“What's so funny?” Jack asked as he put on his vest.
“You're actually going off-world.”
“Daniel, I go off-world a lot.”
“Yeah, but not normally on regular missions. Usually there's a special reason.” Daniel stopped buttoning his shirt. He looked at his husband quizzically with a hint of suspicion. “Jack, why are you going on this mission?”
Jack shrugged noncommittally and turned around.
“I'm the general. I can go on a mission if I want to.”
“Jack?”
“I just ... miss this. I want to go, okay?”
“Okay,” Daniel said with a grin.
The truth was, Daniel missed their regular SG-1 missions, too, even though there was a certain amount of peace for him in knowing that Jack wasn't risking his life every day anymore.
Since becoming a brigadier general and taking over the SGC, Jack had gone off-world several times, but never on a normal first recon of an unknown planet. Yet, unexpectedly, Jack had informed Daniel, Sam, and Teal'c in the briefing that morning that he was, as he worded it, “going along for the ride.”
Sam and Teal'c had already dressed and were waiting for the lovers in the gate room.
“Ready ... General?” Daniel asked, a smile on his face.
“Ready ... Geek!” The lovers exited the locker room and headed for the gate room. ~Wish I could get this nagging feeling out of my system.~
“Jack, what are you thinking?”
“That you probably haven't changed a bit and still won't follow orders.”
Daniel laughed and replied, “You know me so well.”
~That's the problem; and that's why I have to go. It's just a feeling, but I can't shake it. The Brass be hanged; they don't need me to decide where to store the rubber bands. I'm just glad I forgot to mention that meeting to Danny. Geez, almost seems like ... Fate ... again.~
Jack had backed out of a meeting in Washington D.C. in order to go on this mission, though he hadn't told SG-1 that little fact; nor had he told them about the little voice in his head that was warning him of danger.
“Sir, welcome back,” Sam chirped when Jack and Daniel entered the gate room.
“I haven't been anywhere, Carter.” At that moment, the event horizon settled into its blue, shimmering puddle. “Let's move out.”
====
“Why am I not surprised?” Jack asked as they walked down the steps that led to the Stargate on planet P61-227. “Daniel, just tell me something. Is there any planet, anywhere, that doesn't have trees?”
“Jack, we've been to a lot of planets that were deserts or vast wastelands. Besides, you like trees.”
“That's beside the point. A little variety would be nice; maybe some different colors.” He smiled. **Blue trees would be nice, Danny; they would match your eyes.**
**Gawd, Jack not everything can be blue.**
Sam chuckled, then said, “Sir, the UAV picked up readings of a naquadah source in that direction.”
She pointed eastward.
“How far?”
“About three clicks, Sir.”
“That's better than four. Lead the way,” Jack ordered.
====
“How long do you need?” Jack asked Sam.
“About two hours, Sir. I'll need some help with the last phase of the testing.”
“Okay, Teal'c, you stay with Carter. Daniel and I will check out the area.”
Jack and Daniel walked away from the site where Sam had begun her tests. They were hoping that the naquadah find on the planet would be substantial.
“Jack, I thought I was supposed to help Sam.”
“You object to doing a perimeter search with me?”
“No, of course not, but ...”
“Daniel, just keep an eye out.”
Daniel suspected there was more to Jack's change of plans than he was letting on, but decided not to press the issue at the moment.
====
Forty minutes later, the weather changed dramatically. When they had arrived on the planet, it had been warm, sunny, and humid. In the space of five minutes, it had become cloudy and chilly.
“Carter,” Jack said over the radio, “what's with this change in weather?”
“It's normal, General. Based on the information collected by the MALP, the weather here changes every ten hours or so. I'm not sure why. I have some tests I could do and ...”
“O'Neill out.” He looked at Daniel. “She has tests for everything.”
The archaeologist chuckled as the two continued to walk. Their perimeter search had turned into an unofficial, extended recon. In spite of the trees, Jack missed this: exploring a new world, comparing it to Earth, and more than anything, sharing the experience with his husband.
