The Ghost and Dr. Jackson

[brainofck]

Written for the Summer of Stargate 2012. Thanks so much to theemdash and melayneseahawk for making it all happen again this year!

This story was inspired by the 1947 film The Ghost and Mrs. Muir starring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. The movie takes place around 1900 in England, though I chose to set my story around 1850 in the United States. My initial idea was to have Daniel more down on his heels, living alone as the lighthouse keeper in an isolated, haunted light, but the more research I did, the more I realized that NOTHING FUN could happen in a place where the fog horn had to sound every 30 seconds or whatever. So. This is the story that resulted. It has a naughty ghost, a portrait, a seaside location, and a put-upon new resident of the cottage. And that's about the extent of the fusion. :D


Title: The Ghost and Dr. Jackson
Author: muck_a_luck, posting in brainofck
Artist: hack_benjamin22
Artist: mella68
Pairing: Daniel Jackson/Jack O'Neill, Teal'c/Samantha Carter, Jacob Carter/Mrs. Selmak
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Dr. Daniel Jackson, Egyptologist, moves into Gull Cottage after the death of his wife, and finds himself haunted by the former owner.
Content/warnings: None.
Words: Approx. 20,700
Disclaimer: If anybody is planning a script like this for SG-1, I'm certainly not going to claim any rights to it. However, I'd be delighted to work in a co-writing/consulting/first-reader/advisory-type capacity, with my fee to be negotiated at that time. :D
Archive rights: Absolutely none. My journals only. muck_a_luck and brainofck
The Matrix: Spirit. The Matrix is located here.
Beta: Many thanks to cocoajava for her review and very helpful comments!

Mella68's wonderful art for The Ghost and Dr. Jackson (on DW)

---

"While I understand that the price makes this lot appealing," the estate agent said, restlessly shaking the reins, "I cannot recommend this house."

"Why on earth not, Mr. Brooks?" Daniel asked him as they finally arrived at the end of the winding lane. "This appears to be just as lovely a property as was described in your handbill, and with a delightful view."

Daniel hopped down from the buggy, removing his hat to dab moisture from his brow with his somewhat dingy handkerchief, before shaking away the dust from his headwear. Bare-headed he went around to the gate and opened it, walking up the pebble path through the wildly overgrown front garden.

"Has the house been vacant long?" Daniel asked. If so, it could be frightfully in need of repairs. He knew that Mr. Teal'c would have been watching for those sorts of problems and would have alerted him already, but he still wanted further reassurance. It would largely negate the value of the low asking-price, and Daniel had no interest in a long refurbishment. He wanted to move in immediately once he made his decision.

"No, no!" the agent assured him. "Even before the owner's suicide, he had long neglected the garden. But I assure you, he took immaculate care of the buildings on the property."

"Well, then, let's have a look," Daniel declared, standing on the front step and waiting impatiently for the agent to open the locked front door. He refused to rise to the bait of the agent's mention of suicide.

The house had a large entryway, with a flight of stairs curving around to the upper living level.

"As you can see, he flagged the entrance. The rest of the house has oak floors. Very well laid. Not a squeak in the place," the agent began, unable to forego his salesmanship, even when he seemed determined to discourage Daniel from interest in the property.

"The woodwork on the stairs is lovely," Daniel commented, but he walked quickly through the entry to the large, sun-filled sitting room on the left. All the furnishings were covered with white sheets.

"The house is furnished, of course," Mr. Brooks continued.

"As you said," Daniel replied, flipping back the cover on a large item. It was a heavily carved, upholstered couch.

"The owner was a well-travelled man, and brought back many exotic items from the Orient and the Near East," Mr. Brooks informed him helpfully. Of course, Daniel himself was well-travelled. He pulled aside another cover, and felt an instant tug on his sentiment. The low, ebony-inlaid mahogany chest of drawers could have been placed by his parents especially for him.

As he turned to cross the hall to the other rooms on the first floor, he must have disturbed the dust cover hanging over the mantel. It cascaded down to reveal a large, oil portrait of a sea captain.

"It is quite an arresting portrayal, is it not?" Mr. Brook's voice was like a jolt from another world. Daniel had been quite caught up in the captain's eyes. "The owner, Captain O'Neill, sat for the portrait at his wife's insistence. Apparently he was away ten months out of the year, and she missed him intensely. I can have it removed. It is not the best quality…"

The artist had been of mediocre skill, and the man portrayed wore only a wool pea coat and a simple knit hat, but his bearing communicated his authority better than any uniform could ever have done, and the artist had captured that fully. His dark eyes seemed to penetrate directly into Daniel's soul. It was impossible for him to believe that this man, among all the men in the world, could have possibly been so cowardly as to resort to suicide. Except that the strength of character in that gaze seemed to indicate a person who would not flinch away from the decision to end his existence, once that decision was made.

