Marks
a Stargate SG1 fanfic by Setcheti

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate SG1 and it isn't my intention to infringe on the rights of those who do. This story was written for entertainment only and no money was made from it.

Author's Note: This story is set very early first season and contains spoilers for Children of the Gods. Slash marks (/) indicate someone speaking in another language. Jack talks, so this story is rated FRT:MP,MV.

Jack O'Neill sighed; the natives surrounding them were scarred, aggressive…and unfortunately well armed. The one he assumed was the leader barked something at him and shook his spear meaningfully. Jack tightened his grip on his gun. "Oh, Daniel…now might be a good time to do your job."

Daniel Jackson flinched slightly at the other man's sarcasm but stepped forward, hoping his all-too-brief assessment of the culture he was seeing was correct. Hunters…not quite as primitive as they look, we probably interrupted something ritual…scars prominently displayed, proof of bravery? accomplishment? coming of age?…haven't attacked us yet, waiting for something…hope I've got the language right… He squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. /"Greetings. We are travelers from a distant land. We mean you no harm."/

The leader pointed at Jack, frowning. /"Why does not your leader speak?"/

Uh-oh. /"I speak for him. He knows not your language."/

The frown became thoughtful. /"I see. You are his servant."/

/"Uh, yes."/ Daniel was very glad at that moment that Jack couldn't understand what was going on. /"I am Daniel Jackson, my leader is Colonel O'Neill. We come in peace. We wish to be friends."/

Jack responded to the leader's questioning glance with a small tight smile and a gesture in Daniel's direction. "What he said."

The man's dark eyes lingered on the Colonel, tracing his weapon briefly before returning to the young man in front of him. /"How do we know you are worthy of our friendship? Your skin is hidden from us. Have you something to hide?"/

Daniel groaned inwardly; he'd been right about the scars. Shit. / "No, we are hiding nothing,"/ he replied carefully. /"We wear heavy clothing to protect us in our travels. What must we do to gain your trust?"/ Like I don't already know…and Jack won't go for it. Maybe I can…

/"We must see the proof of your leader's valor, if we are to know the worth of your people. He must show us his Marks."/

Okay, hope this works. Daniel allowed a horrified expression to cross his face. /"It is not possible! How could we allow our leader to expose himself to strangers? Our people would be disgraced! There must be another way to prove ourselves…"/ He pretended to think it over, shaking his head, trying to ignore the building tension around him, the hands he saw tightening on weapons. /"Perhaps,"/ he began tentatively, /"perhaps I could…show you mine? I serve Colonel O'Neill freely; surely my Marks will attest to our worth, to the valor of our people?"/

The leader looked surprised. /"You have Marks?"/ At Daniel's nod he cast another look at O'Neill and turned to confer with the man next to him. /"What think you?"/

The younger warrior had been scrutinizing Daniel carefully. /"It is unusual,"/ he said thoughtfully. /"He has not the appearance of a warrior. But their ways may not be as ours. I say, let the Marks tell their own story and then make our judgment."/

/"Agreed."/ The older man lifted his arms to quiet his people. /"The one who speaks for them will stand for them as well."/ He turned back to the wary group of travelers. /"Daniel Jackson, we will examine your Marks."/

Daniel exhaled the breath he'd been holding. /"Thank you. If we might walk a little away from the others…?"/ The puzzled looks he got made the knot in his stomach tighten. /"Um, the location of my Marks…my people have a privacy taboo regarding that…area, and I would be disgraced for exposing myself to so many. Which would disgrace my leader."/ He felt a blush rising in his cheeks as he saw comprehension dawn in the men's faces. /"Please?"/

The leader held back a chuckle; his second was grinning openly. /"We will respect your ways,"/ he said politely. / "Come with us."/

/"One moment."/ Daniel turned back to his own team, relief evident on his face. He dipped his head respectfully toward Jack, keeping up the appearance of a loyal servant. "I…need to go with them for a minute," he told the surprised Colonel. "They need proof of our…worth before they'll accept us."

"Proof? What kind of proof?!" Jack was suspicious--and not just of the natives. "What exactly are you going to do, Dr. Jackson?"