Ten minutes later, they came to a clearing.
“Daniel, I thought this planet didn't have any signs of intelligent life on it?”
“I guess we were wrong,” the younger man responded as he looked at the small village before them, its inhabitants milling around visibly. “Maybe the MALP malfunctioned ... or something.”
“Let's check it out.” Jack clicked his radio. “Carter, come in.”
“Carter.”
“Looks like the MALP was holding out on us.”
“Sir?”
“There's a village ... with people, and they're breathing, Carter.”
“The MALP didn't show any signs of life.”
“That's my point.” He could hear Sam's gulp over the radio. “Daniel and I are going to investigate. We'll keep you apprised. O'Neill out.” Jack saw his lover looking at him strangely. “What?”
“Jack, it's not Sam's fault if the equipment doesn't work all the time.”
“I know.”
Daniel looked perplexed.
“Then why do you always give her a hard time?”
Jack smirked, “Because it's what I do. Come on, Daniel, let's go meet the natives who don't exist.”
Daniel shook his head. He never knew what Jack would do or say next, and actually, he like it that way.
====
Jack and Daniel walked into the village. A woman saw them and dropped the bucket she was holding, water spilling out. She began to pull back in fear.
“No, please. We're not here to hurt you. Please, don't be afraid,” Daniel pleaded, walking in front of Jack by several steps and talking as calmly as he could.
“Igo probst itcha co,” a man called out as he approached. He reached out to take the woman's arm. “Komia; komia,” he said, tapping her arm reassuringly.
“Um, I'm Daniel Jackson, and this is General O'Neill. We're peaceful explorers from the planet Earth.”
“Earslyia? Umongsca Tau'ri?”
Jack and Daniel exchanged a look.
“Daniel, they know about us?”
“I guess so.”
“Any idea how? It doesn't exactly look like they're in the computer age.”
“Neither are you, Jack,” Daniel quipped, earning him a stare from SG-1's commanding officer.
Jack let out a tiny groan, then faced the inhabitants and answered, “Well, yes, we're the Tau'ri. Glad to meet ya!”
“Umongsca visipio chappa'ai?”
Jack looked to Daniel, turning over control of the conversation once again to the linguist.
Daniel didn't really understand the strange language, but he was able to make out some of the words.
“Chappa'ai? Yes, the, uh, Stargate. We came through the Stargate.”
The man smiled and turned to the villagers whom had gathered around.
“Tau'ri plebia. Amigasi; amigasi,” he said again.
The villagers processed the words, then nodded, each of them calling out to their visitors, “Amigasi.”
“Uh, amigasi,” Daniel repeated. “I think that means friend,” he said to Jack.
“Thank you,” Jack responded with a slight shrug as he continued to look all around him, watching the villagers carefully.
“Toeh; toeh,” the man said, motioning with his hands for Jack and Daniel to follow him.
They walked to the other end of the village.
“Jack, this looks like a meeting hall of some kind,” Daniel observed when they eventually entered one of the buildings.
The structure was circular, with several rows of benches that ran all the way around the building. In the center, surrounded by several fluffy and ornate pillows, was a marble column.
“Marble?” Jack questioned as they studied it. “Daniel, doesn't marble seem a little beyond these people.”
“Actually, these symbols are similar to those on K'tau and Cimmeria.”
“The Asgard?” Jack questioned. “I didn't see a hammer.”
“Me, either, but I'm thinking this might be a protected planet.”
“We'd better make sure Teal'c steers clear; these Asgard thingamajiggies don't like him very much.”
“Thingamajiggies?”
Jack shrugged and reached for his radio.
“Carter?” Silence. “Carter, this is O'Neill.” He put his hand down. “Radio isn't working.”
“It might be something about this building,” Daniel said, adding, “or maybe the material used in the construction of ...”
