"That being in a situation that she can't control, can't do anything except fret about the outcome, she sought a distraction that was familiar, something safe to keep busy so she didn't have to think?" He saw that he had Teal'c's undivided attention and continued on. "We all do it. I lose myself deliberately in my translations." He gave a rueful chuckle at Teal'c's raised eyebrow. "Okay, bad example, I do that whether the situation is good or bad, but if I need to mentally hide, I do it more so." During the times he'd been interrogated by the Goa'uld, he'd silently translated whatever questions asked of him into every language that he knew. Last night he'd spent hours researching ancient epidemics to stop from worrying himself sick over Annika and Jack and Sam contracting the virus. "If Annika needs to sort something out in her head she creates a new dessert or icing sculpture. Jack fishes or annoys the crap out of us with useless questions. Sam gets elbow deep in a gadget or works on her bike. You meditate or do a session of mastaba. We do things that ground us to simpler times. Keelah, all she knows is what she was taught as a slave. Maybe when she has had a chance to discover a new hobby, that hobby will become her 'grounder', but for now what else has she to do?"

Daniel didn't really expect an answer, but sitting down to tie up his boots he noted that Teal'c's expression had turned thoughtful.

After a long moment, Teal'c voiced another issue, one that Keelah had raised which troubled him. "Do you believe my slavery to Apophis taints my actions to this day?"

"Are you kidding?" Daniel figured the Jaffa was joking until he saw the serious expression on his dark face. "You're not kidding." He cleared his throat. "Yes, to a certain degree. How could it not? You were enslaved for a century, it's going to have long lasting effects." He paused, unsure whether to add his own observation. "Though I might point out that you have been overly sensitive to it lately where Keelah is concerned."

"I did not realize."

Daniel shrugged. "It kind of happens with those we care most about."

"I appreciate your counsel."

They felt the ship lurch slightly as it decelerated out of hyper light. A second later Colonel Ronson paged them to the bridge informing they were in orbit above Abydos. The pair hooked their radios onto their belts and double timed it. When the doors slid open it was to see the colonel looking over the shoulder of one of the bridge crew at a topographical map of the desert floor.

Ronson glanced up at their entrance. "Doctor Jackson, how big did you say the drying cave was?"

"I didn't." Daniel was concerned by the man's grim tone. "But it's about the size of a hanger. Why?"

"The sensors have picked up a rocky outcropping, however there's no indication of a significant cave."

"There's no structure of some sort?" Daniel felt a sinking in his stomach.

"No, sir."

"Colonel Ronson, can you beam us down to that location?" Teal'c asked, exchanging a concerned look with his teammate.

The commander nodded.

A few moments later Daniel and Teal'c were standing in front of a pile of boulders.

"Do you recognize this place, Daniel Jackson?"

With a slow nod, Daniel approached, climbing over one of the larger rocks. "This was the drying cave."

The shock wave of Anubis's weapon had collapsed the cavern. All that remained was a mass of crumbled rock.

"Perhaps some of it is salvageable." Teal'c caught sight of a torn hessian bag peeking out from beneath some smaller rocks. He heaved at the rock covering it, grunting at the weight. Refused to believe that they had come this far, had found a source of a cure only to find it had been destroyed over a year before. Called Daniel over at what was revealed.

The archaeologist fought back the wave of disappointment that threatened to engulf him. Fingered the small hole of the remarkably intact sack for what was inside. "Seeds for the next crop. Our people don't have a year to wait for it to grow."

"Nonetheless, we should take it with us." The Jaffa was already removing the smaller rocks to free the rest of the sack.

Daniel nodded. "It can be grown and kept in reserve for any future outbreaks. It may even help with Earth's VHFs." He began shifting some of the nearby debris hoping to find at least some of the dried leaves that those in the SGC were betting their lives on. He unearthed a pitiful amount of leaves, two of which crumbled into dust as soon as he tried to lift them. Activated his radio. "Colonel Ronson, we need as many people as possible to help excavate what leaves have survived."

"Roger that. There are two teams ready to go." He paused. "Will there be enough of the plant?"

Daniel didn't want to dash any of the crew's hopes until it was officially clear they were going to come up short. "Unsure."