Daniel flinched. "Um, I just need to show them…something, and then we'll have their trust." His blue eyes pleaded up into the suspicious brown ones glaring down at him. "Trust me, J…Colonel; I know what I'm doing. These people are willing to meet us halfway, we have to do the same."

"I don't have to do anything," Jack said irritably. "Where are they taking you? Or do you even know?"

The scientist flinched again, then turned slightly and called out a question. The younger warrior looked around and then pointed to an outcropping of rocks nearby. Jack raised his hand to forestall Daniel's translation. "No, I got that; behind those rocks. To show them 'something'. Did you leave us any alternative at all, or did you just play along with the natives, Dr. Jackson?" The younger man dropped his head, face flushing. Jack's jaw tightened. "We are going to have a long talk when this is over," he growled. "You, me…and the General. That is, if your new friends don't take you apart to prove that we're not a threat."

Daniel just nodded and turned back to the leader, falling into step with the watchful warrior as they trailed him across the flat and disappeared behind the rocks. Carter and Teal'c took the opportunity to move closer to O'Neill. "Sir?" Carter's eyes were wide. "What's going on, Colonel?"

"Keep an eye on the crowd, Carter." Jack's eyes were on the rocks. "At the first sign of trouble, start shooting." He felt Tealc's eyes on him. "What, Teal'c?"

The Jaffa didn't answer at once, and his gaze shifted to take in the waiting natives. He understood little of their speech, but the proudly displayed scars of the warriors and the repeated reference to Marks had given him a idea of what Daniel Jackson was doing. He resolutely pushed down his anger at the way Colonel O'Neill had spoken to the young scientist, knowing that a confrontation would have to wait until they returned home; the involuntary signs of fright Jackson had displayed more than once on this mission had touched a raw nerve, as had the Colonel's persistent mistrust of the young man's judgment. But perhaps a warning of sorts…O'Neill was not too stubborn to take a hint, and if his attitude continued the mission could be in jeopardy. "I was remembering," he rumbled blandly. "My old master, Apophis, and the manner in which he spoke to those of us who served him."

Jack felt his entire body stiffen, but the big Jaffa was now watching the rocks himself and his expression was as emotionless as usual. Or was it? Motion pulled his attention back to the problem at hand, and he heard Carter sigh with relief as Daniel came around the side of the rocks with the two native warriors, absently tucking in his shirt as he talked. The other two looked pleased about something, the younger one almost looked…impressed? There was certainly no restraint in their manner toward Daniel anymore. The scientist once again came to stand in front of him and made that little head-bowing gesture that pissed Jack off so much; he thought of Tealc's comment and reigned his anger in as best he could. "Well, Dr. Jackson? Care to tell us what's going on?"

Daniel gestured toward the old warrior. "Colonel O'Neill, this is Lodan, leader of the Kem-mhishtar. He invites us to return to the village with his warriors so that we may discuss an alliance between our peoples."

Lodan nodded gravely. "Ker-nel O-Neel," he said. "Su abanam celmess appi Dan-yel Jaksen. Su misada nami mikato."

"He says…" Daniel blushed. "Um, just say 'thank you', Colonel; he was complimenting you."

Jack thought there was probably more to it, but he nodded anyway. "No problem, Lodan. I guess we'll be following you back to your village now."

Daniel translated and the older man nodded and spoke again before turning back to his warriors; the scientist took up a position just behind and to the right of O'Neill. "Just follow him," he said quietly. "Their village is just over the next rise." He saw Teal'c looking at him with approval and blushed again, realizing that the Jaffa must have understood at least some of Lodan's words. He managed a small, embarrassed smile and shook his head at his friend.

Teal'c returned the smile, pleased with the young man's modesty, and noted that O'Neill had witnessed the silent exchange and was looking thoughtful. Perhaps a confrontation would not be necessary after all.

Lodan's village was a surprise; Jack had expected grass huts or hide tents, not neat adobe-like houses laid out around a large circular courtyard with a tiled well at its center. Women and children moved about the open area dressed in sleeveless tunics belted with colorful sashes, apparently not at all alarmed by the presence of four strangers in their midst. "Daniel, what gives?" Jack asked quietly. "Those guys look like savages, but this…"

"We interrupted…a ritual of sorts," the scientist replied distractedly, looking around. "Sort of a recreational activity, if I understand it right--a chance for the men to blow off steam and indulge in some friendly competition."