Daniel was reaching out to touch the marble column when Jack swatted his hand.
“Ut ... ut! No touching!”
Daniel rolled his eyes, but before he could say anything else, the villager spoke, “Amagasi, florka.”
“Florka?”
“Florka,” he said, motioning towards the nearest bench.
“Oh, uh, thank you. He wants us to sit down.”
“I figured that out,” Jack said and then moved to the bench.
Moments later, the villagers brought in baskets full of food. Jack's eyes grew wide in delight. He'd missed breakfast that morning, instead having to make various phone calls to explain his absence from D.C.
The baskets were placed in front of the two, and the villagers invited them to eat. They, too, picked up different pieces of food.
“Fruit?” Jack asked, picking up a small, round item. It was red with blue stripes with a skin that felt like an apple. He sniffed it, then turned it around in his hand. “What do you think?”
“They're eating,” Daniel said as he studied the item he had picked up. His fruit was smaller, about the size of a large grape. It felt slimy, but also had a tougher skin. It was dark purple, like a plum. “I wonder if it's juicy,” he said.
At the same time, Jack and Daniel bit into their food items.
“Not bad,” Jack said, enjoying his selection.
“Yeah, it's pretty good, and it is juicy.”
“Grasia,” the man said, pointing at Daniel's fruit, and then he looked at Jack's and said, “Yumpka.”
“You're welcome.”
“Jack,” Daniel chided.
“You're the linguist.”
“And you're the ... never mind.”
“Wiseacre.”
“Exactly,” Daniel quipped, a smile on his face.
====
Twenty minutes had passed as Daniel tried to communicate with the villagers. They'd made a tiny bit of progress, but unfortunately, it was time to go.
“Thank you for your hospitality, uh, for the, uh, grasia and yumpka.”
“Amagasi, umongsca vezma.”
“Thank you, we will; um, amagasi vezma.”
“What?”
“They are asking us to come back.”
“Yeah, what he said,” Jack said to the villagers.
====
A few minutes later, Jack and Daniel, along with several of the inhabitants, were walking along the dirt road that ran through the middle of the village as they headed back to rejoin their teammates. Their radios still didn't work.
Suddenly, Daniel stopped walking.
“Daniel?”
The archaeologist looked at Jack as if he were a stranger, but then his eyes darkened.
“Stay away from me,” he said, backing away.
“Daniel, what's wrong?”
“Evil. You ... stay away,” he said, protectively waving his hands in front of him.
“Daniel, it's me.”
Jack's heart sank as he studied the look in Daniel's eyes.
The villagers watched the strange behavior, curious and concerned.
“Amagasi, ibgaba?”
“I don't know,” Jack said, having no clue what the man had asked him.
“STAY AWAY FROM ME! YOU'RE BAD, JUST WANT TO HURT ME. STAY AWAY!”
Daniel turned, running back towards the meeting hall.
~Oh, geez, it's that blasted drug again.~ “DANIEL, WAIT!”
Jack ran after his lover, but knew he couldn't catch him. Daniel was faster than he was, especially since Jack had bad knees. Jack was both glad and pained when Daniel suddenly put his hands to his head and then collapsed to his knees.
He wailed, “No. Get out of my head! Not again. No!”
“Daniel,” Jack said, approaching him cautiously.
“Hurts. Jack, it hurts.”
Relieved Daniel wasn't calling him 'evil' at the moment, Jack knelt down and put his hand on his lover's back.
“OH GAWD ...”
“Daniel!” The linguist slipped into unconsciousness, his body slumping sideways against his soulmate. “Danny?” Feeling desperate and utterly helpless, Jack looked up at the villagers and begged, “Help me.”
“Amagasi, toeh.”
Jack remembered the word. He picked Daniel up and carried him inside the meeting hall. He started to lay him on the bench, but the villager shook his head adamantly.
“Toeh,” he said again, motioning for Jack to bring Daniel to a spot in front of the marble column.
