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Runaway To Hell

Chapter Eight

Annika glanced at her watch, which was still set to SGC time. It was almost four o'clock back home. She'd been procrastinating all day as to when she should make her promised report to General Hammond. Technically his shift finished at three in the afternoon, but he rarely left before five. If she waited much longer she risked appearing to him when he was outside of the base and that would not be good.

She picked up the velvet robe she had borrowed from one of the masseuses. Had debated the change of dress for this visit, and decided against the traveling robe she had worn previously. She had bought it at one of the trading planets known to the SGC and she didn't want to take the slim chance of the General recognizing the style. This robe, as distinctive as the design was, wasn't like anything they had encountered off-world. After tying her hair back into a ponytail, she slid the soft material over her. Looking in the mirror, she pulled the robe's hood further over her head so that her face was shadowed, hiding the black kohl of her recently tinted eyebrows. Tucked a stray lock of black hair deeper into the hood. The sleeves hung almost over the ends of her hands, completely hiding the sleeves of her shirt. Glanced down at her feet. The robe was a little short, but as long as she didn't make any sudden moves, the rest of her clothing should remain out of sight.

In her hand she gripped the notes she had taken over the last seven days. Unused to having to delay the telling of her visions, it had been a constant battle not to astral travel to Hammond after each one to report it instantly. Visiting the General once a week was already risky enough; going there any more was just asking for Murphy's Law to step in and have someone walk in when she was there. The secrecy of her visits was paramount.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the General. Felt the familiar tingle as she separated her astral self from her body, and when she opened her eyes she saw the familiar figure of Hammond sitting behind his desk. Almost overwhelmed by the ache of homesickness, she took a moment to compose herself before making her presence known. Tentatively she cleared her throat.

Hammond's head jerked up from the report he was signing. Couldn't hide his relief at seeing her transparent form. "Annika, I'm glad you kept your word."

She ignored the stab of hurt that hit her. She knew she couldn't be considered reliable at the moment given her recent behavior. Annika skipped the pleasantries. "The planet designation ending in 962, the team needs to be careful. Something like sinkholes opening up."

The general reached for his notepad and began writing the warning down. Carefully he pressed his knee against the inside wall of his desk, feeling the small disc he'd attached there a few days before. To hide the sound of the barely distinguishable click of the activation button he asked, "Should the mission be scrapped?"

"No..." She drew out the word as a new image flickered behind her eyes at the prodding for more information. "There's a temple there somewhere...knowledge about the Ancients..." Lost in the vision she spoke without thinking. "Daniel will be in seventh heaven if he sees it."

He glanced up at her as she sucked in a ragged gasp. "Annika, if you can't even mention your husband's name without that kind of reaction, then clearly your heart is telling you staying away is wrong."

"My heart is telling me to keep Daniel alive." She was relieved that this time her voice didn't waver. "This is the only way I can do that." Without giving him a chance to reply, she continued on, wanting to get the report over as quickly as possible. "I don't have any of the planet designation for this one, but you'll know it from the MALP pictures. There's a mountain range in the shape of a 'U', like a meteor crashed right through the middle of it...."

With a sigh Hammond wrote it down. Silently he sent out a prayer. Come on, Jack, where are you?

A A A

While Sam and Daniel analyzed the data from the trading planet, and Teal'c and Keelah were helping to put together the sensors they'd set up in the isolation room, Jack had spent a good part of the last half week trying to work out what he would say to Casper when she flitted in next. At the same time he tried not to think about it too much in case Casper got a hocus pocus heads up. He figured Hammond had already tried the pleading 'come home and we'll fix the problem' routine. That obviously hadn't worked.

He considered the psychic's personality. ‘Impulsive’ was one of the first things to come to mind. Let her mouth run off before her mind caught up. And stubborn. Hated anything that caused anyone, especially those close to her, pain. There was a fair amount of guilt too, from when she couldn't stop a vision from coming true. Her running away was testament that she would do practically anything to stop a negative vision, which was where the impulsiveness came into play. Could he perhaps goad her into coming back? Play the guilt trip to the hilt? He really didn't have much faith in that idea. When she was in protective mode he doubted anything he or Hammond could say would convince her to come back, not if she thought her return would put them at risk. Knew in his gut that the only way to get her back would be to physically snatch her back, more than likely hogtied because she'd fight them all the way. And that wasn't even taking into account the mystery being doing its best to keep her separated from the rest of the team.