"You mean we walked into this planet's equivalent to…football Sunday?" Sam asked, eyes twinkling with amusement. "It's a male bonding ritual?"

"Something like that." He wasn't really paying attention. "Would you look at these tiles? I wonder how they produce that blue…"

"Daniel, not now." They had stopped in front of the largest building, and one of the men was speaking politely to them. "What's he saying?"

"Oh, sorry. He's asking us to follow him." Daniel spoke and gestured, and they followed the man into the building and down a long, dim corridor. Their guide stopped at a curtained doorway and gestured politely for them to enter, accepting Daniel's thanks with a smile.

The room they entered was well-lit by narrow windows, white walls curving down to meet the colorfully tiled floor, a fire burning cheerfully in a central pit surrounded by rugs and cushions. Lodan was already seated near the fire and beckoned his guests to join him. "Nice place you've got here," Jack commented, settling himself.

Daniel translated, and Lodan laughed, looking pleased. "He knows you were surprised by the village," the scientist explained. "He says your willingness to respect the ways of 'savages' tells him good things about our people and culture, and he would be pleased to enter into diplomatic relations with us."

"Well that would please us, too," Jack replied. "Daniel, why don't you tell him about what we do and let's see if we can come up with some common ground here."

Daniel talked for two hours, maybe more; explaining, describing, answering questions, occasionally fielding out a question to one of his teammates and translating their response back to Lodan. Raesa, Lodan's assistant, came into the room about halfway through and placed himself at his leader's side, but did not venture to speak until Daniel had finished. Then he leaned over and whispered something in Lodan's ear; the older man smiled. /"Colonel O'Neill,"/ he said. /"My assistant wishes to make a request of you. He asks if you would allow Daniel Jackson to eat with himself and his friends at the 'warrior's table' this evening. He knows this is a great favor to ask, as you do not speak our language yourself and so will be left without an interpreter."/

Jack grinned as Daniel translated the request, trying not to laugh at the younger man's flushed face. He didn't understand what was going on here, but something about the geeky scientist had evidently impressed these people. He nodded firmly at Raesa and said, "Of course he can. I'm sure we'll manage just fine for one night."

Raesa was already pulling Daniel to his feet, not needing a translation. "You're sure, Jack?" he asked, plainly overwhelmed by the other young man's enthusiasm for his company. "You won't be able to…"

"I can understand a little of their language, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c reassured him. "We should be able to communicate adequately for the evening."

The Jaffa warrior turned out to be more than correct. The feast was large and noisy, and most of the communication required was accomplished by gestures and nods. Jack found himself watching the 'warriors table' with fascination; he was seeing a side of Daniel Jackson that he hadn't known existed. Blue eyes sparkling as he talked and joked animatedly with the other young men, Daniel appeared completely at ease and often seemed to be the center of attention. Jack couldn't help but contrast this happy, outgoing young man with the painfully shy and withdrawn scientist at the SGC. Glancing at Carter, he saw that she had noticed the difference as well. "What do you think that's all about?" he asked, leaning close so she could hear him. "He doesn't act like that at home."

Carter shrugged, but Teal'c was not so reticent. "Perhaps Daniel Jackson is not so…accepted on Earth. Did he also behave this way on Abydos?"

"Yes." Carter was startled by the sudden pain in her CO's voice; he looked like he had seen a ghost. "Yes, he was like this on Abydos." How could I have forgotten? It's the reason I let him stay there in the first place; he was happy. "God, I can't believe I didn't remember that. And you're right, Teal'c, Daniel isn't very accepted at h…on Earth, is he?"

"He's only been back a couple of months," Sam said slowly, looking at the gathering around them with new eyes. "This is what he's used to, Colonel--life in a very tightly knit primitive community. I just don't think he's…adjusted yet. And so much has happened…"

"…in such a short time," Jack finished for her. They shared a look of total understanding. "And we've had to let the circumstances take precedence. But that's no excuse for ignoring the past year of his life like it had never happened."

"Has he ever talked to you…?"