The villager pressed symbols on the column, and with a flash of light, Jack and Daniel were transported to another place.
“We must be inside. This is like Cimmeria and K'tau. Okay, fine, then ...”
At that moment, a recording began. The image reminded Jack of a Greek god. The man was tall, the features of his face strong. The male figure was well-built and clothed in a white toga with a white scarf-like garb across his chest that covered the left shoulder.
~Reminds me of that Apollo guy in that 'Star Trek' episode.~
The image spoke in the language of the villagers, so Jack couldn't understand a word, but he knew it was a hologram.
“I'm not leaving, Danny,” Jack said to his unconscious lover. He searched for the control panel, finally finding it. As he opened it and studied the familiar pods of the Asgard machinery, he prayed he'd make the right choice. He'd used these before, but they were still largely a mystery to him. “Come on, O'Neill,” he said, urging himself to make the right choice.
He moved one of the pods, and turned just in time to see the image disappear.
“I think that's good.” Moments later, a different figure appeared, one that Jack was immensely relieved to see. “Thor, I need your help.”
“O'Neill, I did not expect to see you here.”
“Sorry, but Daniel's hurt or ... something.”
Thor walked to Daniel and stared down at him.
“What happened?” He listened as Jack explained about the foods they had eaten. “No, O'Neill, the foods of this world are compatible with humans of Earth. There are only a few substances known to us that would cause the kind of reaction you mentioned, but none of them are available to the Tau'ri.”
“Drugs? Alien drugs?” Thor blinked, and Jack grew anxious. He moved to his Asgard friend and knelt down to look him in the eye. “Thor, in the last year, Daniel was kidnapped by one of those rogue NID clowns. They gave him something. We know it's from another world, but that's all we know. It keeps coming back to haunt him.”
“Haunt?”
Jack quickly gave Thor the overview of Daniel's kidnapping, torture, and the drug. He told him about the attempted brainwashing, how Graham Simmons and his men had tried to use the mind-altering drug to turn Daniel against Jack, and how the drug had so-often affected Daniel's behavior with nightmares and reactions like the one he had just had.
“I see,” the gray alien spoke.
“Thor, they gave some to me last time, too. How come I didn't react to it like Daniel?”
“He was given more over a longer period of time, O'Neill.”
“Can you help him?”
“It sounds like Krynik.”
“Krynik? What's that?”
“It is a substance used to control deviants on the planet Krynor. It is far away, O'Neill. I do not understand how the Tau'ri could have gotten hold of it.”
“Neither do I right now, but ... Thor, can you help Daniel?”
“I shall try.”
The next thing Jack knew, the three of them were aboard The Daniel Jackson, the pride ship of the Asgard fleet.
~Carter blew my ship up,~ Jack lamented as he looked around the ship for a moment.
Thor had put Daniel in a chamber similar to the one Jack was in after being frozen in a cryogenic sleep after the language of the Ancients was downloaded into his brain for the second time.
Jack watched as Thor pressed some buttons and looked at a readout.
“Yes, it is Krynik.
“Can you make him better? Thor, this stuff keeps coming back and ...”
“Yes.”
“Yes what?”
“Yes, there is a cure, but there is a risk. Doctor Jackson must decide.”
“Thor ...”
Jack's attention was drawn to the chamber as it opened, and Daniel began to rouse.
“Daniel!” Jack moved to stand by the chamber. “Daniel, how do you feel?”
Daniel raised his hands to his head and rubbed. He blinked as he tried to focus.
“I feel like I've been hit by a train. Where are we?”
“Doctor Jackson, you are aboard The Daniel Jackson.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, my ship.”
“Thor's ship, and mine was ... blown up,” Jack said, trying to tease just lightly.
“How'd we get here?” the younger man asked as he moved to sit up with Jack's assistance. He listened as Jack filled him in on all that had occurred. Daniel sighed sadly. “This is never going to end. Every time we think the drug is gone, something happens, and it comes back.”
