Price of Knowledge - Parts 1-5

Prologue--- Daniel

I never meant this to happen. No. Really I didn't. Getting myself, let alone someone else, trapped on another planet was not on my list of 'things I must do.'

But, like Jack is always telling me, I don't think before I act, and we had to pay the price for it.

Part One--- Jack

What the hell does he mean, 'he's staying.' No way...no fucking way.

"Damn it Daniel!" I don't know if I say that aloud. If I say anything aloud. I want to scream. The roof is about to collapse on our heads and he thinks he's staying behind. No way, Daniel Jackson, not if I have to knock you out and carry you out of here unconscious.

I grab him, pull, and we're moving towards the door.

He protests. The man just never gives up. I turn to stare into his glass-coated eyes, to glare with the force of my emotions, to communicate with every fiber of being in that one instant that I will not leave him.

Those large, dilated irises manage enlarge even further, losing the pinpoint pupil in a blue sea. He understands. I know he does, and that is enough for me to be able to let him go. He won't risk me any more than I'd risk him. These last few months have taught us that, if nothing else. We have fallen back into that rhythm hard-created on Abydos; that weird sense of connection that hit us like a lightening bolt in that temple standing way too close to a ticking nuclear bomb. Life-threatening danger has a tendency to do that; to squeeze the years required to know another human being's heart and soul down through the eye of a needle. Sometimes it only takes an instant, a heartbeat, a single breath, and you know his measure even better than you know your own. Daniel and I have been living in the eye of that needle for for months now.

So I know without a word being spoken that he will merely gather up Ernest's book and follow me back to the gate.

We run. Our feet stumble over a floor that creaks and sways and lurches beneath our feet. The walls tremble. I can hear the water beating against them; the wind howling at them. The entire structure shakes. A loud shattering noise sounds from above, ahead, and I throw myself backward even as my feet try to move forward.

I tumble to the ground, my head snapping back and hitting something soft in mid-air. Daniel. He goes down with me, under me. At least I know where he is. I turn around, pull myself up and over his body, wrap my arms around him and pin him to the floor. That surface buckles, rocks, like the deck of a ship at sea. I close my eyes, hug Daniel to me, and pray to whatever might listen. 'Please let us live. Please, please let us live...'

The world rocks and bursts and spins. We are falling, falling, tumbling, cold water spraying our bodies, hard surfaces tearing at our clothes and skin. Daniel's hands close around me and cling. He doesn't say a word. His heart pounds against my own. We fall.

And hit.

Water - cold, powerful, wind-whipped torrents. We sink, then surface. We are tossed up and we fall down. Currents, strong icy fingers, try to pry us apart. I won't let go. Daniel's fingers dig into my arm, my shoulder, painfully. I sputter, trying desperately to gulp for air as we fly upwards on a wave. We hit the crest, then plummet back down. Deep into the icy, fiery, salty embrace of the sea.

And then the world goes black and empty.

Part Two---Daniel

They say curiosity killed the cat, so I must sure have a strong streak of feline in me, because curiosity is one of my strongest traits - in itself both a strength and a weakness. It helps me be single-minded, sticking to whatever I'm studying, but sometimes....

This chamber Ernest showed me - he must have seen something in my eyes, and he led me straight here, as if he knew I needed something to be fascinated by. Not that I don't find something on most missions we go on, some artifact that has me enthralled for days, but this is different.

This is like finding the Rosetta Stone, the kind of discovery you dream of when you're a student but deep down know is just that - a dream.

Seeing Jack's face when he looked at the symbols the device was projecting was worth it all - he tries to pretend boredom, making cracks about my fascination with rocks, but I know him well enough now that I can see through it. He was impressed, though he'd die before admitting it!

But it is all going wrong. The storms that Ernest had told us about are worse than we could imagine. Now they are tearing at the ancient castle like a predator ripping at its prey. Jack comes back to the chamber alone, back to warn me that I am cutting it fine, that it is time to leave, and I hesitate.

I desperately want to stay, despite the storm, despite the risk. But Jack makes it clear that he won't leave without me, and I won't risk him. Putting my own life in danger is one thing, putting his at risk is another. I will not do that. So I give in and we run.