Jack sighed, leaning back on the cushions. "He tried, on his first night back. The night I took him home with me because no one on base knew what to do with him-those were his exact words." He remembered the look on the young man's face, the look of being so lost and unwanted--the look that said he had just lost his wife, his brother, half a dozen friends…and had yet to hear the words, "I'm sorry." Jack was sickened to realize that he had never told Daniel just how sorry he was.

"I wonder if he gained his Marks on Abydos as well?"

"Huh?" Jack straightened up a little, looking at Teal'c like he didn't know what he was talking about. Which was true, he didn't. "What do you mean, Marks?"

"Did you not notice that the warriors here all had certain scars prominently displayed? Those are their Marks, evidence of battles fought, the proof of their valor."

"Daniel said they needed proof of our worth," Jack said slowly. "That must have been what he meant. But why didn't he…?"

"I believe Daniel Jackson was attempting to maintain diplomatic relations with this culture," Teal'c interrupted. "If I understood correctly, Lodan originally demanded to see your Marks."

Jack's mouth dropped open, and Sam started to laugh. "Now I understand…why he didn't tell us," she choked out. Jack was glaring at her, but it just made her laugh harder. "Oh sir, I'm sorry…but imagine your reaction if Daniel had turned around and told you they wanted you to strip so they could see your scars!"

In spite of himself, Jack started to grin, then to chuckle. "Oh damn, it wouldn't have been pretty. I would have….oh for cryin' out loud, I think the kid saved everyone in that valley from a violent death. And I…"

"Colonel?" Carter sat up, concerned; O'Neill's laughter had been replaced by a groan. "What is it, sir?"

Jack was staring up at the room's curved ceiling, all his humor gone again. "I reamed him, Carter. I even said I was going to haul him in front of Hammond."

"Oh yeah." Sam's laughter died too. "Oh god, you even called him 'Dr. Jackson', sir."

"You took out much anger on him, O'Neill--without reason."

"Yeah, I did that, didn't I? Peachy, just peachy--way to go, O'Neill." He glanced back at the young men across the room, saw the expressive face that had flinched when Jack snapped at him now lit up with the joy of discovery as his increasingly involved discussion resulted in several of his new friends dragging him off to satisfy his curiosity firsthand. The decibel level in the room dropped appreciably when they left, and Jack sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Hey Teal'c, what are Daniel's Marks, anyway? I didn't remember him having any scars…"

"I do not know, O'Neill. I have not observed any scars either; but then, I have noticed that Daniel Jackson is a physically private person."

"Modest, Teal'c. The word is modest." Sam stretched, thinking about it. "Come to think of it, I have seen him without his shirt once and I didn't see any scars."

"No, but he was tucking his shirt in when he came back…"

Teal'c cleared his throat. "He informed Lodan that his Marks were in a 'taboo' area and that you, as his leader, would be disgraced if he were to expose himself in such a manner. I was relieved that they respected his desire for privacy."

Jack groaned again. "Nope, it doesn't get any better than this."

SG1 turned in early and woke the next morning to find Daniel sound asleep on his pallet in their guest room, his glasses askew and a streak of blue clay across one cheek. "Looks like someone had fun," Jack snorted, carefully removing the glasses and stowing them safely in one of his own pockets. "Wonder when he got in?"

"Just before dawn," Teal'c supplied with just a hint of a smile. "Several of the other young men of the village made sure he arrived safely before departing for their own homes."

"Sweet." Sam tucked a blanket around the sleeping archaeologist, and Jack felt his heart contract painfully when the younger man snuggled into the soft warmth with a contented sigh. Just like…don't go there, Jack; Daniel is thirty, not ten. Even if he doesn't look it right now. "Okay, it's still early. What say we give Sleeping Beauty another hour or so and then go make our farewells?"

"Sleeping Beauty?"

