**//If it had been anybody other than Daniel, it would have been different.  As it was, when the surface of the Stargate changed, moving from its normal quicksilver-under-water appearance to dark blue liquid-in-motion, there was only Daniel in the embarkation room.  The attendants in the control room, paying attention only to their instruments, saw nothing, since there was no change there.  The soldiers on duty were outside the door, listening for the alarms and desultorily betting on the upcoming championship, heard nothing except...//**

"Wow!"  Abandoning his search for his missing glasses, Daniel walked up the ramp, staring at the shimmering color in the gate.  Sapphire, cobalt, midnight - all the deepest colors of blue danced and darted through its surface, then began to coalesce, concentrate into its center.  "Hey, guys...” Daniel murmured, too bemused by the sudden phenomena to put his lungs behind the call for attention.

When all the color had centered itself amorphously, it began to bulge slowly, becoming three-dimensional.  Squatting down, Daniel looked up and through it, confirming his guess that it was somewhat translucent.  Thinking of a kaleidoscope, he stood and peered through it from the side and then reached out tentatively to touch it.

Before he could, the color separated itself from the gate, with a tinkle and clash of windchimes.

"Oh, wow!"  Daniel said, then called, more loudly than before, "Hey, guys..."

Instead of pooling on the ramp, the color stayed level with the spot it had been a part of, and drifted away.  It seemed to rotate, though with its shifting boundaries and shape, Daniel couldn't be certain, then float slowly toward the control room, rising as it did, as if to peer through the glass.  Following behind it, Daniel, called again.  "I really think you should look at this."  But he kept his own eyes fixed on the object, watching it as it moved.  Distantly he could hear the first shouts and frantic calls, but dismissed them, fascinated by its actions.

As if to help, it gradually lowered itself toward the floor, until he was almost face to ... well, surface with it.  They stood motionless like that until O'Neill's shout of "Daniel" broke his concentration, and he looked over at his friend.  "Tell me I'm not hallucinating," he demanded half-humorously.  It chimed again, brass chimes this time, almost as if in echo.

"If you are, yours are a lot better than mine," Jack answered, deadpan.  "I always get spiders and rats and things."

Flashing him a wry smile, Daniel said, "Why does that *not* surprise me?"

Behind them, the room was filling with armed men, Teal'c bringing up the rear with his Ga'ould staff.  He leveled the weapon at the thing, and told his teammates, "I am not familiar with events of this nature."

Glancing at him quickly, but keeping his eye on the blob of blue, O'Neill said, "Why does *that* not surprise *me.*"

Calling down from the control room, Carter called over the microphone,  "Colonel, none of the instruments knows it's there.  We're not registering a change in heat, radiation, air pressure or picking it up on the security cameras."

"Oh, we *are* hallucinating."  Daniel said softly, and raised an eyebrow when a trickle of chimes followed his words.

"Daniel,” Jack said slowly, motioning at the soldiers to do what he said as well, "maybe you want to get some distance between yourself and that figment of our imagination?"

Tearing his eyes away from the play of color, Daniel looked at O'Neill and shook his head.  "It hasn't done anything threatening."

"Which doesn't mean it's harmless.  Move, Dr. Jackson."

Knowing from the tone that he was expected to obey, and not wanting to fight with Jack unless necessary, he backed up a step.  The color did, too, then drifted toward one of the MALF's that had been set up for the next mission.  It lifted up, traveled over it from one end to the other, stopping at the far side of it.  One of the trailing edges firmed, lost its translucency, then gently brushed over the machine.

It blew up, sending the blue thing racing for the gate and the human occupants of the room ducking for cover.  Amid the alarms, shouting, and sounds of weapons readying, its chimes sounded in the deep throated voice of great bells, and it hesitated on the very skin of the Stargate.

Shouting, "Wait!" Daniel ran after it, stopping halfway up the ramp.  "It's all right," he added, coaxingly.  "Just a bang.  I know you didn't mean any harm."  He held out his hand, and their visitor became smaller, bobbed uncertainly, then expanded again, coming a short distance back down.  "It's okay," he crooned, "Really.  Everyone's just surprised."

From the corner of his eye he could see the iris of the gate begin to shut, and spun on his heel.  "No, don't!" he yelled, but the soldiers were already raising their guns.

"Get the hell of out there," O'Neill ordered, roaring above the chaos.  "Now!"

As the iris moved, the visitor rose straight up to the frame holding it, touched the mechanism, making it explode.  If its intent was to stop the iris, it failed. The failsafe activated, slamming the opening completely shut.  The visitor came back down, flattened against the surface, and then pulled away, all the time making unpleasant clashes of metal on metal sounds.

Behind it, Daniel raised both hands in the air, palms out.  "Wait!  Wait!"  No one heard him over the din, and he backed a step up the ramp.  Unseen by Daniel, the visitor approached, making itself compact and dense again.

"Daniel Jackson!"  Teal'c fired over the young anthropologist's head, aiming carefully.  The bolt hit and the alien expanded, wobbled, and tried to move away from Daniel.  Both Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill charged across the room toward their friend just as one fragment of the alien wafted over Daniel's upraised arm.

The contact threw him through the air, literally into Jack's arms.  The colonel staggered, howling, and was caught by Teal'c, who dragged both of them toward the relative safety of the access door.  Behind them, guns chattered as soldiers retreated from the room, slammed the door shut, and took position in front of it, weapons at the ready.

***

"Colonel O'Neill will you *please* sit down," Dr. Fraiser ordered in exasperation.

Totally ignoring her, Jack prowled around the infirmary, avoiding the rest of SG1 and its commander, randomly touching things and slapping the walls.  "I don't want to sit," he growled in answer.  "I want to know what the hell you mean that the damn thing's *growing.*  How can a burn grow?"

Standing impassively in one corner of the room, Teal'c added, "I, too, do not understand."

Her confusion showing clearly, the doctor fidgeted with her stethoscope and admitted.  "That makes it unanimous, gentlemen.  What we do know is that when a person is burned, the damage does continue for a *short* period after the cause is removed.  Some of you may have had a bad enough sunburn to know that it gets worse for a while, even after you get out of the sun.  That's because once the heat is absorbed into the skin, it has to dissipate - which is why putting ice packs or cooling agents is first aid for burns, and putting butter or oil on them *isn't.*

"In Dr. Jackson's case," she paused and looked over to where the unconscious man was laying, Captain Carter by his side, intently studying a small instrument in her hand.  Resolutely she went on, “The energy that caused the burn isn't dissipating, it's spreading, causing more damage as it does.  It began, palm sized, approximately three inches above the wrist, involving only surface tissue. Currently, it covers the area from wrist to just below the elbow, and has penetrated at the initial site to bone level."

General Hammond, tracking O'Neill's movements with one eye, asked "How far will this go, Doctor?  Until his entire body is covered?  Have you found any counter-measures?"

"I have no way of knowing," Fraiser answered him frankly.  "There's no information to work from, General.  I can theorize on what we've observed so far, but that's all.  The burn seems to be following the path of the neural network, which makes it likely that once it reaches his shoulder, it will spread into his spine and brain.  At its current rate, that will happen in less than 12 hours.  None of the standard treatments have helped in any way; the best we have been able to do is keep the pain under control by keeping Dr. Jackson unconscious.  Soon we won't even have that option; he's reached the maximum dose of painkiller."

"Oh, God." O'Neill murmured quietly, stopping by the bed for a second.  Louder he said, directing it at the General as he approached, "Then we're going to have to learn more about our guest in the embarkation room.  Request permission..."

"Denied."  Hammond barked immediately.

"Sir," Carter spoke up from beside the bed, "nothing electronic knows that thing exists until it comes into contact with it."

"Then it blows up." O'Neill inserted.