Run for the 'Gate, but we are too late, the storm is upon us now. The winds are buffeting the castle, raining huge stones in our direction, and I feel myself stumble.

The next thing I know I am on the floor as it heaves and cracks, Jack's weight pinning me to the floor. He is wrapped around me, and for a brief moment I feel absurdly safe, confident that somehow things will be okay. Jack won't let anything happen to me.

Then the floor opened and we fall, hurtling headlong towards the sea we knew is there. Hurtling through the darkness, we try to keep hold of each other, and we are still wrapped together when we hit the water.

The water is icy - I feel as though I have swallowed most of it when I surface the second time. When we hit the water, the force of impact tore us apart, and I thrash around in the murky water, finally latching on to Jack's shoulder when he surfaces again.

The storm is whipping up the waves, but we are lucky, I guess - the winds are pushing us towards the shore. I can hear the roaring as they pound onto the rocks at the base of the cliff where the castle stood.

A flash of lightning illuminates everything, turning the scene into a picture that is burned onto my mind - the castle is gone, just a few slabs of rock left teetering on the edge of a crumbling cliff. The sea is dark and angry-looking, as are the jagged rocks we are headed for at a much faster rate than I like.

Jack's face is white, and there is a trickle of red beginning to creep down from his hair-line across his temple.

The wave that hit us swept us through the smallest of gaps, driving us between razor-sharp outcrops, somehow managing to do it without smashing us into a million tiny pieces.

Jack is still half-conscious, so I wrap myself around him again as we're swept in the direction of the shore.

We hit the beach in a tangle of limbs - the waves pound on us as we lay there, gasping for breath, at the very edge of the surf.

This is bad. Worse than bad.

Jack is a dead-weight.

'Stop it,' I tell myself, as I half-drag and half-carry him out of the reach of the waves. 'Stop it, Jackson, he's not going to die. He's had a crack on the head, swallowed some water like you did, but that's it....'

I'm still coughing from the water I swallowed, and I try to get my voice working enough to make Jack wake up. He's lying there on his back, sprawled on the sand, his chest heaving. Water is dribbling from his mouth, and suddenly I began to panic again.

Part Three - Jack

Oh, where am I? Oh... Ow! God, that hurts. I hurt. Every thing hurts. Whoever is pounding on my chest can stop now.

Water bubbles up out of mouth and coughs wrack my body. My lungs feel like someone took a blow-torch to them - from the inside out. I roll over, clutching at my chest, my face falling into gritty, damp sand.

Sand.

Where the hell am I? Or is that where I am. Am I dead? No, oh no, I hurt too much to be dead. Surely you can only feel this awful when you're alive. Spitting out water and pushing sand grains out of my mouth with my tongue, I try to open my eyes.

Oooh, bad idea, Jack. That light is way too bright. I shutter my eyes again and groan.

Hands tighten on my shoulder and a raw voice calls out my name. I'm not alone. Those hands turn me over, and I try once more to open my eyes. A large looming shadow obscures the light, and I manage to blink up at it. Sand stings at my eyes forcing tears loose. I continue to blink rapidly, trying to focus, trying to remember. Who and where and when and...

Oh hell. God damn shit fuck shit oh hell...

Daniel.

The Gate.

The Storm.

The Sea.

The vague shape above shimmers then comes into focus. Daniel's nose hovers an inch from mine and I can feel his breath across my skin. His eyes are blurry, dark caverns in the shadows between us. His skin is reddened. His hair is a mass of damp wayward strands congealed to his temples and cheeks. His hands hold tight to my shoulders, supporting me. His expression isn't clear, but I don't need to see to know. He's worried and scared and probably about to suffer a huge guilt fit.

"Damn it, Daniel," I mutter, the effort to speak scraping harshly across the raw skin of my throat. I lick at my lips, struggle to bring up saliva, find myself caught in another coughing fit. Daniel gathers me up, pulls me in closer, so that I'm coughing against his chest. I go stiff, trying to regain some control, and then a little voice inside reminds me that I damn well deserve a moment of weakness. I nearly got drowned. Surely, I can let him hold me for a moment. Just for moment...just because I nearly swallowed the entire sea, sand and all. I can close my eyes and try to burrow through his soaked clothed and into the warmth of his skin, just for an instant...