“Thor has a cure.”
“What?” Daniel asked hopefully, looking over at the Asgard.
“I do, but there is a risk, Doctor Jackson. You must understand your choices before you decide.”
“Risks? Uh, well, okay. What, uh, are the risks?”
“Krynik is not meant to be absorbed into the human body.”
“That we know,” Jack snipped, not really intending to.
“Jack.”
“I know. I'm sorry. I'm just ... worried.”
Daniel smiled and reached out to take Jack's hand. Thor had known about Jack and Daniel for years and had always been unable to understand why Earth society frowned on their union.
“Go on, Thor,” Daniel requested of their friend.
“The components of Krynik, when combined with the chemistry of your bodies, create a third element. If left in the human body for a prolonged period, it mutates.”
“Mutates?” Daniel asked.
“Yes, the Krynik that you were given dissipates. It is why your Doctor Fraiser could not find it in her tests after a few days. However, one component of the Krynik bonds with ... you call them antibodies and creates this other mutation called Sugna. The Sugna is undetectable without the appropriate tool,” Thor said, pointing to his medical consul. “The longer the Sugna remains in the human body, the more difficult it is to extract because it becomes a part of the body.”
“And the risk?”
“We must separate the original element of the Krynik from the cell. If not done correctly, the cells may be damaged.”
“Oh.”
“Cellular damage can have all kinds of complications, Doctor Jackson.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Your immune system could be irrevocably damaged, leaving you vulnerable to all diseases and ...”
“We get the idea,” Jack said. “Thor, how long does it take to do this ... extraction?”
“Approximately two of your Earth hours.”
“Thor, would you mind ...” Daniel asked, nodding towards a door.
“I shall return,” the Asgard leader said as he walked out, leaving Jack and Daniel to make a difficult decision.
Daniel stood and closed the short gap between him and Jack. For a moment, they simply gazed into each other's eyes, and then they leaned their foreheads together, a sign of their unity that they often took solace in when they didn't have the time or the place to do anything more demonstrative.
“Jack,” Daniel said moments later, “we want a family, and I just ... I can't do that until I know this Krynik is gone.”
“Daniel, if your immune system is damaged, your life, our life, it'll never be the same.”
Daniel cupped Jack's face, and tenderly said, “Some things are worth the risk. I want our family. Do you?”
“Of course, I do.”
“I'm still afraid of hurting you, but even putting that aside, I can't risk having an episode in front of our children, or hurting them, because of this Krynik, Jack.”
“Our children,” Jack said softly, liking the sound of it. Then he sighed. “Alien drugs. Geez, Danny, alien drugs are ... yuck.”
Daniel chuckled and replied, “Yeah, they sure are. We don't have a choice, Jack. I could never forgive myself if I hurt you or our children.” Daniel paused, thinking back to the time when he had stabbed Jack with a letter open during one of the drug-induced episodes. “If Thor is right, and you know he is, this other substance becomes more and more a part of me, and maybe someday, I won't be able to fight it.”
“Daniel ...”
“We don't have a choice,” Daniel repeated as he gazed into Jack's brown eyes.
“I love you.”
Daniel smiled as his thumbs caressed Jack's cheeks.
“I love you, too. Jack,” Daniel leaned a little closer, “kiss me on my ship.”
“Mine was bigger.”
“No,” Daniel refuted, shaking his head.
“Well, okay, but mine was first.”
“I'll give you that one. Kiss me, Jack.”
====
It had been more than two hours, and Jack was pacing the room. Thor was still pressing buttons at the medical consul, and if Jack weren't worried about distracting him, he would have bellowed about the procedure taking longer than expected. Jack looked over at Daniel, once again ensconced in the chamber.
~It'll work; it has to work. We have a family to raise and ... Danny, I need you.~
“It is done,” Thor said, as he pressed one last button.
“And?”
“And we will know in approximately five of your Earth minutes, O'Neill. I will do a full scan for Sugna.”