"And so do people."  Hammond said flatly.

"Well, we sure as hell can't just leave it there." O'Neill argued, bobbing on the balls of his feet.  "Sooner or later it's going to get tired of floating there like a tethered balloon and try to get out.  How long before it discovers accidentally that the *doors* are powered and makes them go boom?"

"Colonel, I don't have any more answers than you do.  However, unless you can honestly give me one reason why going into there will serve *any* useful purpose when you can't talk to it, can't touch it, can't measure it, you are *not* opening those doors.  Do I make myself clear!"

For a moment Jack's face looked as though he had stepped into something nasty, then military training smoothed out his face.  "Perfectly! Sir!"  He slammed out the door without being dismissed, oblivious to the concerned people behind him.

Catching Teal'c's eye, the General nodded at the door, and the Jaffa immediately followed O'Neill, moving fast to catch up with him.  "Doctor," the General began, turning to her.

"He checked out fine.  No sign of injury, no complaints other the usual good-natured grousing about bruises."  Fraiser informed him promptly.  "The hyperactivity was already present when I examined him; at first I attributed it to post adrenaline reaction.  Not typical for Colonel O'Neill, but common enough it didn't deserve comment on.  But it has been growing in intensity, and he doesn't seem to be aware that he's almost bouncing off the walls."

"I think he may have gotten a lesser amount of what hurt Daniel, sir." Captain Carter added, laying her instrument aside with a sigh.  "And more diffused, so it's having an overall effect on him.  We," she nodded at the other woman in the room, "thought maybe the different dosage would allow us to find some trace, and he co-operated with an instrument check on him.  No sign in him either."

Going to stand at the foot of the bed, studying Daniel's pained face tiredly, Hammond ordered, "I don't want O'Neill off base or alone until he settles down or you know what's going on.  Keep me informed."

"Yes, sir," the two women chorused in relief as he left.  It was what they were going to do; now that it was officially an order, it would be easier for them to carry out.

***end 1

"Come on, you can do better than that," O'Neill taunted laughingly, balancing lightly on his toes as he spun away from Teal'c's punch.  He had gone straight to one of the work out rooms, almost taking Teal'c's participation as a sparring partner for granted.

Covered in sweat, his shirt long gone despite his reluctance to reveal his difference, Teal'c stepped back on the mat, out of his opponent's reach, and nodded.  "I can."  Though they were both breathing heavily, and Jack's hair and sleeveless T-shirt was soaked, neither were yet so worn that they had to quit.  For Teal'c, after over an hour, that was normal.  For Jack, it was not.  In fact, the officer had succeeded several times in actually throwing the massive Jaffa, a feat no one on the base had managed more than once.

If either being tossed or who it was doing it to him bothered Teal'c, it didn't show.  His face was as expressionless as always, except for a hint of humor in his dark eyes.  Warily he watched as O'Neill circled.  Normally a patient and cagey opponent, Jack had been charging in, hitting hard, and darting away before Teal'c could react.  This change in tactics, as much as Teal'c's reticence to risk serious injury to O'Neill, accounted for the throws.

Apparently thinking a change in tactics was called for, himself, Teal'c abandoned his customary fighting style.  The next time Jack swung through, he simply wrapped both arms around the wiry man and fell backwards.  Rolling as he went, he effortlessly pinned the Colonel under him.  Using his larger size and weight, he determinedly held him there until, grinning and shaking his head, O'Neill slapped at the mat with a free hand, and said, "Uncle!"

Confused, Teal'c looked around the small gym.  "He is not here, O'Neill.  We are alone."

With a hoot of laughter, Jack went limp.  "I mean, I surrender.  Teal'c, I think you misunderstand Americanisms on purpose, sometimes, just to watch us flounder explaining them."

Teal'c didn't smile - quite.  "At times you seem almost as puzzled by your language and customs as I."

"Nothing like having that pointed out to you, either."  Jack's grin grew mellower, becoming a fond smile.  "I consider it an unexpected side effect of having you around.  Going to miss it when you get completely acclimated."

"That is not likely, I think."  Comfortably Teal'c took his weight on his knees and brought his forearms up to either side of his companion's head, freeing Jack so that they could resume their sparring if the other man wished.  "I have seen many, many peoples in my travels with Apophis.  Yours is the most complex, varied, and intriguing of all."

Suddenly somber, Jack said, "Thank you.  And I mean that.  It's nice to know you've found something on earth beside prejudice and violence."

"I have found more than that, Jack O'Neill.  I have found friendship and loyalty where I expected to endure only suspicion and doubt."  The black eyes delved intensely into hazel ones that rapidly grew almost as dark as the pupils dilated.

Jack licked his lips, once, then muttered, "Oh, what the hell," and lifted his head to touch them to Teal'c's.  He intended it to be brief; Teal'c did not allow it.  He followed the retreating mouth down with his own, refusing to let it escape, then pressed onto it firmly, with a hint of tongue sweeping over the sealed entrance.  With a thick moan, Jack opened to him, inviting Teal'c to deepen their kiss.

It was curious, exploratory, ragged, rugged, tender, and hungry, all in turns and at random, and finally Teal'c tore away, turning his head to breathe hard.  Jack laid one hand along his cheek, stroking gently.  "S'ok, Teal'c.  S'okay.  Door's locked, camera disabled - why I picked here; wanted some privacy for a while."

"That was not my concern, Jack O'Neill."  Teal'c told him, then didn't allow an opportunity for rebuttal.  Putting his weight back on the other man, digging in once hard with his hips so that his arousal was obvious, Teal'c went back to tasting him.  Jack's erection nudged into the Jaffa's thigh, making the colonel groan and begin to thrust powerfully.  His need fueled Teal'c's, and he answered the movements, loosing himself in the ancient rhythms.

"Good, good!" Jack warned, breaking their kiss to do it.

In his own language Teal'c growled something, then the great body tightened, tensed, and warm moisture seeped into their clothes.  Jack was only a second behind him, howling, holding him so tightly with legs and arms that it threatened pain.  As he finished, he collapsed thoroughly, alarming Teal'c even through his own pleasurable haze.  Turning them to their sides, he tilted back his friend's head and checked his pulse.

"O'Neill?"

There was an incoherent mumble in reply, and then Jack focused blearily on him.  "You,” he said more clearly, "pack quite a punch."

"Thank you," Teal'c told him, with a suggestion of smugness in his words.

Jack swatted at his chest feebly, smiling.  "This is where you're supposed to tell me that I'm not half bad myself."

"Daniel Jackson did not inform me of the customs for after sex.  You will have to instruct me yourself."  Though the words were delivered in Teal'c's usual flat tones, there was no mistaking the mischief behind them.

"Daniel didn... he talked to you about human sexual customs?!"  Jack blurted incredulously.

"Only those for man to man."  Teal'c shook his head.  "They are very strange.  But I will keep this liaison a secret, as he warned me, and will wait for you to... 'make the first move,' I believe were the words Dr. Jackson used."
 
Blinking, Jack closed his mouth.  "I remember seeing him blush when his *wife* kissed him!"  Smiling, he shook his head, then asked in an off-hand way that didn't quite make casual, "So, how did this come up with you two?  Someone make a comment or joke that Daniel had to explain?"

"No, I asked if he wished me be his partner periodically while we searched for his Sha'are.  He had not been sleeping, and it seemed to me that it would help if he were not alone."  Teal'c gave one of his rare smiles.  "Daniel blushes very nicely.  And he stammers when he does.

"Among my own people, a warrior is not expected to remain celibate while separated from his mate, but to turn to his brothers for relief.  And it is considered an honor to serve a First in that way.  I did not understand his reaction, and he was very patient with me when he refused.  I still cannot comprehend why your culture considers homosexuality to be a weakness.  Then he warned me of the dangers and difficulties inherent in the practice here."