His arms tighten around me, his hand cradling the back of my skull. That feels good. I'm so tired. I could stay in his arms like this forever...

What the hell am I thinking?

I jerk up and away. He seems reluctant to release me, but his grip finally loosens and I come up face to face with him. Now I can clearly see the worry and anguish in his expression.

He opens his mouth to speak, and I know what he's planning to say before he says it. I just know - and I shake my head.

Oh - that was a mistake. Ouch! I blink away tears of pain, ignore his exclamation of concern, and try to focus on what I need to say. As much as I'd love to give him a good dressing down, preferably starting with a nice pointed 'I told you so' and moving sharply into a fervent 'What the hell were you thinking!' this is definitely not the time or the place for it. We're here. What's done is done, and we'd better start thinking about how to deal with it.

I tell him that. Speaking is slightly easier this time, and the pain in my throat has lessened to a dull roar. And even better, he appears to be taking what I said seriously. He nods, biting at his lower lip. Still, he seems doubtful, and, of course, he's just going to have to say it.

"I'm sorry, Jack. This is all my fault. I never meant...I just..."

"I know." I press the flat of my hand into his shoulder, half as a signal that I do indeed know and half as a lever to propel myself to my feet. He follows, his voice trailing off as we both open our eyes and attention to our surroundings.

Part Four---Daniel

Don't leave me!' my mind screams, as I drag myself closer to where Jack is lying.

Suddenly Jack begins to cough - spitting sea water, he groans suddenly.  If anyone had ever told me that the sweetest sound I would ever hear was an Air Force colonel groaning, I would have laughed in their face. At that moment, they would have been right on the button.

Still coughing, Jack rolls over, planting his face firmly in the sand.

He's still groaning, the sound muffled now, and I'm starting to worry again - has he been injured more than I know already? From where I'm slumped beside him I can see a lump beginning to form where the blood had come from - the trickle that I had seen when we were in the water seems to have stopped, but I'm still concerned.

Tentatively, I reach out, my hand shaking as I shake Jack's shoulder.

"Jack," I manage to grate out, "come on..."

Tightening my grip, I manage to start to turn him over, pulling his back towards me as I myself struggle up from the sand. After the initial resistance, Jack rolls over quite easily in the end, and his back hits the sand with a hollow thump.

Jack just lies there, his face covered in sand, blinking up at me.

Saying nothing.

Just blinking, his mouth moving slightly as he tries to spit out the sand he must have tried to swallow when he did that nose-dive into the beach earlier.

Leaning closer, I feel like I'm inspecting one of the artifacts Jack keeps moaning about - there's an abrasion on his cheek, his eyes seem a little glazed, and he's still not saying anything.

'He's really mad with me,' I realize, suddenly, 'I'm stuck with him on this planet and he hates me! He knows it's all my fault we're stuck here and any minute now he's going to start shouting at me...'

"Damn it, Daniel."

Jack's voice cuts through my panic, and I sigh, as it confirms all my fears.

For months I'd been fantasizing about being stuck somewhere with Jack, but somehow my fantasy hadn't included him hating me - just the opposite, in fact! Hell, I knew it was futile, but a good fantasy never hurt anyone....

Jack starts to cough, and all my self-pitying thoughts go out of the window. We may be stuck here, but we're stuck here together - we need each other, or neither of us will survive this!

I reach out to him, expecting Jack to resist - after all, he's Mr. Self-Reliant, trained to be that way from an early age. Instead he surprises me, relaxing into how I'm holding him, as he continues to cough.

For a few moments, anyway.

Then he seems to remember who he is, and he stiffens, jerking out of my grasp. Jack pulls away, pushing himself back, far enough to give me a good look at his face.

'Here it comes,' I think, 'I wonder what's first... I told you so? Daniel, why don't you ever think? Or maybe he'll just throw some of the wide range of swear-words the military seem to teach in my direction?'

"You okay?"

I blink, pushing my glasses, which I somehow managed not to lose in the water, back up my nose - this gives me time to think, to figure out how to react to this unexpected question.

I nod tentatively, wondering when the abuse will start.

Then Jack starts to talk, his voice grating and hesitant at first, interspersed with the occasional cough, and what he's saying is still a surprise.