“And what about ... you know, cellular damage?”
“If Doctor Jackson has been negatively effected by the treatment, the scan will reveal it.”
“Five minutes,” Jack sighed.
====
“The scan is complete.”
“AND?”
“There is no sign of Sugna.”
“AND?”
“Doctor Jackson's readings are within normal parameters of ...”
“THOR! Just tell me ... please.”
“Doctor Jackson is fine, O'Neill. I shall revive him now.”
“Thank you, Thor, and I mean that,” Jack spoke as sincerely as he could.
Thor nodded, revived Daniel, and watched as the lovers said 'hello' once again.
“Hey,” Jack said, sliding his hand along Daniel's cheek.
“Hey, yourself. Jack?”
“Perfect; absolutely perfect.”
“Really?”
“I swear,” Jack said, his voice cracking a little. He helped Daniel up, then said, “Of course, there is the matter of that scar ...”
“Jaaaack!”
“I love you, Danny.”
“I love you, too.” Daniel looked at the Asgard leader. “Thor, are you sure? I mean, are you absolutely sure?”
“I am. The Sugna extraction was a success.”
“It won't come back again?” Daniel asked, wanting to believe, but a little afraid to.
“No, it will not.”
“What about Jack?”
“I do not believe he was exposed long enough, but I shall do a scan.”
“Look, I don't ...”
“Jack, please ...” Daniel said, his hand rubbing against his lover's chest.
“I'm such a sucker for you.”
“Oh, yeah. Suck...er for you, too.”
“Daniel Jackson!”
“Daniel Jackson-O'Neill,” Daniel said softly, forgetting Thor was in the room. “Oh, oops.”
“Hey, Thor, guess what?” Jack asked. “Danny and I got married, but ...”
“I know, O'Neill,” the Asgard said, a bit annoyed at Earth protocol. “I cannot tell anyone.”
“Yeah. That's almost as yucky as the alien drug,” Jack lamented.
Thor proceeded to do the scan on Jack, but as he suspected, Jack's dosage had been minimal, and the Krynik had drained from his system completely. It had not been in him long enough to bond with the cells to create Sugna.
“O'Neill, the process is complete. You are ... fine.”
“Thank you, Thor, for everything,” Daniel said.
“It was my pleasure, Doctor Jackson. It disturbs me that Krynik was stolen. You must heed my warning. It is dangerous. If there is more on Earth, and your people let the Sugna develop, it could be disastrous for your planet.”
“We don't know for sure how much there was. We found a small supply when the men responsible were killed.”
“You must return it, O'Neill.”
“We'll do that as soon as we get back.”
“Contact me when you are ready,” Thor requested.
“Okay, well, can you beam us back ...”
Before Jack had finished his sentence, the three of them were back in the contact room on the planet.
“That's always disconcerting,” Jack said.
“What is, O'Neill?”
“When you do that thing you do when I'm in the middle of a sentence.”
“I must restore the power here,” Thor said, walking to the control panel.
“Jack, we'd better go. Sam and Teal'c are going to be worried.”
“They may have called out the Marines,” Jack said. “Press the buttons, Daniel.” He turned to Thor. “Thanks again, Thor, old buddy. We appreciate it.”
“O'Neill, there is one more thing you should know.”
“Thor, are you smirking?”
“I do not smirk, O'Neill.”
“Well, you looked like you were smirking. What's so important?” ~And stop smirking.~
Jack shuddered, thinking that a smirking Thor made for a very disturbing image.
“You should know that ...”
Just then, Daniel completed the sequence, and he and Jack were transported back to the meeting room.
“Daniel, Thor was speaking.”
“Ah, oops? Well, he knows where we are.”
“Yeah, well, he was smirking, too. I think we should ...”
“Sir, Daniel!” Sam called out, having just entered the meeting room.