What if he could get her on the defensive? Maybe she would let something slip about her whereabouts.

He felt a slight vibration against his thigh. Unobtrusively he slid his hand into his pocket, feeling the remote disc Hammond had given him. Show time. He casually stood up. "I feel like some pie. Anyone want some?"

Daniel and Sam barely glanced up from the laptop they had set up in the middle of the room on a trolley. He got a mumbled reply that he took for the negative. Keelah seemed to be the only one who really heard him, but she shook her head as she passed a tube of glue to Teal'c, who was standing on a ladder by the wall. The Jaffa declined, his attention entirely on attaching the flat sensor discs around the perimeter of the room.

Jack's casual stroll turned into a run as he headed for Hammond's office. He made pretty good time because the lift fairy was on his side and the doors had opened up immediately after he hit the button. The alcove where the general's assistant normally fielded any visitors was empty and he assumed the lieutenant had already left for the day. He paused for a moment outside the door, trying to listen to what was being said within, but the voices were too muffled for him to make the words out. Grabbing a folder from the lieutenant's in-tray he took a fortifying breath and opened the door.

A A A

"The planet designation ending in 541 will be a possible fruitful trade agreement despite first appearances." Annika was relaying the last of the snippets she'd been shown.

"I'll organize a diplomatic team..."

She gave a single shake of her head. "SG-2, sir. I don't know why, but they're uniquely qualified."

Annika gave a start when suddenly the general's door flung open.

"Just barging in, sir. I've got that report you wanted." Jack strode in waving a folder. He stopped short at seeing her floating image. "Casper, nice of you to drop by. When are you going to stop this malarkey and come home?"

Heart in her throat, Jack's chocolate depths pinned her gaze. She swallowed. There was no surprise on his face, just disbelief. She drifted backwards, twisting back to the base CO in accusation. "You told him."

"The General told me nuthin'," Jack butted in, drawing her attention back to him. "I figured it out on my own."

"Does Daniel know?" If Daniel found out that she hadn't severed all contact it could unravel all she had done. The pain of walking out would be for naught because it would give him hope that she would come back. That kind of hope was dangerous.

"Why would I torment him with the knowledge that his wife is making secret house calls?" Jack retorted. "He's in hell as it is."

She expected, hoped, that they'd be angry enough by her leaving that they'd eventually give up. But to be confronted with that anger nearly brought her to her knees. In a flash she realized that expecting Hammond to keep her visits secret had been unrealistic. Even if he had kept quiet, questions would begin to be asked if the teams continued to get hocus pocus updates. Came up with a new strategy. It took all her effort to keep the emotion from her voice, to hide how hard it was to say. "Tell him. Tell him I'm giving reports...tell him I haven't abandoned the SGC...I've just abandoned him."

"Like hell I will," Jack snapped. "If you want Daniel to know that, you tell him to his face. I won't rub salt in his wounds." He steeled his heart as the apparition flinched. "I never took you for a coward, Casper. If you're intent on walking out on him...on us...I figured you'd have the decency to tell us in person."

"I couldn't risk you talking me out of it," she replied defensively. "Don't you understand? There was no other way to protect you!"

"Aha!" Jack pounced on her words. "You didn't want to leave!"

"What I wanted to do doesn't change what I had to do." She drew in a ragged breath. "You have to stop looking for me. The sooner you forget about me the easier it will be."

"Easier for who?" Jack demanded. "Daniel? He's going crazy with worry, especially since we discovered intel about the weapon that guy you shot at had."

Panic gripped her heart. "You traced the weapon?" Were they close to tracking her down?

Jack, worried that he'd pushed too hard, eased back. He didn't want her to think that she 'needed' to run from wherever she was. Carefully worded his reply because he knew she'd pick up on any lies. "The origins, yes. But you'll be happy to know the lead fizzled out. It hasn't gotten us any closer to you." Technically it was true. Boch hadn't contacted them yet.