"Now there's one conversation I would have loved to eavesdrop on," Jack told him.  After a minute, he added, "Did Daniel mention where he stood on that?  Personally, I mean.  Did he turn you down because he was married or because he wasn't interested in men?"  Abruptly sitting up, he backtracked.  "Forget I asked that.  Sorry.  Your business and his.  Ready for a shower?"

"He did not say." Teal'c told him, anyway.  Standing, he helped O'Neill to his feet, looping an arm loosely around his lover's waist.  "Perhaps you should ask him."

Jack shot him a sharp look, leaning into the arm comfortably.  "I hope I have the chance to," was all he said.  "Come on, I want to stop by the infirmary before it gets too late, then watch that thing from the observation room for a while.  We've got to be missing something."  Patting the hand on his hip in farewell, he headed for the shower in no hurry, leisurely pulling off his tee as he did.

Eyebrow raised, Teal'c followed him, stopping only to retrieve his own discarded clothing.

****end 2

"Hey," Jack called softly, and the Daniel's glazed eyes tracked toward him, a fragment of a smile appearing as they did.

"Hey, yourself," he whispered.

"You look like hell," the colonel tried to joke, sitting on the edge of the bed, close enough for Daniel to see him easily.

"Good.  I'd hate to feel like this and not have anyone know it."  Daniel was a bit more successful.

"Doc tells me she found a way to help you with the pain.  Gotta feel weird having your whole arm numbed up like that."

"Know that fat, tingly feeling you get after the dentist uses the needle?"  Daniel's eyes slid shut, but he kept talking.  "Try having that from finger tip to shoulder."

"Ow.  Wonderful image to think on, Daniel.  Thank you."

"You're welcome.  Had any luck talking to our new friend?"

"Talking to it?"  O'Neill was genuinely surprised.  "In case you hadn't noticed, it doesn't have a language.  Or a mouth to voice it.  What makes you think it's smart enough have one, in the first place?"
 
Daniel's eyes flew open, and he tried to sit up.  "You're not trying to communicate with it?  Jack, please tell me you're not trying to kill it.  It didn't mean to hurt anything or anyone.  Come on, Jack, tell me."

"Of course not."  O'Neill denied, hopping off and reaching to stop him.  At Daniel's blatant disbelief as he flopped back onto the bed, the soldier continued, a touch of defensiveness creeping in despite his best efforts.  "Besides, we don't know how to do it without trashing the gate room.  It ate all those bullets, even a blast from Teal'c's staff, and didn't so much as burp."

For a moment something flashed over Daniel's face, but before O'Neill could question him, he made another attempt to sit up, this time succeeding in getting his feet swung over the side of the bed.  "Get back in that bed, Dr. Jackson." O'Neill ordered hastily.

"Why?" Daniel gritted out.  "There's nothing else that can be done for me in here, and my best bet at finding out what's happening to me is being ignored by all and sundry.  Hand me my clothes, will you?"

"No, I will not!  Look, Hammond has already given orders to leave that thing alone unless - *unless, Daniel* - we have a way to safely approach it."

"Well, that's not an issue with me, is it?"  He started to stand, swayed, and Jack automatically came forward to steady him.

His hands closed over Daniel's shoulders, a slow flash of blueonblueonblue light surrounded them, then they both collapsed onto the floor, Jack barely managing to cushion the linguist's wounded arm.  Behind them they could hear a shout from a nurse and the sound of feet, but could not react.  Sagging onto the colonel, Daniel put his head in the center of the other man's chest, his knees folded under him.

"Whoaaa." Jack breathed, spine snapping into a line, head up.

"Colonel O'Neill?" Teal'c reached for him, put stopped as his team leader held up a cautioning hand.

"Remember I told you I felt like I got hit with a tazer or something when I caught Daniel?" he said urgently.  "It just happened again, except the battery on it was low this time.  Daniel?  Daniel?"

Gingerly he caught a handful of hair and tugged back his friend's head enough to check him.  The younger man was unconscious again, but he was breathing without trouble and a fast touch to his throat reassured everyone his heartbeat was normal.  With a sigh of relief, O'Neill stood, easily bringing Daniel with him, and placed his teammate on the bed.

Instantly Fraiser was on the other side, peeling away a corner of the bandage to check Daniel's wound.  Seeing no change, she rapidly checked his vitals, then tugged a sheet over him.  "Asleep, not unconscious.  Just asleep."  She fixed O’Neill with a sharp look and gestured toward the bed on the other side of Daniel's.  "You're next."  The soldier opened his mouth, but she put in before he could speak, "and whatever that was, I wasn't hurt by it last time."

"O'Neill," Teal'c put in, "Nor was I, and I was at the gate with you."

Worriedly, reluctantly, O'Neill sat on the very edge of the bed, feet swinging and fingers drumming.  "Okay, okay.  Get it over with."  Under his breath, he grumbled to himself, "Poking and prodding, prodding and poking, and they aren't going to learn *one* thing more than they already knew."

"You're wrong about that," Fraiser said too quietly for him to hear.  Teal'c looked at her, nodding his agreement, then went back to watching over O'Neill, whose fingers were tapping, tapping, tapping.
 
She was forced to release him a while later; there *was* nothing measurably different with him.  After a last quick check on Daniel, he fairly flew out of the infirmary, going straight to the observation room, Teal'c in tow.  Once there, he prowled in front of the glass separating him from the gate room, glaring at the blue entity hovering at the lower edge of the gate ramp, shooting questions and suggestions at Carter.

With forced patience she answered him or debated his suggestions, until she burst out, "Sitting up here is going to get us nowhere.  We *have* to convince Hammond that direct contact is the only way to gain useful information."

O’Neill smiled briefly.  "Been talking to Daniel?  He thinks it's intelligent."

That drew Carter up short, and she stopped to consider what she remembered of the first meeting.  "Based on what?" she asked reflectively.

"He didn't say, just that we should be trying to talk to it.  In fact, he was trying to get out bed to do that when he folded up again."  O'Neill leaned his forehead on the glass, apparently running through his memories of the same event.  "About the only thing I can think of is when it went tried to stop the iris - you could make a case for it thinking that if one gadget blew up when it touched it, another one would."

"Or it could have been an automatic action - like reaching out a hand to hold open a shutting door."  Carter argued.

"To have explored the gate room as it did both before we came in and afterwards could indicate intelligence."  Teal'c put in.

"Searching for food; instinctive." Carter returned.

"You think it came for the gate looking for food?"  O'Neill asked, not with disbelief, but honestly wondering.

Carter smacked the table, and stalked over to stand by him, taking her own turn at glaring at their visitor.  "I don't know, since I don't have a clue what it eats.  We can add it to the list of 4314 other questions.  If cameras and microphones can't pick it up, how do we see and hear it?  How did it make those chiming sounds?  How is it floating there? How does it glow?  Why does it glow?

"There's no change in temperature; no radiation count.  No magnetic fields, electrical fields, or unusual air currents."  A flicker of recognition flashed over O'Neill's face, but she hurried on, not seeing it, and the frustrated look of man who had a word on the tip of his tongue quickly replaced the flicker.  "It doesn't react to have the room hotter, colder, lighter, darker, quieter, noisier, or any other stimulus we could think of to apply.  Colonel, I'm telling you again, we are completely out of long distance options here.  We are going to have to collect direct physical evidence if we're going to help Daniel."

There was real pain in her expression as she tried to convince her C.O., and O'Neill gently touched her upper arm.  "I'll try with the general again.  Why don't you try to get some rest in the meantime?  I'll call you if he changes his mind."

She forced a partial smile.  "Tell you what.  I will if you will."

"Naw, I'm not tired.  Too wound up, I guess."