What's done is done. No use crying over spilt milk. No amount of words will change the fact that we're here now - what we have to do is move on.

To say I'm stunned would be the understatement of the year, possibly the decade. Of all the reactions I was expecting, this definitely wasn't on my list.

Still, I have to speak, have to say it, before it gets a chance to fester between us anyway....

"I'm sorry, Jack. This is all my fault. I never meant... I just..."

I grind to a halt, not really sure what it is I'm including in this apology. I'm sorry I messed up? I'm sorry you didn't go back to the SGC and leave me behind?

"I know."

That's all Jack says, not looking at me. He struggles to his feet, looking decidedly shaky, using my shoulder as leverage on the way up.

"Where the hell are we, Daniel?" he asks, still looking round. "We can't stay here, we need to find fresh water, or our stay here is going to be shorter than you might think."

Turning back to me then, Jack looks me in the eye for the first time since we found ourselves on the beach. There's a ghost of a smile flitting round his eyes, though it hasn't quite made it to his mouth yet, but I'm reassured by it anyway.

Maybe he meant that stuff he said, about us dealing with things as they are and not blaming anyone for what's happened.

"Let's go, Daniel," Jack says, stretching out his hand to pull me up from the sand, "we've got a whole planet to explore!"

I remember someone saying to me once, 'be careful what you wish for, you might get it.'

At the time I hadn't understood - it seemed an odd thing to say. But I had wished for the chance to be alone with Jack, and I had got it. Okay, we were alone, cold, hungry, with no chance of rescue, but I'm certain we can survive this.

We can and we will. Together.

I let Jack pull me to my feet, wincing slightly as the bruises I have accumulated make their presence known. Is it my imagination that it takes a moment for Jack to let go of my hand once I'm standing? Must be.

"After you," I say, gesturing for Jack to lead the way.

He looks like he's about to say something, then Jack shakes his head and turns. Slowly, he starts to clamber up the slope leading away from the beach, and into the nearby forest.

After taking one last look around, including a glance up to the cliff where the castle and all it's wonders had once stood, I follow Jack into the trees.

Part Five---Jack

First and foremost, it's obvious that the castle and everything in it, Stargate, mysterious chemical lights, and all, is gone. All that is left is a jagged cliff's edge. My heart constricts tight in my chest as all remaining hope flees. Yup, we're stuck. I'd known it, but now I really knew it.

'Sweet.' I think, barely managing to keep the sarcastic comment to myself. Daniel is still gazing at me sadly, his heart in his eyes. God that *look* - it had broken harder hearts than mine, of that I was sure. Oh hell. As much as I would like to turn the man over my knees and - 'No, uh uh, don't go there Jack. Concentrate. We're in trouble here. Stick to the basics, as in...'

"Where the hell are we?" I mutter. Then louder, "We can't stay here, we need to find fresh water, or our stay here is going to be shorter than you might think." The beach runs long in both directions, rocky and forbidding. I don't see any sign of a river nearby, and the old words of a famous poem echo in my mind. "Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink." Well, something to that effect. I never was too good at poetry. But the idea held fast. At least there was forest nearby and the trees looked relatively ordinary. If they were there, then so was fresh water. Somewhere.

Daniel was still boring into the back of my head with his eyes, silent. I took a deep breath and made myself turn around to meet those anguished sapphire orbs. He blinks solemnly at me and I try to force a smile. He responds to that, a less unhappy expression settling over his sand and salt-encrusted features.

"Let's go, Daniel," I say, reaching out to pull him up from his crouch on the sand, "we've got a whole planet to explore!" I try to put some enthusiasm into the words, in the hope that his unflagging curiosity will pick up on the idea. His hand is warm and strong in mind, and I'm suddenly, intensely grateful that he is here with me. I couldn't begin to imagine being alone like this for fifty years as Ernest had been. My fingers linger over his in an attempt at reassurance, both for him and for myself, then I let him go. If there is someone, anyone, I'd want with me in this situation it is Daniel - not that I'd ever tell him that. I don't feel completely comfortable telling *myself* that.

Luckily, Daniel is always happiest when he's investigating something new. He's stopped staring at me, and is now brushing himself off and gazing around him for the first time. Good. We'll need his mind at its best if we're going to survive this.