Annika felt a jolt of relief as his aura remained true and frustrated. Every instinct in her was telling her to flicker out and end this conversation, and yet selfishly she couldn't. He may be angry with her, but it was so good to see Jack. Sought for a way to prolong her visit. "Why is the weapon a worry?"

"The owners don't want anyone else playing with their toys, it's programmed to go ka-boom if anyone else tries to use it."

Annika frowned thinking back to a week ago when she had been taken to the assassin's body. Didn't recall seeing the phase rifle in the room.

Jack dropped the sarcasm and anger. "Casper, please, come home. Together we can fix anything. Solving your hocus pocus riddles and changing things is what we do. Trust in us, trust in SG-1."

The sincerity on the team leader's face, the worry that deepened his voice, was too much for Annika to bear. Her hand had already reached for the drawer where her belongings were tucked away, to gather them up to go home. She felt a sharp pain behind her eyes and an image of SG-1 dead flashed in her mind. Her hand dropped back to her side. "I do trust you...as much as I trust my visions."

In a blink the ghostly image disappeared.

For a long moment the generals simply stared at the spot where she had been.

Eventually Jack raised troubled eyes to his CO. "Do you think I screwed things up worse?"

Hammond hesitated before answering. He'd let Jack take the lead for the simple fact that he had run out of ways to asking her to come home. "I don't think there was anything we could have said to make her come back of her own volition. I doubt even Doctor Jackson would have had any success."

Jack was grateful to have his earlier thought backed up.

"I didn't expect you to be so...antagonistic." There was no accusation in his tone. He knew Jack well enough to know that it had been an act...well, not an act exactly. His 2IC had a reputation of tactlessness and falling short of diplomacy, of expressing himself with caustic quips. However, Hammond had come to realize long ago that there was always a purpose behind it. He was curious to find out what that purpose had been this time.

The leader of SG-1 told of his strategy to try to make her slip up.

Hammond gave a slow nod of understanding, running the last few minutes over in his mind. "And she did."

"She's still with the guy she saved." Jack had been concerned that Casper's reflective pause when the booby-trapped weapon was discussed was wishful thinking. That Hammond had drawn the same conclusion told him it hadn't been. "Do you think she'll scamper off from there now?"

"I honestly have no idea. I think you belayed her panic that we were getting close, but," his shoulders lifted up and down, "the being controlling her might convince her otherwise."

"Think she'll stop her reports?"

Another shrug. "We'll have to wait and see."

An announcement over the loud speaker interrupted them.

"Isolation room test will begin in five minutes. Department heads notify the control room when all computers have been shut down."

Immediately there was an air of anticipation making their hearts speed up. The two men exchanged glances, both thinking the same thing. Thank goodness that announcement hadn't come through a few minutes earlier. Who knew what Annika would have picked up at that heightened jolt to their emotions.

"I'd better go up." Jack took a step to the door. "They'll wonder why I missed the big event."

"Keep me posted," Hammond ordered needlessly.

"Of course, sir."

A A A

"Colonel Carter, the last of the sensors are in place." Teal'c lightly stepped off the last rung of the ladder.

In the observation booth Sam double checked that all the sensors were in standby mode. There was one flashing in warning. She hit the intercom button. "Teal'c, B3 is flickering. Can you please check the connection?"

He gave a nod and moved the ladder to the side of the room with that particular sensor. Examined the thin wire that led from the disc to the main cable that connected all the devices "It appears in order."

"Must be a faulty disc."

Keelah picked up the box they'd used to hold the twenty odd discs. It was empty. "I'll get one of the spares." The former slave hurried from the room while Teal'c removed the faulty device.

The blonde cast a sideways glance at Daniel sitting beside her, staring down into the room. "Are you okay?"

"Just great," he replied tautly. "We're making a prison for my wife. I'm just perfect."

Sam wasn't exactly jumping for joy either. Though she understood the necessity for it, it rang too much like the bell Ba'al had rung. "It'll only be temporary."

"What if this doesn't work?"

"Let's cross that bridge if we come to it." She tried to put as much confidence in her voice as she could. "But there's no reason it shouldn't. We've been able to mimic the planet's magnetic field perfectly in the simulations."