From his seat at the table, Teal'c spoke up.  "Captain Carter is correct.  None of us have rested since our last mission.  If we are able to persuade General Hammond taking direct action, then it would be advisable to be strong and refreshed."

"Fine, fine..." Jack began irritably.  Before he could go on, the phone rang and he snatched it up.  "What?!  On our way."  He threw it down and ran for the door, yelling, "Fraiser.  Wants us now!"

The team made it to the infirmary in record time, Jack barking as he came through the door, "Daniel?"

"Is fine.  Defying every medical convention we know, but fine." The doctor assured them hastily.  She led them over to where he lay, pointed to his bandaged arm, and asked.  "Notice anything?"

Puzzled looks were the common exchange for a quick minute, then O'Neill spoke for them.  "Look, Doc, it's been a long, hard day.  What are we supposed to be seeing?"

"The burn's slowed its progress.  An orderly came to change the bandage and gauge its size.  It should have been several inches longer and noticeably deeper.  But it hasn't worsened at all and is only marginally larger."  She took a deep breath, visibly bracing herself.  "Colonel, I want you to touch Daniel again.  The only unusual event since the last check was your visit and that flash we all saw.  If you're somehow tapping out this odd energy that's causing the wound..."

 Without any other prompting, Jack grabbed at Daniel's hand, holding it tightly for a second.  "Nothing," he told her, changing his grip.  "No light show, no tingle.  Maybe he has to be awake?" he asked hopefully.

"Or maybe you have to discharge what you absorbed earlier," Fraiser said thoughtfully.

"How do I do that?" Jack practically shouted.  "Stick a light bulb in my mouth like Uncle Fester?  I'll explain later, Teal'c," he added hurriedly, forcing his voice down.

"Colonel, it probably fades naturally, given enough time.  Or it could be used up by extreme activity - Teal'c told me earlier you'd been working out pretty exhaustively before you visited Daniel."

"So I should run around the base two or three times?" O'Neill asked sarcastically.

"What have you got to loose besides a little weight?" Fraiser answered reasonably.

Jack opened his mouth, hand raised, finger upraised, then shut it again.  "Point." he conceded grudgingly.

"You said yourself you're too wound up." Carter added, trying to hide her smirk.

"Okay," he mumbled, and jabbed the finger at Teal'c.  "Don't.  Say.  A.  Word."

Eyebrows flying up, Teal'c tilted his head to one side.

"Aaaagh!" Jack dodged around the big man, muttering something about feeling stupid if he ordered 'no eyebrows.'  Pivoting on his heel, Teal'c followed him, giving the women a slightly pleased-with-himself smile as he left.

***end3

Two hours later, fresh from another shower, he trailed his friend into the Jaffa's quarters.  Teal'c had been given space in a deserted part of the complex to allow him what privacy he could have, given the US government wasn't sure if it could trust him.  Honestly too tired to run another step, but still not able not to stop fidgeting, Jack knocked around the small space.  "Maybe I could only do it once," he said thoughtfully, sending his hand through his hair and flicking off the remaining moisture.  "Or it takes longer the second time.  Maybe I should just, you know, sit next to him or something, and try it again every once in a while."

"And perhaps you should do as Dr. Fraiser ordered and sleep."  Teal'c said dryly.

"Easy for you to say.  You don't have ants in your head scurrying around making you crazy."

Kneeling on his meditation pad, Teal'c inhaled and exhaled slowly, measuring the movements with a soundless count.  "That is correct.  Nevertheless, you were trained to be a disciplined person, O'Neill.  You can control your restless body if you must."

Perching on the foot of Teal'c's bed, Jack agreed ruefully with a nod.  "Doesn't mean I like it."

"For Daniel Jackson's sake, do so now."  Eyes closed, the Jaffa continued regulating his breathing, deliberately letting each muscle group relax in turn, letting the tension flow out and away.

Though his fingers knotted and unknotted in his lap, Jack kept his seat and watched Teal'c meditate.  Seeing the peace seep into the strong features, he shook his head, a bit of envy apparent.  To distract himself, he admired the hard lines and angles of his friend, body responding to what he saw.  "I might be too tired to run." he murmured, "but I can think of another activity that could wear me out."

Teal'c smiled at that, though it was the only response he made.

A bit dispiritedly, mood suddenly changing, Jack scrubbed at his head again, then said slowly, "You mentioned earlier that it was considered an honor to serve a First sexually.  That's not why... I mean, I don't want you to go to bed with me because you think you have to.  Because I'm your Commanding Officer, or something like that.  You're my friend, my teammate - someone I trust.  Those are the kinds of reasons I want you to have."

"They are, Jack O'Neill."  Teal'c said unpeturbedly.  "And others, besides."  Eyes opening to show a lustful glint, he continued.  "I have never acted on them because I have been told how dangerous it is for you.  I would not have you take that risk for my sake."

"I appreciate that, Teal'c, I really do, but it's not just mine.  Have you thought about that?"

"I have.  It is acceptable to me."

Leaning back on the cot, elbows behind him, Jack smiled invitingly.  "Then what are you doing all the way over there?"

Raising from the mat in one flowing motion, Teal'c crossed the space between them and knelt over Jack.  "Waiting for you to make the first move."  He captured Jack's head between his enormous hands and pressed a soft kiss onto the waiting mouth.

If his intent was to be gentle, Jack's was not.  Groaning hungrily, he slipped his tongue between the full lips, sucking and twining it around Teal'c's.  It took only that and the wild, needy sounds he was making to rob Teal'c of his slow pace.  He began to devour first the lips, then the throat of his friend, barely restraining himself from marking the smooth skin.  Jack encouraged him with broken words and frantic writhing.

Pausing only to yank away their interfering clothing, Teal'c dropped to his knees in front of the panting man and captured the straining erection in a careful hold. With a thumb, he smoothed the liquid at its tip into the tender flesh, holding Jack down when he tried to thrust.  "God... uhn... let me... aah...Teal'c!" Jack complained.

Ignoring him, Teal'c looked up the reclining man's length, waiting until Jack pried open his eyes and met his gaze. Seeing his lover's intent in his pose, Jack dug into the mattress with both hands.  "You don't have to..."

"It is my desire."

"Oh, God!  Hurry!"

For an answer, Teal'c dropped his head, swallowing Jack in one smooth, practiced move.  Jack tried hold back, not to take that hot cavern too hard or fast, but Teal'c encouraged him, meeting each shove up eagerly, until O'Neill lost it and fucked his mouth hard.  Teal'c caught and rolled the sacs underneath the demanding shaft, milking strangled shouts and cries from his lover.  The utter abandon with which Jack used him went straight through him, and he took his own huge need in hand and began to stroke roughly.

Immediately Jack shouted in lust, and Teal'c peeked up to see that the other man had been watching him all along.  "Yeah! Yeah!" he begged, his hips lifting violently as he filled the big man's mouth.  "Do it, bring yourself off, do it, do it."
 
As if on command, the first spasm of release blasted through him, churning up to spill over his hand.  He groaned around his mouthful, but held onto their rhythm and was rewarded by the first spurt of cream from Jack.  "TEAL'C!!!" Jack screamed then fell back flat on the bed, helplessly giving the Jaffa his load.

When neither of them had a drop left to give, Teal'c released the softening cock, licking it once in parting, then clambered up onto the cot.  Pulling Jack along with him, he laid down on his side, tossing a blanket over the both of them as he did.  Jack fit himself into his side as if he had done it thousands of times before and hugged his lover close.

"You know, I always thought that being pumped up was always over-rated, as far as sex appeal is concerned," Jack said sleepily, idly following the line of Teal'c pecs with a single finger.  "Definitely going to have to re-think that."