He turns to me, smiling now, and waves in the general direction of the trees. "After you," he says.

'After me.' Yeah, I know it's my tendency to take point. And it is good to see him back to himself. But that forest looks decidedly thick, dark and dangerous. Despite the fact that I know this is the best choice we have, I still don't like the look of it. I open my mouth to say that, to warn him to stay close and be careful, but I stop myself before making a sound. Daniel can be a bit flaky on the best of days and totally obsessive on the worst, but he's a damn smart man. He knows we're in a tough spot. I don't need to ruin his uplifted mood by stating the obvious. So biting down on the warning, I step forward and lead the way into the trees.

There are branches and tree-trunks down everywhere. The storm has done its fair share of damage here too. The underbrush is tangled and wild, making progress difficult. The land is hilly, sloping up and down in various directions, but generally moving upward as we get deeper into the forest. I take that direction as a guide, it's as good as any other. I consider trying to find a way to mark our track - we could end up going in circles here - but I figure that following the slope upward into the mountains will keep us going in a relatively straight line. I hope.

I do my best not to let the branches fly back into Daniel's face as I push them aside, but there are too many and I can hear him mutter as one whips back at him.

"Sorry," I whisper, turning back towards him. I'm not sure why I'm whispering, maybe it's just the intense stillness of the forest. It seems too silent, too empty, despite the heavy plant life. 'Vegetation,' I can hear Sam's voice say in my mind, and my stomach does a quick bellyflop as I think of her. Did they make it through? All I can do is hope that they did, but that doesn't make me feel too much better. I give Daniel a weak grin, then turn and...

The world disappeared out from underneath me. I shout in alarm as I fall, wrapping my arms around my head as I tumble through thorny brambles and branches and bounce off a rock, and then hit water. Oh fuck, not again.

I struggle for the surface, fighting for air, and come up gasping, sputtering, even as Daniel's voice splits the air, crying out my name.

"Jack, Jack, Jack!"

"Here!" I manage to shout through a mouthful of water. It flows down my throat and I abruptly realize that it is fresh water. Drinkable water. Possibly. But it tastes good. I stop struggling wildly and reach out with my arms, kicking my legs, in a more organized fashion. That keeps me afloat and I get a chance to take in my surroundings. It is definitely a river, and a deep one with a wicked current. I strike out for shore, pushing myself at an angle so that I can reach the edge near to where Daniel is scrambling down towards me.

He, at least, has sense enough to come down on his butt instead of head-first, as I did. We reach the edge at the same time, and my knees knock hard into the rocky bottom. I swear again - I think my vocabulary is devolving into words of one syllable fast. But his hand is there to greet me as I struggle out of the water up onto a big rock. Must have been the one I bounced off of.

'Sweet.'

This time he hears it, and gives me a twisted, worried grin in response. His glasses are crooked on his nose, hanging off of one ear and I can't help it, I reach out with a dripping hand and straighten them out, tucking the loose sidepiece behind his ear. He freezes, his eyes widening, his lips pursing, as he stares at me in surprise. I find myself stuck in response, staring back into his eyes, my own mouth dropping open. I must look like a beached fish, but he's so... so Daniel, even with bits of dirt and sand and leaves and twigs entwined into the thick, long strands of his hair and grimy streaks across his cheeks. Filthy as it is, his hair feels soft against my skin, and the heat of his body is, again, penetrating my own chilled bones. I don't want to move away, I want to move closer, but I can't. This is nuts. And this is definitely the wrong time to be feeling - uhn - feeling - well, whatever the hell it is that I'm feeling. Not that there's likely to be a right time, but now is definitely not it.

So I yank my hand away and apply it to myself, attempting to squeeze moisture out of my clothes. He is silent for a moment, still watching me, then abruptly he seems to find his voice again.

"Are you all right?" he asks.

"Yeah, I'm ok" I answer, still not looking back into his face. "At least we found fresh water."

Finally I turn back to him, but he's staring past me to the river. Then he glances swiftly at me, down at himself, then suddenly moves past me. I reach out to grab him as he goes past, but he's too quick for me. One second later and he's jumped straight into the water.

To be continued.....

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