Lost in his thoughts, he hardly noticed Keelah return for Teal'c to make quick work of installing the new sensor. "Sometimes I feel like she's here. Like she's just out of range of my periphery vision." He gave a short, slightly embarrassed laugh. "I've lost count of how many times I've looked over my shoulder convinced she'd be there...that these last two weeks have all been just a horrible elaborate joke." He heaved a sigh. "And today of all days, this is the last thing I intended to be doing."

Sam's smile was sympathetic, understanding the significance of the date. "We'll get her back and you can have a belated celebration."

Daniel's returning smile was weak. "Yeah, providing things don't go wrong."

She didn't have a chance to offer any further words of comfort for the replaced sensor came online. Once again she hit the intercom button. "Okay, let's clear the room and fire it up," she said, activating the temporal shield she'd used successfully on the trading planet.

Teal'c and Keelah sealed the door behind them and made their way up to the observation deck to watch the trial run. Sam pushed the button to activate the room's normal shielding, while Daniel made sure there was no activity at the 'gate. The control and embarkation room had its own shield, based on Asgard technology. It shouldn't be affected by what they were about to do even if the isolation room's shielding collapsed, however they weren't willing to risk it. A few seconds later, the loud speaker informed the entire base that the test was about to begin. They waited until all departments had checked in to the control room reporting all computers and technology-based systems were shut down.

"I'll start with the lowest setting." Fighting the urge to cross her fingers for luck, Sam entered the activation sequence for the magnetic field within the isolation room.

Breaths were held as the telemetry came back through the laptop.

"So far so good." She turned the emitters up a notch. "Outer shield is holding."

Gradually they began to breathe again as Sam steadily increased the power with no sign of the outer shield faltering. When the magnetic resonance had been juiced to its highest level she gave a nod to Daniel. "Have Janet boot up the terminal in the infirmary."

It was the closest computer outside of the isolation room's perimeter. Sam knew she was being cautious, but she wanted to make sure there was no residual seepage that her computer hadn't picked up before she gave the all clear for normal activity to resume. Better to have one computer get fried than the entire base.

Daniel waited on the line while the doctor turned on the computer. When a couple of minutes later Janet announced everything was normal, tentative smiles were shared. Phase one had been a success. Now all they had to determine was if all of that careful research and work would do what was intended.

Sam picked up the Goa'uld healing device and slid it over her palm. They had determined early on, the closest thing they had to psychic abilities to test the magnetic field was the Goa'uld jewel, because it took mind power to activate it. It wasn't quite like Annika's abilities due to the added component of naquadah to make it work, but they were hoping it was close enough.

"Colonel Carter, are you sure you do not want me to conduct the experiment?" Teal'c asked. Both he and Jack had attempted to master the device over the last few days. Jack hadn't even been able to generate a spark, yet Teal'c had managed to make it glow softly three times out of every five tries. "If something should go awry we cannot afford to have you incapacitated."

Sam shook her head. It was an 'argument' they'd had twice already. "If you fail to make it work we won't know if it's due to your inexperience or the magnetic field. I'm the only one who can do this."

"But not without medical supervision." Janet's voice held a note of reproach as she entered the observation deck with a med kit.

"I was going to call you," Sam replied, not quite meeting the doctor's eye.

"Yeah, sure you were." Janet gave a sniff of disbelief.

"Daniel, you know what to look for?" Sam handed him the key control to the temporal shield. Still being cautious, they were going to keep the device activated at least until they had put the magnetic field to the test against mental energy. For all they knew the effect could fry the sensor circuits.

The archaeologist nodded, slipping the key's band over his wrist so he could use the shielded laptop.

Sam hurried down the small flight of stairs with Janet close behind. Halting at the isolation room door, she wondered what was keeping Jack. He wouldn't miss this unless he had a good reason. Even as she had the thought she heard a familiar tread of boots approach.

"What'd I miss?"

He looked tense, but Sam put it down to the up and coming test they were about to conduct. "Both shields are stable. We're about to test the magnetic field's effect."

"Sweet." He gave his customary lopsided grin. "This megneeto thing isn't going to make my fillings fall out, is it?"

"Sir, you don't need to be in the room with me," she protested, though she felt some of the nerves she was hiding settle a bit at the idea.

"General's and fiancé's prerogative," Jack shrugged. "It's a double whammy so there's no debate."