"I am glad you find my form pleasing," Teal'c rumbled, lazily intent on his own discoveries on Jack's body.  His hands flowed over lanky length of the other man cuddled close to him, finding only lax and limber muscles.

"Mmmmm.  Be glad to show you that again," Jack yawned, "but I think you're going to have to wait until I've had a nap."

Making a show of his reluctance, Teal'c sat up.  "Perhaps you should visit Daniel first?"

At that Jack's eyelids went from half-mast to fully alert.  "No ants.  Not a one."  He sat up more slowly, looking over Teal'c consideringly.  "You don't think...."

"Did you not have 'ants' during our workout earlier?  And were they gone after our sexual activity?"  Teal'c pointed out calmly.

Reaching for his clothes to pull them on, Jack nodded.  "I didn't even notice that."  He planted a hard kiss on Teal'c.  "Beauty, brawn *and* brains.  If I'm not careful, you're going to give me an inferiority complex."

With the most open expression Teal'c had ever shown, he reached down and gently cupped Jack intimately.  "I think not.  There is nothing inferior about you."

"Keep that up," Jack breathed harshly, "And you'll get a demonstration of how superior I can be."

"Yes." Teal'c said simply.

With an explosive exhalation, Jack made himself leave the cot.  "Daniel first.  But I'm going to take that as a promise."

Playfulness instantly put aside, Teal'c stood and began to dress.  "I shall look forward to keeping it.  Do you want to wake Dr. Fraiser?"

Jack shook his head, and bent over to tie his sneakers.  "No, let's see if this works first."  As he straightened and headed for the door, he added, "Damn - Can you think of any reason why she *has* to know exactly what I did to get rid of whatever the hell it is I'm getting from Daniel?"

Joining him as they left, Teal'c shook his head.  "I am not a physician.  What information would be relevant and what is not is beyond my skills; should we not trust Dr. Fraiser?"

"It's not that I don't trust her..." Jack began, then shut up while he considered.  They stayed quiet - Jack to think and Teal'c to give him time to - until they reached the infirmary, where he finally admitted in exasperation.  "We tell her only if we need to and keep your name out of it, okay Teal'c?"

“That is not necessary."

Smiling at him the colonel assured him, "I know it's not.  But I'd feel better if you let me do this my way."

"Jack O'Neill, it *is* my risk, as well."

“You're more vulnerable.  Let me do this, please?"  O'Neill stopped at the door, and looked at his companion expectantly.  Though it seemed as if Teal'c wanted to argue, a second later he slowly inclined his head affirmative.  Relieved, Jack bustled through the door, waving at the night nurse desultorily, and went straight to Daniel's bed.

It was empty.  Putting both fists on it, leaning on them, he swore and sought Teal'c's eyes.  "The gate room."

Without a word, they both raced out, heading down the corridors towards the embarkation room - and the alien.

***end4

Balancing the full basket carefully between his hip and good arm, Daniel slipped through the power door, then hit the emergency lockout switch on the inside.  Now it would take finding Hammond and getting him back to the base to get it open, no matter what the others did.  Hopefully by then, he would have been able to make enough progress to convince the general, Jack and everyone else that he was right.   And he *was* right; all he had to do to prove it was find a way to communicate with the only other occupant of the room.

Finding their visitor floating motionlessly a few feet from the end of the ramp, he swallowed involuntarily, the pain in his arm throbbing.  Forcefully he reminded himself that it hadn't been deliberate; from all accounts it had more or less stumbled into him when it was hit by the bolt from Teal'c's staff.  Holding that thought at the front of his mind, he walked up to it slowly, watching for some sign that it knew he was present.

When he was within a few yards of it, it rose a few feet straight up into the air, well beyond his reach, making what he could only describe as unhappy noises.

"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you.  Honest.  Remember me?  We talked a little while ago?"  For the most part Daniel wasn't paying much attention to *what* he was saying, but on making the emotion behind it as clear as possible.  Not sure it could see him, he tried to make his body language say 'I'm friendly, I like you, I won't hurt you' anyway.  Whether it was his tone of voice or his physical presence, he couldn't know, but it slowly, hesitantly drifted back down.

Feeling another wave of dizziness, he dropped the basket, lowered himself to the floor, and put his head on his knees.  Fighting it off while sneaking out of the infirmary and tricking the guards away from the outside door hadn't been easy, but he *had* done it.  Now it seemed he was going to have to pay for using that strength; for a second things went gray, then brightened again.

 It took a moment, then Daniel realized that the world *had* brightened.  The alien had drawn close enough that its light was illuminating his face.  He looked up to find it almost on the floor in front of him, so compact and dense it was nearly his size and totally opaque, the various blues melting slowly through it.  The voice was clearer, gentler and plainly concerned as it spoke to him.  Not knowing what else to do, he smiled and offered his arm for its inspection.  "It's not so bad.  See?  I wish you could tell me *why* it's hurt, but I'm not mad about it."

Without coming any closer, it seemed to inspect the proffered limb, it's chimes sounding so much like a mother hen clucking that Daniel couldn't help but chuckle.

That made it draw back, then it imitated the chuckle, almost precisely.

"Well, now."  Daniel thought for a second, and decided to work on the premise it *could* see him, at least after a fashion.  Pointing to himself with his good hand, he said clearly, "Daniel."  Then, in the tradition of anyone who ever had to jump the language barrier, he pointed to the entity and waited.  When it didn't respond, he repeated his word and actions.  Then again, and again, until, when he pointed to himself and said his name, a musical "...elllll" harmonized with him.

Pointing back to the blue creature, there was no wait before being rewarded with a what sounded like the first two measures of a complete 3000 piece symphony.   Another trial had his name coming only a little clearer, and what he was prepared to swear was a repeat of the same two measures.

"We've got a small problem here, " he told his new acquaintance conversationally.  "I can't say that."  He thought again, and pointed to himself with both hands, palms together, saying, "Dr. Daniel Jackson, Ph.D, linguist, Stargate One."  As he spoke, he spread his hands wider and wider, indicating size.  Hands closed again, he said.  "Daniel."

It only took one repetition for it to respond with a single, lovely Dminor chord when he pointed to it, palms together.

Smiling widely, now, Daniel rocked back on his bottom, and tried to get more comfortable.  "I can't say *that* either.  Looks like I'm going to have to name you, at least until I can find a way to duplicate your sounds.  Never though I was going to need a Ph.D. in music!  Sooner or later you're going to learn enough English to understand anything I do name you, so I'd better make it nice.  Pretty, even, since you are very pretty to look at.  Something musical?  An instrument?  I don't know of one that sounds like a harp making love to windchimes with a glockenspiel for background.  After a famous vocalist?  Your voice is more beautiful than any human's I've ever heard.  Almost like an avatar of Singing.  Singer.  That's what I'll call you.  I dub thee, Singer."

Hands together, he pointed to Singer and said its new name.  Oddly, the light and color varied, swirling madly, then gradually settled again.  It tried to repeat after Daniel, missed the initial 's' and final 'r' so that a long, musical 'iiinnnnnggggg' sounded.  Then with what was a remarkable imitation of Daniel's earlier chuckle, tried again, without his prompting.

"Hello, Singer," he said, feeling giddy and silly.  "Pleased to met you."

"Well, I sure as hell am not."  Jack's angry words echoed over the PA system, and Daniel lifted a acknowledging hand without looking up.

"That's Colonel O'Neill." he told Singer, tiredly.  "He *is* mad at you."

Singer lifted up to the level of the glass of the observation room, stopped in front of the soldier, and rang out "Eeeeeiiiiillllll."  While SG-1 was reeling from that, it moved over to where Teal'c stood, brought two of its appendages together in rough imitation of Daniel, and waited.

"Teal'c" Daniel supplied willingly, looking over his shoulder at them.

"<snap>eeeellllll<snap>" Singer tried.