She was very relieved to see her friends unharmed. Since the villagers had seemed friendly, if a little excitable, they hadn't panicked and called in any backup. However, their inability to converse with the locals in English had made it impossible to ascertain where their missing friends had gone, except that it had something to do with the marble column in front of them.
Sam's approach distracted Jack from his thoughts of Thor.
“Carter. Where's Teal'c?”
“He's outside with some of the villagers. We were worried for a while, until we found this village.”
“We had a little problem, and the radios stopped working.”
“I think it's the material in these buildings. It's unique.”
“So I was right?” Daniel said, a bright smile on his face.
Jack looked at Daniel.
**Don't let it go to your head.**
“The villagers brought us here, and we figured you went to ... well, wherever this goes to, but when we tried to transport to the room, nothing happened.”
“A little power outage,” Jack explained, “but don't worry, Thor is fixing it.”
“You saw Thor?”
“Carter, that alien drug stuff.” She nodded. “Where's it at?”
“In one of the labs at the SGC. Janet's been testing it.”
“When we get back, tell her to stop whatever she's doing with it. Gather up every last ounce of the stuff, and bring it to my office. We're sending it back to Thor.”
“It's dangerous, Sam,” Daniel added.
Sam suddenly had a realization.
“Daniel, was Thor able to get whatever was in your system out?”
“Yeah, I'm fine now,” he said, smiling.
“He's perfect,” Jack said, beaming.
“Jack's prejudiced.”
Sam laughed, overjoyed for her two friends that their ordeal with the wretched alien drugs was finally over.
**Danny, I'm telling you that Thor was smirking.**
**How could you tell?**
**I just know, that's all.**
**Jack, if it's anything important, he would have come after us or beamed us back, right?**
**I suppose so.**
**Let's go home, Jack.**
**Home is good.**
Still in good spirits, they headed outside, deciding it was time to get back to the Stargate.
Meanwhile, in the room below, Thor completed his work.
~Perhaps I should go and tell them. No, they will find out in due time.~
====
“Daniel, is there a connection between Norse and Greek mythology?”
“Actually, there are similarities. I mean, Roman and Greek myths are almost identical, but the Norse mythological history has some very distinct commonalities with the Greek, too. Why?”
“Because normally we see a Viking image in those little rooms, but the one I saw looked Greek.” Jack looked across at his lover as they made their way back to the clearing where the Stargate sat. “Daniel, how was that possible?”
“Well, the Norse myths were solidified during the Viking era. The Vikings traveled to the Caspian Sea, and the British Isles. Centuries earlier the Romans had settled there as well. So it's likely that the Vikings were exposed to both Greek and Roman myths. It's quite possible the Vikings then extrapolated parts of the Roman stories and incorporated them into their own.”
“But Thor isn't a Greek god,” Sam responded.
“Not directly, but in the Norse legends, Thor is the god of thunder. In Greek, Zeus is the god of lightning and thunder. The main difference between the two is that Zeus was the god of the gods,” Daniel sing-songed. “Still, to the Vikings, Thor was really just as important to them as Zeus was to the Greeks. He was, uh, the most worshipped and the most liked.”
“What's not to love about the little guy?” Jack quipped in question.
“So, Daniel, even though we've never encountered Greek or Roman mythology with the Asgard, this isn't unusual?” Sam asked.
“It's not out of the question.” Daniel looked down at the ground as he walked. “You know, we still think we know everything; we know very little.”
Jack smiled and said, “The very young do not always do what they are told.”
“The Nox are wise,” Teal'c responded.
“The very young do not always know the answers,” Daniel added.
“And the very young sometimes don't realize the value of the question,” Sam stated.
“Carter, you just gave me a headache. What does that mean?”
“Jack, it means sometimes the questions are more important than the answers. The magic is in finding the answers, discovering the answer can be the lesson; not the actual answer.”
“You're giving me a headache, too. I'm sorry I asked.”
Daniel chuckled, and the team continued their journey home, laden with more questions that could lead to more magical journeys, and maybe even an answer or two for the history books, or at least, the mission logs.