She gave a single nod then focused her mind on generating the healing power, testing it first outside the room. The jewel glowed a bright orange-yellow without a problem.

Jack hit the button to open the door with one hand and the intercom with the other. "Daniel, how are those shields holding with the door open?"

"No change," the archaeologist replied.

Cautiously Sam and Jack stepped into the room. Both felt a slight tingle as they passed through the dual shields. Janet remained at the entrance in the corridor. She would only enter if her medical skills were needed.

Sam took a deep breath. "Okay, here goes." She focused her mind just like she had a few seconds ago. For a second the jewel glowed then a sharp pain tore through her skull. Stifling a gasp, she battled to maintain her concentration but the air seemed to push down on her like a ton of bricks. With a groan she felt her legs buckle beneath the invisible weight and black spots flashed in front of her eyes in time with the pounding of her head.

Jack's solid arms wrapped around her and guided her fall. Before her butt hit the floor the healing device had flickered off.

Janet bolted in and was crouching down beside her, checking her vitals as the blonde sucked in shallow gasps.

Sam batted her friend's hands away, pressing her bare palm to her forehead. "I'm okay, Janet." Holy Hannah. The amount of mind power needed for the healing device was low compared to the telekinetic power Annika had. She couldn't imagine the agony Annika had gone through on that planet, nor how the psychic had managed to use her abilities at all.

"Carter, you sure?" Jack asked.

Cautiously she nodded, relieved that the pain had begun to subside. The scientific part of her mind was already analyzing the experience and had noted that the pain and pressure had started to dissipate the moment her concentration had broken and the jewel had flickered out. Her second nod was firmer and she lifted her face towards the observation window. "It worked."

It was with mixed emotions that Daniel gave a small smile. It just felt so wrong to be happy that they had found a way to confine and subdue his wife.

"We should test it a few more times to make sure it wasn't a fluke," she suggested. After they gave head nods of agreement Sam braced herself for a repeat of the shield's effects. She concentrated on the healing device and again she felt that knife through her brain. A few seconds in and she was struggling to maintain the mental energy, pushing it through the jewel, then all of a sudden the pain ended. It cut off so abruptly that Sam rocked forward.

Mouths dropped open in shock as the glow of the healing device burned stronger and the familiar beam of light shot out in a steady stream. Jack had to jerk his foot quickly out of the way to stop it from hitting him.

Thoroughly confused, Sam stopped the beam and all heads swung up to the observation deck where Daniel, Teal'c and Keelah were monitoring the shield.

"What happened?" Jack demanded. "You switch it off or something?"

Three heads shook the negative, as dumbfounded as their friends below.

"The magnetic field is stable." Daniel double and triple checked the last few seconds of the readout. "There wasn't even a blip of a change."

"But that makes no sense," Sam muttered. Staring down at the hand device. "It worked. We all saw it."

"The first test could have been psychosomatic." Janet hesitantly put forward.

The blonde immediately shook her head. "The pain was there to begin with in the second try and then it just stopped like a brake had been released and the energy surged forward." She experimented again and this time the there wasn't even a scrap of 'resistance' and the healing device activated normally.

The sense of accomplishment from the original tryout was squashed by disappointment and frustration.

"So now what?" Keelah softly asked.

Sam heaved a dejected sigh getting to her feet. "We go back over the telemetry from the planet. We must be missing something." She headed up to the observation deck with Jack and Janet.

Daniel switched off the temporal field and tossed the key control to the counter. It seemed for every step they took forward they took two steps back. For the first time in his life he truly felt like the Fates were against him; dangling that carrot of hope in front of him just to snatch it back. Maybe the Fates were trying to tell him something. Tell him that it was his destiny to have the women he loved taken away from him. That each time he fought it, the women he loved paid the final price. He'd ignored that niggling voice in his head, that his determination to rescue Sha're had blinded him to the knowledge that if he hadn't tried to find her, she would probably still be alive as a host. He wouldn't let that same 'obsession' forfeit the life of Annika. "Maybe we should stop."

His quiet comment was greeted with stunned silence.

"A break sounds good," Janet cleared her throat. "You've been going nonstop for days now..."