"Not bad, considering you don't have a way to do glottal stops."  Daniel told it approvingly.  "Have we made our point, yet, Colonel?"

"Okay, okay, so this special effect is intelligent and can talk.  That doesn't make it any less dangerous, or change the fact you disobeyed a direct order.  Will you open the door now, Dr. Jackson?"

Ignoring their by-play, Singer left its position in front of Teal'c, after trying the Jaffa's name out again, and went to Sam who had just come into the room, still half dressed for bed.  The two of them stared at each other, then Singer made the naming gesture.

"Sam." Daniel informed it.  "As soon as Hammond is convinced, too." he added aside, for O'Neill.

"MMMMMmmmmm"

"I think you can do better than that."  Daniel emphasized his teacher's-correcting-the-student tone, and Singer responded with another try at Carter's name, this time adding more 'aa' to it.  "That's right.  Sam."  To O'Neill, he added, "The general has ignored us before and made his decisions despite what we had to say.  By the time he gets here from his briefing, I want it to be damn near impossible for him to believe anything but that what happened earlier was an accident.  And that we should be trying to make friends with this species."

"You don't have to be the one to do that!" O'Neill exploded.  "You should be in a hospital, not sitting on a cold floor giving English lessons!"

At Jack's outburst, Singer backed hastily away from the window and went back to the spot of front of Daniel, exaggeratedly detouring around him to get there.  The linguist turned to face the visitor, but addressed O'Neill.  "And do what!?  Lie there hurting and waiting to die?  No thank you; I'd rather spend the time doing something useful!"  With an effort, he calmed down, placing a hand palm down on the floor to steady himself physically.  "Look, I'm not denying Singer can be dangerous.  Isn't it better not to let someone else take a chance?"

"At least let me come in there with you."  O'Neill said desperately.  "The doc and I think we've found a way to slow down what's happening to you."

For an answer, Daniel pulled away the collar of the shirt he wore to show the burn that spread to lay just under it.  "It's too late," he said softly, not looking at his friends.  "Unless you can stop it completely, it's too late." Totally dropping the subject, he asked, "Do you see what I see?"

Singer was gathering in its many edges, tucking and folding them around a central core, blending its multitude of shades into one that looked like thick cobalt glass with a light deep inside it.  By the time it had finished, it had taken on a roughly human shape, kneeling in front of him, complete with head, eyes and mouth.  The eyes were the only part that reflected the original pulsing colors and formless condition.

"...nielllll" it chimed softly, the mouth moving experimentally with the sound.

"Daniel." he repeated blankly, surprise filling his face.

"D'nielllll"

With a blink and sudden shake, Daniel said his name properly one more time, reaching for the basket as he did.  "Time to move on," he muttered.  "Start with basic, shared needs..."  He shot Singer a perplexed look.  "At least, I hope they're shared."   Mindful of their audience, Daniel took an apple from the basket and held it up for his pupil to see.  Sure of its attention, he brought the fruit up to his mouth and bit it.  "Food." he said firmly.  Chewing, he added "Eat."

Putting the apple down in front of him, he nudged it toward Singer, then brought out half a sandwich.  "Food."  He bit it.  "Eat."  Leaving it partially wrapped, he laid it next to the apple.  The alien did not duplicate the actions a human would have made in the circumstances - using its 'eyes' to follow Daniel's motions.  Nevertheless, it gave an impression of concentrating hard on what he was doing.

By the time he had put out a piece of cake on a plate, a banana, some nuts, and a candy bar, it seemed thoroughly perplexed.  Daniel gave the apple another nudge toward it, saying 'food' patiently.  Pain and fatigue made him misjudge how hard he hit it; the apple rolled into the Singer's 'knee.'

Threads of pure blue light flashed over it; then it was blistering, blackening, burning  - ash.  Startled, Singer pulled back quickly.  Despite quiet exclamations, no one moved or said anything and waited for its response.  One arm stretched out, actually elongating so that Singer's main body stayed put, and tapped the cake with a finger, with the identical results of the apple, save that the plate was unaffected.

It lost some of its humanoid form, blurring around the edges, talking to itself with tinkling bells, confusion plain in the notes.

"It didn't know."  Sam spoke for all of them, her voice tinny and eerie over the intercom,  "That was going to happen.  Why not?  It has to know its touch is destructive from what happened to the remote and Daniel."

"Look at the plate." Daniel pointed out. "Because there wasn't direct contact?  Or it only effects organics?  The probe wasn't organic."

"Daniel, can you try some thing else?" Jack asked.

"Okay," he said wearily, rubbing at his eyes.  "'Eat' is not getting us anywhere, anyway."  He spoke directly to Singer.  "You must get your nourishment from something besides physical food, so let's try this."  Taking out a thermos and a few other containers, he set a glass on the ground in front of him and poured water into it.  "Drink."  Picking up the glass, he did as he had said, thirstily emptying it.  "Drink."  He refilled it and set it back in front of him, scooting it closer with the help of a butter knife taken from the basket.

Timidly Singer poked a pseudo-finger at the glass, and broke into what could only be called delighted laughter when it went *through* the container - and the water.  The silver and silicon notes rang through the room while Singer experimented with the substance, happily switching to the other cups of fluid Daniel presented.  Though the same pyrotechnic effect always zipped through it, leaving behind clear fluid, their guest loved liquid, whether juice, milk or beer, and seemed totally intrigued by glass.  The music was contagious, and Daniel's fellow team members relaxed considerably, small smiles and partial grins beginning.

"Guys, I think we are really, really lucky it didn't discover what the observation wall is made of." Daniel called up to his friends.

"I wouldn't count on that luck holding."  Carter nodded down at Daniel and his new friend.  "Singer has shown a high level of intelligence; if it hasn't made the connection yet, it will."

"We'd better get Daniel to teach her to 'stay' then, " O'Neill said thoughtfully.  "Just in case."

"Her?" Carter spoke for the team, giving a puzzled glance at her commander as she did.

"Well, *look* at her." Jack shrugged and pointed at the pair in the embarkation room.

Tapping on the beer bottle, the water glass, and his own glasses, Daniel was saying 'glass,' carefully enunciating the 'g,' though he had his head tilted up toward SG1 to show he was listening to them as well.   Singer tried very hard to duplicate the sounds, but was laughing too hard to do it.  And there was no mistaking Singer looked like a 'she' now.  Her main body had taken on the curves of a young female's breasts and waist, and though her legs trailed off into only the suggestion of calves as they ended, they were slender and feminine as well.  Even a cloud of hair, longer than Daniel's, had begun to float around her head, much lighter blue than the rest of her and giving the effect of being a halo.

"Why a woman?" Jack asked, inclining his head toward Daniel to make clear to whom he was speaking.  "Question #4314," he added under his breath.

"Why ask me?" Daniel snapped, quickly adding, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay," the colonel assured him hurriedly.  "I just thought that since you were so sure she could talk in the first place, you might have picked up on something we've been missing."

"Oh, that."  Daniel put a salt and peppershakers where Singer could reach them, and went on.  "First time we met, she was mimicking my words - well, not the actual sounds, but the tone of them, and the cadence.  You didn't pick up on it because you're not a linguist.  My ear has been trained to hear things like that; yours hasn't.  That's all.  I don't know any more about Singer than you do - except that I'm beginning to think she doesn't know she was responsible for the all the excitement earlier.  You saw her reaction to the fruit turning to ash."

"But.. but.." Carter stuttered, "She was avoiding contact with you before that."

Folding his arms over his knees, Daniel put his cheek down on them and closed his eyes.  "Conditioned response.  Every time she's touched something since she's been here, there have been loud bangs and general chaos.  Wouldn't take much for me to decide to keep my hands to myself under the same circumstances."