"It's a fairy tale, Teal'c," Sam explained, and became the recipient of a blank look. She sighed. "A story you tell children. Okay, once upon a time there were this king and queen…" Jack went back to his pallet and stretched out, shutting his eyes, listening. "And the all the fairies in the kingdom were invited to the christening except one…"

"…And when her tears fell on his eyes, the prince found his sight restored. He took Rapunzel and their twin children back to his kingdom and they lived happily ever after." Daniel's voice, not Sam's. Jack sat up and rubbed his eyes. Sam was curled up on a pile of cushions, eating a bright red piece of fruit that reminded him frighteningly of Snow White's apple while Daniel finished telling his fairy tale to a wide-eyed Jaffa. The younger man looked over at him and grinned. "Good morning, Jack. Sleep well?"

"Waiting for you to wake up." Sam. Red fruit. Poison. "Did you give that to Carter?"

Daniel and Teal'c both looked, and Daniel grinned. "No, an evil queen disguised as an apple woman gave it to her. Something about being too pretty." Jack made a face at him and stood up, stretching. "So, did you enjoy the party?"

"The food was good," Jack said. He rooted around in a bowl of fruit and found a poison apple of his own. "You didn't stick around long."

"Yeah, um…sorry. Raesa and the other guys decided that it would be easier to show me how they glaze the tiles, so we went down to the pottery works and kind of…"

"Lost track of time?" Daniel flinched. Damn it, Danny, I wasn't…damn. Just stick a snake in me and call me Apophis. "S'okay, we turned in early. No big deal. Learn anything?"

"Filled in some gaps. I took lots of notes, I'll have a few papers to write when we get back…" Sam shot him a horrified look and he flushed, dropping his head. "Just because I can't publish them doesn't mean I don't write them," he said quietly, avoiding his teammates' eyes by foraging in the emptying bowl of fruit. "Not that anyone would publish them anyway," he muttered under his breath.

Sam broke the silence that followed. "So, are we ready to head back, sir? I didn't see any signs of nadquah, but General Hammond may want to do a follow-up survey just to make sure…"

"No need." Daniel hastily swallowed the mouthful of purple banana-like fruit he had just taken and cleared his throat. "They have it here. Probably some pretty large deposits, too; but they don't mine it, just pan it out of the streams. I'm sure they wouldn't object to some sort of mining agreement as long as we make sure they have enough for their own needs. And they don't use that much."

The others just stared at him, and he dropped his eyes again, flushing. "Okaay," Jack said, wearing his best patient look. "And you know this how?"

All of the scientist's attention appeared to be focused on the purple fruit in his hand. "Um…they use it to glaze pottery with."

Sam's face lit up with comprehension. "The blue tiles! So that was why you were so interested…"

Daniel nodded, still not looking up. "Nadquah has a blue sheen to it…and there is a Stargate here. I thought it was a good possibility that they were using nadquah the way potters on Earth use lead." He finished off the fruit and looked for another. "Did anyone else try these? I wonder if they would grow on Earth?" Dead silence. Daniel looked up and saw everyone staring at him again. He turned red, feeling the knot in his stomach twist. Oh great, just great; I did something else wrong. Play innocent, Jackson, maybe he'll hold off. "W-what?"

Jack snorted. "Nothing, Daniel, nothing," he began sarcastically, and then stopped; Teal'c was giving him 'that look' again, the look that said he was really really wishing he had his staff weapon with him. And Carter looked like she might be willing to go get it for him. O'Neill looked down into the younger man's carefully expressionless face and sighed. Later, he promised silently, we'll talk about this later. "Anything else you think we need to discuss with these people before we go? Besides the fruit thing, of course."

The relief in the blue eyes told Jack he'd made the right decision. "Um, maybe." Daniel stood up, tucking the last of the purple fruit into one of his jacket pockets. "I'm not sure how they'll react to another SG team handling the negotiations, so I think we should set a date to come back. Within a week would be good, just as long as I have a few days to figure out a fair arrangement that won't negatively impact their culture. We might consider offering them an iris for starters; Lodan was concerned about the possibility of the Gou'ald coming here, but he would probably have a riot on his hands if he proposed isolation right now. Not that I think he wants to cut his people off either, but he knows it's an option. And after the next round of talks, we should be able to…"

"I take it you've already put some thought into this," Jack commented dryly, but he was starting to grin. "So…why won't they talk to anyone but you?"

The scientist swallowed. "Um…our team has proved its worth to Lodan. Anyone else coming in would have to do the same--at the moment. I'm hoping that once they start to understand our culture it won't be necessary."

