After the entity had started cooperating it had taken three days for them to find out enough about it to help get Daniel back. Jack leaned against the glass looking down at the silent Stargate. Three very long days. Closing his eyes he let the emotions he had denied since this whole thing had started wash over him. He still couldn’t bring himself to think about the fact that he had lost his best friend less than a week before, instead he concentrated on the thought of bringing him back.

He couldn’t help thinking it had all gone too easy. They made friendly with the entity and the entity just decided that it would leave Daniel. Well, it had been a little more than that, but not because any of them wanted it to be. It turned out the entity was a child of it’s species and didn’t know how to help Daniel or how to leave him, not without hurting him more. And it didn’t know how to get home.

Three days. That’s how long it had taken to find out that the entity’s people would be able to separate it from Daniel. That’s how long it had taken to find the way home. And that’s how long it had taken Jack to accept that whatever they brought back through the ‘gate might not be the Daniel they knew, that “Daniel” might not ever come back to them, that he might be trapped in his own mind thinking that he was…dead, forever.

Taking a deep breath, he pounded his fist into the glass as he pushed himself away from it. Stretching the stiffness out of his neck he pushed his concerns down deep and walked from the room. All the way down the hall and in the elevator and as he walked through the blast doors, the only thing he let himself think about was that they were going to bring Daniel home. One way or another, Daniel was coming home. He would deal with whatever that meant when they were all standing together, once again, on this side of the ‘gate.

As the blast doors closed behind him, he turned to the airman holding out the requisition form for him to sign in exchange for the M-16 another airman was readying. Signing the form he held out his hand for the weapon, nodding to the young airman. Turning, he slung the gun over his shoulder and pulled on his cap, “Ready to go, kids?”

Three figures emerged from the shimmering pool of the Stargate onto the soft soil of P3X957, the entity’s planet. It was a lush green planet that had been declared uninhabited over a year earlier.

“Carter, what now?”

“I don’t know, Sir. I guess we wait.”

“O’Neil, perhaps these beings can be of some help.”

Jack and Sam turned to look behind the gate. Three aliens were walking towards them.

“Sir, they look human.”

“Yeah, I got that…” Jack still wasn’t sure if he trusted the entity. He had agreed with Hammond’s decision to allow the entity to return home alone because he didn’t have a better plan of how to free Daniel.

The three human looking aliens stopped a few feet away from SG-1, the tallest of the three stepping forward to face Jack, “You are Jack.”

Taking his hand off his M-16, Jack nodded, “Yeah, that’s me. And you are?”

The man smiled, “I am Alden, these are my companions, Thea and Jonu. Please, come and be welcome.”

Jack turned to look at Sam and Teal’c as their hosts began walking back the way they had come. Sam shrugged and they all hurried to catch up.

Sam fell into step beside the tall woman with the long blond hair that Alden had called Thea, “Hi, I’m Sam.”

The woman smiled at her warmly, “Yes, I know.”

Frowning Sam tried to start the conversation again, “Uh, you speak English very well. Is it your native language?”

Thea smiled at her again and Sam was reminded of an adult humoring a child, “No, Daniel taught us.”

Winded, Sam tried not to let hope overwhelm her. She knew as well as any of them, just what the odds of Daniel being ok were. Even if the entity was able to leave Daniel without damaging him further, there was always the damage the hemorrhage had done before the entity had entered him. “Daniel…Is he ok?”

Thea’s smile faded, just a bit, but it was enough for SG-1 to notice. “He is not as you knew him but he is well.”

Turning to the Colonel, Sam had tears in her eyes that she refused to let fall. She felt a hand squeeze her elbow and heard his rough voice, “we don’t know anything, Carter.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Teal’c nodded, “Daniel Jackson is strong. We must be strong for him.”

Their hosts stopped so suddenly that they almost bumped into them, “We are here.”

SG-1 looked straight ahead and saw nothing but more jungle until Alden raised his hands together and with eyes closed lowered them. Suddenly they were standing in the middle of a village.

“Whoa!” Jack made a grab for his gun but was stilled by a hand on his arm. He turned to find Alden beside him.

“Do not fear, Jack. There is no danger here.”

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