Singer, who had been curiously fiddling with the shakers and their contents, abruptly went blurry around the edges again, and sidled up as close to Daniel she dared.  "D'nellll?"

"Juss tired," he mumbled.  "Hurts, Jack."

"D'nelll?"  Worry was evident in the plaintive song, and Singer lost all human resemblance and went back to her original amorphous state.  Lifting over Daniel, she spread herself wide and thin, becoming practically a veil, and very, very cautiously draped herself around him, making no contact but covering him in a blanket of color.

He fell onto his side, and she dodged that part of herself away nimbly, plaintively talking to him with real fear in her voice.

Nor was she the only one who was concerned for the young man.  Jack charged out of the observation room, then back into it before anyone had time to react.  In his hand was a side arm from one of the guards, and he pointed it at the glass wall, pulling the trigger.  With a shattering crash, sounding very like Singer, the panes disintegrated, and Jack ran for the gap, putting the gun into the waistband of his pants.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c barked, holding out his hands.  Jack caught them, and swung over the windowsill, letting the Jaffa take his weight.  Mindful of the glass, Teal'c bent to lower the colonel toward the floor, minimizing the distance the soldier would have to fall.  Hitting the ground lightly, Jack ran for Daniel, calling his name.  Behind him, Teal'c dropped, tucked, and rolled, taking the impact of the fall gracefully before heading for the door.

Surprisingly, Singer fluttered up her edge as O'Neill drew close, allowing him to dive under it and skid into Daniel.   The blueonblue flash wasn't very brilliant this time, but the alien caught some of the light and multiplied it, reflecting it through her body.  "Damn, damn, damn."  Jack hugged Daniel close, only pulling back far enough to look at the wound under his clothes.  "I hardly felt anything.  It couldn’t have been enough, it couldn't."

"Colonel, get him to the infirmary.  I'll see if I can't find a way to..." Carter interrupted herself; with a loud crack of sound, Singer contracted herself completely and dashed for the Stargate, skidding around the side and to the back of it only at the last second.  Teal'c was only a few steps behind her, following on what seemed to be impulse.

He drew up short, mouth falling open, as he watched Singer vanish into the gate from the wrong side.

***end 5

"What do you mean it went through the gate from the rear!" General Hammond barked, glaring first at Teal'c, then at the other members of the team seated around the briefing table.

"I did not say through the gate.  Singer went *into* the gate; became a part of it."  Teal'c said flatly.

Hammond glared at Carter.  "That is supposed to be impossible!"

"From everything we know about how it works, it is," Carter defended.  "But Singer breaks a dozen laws of physics just by existing, so I'm willing to accept she can reverse the flow of the gate."

"It is my understanding as well, General Hammond, that a Stargate could not function in the manner I observed.  Nevertheless, it *is* what I saw."  Teal'c tone held no room for argument, and the older man sat down in his chair with a thump.

"Well, then, *how* did she do it?" he demanded.

"#4316," Jack murmured, *sotto voce,* then said louder.  "Right at the minute, that doesn't matter.  She's gone, we've got guards in the gate room, repairs on the iris are underway, and if all we're going to do is rehash this over and over, *sir,* I rather be down in the infirmary.  In case you hadn't noticed, one of my team members is down there *dying,* and the only chance we had for helping him has just bolted for wherever the *hell* it came from."  His voice had gotten louder, word by word until he was close to shouting, and he had gradually stood, so that by the last one he was leaning over the table, palms flat on it.

"Colonel O'Neill."  Hammond began, hard but kind, "you do not..."

His next words were lost in the alarm claxons sounding and a call for all designated personnel to report to the embarkation room.  The briefing room emptied, Carter taking the lead, but only because she had been closest to the door.

Singer floated in front of the gate in her original form, another of her kind beside her.  Her companion was much larger, its blues dark to the point of being slightly varying shades of black.  They spoke together, and if she was chimes and bells, the other was an old, deep-chested organ that rumbled in the deepest bass notes.  At Hammond’s standing orders, the room was empty, but the door stood open, though the visitors made no effort to go through it.

O'Neill and the others paused at the threshold, waiting for the two newcomers to acknowledge them.  It only took a second.  Then Singer drifted over, saying something to her companion, and introduced them.  "Ooooo'ellll, T'lll'c, Aaaammmmm."  She stopped in front of the general, bobbled uncertainly, then made the naming gesture she had taken from Daniel.

"Hammond," Jack supplied.

"Mmmmd" Singer repeated.

She took up position in front of Jack, said his name, then drifted back toward her friend.  Curious, Jack stayed put, but she came back, repeated his name, and again floated to other alien.  "I think she wants you to follow her," Carter told him.

With a glance at Hammond for approval, O'Neill went with her on her next repetition, halting when he was close enough to the bigger one to touch it.  "Ooooneillll," it intoned clearly.

"Yes, sir?" Jack responded automatically.

A tendril of black light whipped around him, fast enough and close enough to raise a minute breeze over his hair.  Then both both Singer and her friend began to compress in on themselves, concentrating their substance and color into recognizably humanoid shapes, as she had done before.  This time, however, when they were done, two people, dressed in old-fashioned clothes, stood in front of Jack.

Looking remarkably like one of Liddell's illustrations of Alice in Wonderland, complete with pinafore and buckle-shoes, Singer smiled at Jack, then shyly ducked behind the man beside her, clutching his coat in one hand.  He was a tall, older-looking person, with gray hair and full, neatly trimmed beard, and he wore the garments of an English gentleman from the same period as Alice.

Only his voice reminded them of his true shape when he said "Woordddss."

Not knowing what else to do, Jack said, "I beg your pardon?"

"Yes," the alien approved.  "Wwooordddss."

"You want me to talk to you?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Talllllk." The alien agreed.

"Well.  Okay, then."  Thinking for a second, Jack touched himself on the chest and said, "I'm Jack O'Neill, but I didn't catch your name."  As an after thought he brought his palms together and pointed to the dark singer.

Granite crashed through the room in reply, but Singer poked her head around her friend and chimed at him before hiding again.  The crash stopped, then he said, "Llllallt.  Talk, much.  More?"

Looking back over his shoulder at his team, Jack exchanged startled looks with them, then concentrated on the person in front of him.  "Lalt?  Short and simple, easy enough to say, I guess.  You're certainly picking up the lingo faster than Singer there.  Did she give you some pointers before she brought you here?  Why'd she do that anyway?"

"Help."  Though Lalt answered in English, he echoed a musical phrase under it, and Singer replied.

Jack rocked back on his heels.  "Please tell me you understood me and that was a direct answer to my question."

"D'niellll, help." Singer affirmed.

Hearing, rather than seeing, Teal'c rush from the doorway, Jack tried to keep his emotions level.  "Singer brought you here to help Daniel," he asked, just to be sure.

"Yes.  She is... <music> not old?  Not done with you before?"  Lalt fumbled with the words, giving the impression he knew them once, and was reaching to remember.  "Cannot help alone."

Acting on that, Jack asked, "You've been on Earth before?  Met humans before? You know what's wrong, what to do?"

"Long time.  Words changed, but humans are humans.  Singer must do help, but I can," he paused, notes filling the air so low that the floor tingled with them.  "Teach? her."

Eagerly Jack came forward, holding out a hand, "What do you need from us?  What can we do?"

"Trust, please?"

"Colonel O'Neill, I am not going to let our guests into the facility."  Hammond said from where he stood.  "Not without more information."

"Sir," O'Neill said desperately, "Daniel doesn't have a lot of time, here.  She didn't have to come back, they didn't have to wait for us in here, but they did.  Maybe a *little* trust isn't too much to ask?"

"Daniel's life is as important to me as it is to you," Hammond told him gently, "but he wouldn't want anyone else to be hurt because of him.  Find out exactly what caused his injury, and what they're planning to do to heal it.  If it was accidental, the way you now think, precautions can be taken.  But we *have* to know in order to do that."