"Transporting now."

A familiar whine with a flash of light and eight people appeared on the dune. Daniel directed them to the back of the rubble where the majority of the carefully prepared leaves had been stored. A few minutes later two more teams joined them with digging equipment, snap lock plastic bags for the leaves and water bottles to keep them hydrated. They all worked as quickly as possible to remove the rocks. An hour later they had only been able to recover a quarter of a crop.

Teal'c wiped the sweat from his brow. He had just unearthed a small pocket in which almost two whole plant's worth of leaves lay intact. It wasn't large in comparison to what they ultimately would need, however it was the largest single find so far. Scanned the immediate area to inform his teammate. Frowned when he couldn't see him. He shielded his eyes against the glare of the sun looking further out. There was no wind, so any footprints in the sand leading away should have been clearly visible. There were no imprints other than in the immediate vicinity. "Where is Daniel Jackson?"

Heads shot up at the question and everyone searched the area around them. There was no sign of the archaeologist.

The Jaffa more than a little concerned contacted the Prometheus. "Colonel Ronson, we are unable to locate Daniel Jackson."

"Scanning the area now." Ronson waited for the data to show up on his screen. "I'm only reading seventeen life signs. It's possible that if he found a cavern and is inside, the rock could be shielding his signature."

Teal'c shook his head. "He would have made such a discovery known." Unless, he had the morbid thought, he'd fallen into the hole and was injured, unable to call out. He recalled instances where subterranean caverns had caused cave ins. Had witnessed himself the phenomena of dry quicksand that sucked a victim down so quickly and silently there had been no chance of rescue. The deadly sand had closed over leaving no trace that anyone had stood there. From what he knew of Abydos there had been no mention of this previously, yet who knew how Anubis's weapon had disrupted the geology of the desert planet. "Search the immediate area for cave-ins and sink holes," he barked at the personnel on the ground.

Ferretti was deathly quiet except for the soft gurgle of his breath, his lungs struggling for air. What she wouldn't give to hear that rambling tune of a few hours ago. They'd had to drain his left lung of the bloody fluid filling it. For the moment he was stable but Janet remained by his bedside. Her mind insisted that she was staying to monitor his condition, to make sure his other lung didn't fill and he drowned in his own blood. Her heart protested that she was remaining for another reason that had nothing to do with the Hippocratic oath.

Annika's words kept echoing in her head. They had unlocked a file in her mind she hadn't known was there and which refused to be resealed. A file filled with images and memories that yesterday were labeled 'friendship's point of view'. Now that safe platonic label had been scratched out, replaced with 'Cupid's view'. She was too shocked, too worried about all the personnel to even attempt to examine this new perspective. Feelings and doped up confessions would have to wait until everyone was back on their feet. "Hang in there, Major," she whispered. "You and I have a lot to talk about." A tear rolled down her cheek. Brushing it away, she noted that her fingers came away slightly pink. Her own symptoms were increasing. It had been a wonder that it had taken this long.

"He does love you, Doc."

Her head spun around at Brooklyn's quiet rasp. The captain's eyes were barely open and he struggled to lift his hand to clear the blood leaking from them. She twisted on her seat, pulling a moist towelette from the travel pack she had in her lab coat. Gently she wiped the congealed blood from the edges of his eye and lashes so that the new seepage could run free instead of pooling in the socket.

"Lou's done his best to deny it," he said drowsily. "But it didn't do him no good."

And I really don't need to hear that right now, she thought. "Don't try to talk, Captain. Conserve your energy."

Brooklyn ignored the doctor's request, sucking in shallow breath. "Do you love him?"

To have the question asked directly of her out loud threw her off balance. "I...I think this crisis has blown everybody's emotions out of proportion."

The captain blinked at her in disbelief. The expression on her face and the sudden sheen of new tears that threatened to spill over gave him the proof that she was lying through her teeth, even if Janet didn't yet know or want to admit it was a lie. "Damned stubborn mules the both of ya'," he groused, his voice growing weaker with every word. "You...deserve...each...other." The last was hardly a whisper as his lids fluttered closed.