He shook his head. "That's not what I mean. Providing we can fix whatever this glitch is with the field, then what? We finally discover where Annika's hiding out and we get her back and lock her up. We don't even have a smidgen of an idea of how to get rid of this thing's influence. We don't know what it is. Us trying to get rid of it could do more damage than it being there. It hasn't physically hurt her..."

"Daniel, don't you say it." Jack harshly cut him off.

Daniel ignored him. "I will say it because no matter how fleeting or how guilt ridden it is, we have all thought it since we raised the question that it could kill Annika if we cornered it. That's what the whole point of this room is." He waved his hand around the isolation room. "I would rather have her on the other side of the galaxy alive than in this room dead!"

For cryin' out loud, didn't I have this conversation just a few minutes ago? Jack thought bitterly. A conversation he was not at liberty to discuss. Dammit, all of his team was so intent on protecting each other that it was turning them all in circles. Even he was guilty of it. If right now he could shout to the world that Casper had paid a visit, he wouldn't. At least not until he edited out certain parts. He knew Casper had said what she did to make him turn against her, a last ditch effort to protect Daniel and the team from the phony death vision. That didn't make her words any less able to hurt. "This thing that has her is no different from a Goa'uld..."

"Why don't we ask Sha're how she feels about that attitude?" Daniel shot back. "Oh wait, we can't, because she's dead."

"Why don't we ask Sarah?" Jack immediately retaliated.

"That's one person, Jack. How many other hosts have we managed to save?" Daniel raised tortured eyes to his best friend. "Even Ferretti wouldn't take those odds."

"We beat the odds all the time," Jack's voice was low. "I have no intention of breaking our winning streak."

The others had silently kept to the sidelines, watching the two best friends argue their fears out, fears that the rest of them also shared. However, Teal'c's frown was more pensive. He had noticed a steady decline in the archaeologist's demeanor. They were all frustrated and tense with worry, but with each new clue or setback, the others were doggedly looking at it as the glass half full. Daniel was looking at it half empty. It was a direct contrast to the Daniel Jackson he knew. Out of all of them, Daniel was the one to never give up to the bitter end. His gaze drifted down to the room they were pinning their hopes on and a number of things clicked in his head. He exchanged a look with Keelah, whose expression was also one of perplexity.

"This is not normal behavior," she murmured under her breath, more to herself than anyone else.

It was all the confirmation Teal'c needed. He stepped between Jack and Daniel, breaking the line of sight from their glares. "Daniel Jackson, do you have the journal?"

Daniel transferred his glare to the Jaffa. "Of course I do. What's that got to do with anything?"

"Give it to me."

"Why?" His hand possessively went to the side pocket of his pants.

"Please, Daniel, just let us have it," Keelah pleaded softly.

Teal'c stepped towards him and Daniel scooted the chair back out of range until he bumped into the far wall. "No!" It was his only connection to Annika's thoughts…didn't Teal'c realize that?

"Do not make me take it by force." Teal'c continued to approach.

Panic gripped Daniel. He couldn't let the journal be taken! Had to get out of his boxed in position. Biding his time he slowly ripped open the first of the Velcro tabs. "This is ridiculous. There's nothing in there that can help us." Without warning he lunged into the Jaffa's shoulder, knocking him off balance. Bolted for the second exit at the other side of the deck, pushing the chair back behind him to block the way.

Teal'c recovered instantly and gave chase with Keelah close on his heels. Jack and Sam, closer to the first door, bounded down those stairs intending to cut Daniel off should he choose to run that way.

Heart pounding, Daniel skidded to a halt when he saw Jack and Sam blocking the corridor to the elevator. Reeled back reversing his path. If he could get to the escape hatch... He slammed into the solid wall of Teal'c's chest. Franticly he struggled against the muscled arms but the Jaffa's grip was too strong. "No! I can't let you take it!"

He kicked out only to feel another vice-like grip close over his ankle.

"Daniel, settle down!" Jack growled, not letting go of his friend's leg.

Sam managed to dodge Daniel's other boot as it lashed out though she couldn't get a grip on it.

"Get him on the floor," Jack ordered and the two men battled to lower the now thrashing man.

They finally managed to pin Daniel down, and Jack sat on is other leg to stop any more kicks. Sam was able to rip open the rest of Daniel's pocket and Keelah slid the leather bound book out.