====
“Grrrrrr ...”
“Grrrrrrrrrrr, yourself,” Jack said as he played tug-a-war with Bijou on the carpet of the home he and Daniel shared.
Daniel laughed as he relaxed on the sofa, Katie on his chest, curled up into a ball.
“She's winning, Jack.”
“Not ... this ... grrrr ... oh crap!”
Bijou ran around the room, prancing. She shook her head fiercely, the tug toy secure in her mouth.
Daniel laughed again.
“You were saying, Babe?”
“She cheated.”
“She did not.”
Jack growled as he got up.
“Want a beer?”
“No, thanks.”
Jack got his beer and returned to the living room, sinking down into his favorite chair. He looked at Daniel and Katie and smiled.
“What?” Daniel asked.
“Someday, you'll be holding our baby like that.”
“It's really going to happen, and those nightmares are really over.”
“Should have checked with Thor a long time ago.”
“I didn't think of it either,” Daniel responded.
Jack sighed contently.
“When, Danny?”
“I told you: when you say enough.”
“But you're not really ready yet.”
“I'd like us to stay a little longer, but it's up to you.”
“A little longer then.”
“Jack, I know something that doesn't have to wait.”
“What's that?” Daniel got up and put Bijou and Katie outside. He watched them run and play for a few minutes, making sure they were having fun. Then he turned to Jack, removed the beer from his hand, and pulled him up. “Make love to me.”
“I do love the way you think.”
“Someday ... I'm going to get that in writing.”
Jack laughed, “I don't think so, Dannyboy.”
Chuckling and so much in love, Jack and Daniel walked up the stairs to reunite their bodies in a universe known only to them. Graham Simmons and the nightmare of the alien drug were finally over, and now, they were free at last to continue their journey towards their family. The future was bright, and the only mystery remaining was Thor's words.
“Danny, aren't you curious what Thor was going to say?”
“Right now, Love, I'm only curious to see how long it takes you to undress.” Naked, Daniel plopped down onto the bed. His arms were behind his head as he leaned back against the pillows and his ankles were crossed. He looked down at his mid-section. “Well?”
Jack broke his previous undressing record, thoughts of Thor long gone.
As always, life with Jack and Daniel was unpredictable, but always full of love!
====
As Jack and Daniel enjoyed the bliss of their physical union, outside Bijou and Katie played, until an unusual sight got their attention.
“Hello, Bijou. Hello, Katie. I am Thor.”
The girls had seen Thor before, but this was the first time he had ever talked to them directly. They looked at him, not feeling threatened or concerned in any way.
“I have something for you. You must trust me as O'Neill and Doctor Jackson do. Come.”
The two beagles went up to the Asgard leader and sat.
“The Asgard owe O'Neill and Doctor Jackson much. They have saved our world on many occasions. I regret we still do not have the resources to aid more in their war with the Goa'uld, but at least this we can do for them individually. It will not hurt, and it will make them happy.” Thor leaned over and injected the two dogs with something. Then he put them both in a portable chamber, not unlike the one Daniel had been in. “It will only take a moment. There is nothing to fear.”
Thor pressed some buttons on a portable scanner. Inside the chamber, Bijou and Katie lay down, panting and watching Thor with great curiosity. They weren't afraid.
Two minutes later, Thor opened the chamber. The two beagles shook themselves and gave the little alien an affectionate lick.
“It is done. Good ... dogs? Is that the correct word? Yes, good dogs. I must go now.”
Bijou and Katie looked at each other as a beam of light appeared. By the time they looked back at their alien visitor, Thor was gone.
“Woof!” Bijou said.
“Woof, woof!” Katie responded and then ran over to her play yard to go on a dig.
Bijou shook herself and then rolled over on the lawn. She stretched out and yawned.
Life was good for the two beagles as they played and sunned themselves in the backyard of Jack and Daniel's home.
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