Janet checked his vitals, making sure that he was just asleep, induced by the morphine, steadfastly refusing to think about what he had said.

There was a soft rap on the door and Jenkins entered with a folder in hand. She ignored his concern when he took in her crimson eyes and bloody tears. "You have news?"

His plastic suit crinkled when he nodded. "The treatment rooms are set up, the smoke detectors disabled and Colonel Carter is supervising the construction of the water pipes."

"They're basing the design on the shisha?" Janet asked, referring to the Turkish bongs known for having multiple hoses to be used in tandem.

"Yes. They're jerry rigging hoses so that we can treat six people at once. They're also working on adapting a device with a motorized paddle for the unconscious patients and for those lacking the lung capacity to filter the smoke themselves. We're hoping we can give them short bursts of smoke through their nose tubes like we did with the Major, alternating with the oxygen."

"Solving the problem of the worst infected only receiving secondary smoke." Janet had been concerned about that. Had speculated that one of the reasons they had seen little improvement in Ferretti, the phase four patient they'd tested the original sample on, was because the phase two patient, Captain Lewis, who had smoked the tobacco, had only expelled the residual smoke, her body retaining the healing properties. They had conducted the experiment from Ferretti's bedside, Lewis blowing the smoke she'd inhaled through the end of the oxygen tube. "We have four people with asthma." Janet mentally ticked off the names of the civilian personnel in her head to make sure she didn't forget anyone. "We'll have to monitor them extra closely until we know if the alien tobacco will irritate their pre-existing conditions."

Jenkins had also considered that little hiccup. "I was thinking we should only have one asthma patient at a time to begin with in the treatment room in case there are complications."

Janet gave a nod of approval. "We should make some individual hand held bongs as well, for the people unable to fit in the treatments rooms." She was being optimistic that the Prometheus would return with an abundant amount of Ra'sil'ic. "Try to treat as many as possible."

He pulled a sheet of paper from the file. "I've got the results of the swabs we took. The blood taken from the external bleeding directly after the treatment, shows a significantly higher concentration of the virus than the sample taken from the vein."

Janet studied the results he handed to her. "Ten times higher. It's like the body is trying to expunge the virus." Was that what the bleeding was all along? The body's self-defense mechanism kicking in rather than it being a symptom? It would explain why there had been no visible improvement in Ferretti compared to Lewis. The sicker patient had more of the virus to cleanse himself of. "Have you retested the blood since we had to stop the treatment to see if the concentration has dropped back down?"

"That's why I'm here now." The doctor pulled a sterile swab stick from his coat pocket and carefully brushed the cotton tip against the corner of Ferretti's closed eye. In monitoring the patients, they had observed the bleeding around the eye sockets was constant compared to the other orifices, which were exhibiting only intermittent leakage. "Studying the results of the treatments the Major and Captain have had, we have a better idea of how the virus is attacking the body." He handed over the second part of the file. "It looks like we have had the antibodies lying dormant in our blood the entire time." He pointed to a small cluster he'd highlighted on an image scan taken of the blood sample. "But the virus suppressed the immune system, stopping it from fighting back. The Ra'sil'ic does the same thing to the virus. Suppresses the virus, giving the immune system a chance to produce more antibodies. What we can't be sure of is if the virus can be totally eradicated from the body, or if this will be an ongoing treatment."

"If our bodies have the antibodies already, then we need to boost everyone's immune system as much as possible. Start now with a dose of vitamins in everyone's drips. For those still conscious have them start drinking gatorade and any other vitamin drinks we have."

"I'll get on that now. Are you well enough to do this floor?"

She nodded. "Let Colonel Carter know what you've discovered."

The doctor hurried from the room and Janet slowly stood. Whether the treatment would be long term like a smoking 'dialysis' machine or a permanent cure, everything hinged on them getting more of the Abydonian plant. Her eyes dropped to the man on the bed. And they needed it before the virus had damaged the bodies’ organs too much to regenerate. Phase five was the point of no return. Ferretti was almost borderline despite having a slight reprieve of having the doses of tobacco.

She looked up at the ceiling, visualizing beyond the concrete Mountain to the expanse of space where the Prometheus was. "Please, hurry back."