"So you're telling me that they accepted proof of your valor as proof for the whole team. Okay, why?" Daniel ducked his head and mumbled something. Jack's eyebrows went up. "Because I what, Dr. Jackson?"

Busted. "Because you're our leader and I serve you of my own free will," he said succinctly, face expressionless, eyes fixed on a point near Jack's collarbone. "In their culture, that's proof enough."

It wasn't the answer he'd wanted, but it was enough for the moment. "Works for me." Startled blue eyes flashed up to meet thoughtful brown ones. Jack shrugged. "So…let's go set a date. You ready?"

"Um, yeah."

"Carter, Teal'c…let's go."

Daniel shouldered his pack and fell into step next to Jack as they left the room, Carter and Teal'c bringing up the rear. The Jaffa was smiling; apparently O'Neill could take a hint.

Jack O'Neill paused in the act of pulling off his fatigues, contemplating the fact that in a few minutes he would be carrying out a plan to waylay another man in the shower. For the sole purpose of seeing him naked. "O'Neill, are you all right?"

"Huh?" Teal'c was looking at him strangely; Jack went back to undressing. "Uh, yeah…why?"

"You appeared to shudder momentarily. I believed it to be warm…"

"Oh, it…isn't that." Jack felt his face redden slightly. "I just…had a thought that disturbed me, that's all."

"Thoughts can cause humans to experience tremors?"

"Uh…yeah. Depends on the thought." Jack stuffed his uniform into his locker and picked up his kit. "You ready to do this?"

The Jaffa cocked an eyebrow. "I agreed with you; after what we saw at the negotiations, explanations must be forthcoming. You still do not believe that Daniel Jackson would show us if asked?"

"No." Which bothered Jack more than he cared to admit; it had been a week and Jackson had avoided the subject of his 'Marks' like the plague. The inhabitants of PX241 seemed to feel just the opposite, though; Teal'c reported hearing the word crop up in conversation every time the scientist had entered a room, and the young warriors had apparently accepted him as a long-lost older brother and hung on his every word.

Jack trailed Teal'c into the showers still deep in thought and hung his towel on a hook. Daniel was using a shower on the other side of the room and Jack pushed his discomfort aside to take a good hard look at him. What he saw surprised him. Jack had had an image fixed in his head of Daniel Jackson: Geeky Archaeologist…and that wasn't the man he was looking at. A year on primitive Abydos had hardened the young scholar and swelled stringy muscles into something much more respectable. Jack traded a look with Teal'c, who raised an eyebrow in response--there were no scars visible from this side--and then cleared his throat. "Um, Daniel?"

Every muscle tensed into sharp relief, sculpted smooth by the cascading water. "Yes, Jack," the younger man replied hesitantly.

O'Neill decided to try the indirect approach first. "You know, those Kem'mhistar people were really impressed with you."

Tense shoulders shrugged. "I speak their language, is all."

"I do not think so, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c disagreed. "I understand very little of the Kem-mhishtan language, but it was apparent even to me that they hold you in very high regard--especially the younger warriors."

"Yeah, you're like the most popular guy on the planet," Jack chimed in. "Must be one hell of a scar, Danny."

He'd only thought Daniel was tense before. "Yeah," the younger man agreed slowly.

"Of course, I don't think that's the only thing they like about you," the colonel continued. "But you have to admit it sure got us in good there at the beginning. So how come we've never seen your Marks?"

There was a long silence. "I never thought it was…important."

Jack knew he'd been wanting to say it was 'none of your business'. "Of course it is! A good leader wants to know everything about his men…you weren't showing them your scar from getting 'cut', were you?"

"No!"

"I didn't think so; Carter owes me five bucks. So, where is it?"

"Jack…"

"I don't like surprises in the field, Jackson," O'Neill said mildly but with unmistakable authority in his voice. "I'm not saying this was a bad thing this time, but I don't want to be surprised again. Now why don't you just spin around for a minute and let Teal'c and I see what all the fuss is about, okay?"