A guttural howl screeched from Daniel's throat when the former slave threw the book down the corridor as far away from them as possible. His wild eyes watched the journal go flying. Yet as it flew away, finally dropping to the concrete floor and sliding even more distance, the sense of panic and fear melted from his mind.

When Daniel stopped bucking like a bronco, Jack waited a few long seconds before cautiously lifting one restraining hand from Daniel's knee to his friend's chin, tilting his face so that he could get a good look at him. "What in hell was that?"

"I...I have no idea," Daniel sucked in a few calming breaths. "I just couldn't let the journal be taken away. I...I know I had a reason which sounded logical at the time..." his voice drifted off. "Can you get off my leg now? You’re no lightweight."

Warily Jack shifted off his friend, raising an eyebrow at the duo who had 'started' this rather disturbing incident, seeking an explanation.

"Daniel Jackson's attitude has steadily been growing more negative despite the progress we have made." Teal'c released his bear hug of his teammate, allowing the archaeologist to sit up on his own. "It was abnormal behavior."

"The being was still influencing me?" Though Daniel posed it as a question he already knew the answer. In hindsight he could see his reaction hadn't been a natural one. "How did you know it was through the journal?"

"A guess," Keelah shrugged. "You haven't had it out of your possession since we found it. And it was the only...proof...we have of the being's existence."

Sam gave a self-berating shake of her head. "We should have thought of that earlier. We saw through the altered handwriting that the being had directly taken control of Annika's hand."

"And Casper is constantly having to purge herself of nasty visions," Jack added. "Makes sense that this thing left something of itself behind."

"Daniel, how do you feel now?" Janet asked, crouching down.

"Like a damned fool," he sighed, letting the doctor give him a quick check. He gave an apologetic smile to Teal'c and Keelah. "Thank you."

The Jaffa gave a shrug, answering for his lover as well. "You would have done the same."

"The compulsion to run from you guys...it was so strong. If that was just a residue of the being's power..." He gave a bewildered shake of his head. "It's amazing that Annika didn't run sooner."

Janet sat back on her haunches, content that Daniel wasn't suffering any physical effects now that the journal was no longer in his possession. "I recommend putting the journal in an isolation tank and restricting contact."

"No arguments here," Daniel pressed a shaky hand to his forehead, a little dazed.

Jack was feeling a bit shaken himself. The secret chat with Casper, the success and then failure of the test run and now this; he needed to clear his head. Knew Daniel could do with a break too. If given the chance to think about what had just happened his friend would tear himself up with needless guilt and then bury it. He clambered to his feet. "Come on, Daniel, we're getting out of here for a while."

The archaeologist shook his head as he also stood up. "We've got to start going back over the telemetry from the planet."

Giving Sam a gentlemanly hand to stand, his eyes locked with his fiancée's.

Wordlessly she gave a slight nod, understanding his silent request. "We'll do that," she replied, flapping a hand to include Teal'c and Keelah in her statement. "You need a break more than we do."

Daniel was too out of sorts to argue. With a sigh he followed Jack to the elevator, giving the journal a wide berth as he passed it. Ignored the twitching of his fingers to grab at it.

Teal'c followed, taking his shirt off and using it to pick up the journal without touching it with his bare hands.

"T," Jack fell back a step, keeping his voice low. "Make sure Carter doesn't get overzealous using the healing do-hicky." He had no doubt that Sam would be running more tests using the technology and he knew just how draining it was on her.

"I will monitor her closely," he assured. "And I hope whatever is troubling you, O'Neill, you are able to reach a resolve."

Jack's eyes widened. Sometimes he forgot just how perceptive his teammate was. "Getting Casper back will resolve it."

"Jack, are you coming?" Daniel asked wearily, holding the elevator door open.

Giving a lopsided grin he loped into the car.

Daniel leant against the wall. Call it intuition, but he figured that they weren't simply going home. He really didn't feel up to going anywhere in public, yet once Jack got an idea in his head it was nearly all but impossible to talk him out of it. "So where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," he replied mysteriously.

"Great." Daniel couldn't even muster up the enthusiasm to be truly sarcastic. "I love surprises."

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