Behind him Teal'c said, "It is not necessary for them to leave the gate room."  Holding Daniel like he was a small child, Teal'c pushed past the small group and went to join Jack, Fraiser stubbornly beside him.

With a tiny cry, Singer flowed around Lalt and looked anxiously at Teal'c barely conscious burden.  Shirtless, his bandages spreading along his entire arm, up his shoulder, and around his throat, Daniel lay limply in Teal'c's arms, moaning in very quietly in pain.  Slowly, so as not to seem threatening, Lalt raised a hand and hovered it along those bandages, his expression serious.  All the while he talked to Singer in their language, and she answered him quickly, certainly.

Finally he met Jack's hopeful eyes and said, "His mind has not been damaged, yet.  But Singer hasn't ever .... mended? healed?... a human before.  She needs a sample, a pattern of rightness to follow.  Another person, same as this one, is wanted..."

Every person in the room stepped forward, the motion attracting Lalt's attention.  With a very human smile, he sang something to his smaller associate while watching them, and she answered distractedly, one of her own hands now only a few millimeters from Daniel's body.  "Thank you," he said in English when she was done.  Pointing to Fraiser and Carter, he asked, "You are nurturers of your kind?"

"Women, we're women, " Carter corrected him.

"Daniel is protector - male? - it must be another like him."  He gave Teal'c a considering look, then added sadly, "Male, but changed."

 A trace of pain flowed over the dark face, but Teal'c remained silent.

"That leaves me," Jack said softly, "and the general.  And since he's in command of this base, it's going to be me."

"Is it dangerous?" Hammond asked, holding up a cautioning hand to O'Neill, acknowledging with a nod the colonel's impatience.

"No, I can ...<music> Singer so she will remain as one.  O'Neill will *feel* it, but no harm will come to him."

"So let's do it.  Now." Jack said impatiently.

Lalt mimed taking off his shirt.  "It must be surface."

Unbuttoning, Jack opened his so that his chest was exposed.  "She's going to touch me?"

"Yes.  Don't be alarmed."

At that Singer tentatively, tenderly placed her palm over Daniel's heart, then put the other over Jack's.

"Wow!" Jack blurted.

"Colonel?" Hammond questioned.

"It's okay.  Feels kinda nice, in fact." Jack replied.

"The 'tazer effect' like earlier?"  Carter came as close as she dared, staring at where a pool of Singer color and light was growing on Daniel's chest.

Distracted by the same thing, Jack mumbled, "No, more like hot tickles, if that makes sense.  And not just where she's touching me; everywhere."

"And deep inside, too." Daniel said softly.  He opened his eyes, staring up for a minute at Teal'c, then tilting his head to find Jack.  For a second he studied where Singer was touching the soldier, then studied Singer herself, eyebrows going up.

   Completely quiet for the first time since they'd met her, she stood motionless, her eyes losing their human qualities and becoming simply holes that looked into space itself.  Standing behind her, hands on her waist, Lalt was silent too, save for an occasional, plainly praising and encouraging note.  Her hands lost their their definition as well, blending from the wrists to her natural state, but under them the light expanded, bleeding into the skin under Daniel's bandages.

They stayed that way for several long, tense minutes, then Jack asked, "What's taking so long?   She does know what she's doing, right?"

"It takes what it takes," Lalt told him. "And she's doing very well for a five year old."

"FIVE!" Every human in the room chorused.

"What the devil was she doing out on her own?" Hammond spoke for all of them.

What could only be described as embarrassment touched the alien's features.  "Her ... nanny.. was distracted momentarily, and Singer slipped away.  She wandered into the Hall of Portals, and must have followed my taste to this one, not realizing how old the trail was.  We were searching for her when she rushed in and told us what happened."

Though his lids were heavy, half covering his eyes, Jack asked, "We?  Are you one of her parents?"

"After a fashion," Lalt told him, sadly, but elaborated no further.  "I believe.. ahh, yes."

Deliberately Singer brushed an appendage over Daniel's bandages, and they quickly burned away, not leaving even ash.  Under them, his flesh was pristine, new-born looking, and he flexed his elbow experimentally.

"Dr. Jackson," the physician asked, probing at the juncture of his neck and shoulder, "Pain?"

Stirring restlessly in Teal'c arms, Daniel shook his head.  "Actually, I feel pretty good, except for feeling like all my bones are trembling at once."

Translating for Singer, Lalt sang as Daniel spoke, and she sang back, pausing to let Lalt do the same for her.  "You and you" he pointed to Teal'c and O'Neill, "must take Daniel to a warm, comfortable place and hold him until the trace part of Singer left in Daniel fades.  That is why he trembles; her in his ...messages... nerves?  After you take that from him, he will sleep heavily for a time, wake to eat, then sleep again, to wake after a normal sleep period for him.  He should eat well for the next few waking times, as well."

"Why myself and Colonel O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, tightening his arms around Daniel as he squirmed restlessly.

Singer answered, but Lalt shook his head.  "I'm sorry, there are no words in this language to explain that.  Not even little ones that can point the way.  Cannot you not simply accept that it must be you that balances him into his own energy?"

"Hey, I can talk for myself, you know."  Daniel tried again to get out of Teal'c arms, but this time Jack held him against the Jaffa with a strong grip on the freshly healed shoulder.   "And I don't need babysitters to make sure I sleep."

"D'nellll." Singer whisked a tendril over his hair, and sang something sternly.

"Please listen to her," Lalt added.  "She may be very young, but she is already very skilled with her gift.  There are few of us that can control the small, small energies that organic kind use for life.  Though she does not yet understand what she does, she does it very well, and if she believes that you should rest with your friends for your health, Daniel, you should.  Have we stumbled over some custom that forbids this?"

"Not exactly," Daniel said, subsiding onto Teal'c's chest.  "I just... just don't want to inconvenience my friends, that's all."

"Shut up, Daniel." Jack ordered.  "I haven't been asleep for almost 24 hours *anyway.*  Teal'c - can we make a pallet in your quarters and turn up the heat some?"

"I will take him there, now, and prepare, O'Neill.  General?"  Teal'c asked permission to do what was needed, and received it.

Before he could move away, however, Daniel smacked lightly at his chest.  "Wait. Wait!  Singer..."

But she was cuddling up to Lalt, becoming formless again, parts of her actually sliding into her parent.  "She must rest, too, Daniel."  Lalt told him.  "I know that there is much you and your friends would like to know, but most of it cannot be said in this language, and you are too young a species to learn ours."  Hammond started to speak, and Lalt stopped him with an understanding look.  "And we are too dangerous to organic life to have, ah, diplomatic relations? with you.  I am sorry for what inconvenience and trouble my child caused; perhaps at a later date we can find a way to safely communicate."

As he spoke, Lalt, too resumed his original form, and began drifting toward the gate, towing Singer with him.

"At least tell us your planet's co-ordinates so we can send messages," Daniel called.

"What makes you think we have a planet, Dr. Daniel Jackson, Ph.D, linguist, Stargate One?" Lalt laughed, and they vanished into the gate.

SG-1, its commander, and Dr. Fraiser looked at each other, sharing the mutual confusion of the thousandth time that day.

"#4316." Jack said finally, and took Teal'c by his elbow.  "Come on, let's put baby to bed."

"Jack, you are not going to tease me about this.  Jack!"  Daniel twisted in the Jaffa's strong grip, trying to catch O'Neill's eye.  "Jack..." he warned.

"Who me?" O'Neill said innocently, eyes wide, and the room erupted into laughter as Daniel moaned and hid his face in Teal'c shirt while the big man carried him toward bed.
 
***end 6
finis