It was casually spoken but clearly an order. They saw Daniel's shoulders slump as he took a deep breath and then he turned around, hands covering himself, eyes scrunched shut, face turned away. His fair skin was scarlet with embarrassment…which made the Marks stand out even more. Jack couldn't hold back a gasp when he saw them; no wonder the Kem'mhistans were so impressed. Daniel had Marks, all right…claw marks.

Three wide dark slashes ran from his right inner thigh almost halfway up to his hip; a fourth, slightly shorter, slanted up to meet the lowest and form an oblique 'V'. The jagged scars were so horrifying they were almost surreal-and Jack had thought nothing could surprise him anymore. He could see that Teal'c was shocked as well. "My…my god, Danny…"

A shudder ran through the younger man's body in spite of the hot water cascading over him. "C-can I please turn back around now?" he whispered.

Jack winced. "Sorry."

"S'okay." Daniel turned back toward the wall, bracing himself against it with one outstretched arm, letting the water stream over his bowed head. "Should have told you s-sooner, I guess."

"Yeah," Jack agreed, moving closer. With a jerk of his head toward the locker room, he sent Teal'c out to make sure the three of them were alone--wouldn't do to have one of Makepeace's Marines walk in on this. He put a tentative hand on Daniel's shoulder, water running down his arm. "Why didn't you? I mean, you showed the Kem'mhistans and you couldn't show us?"

"That was different. I see you everyday."

Teal'c was back. "I do not understand the source of your embarrassment, Daniel Jackson," he rumbled. "I do not believe that modesty alone caused you to conceal this from us."

"You don't understand," Daniel agreed softly. "The scars…I don't like to think about what happened. And I knew that once word got around…well, I knew that I would have been hearing about it a lot."

Jack reached around the younger man and turned off the water. "Yeah, I see your point." He handed over a towel which Daniel immediately wrapped around his waist. "So what exactly did happen? I didn't think there was anything on Abydos big enough to do something like that; it looks like a lion or something clawed you…"

"It was a lion," Daniel said in a flat voice, pushing past him to grab another towel. "It didn't happen on Abydos, it happened while I was on a dig in Egypt about eight years ago."

"You were hunting this creature, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, it was hunting…something else and I got between them." Rubbing his long hair dry with the towel, Daniel missed the look that passed between his two teammates. "The professor in charge of the dig was really upset."

"I could see that," Jack agreed, finding his voice. "I would have been."

"Yeah." Daniel still hadn't looked at them. He laughed humorlessly. "He almost sent me home, he was so mad; as it was, he refused to let me leave the camp for the rest of our trip; he said I couldn't be trusted not to act irrationally, and he gave me a really poor evaluation when we got back."

Jack's mouth fell open, but his voice had deserted him again. Teal'c said the words for him. "I do not understand, Daniel Jackson."

The scientist finally looked up; Jack immediately recognized his 'it was all my fault' face--it was an expression he was starting to realize Daniel wore all too often. "He told me--ordered me, actually--not to go," the scientist said evenly. "He said the locals should look out for their own kids. I didn't agree with him, so I snuck out when he was busy somewhere else so I could check through the ruins. I found the boy about the same time the lion did, and I was stupid enough to pick a hiding place that wasn't deep enough to get us both out of the lion's reach."

A picture formed in O'Neill's mind; a younger, defiant and completely terrified Daniel pushing a ragged little Egyptian boy ahead of him into a crevice in the sand-colored rocks, realizing as the huge, clawed paw shot in and raked his leg trying to hook him out of his sanctuary that he had miscalculated the distance necessary to keep both the boy and himself out of the hungry animal's reach. "How did you get away?" he asked quietly. "I'm guessing the lion didn't just give up and go home."

"No, the hunting party shot it before it could get in another swipe," Daniel explained. "They'd been on its trail, and when they heard the roar they knew it had found something and they came running--they thought it had caught the boy. They were really relieved that he was safe, and two of them even helped me get back to camp." He grimaced. "Professor Evans really wasn't happy with me; he said I'd made him look bad."

"I'd say you did." Jack's mind was whirling. I appear to be following in a long line of assholes where the kid is concerned, he thought ruefully. Hasn't anyone ever given you credit for knowing what you're doing, Danny? And then he realized that someone had; Catherine. He wondered if she'd known about the lion--and he suddenly understood why she had been so hostile to him personally when he was first brought on the Stargate project; she recognized another asshole when she saw one. She probably could have predicted the confrontation that occurred outside the Abydos Gateroom before they ever left Earth--a particularly stunning example of assholedom as applied to group dynamics. Well, at least I did stop them from beating the crap out of him…that's gotta count for something.

Teal'c spoke up, sounding positively grim. "Was this be'heknar ever dealt with, Daniel Jackson? One such as he…"

Daniel smiled slightly and patted the Jaffa's arm. "It doesn't work that way here, Teal'c. Last I heard, he was still teaching at the university and he still goes to Egypt every other year; he's an important man in the academic community. Here on Earth we don't mark our be'heknar."

Jack shook his head; he really hated being left out of a conversation. "Excuse me, big nar what? And what do you mean, we don't mark them?"

Teal'c straightened, looking…well, there was something different about his expression, Jack just couldn't put a name to what it was. "A be'heknar is one whose cowardice causes deaths which could have been prevented; on Chulak such a person is branded so that all who encounter them may beware."

"They mark them on Abydos, too," Daniel explained to the startled colonel. "Kasuf was very proud of the fact that none of his people have ever been branded--as a matter of fact, that was probably one of the deciding factors that convinced him to lead his people against Ra, the knowledge that he could have been branded himself for refusing to fight in his children's defense if Shau'ri, Skaara or I had been killed…"

"Wait just a minute," Jack interrupted. "Shau'ri and Skaara I can understand, but you..."

The archaeologist smiled; it was a smile Jack hadn't seen since Abydos and Teal'c had never seen at all. "I married his daughter, Jack; under Abydonian law that makes me Kasuf's son." The smile vanished abruptly, pleasant memories smothered under more painful recent ones, and Daniel quickly brushed past his two teammates and headed out to the locker room to get dressed. "You guys had better hurry up before the Marines get in here, they're due back any minute now."

Jack felt the sick weight of guilt settle in his stomach again, just like it had a week ago. He suddenly remembered very clearly how brusque he'd been with Daniel after the Goau'ld attack on Abydos, begrudging him even the few minutes he'd taken to give his final instructions to the survivors of his ragged little militia…to say goodbye to his family and friends. "You are disturbed, O'Neill," Teal'c observed.

"I was remembering," Jack replied quietly. "After the Gou'ald attacked Abydos, I ordered Daniel to come with us. He didn't want to, he wanted to stay with…his people and I told him it wasn't an option. The ones that survived the attack surrounded him, they were all trying to touch him before he left; it was the biggest group hug you've ever seen, but all I could see was him wasting my time. I treated him like shit, then we got back through the Gate and Hammond treated him even worse." He turned remorse-darkened brown eyes up to the impassive Jaffa. "No one ever told him they were sorry, Teal'c, not even me--no one here even gave him the least bit of consideration, it was all about us. He said no one knew what to do with him, but the truth is…no one cared. I'm starting to wonder if anyone ever has."

"Someone cares now," was the unruffled answer. "You care, O'Neill--enough to see the error of your ways, enough to feel remorse for your past actions. I care for Daniel Jackson as well, as does Captain Carter. In the way of warriors, we will be his family until he may return to the one that necessity removed him from. We will see to it that all is well with him until that time."

"We can do that," Jack agreed. He clapped Teal'c on the shoulder. "Anyone ever tell you you're pretty damn smart, big guy?"

The Jaffa arched an eyebrow. "Occasionally," he said, with just the barest glimmer of a smile. "And those individuals know the satisfaction of being consistently correct." With that comment he turned and made his own way out to the lockers in Daniel's wake, leaving an openmouthed colonel behind him.

Slowly, Jack's mouth closed again and he started to grin. Knew he had a sense of humor, he thought, chuckling to himself as he collected his own towel. That's five bucks Makepeace owes me, too. Now how are we going to tell Carter about those Marks without her insisting on seeing them…and I know she will. An idea came to him and his grin widened evilly. He headed into the locker room calling out loudly, "Oh Daniel? How would you like to come down to the gym with us later, swim a few laps? I have some trunks you can borrow, they're a little too small for me…"

Fin