"It can stay for now. If I choose to remove it, I can do so at a later time," Daniel said. "I have already made my decision, but let's see the rest of it," he said, knocking his hat against his thigh with a strange, nervous energy that seemed to have come from nowhere.

He walked through the dining room, its long table that would seat ten and its beautiful sideboard were concealed to be uncovered like packages on Christmas morning. The kitchen was furnished with a simple, strong work table, a long, iron range and an open hearth. It would be a hot, functional room. A rocking chair stood in the corner, with an old knitted afghan draped over the back.

Down the stairs, the cellar was well-stocked.

"The wine comes as part of the furnishings?" Daniel asked, astonished.

"Indeed, though drink it at your own risk. It is of indeterminate origin and age."

Mr. Brooks seemed to miss the value of the trove bottles. When Daniel blew the dust away and read the German and French labels, he kept his glee to himself.

The rooms upstairs were drafty, but the largest one overlooked the sea. It was bright, with a huge bay window that dominated the room. It held a very large telescope, that would be equally useful to watch the sea for your absent husband, or to view stellar bodies on a clear night.

"I will meet the asking price," Daniel decided.

"But you haven't seen the outbuildings," Mr. Brooks protested.

"This house is entirely suitable, I will not change my mind upon review of the outbuildings," Daniel said firmly. The room's large bed had four carved posts hung with heavy tapestries against the draft.

"But.. but… Dr. Jackson! You must at least stay the night here!" Mr. Brooks stammered, following Daniel as he strode briskly along the narrow upstairs corridor and down the spiraling stairs. Daniel even loved the design of the gas fixtures. "No one has been able to endure the movements of the spirits…"

Daniel laughed, genuinely amused.

"Mr. Brooks, you cannot expect me to take such superstition seriously," Daniel began. Then, to his very great surprise, his laughter was echoed back to him from all around the house, except that it was not his own skeptical chuckle, but the mocking laugh of an angry man. He met the eyes of the portrait through the open door of the sitting room, just before the door of the room slammed shut with a startling bang. Then doors around the entire house began to crash, as if encouraged by the resounding laughter. Mr. Brooks fled the house though the suddenly opened front door and shaken, Daniel followed him, more quickly than was dignified. The door shut with a solid thump and suddenly all was silent.

"As you can see, Doctor," Mr. Brooks said breathlessly. "Perhaps you should reconsider."

"Indeed not," Daniel said firmly. He crossed his arms, staring up at the windows of the front bedroom, where he was sure he saw the shadow of a tall man against the glass. "I believe I will review the outbuildings now."

"Well, you may do so on your own," Mr. Brooks said, the panic clear in his voice as he turned the buggy in the lane. "I will send your wagons up immediately when I return to the office. The paperwork will be prepared for your signature tomorrow morning."

"Now wait just a moment," Daniel stuttered indignantly, but the buggy was already racing away down the road. Daniel was stranded until his wagons arrived with his belongings, or until he walked the three miles back down to the town. He sighed in annoyance. Well, he had all he needed here to make a night of it. He had seen dry wood in the stacker outside the kitchen's rear door, and he was sure Mr. Teal'c would not have allowed him to come see a house that did not have a working well with clear water. The sea crashed at the base of the cliff. The tide must be high. The house would certainly shake in a big storm.

Daniel went back through the gate to review the rest of the property. There was a small outbuilding that would shelter two horses and all their gear, plus a paddock of green grass where they could graze. There was a woodshed and the foundations for another building, though either it had burned down or the foundation was as far as construction had proceeded. He would have gone back in though the kitchen door, but it was locked, so he went around the other side of the house to discover a large kitchen garden. The perennial herbs had run rampant. The autumn air on this side of the house was redolent with the fragrance of lavender and the fading rambling roses.

Across the garden was the property's most interesting selling-point, and the thing that had first attracted Daniel's attention. A covered walk ran directly through the garden to a decommissioned lighthouse that stood back about 100 feet from the edge of the cliff. A taller lighthouse with a larger lens had been built about a half-mile down the coast on a man-made island in the bay. The lens had been removed from this structure and sent away to protect a difficult passage in the Great Lakes somewhere, and now this forty-foot high stone tower was defunct. The owners of the house has been using it for the storage of dry goods. But as soon as Daniel saw it, he had wanted it for a completely different purpose.

He pushed open the heavy wooden door and stepped inside. Wrought iron stairs wound around the inner wall and disappeared through a solid wooden floor far above him. Daniel took the steps until he was standing in the old lens housing, looking out over the ocean.

Daniel had been so certain of his plans for this old lighthouse that he had arranged to meet the town's best carpenter, one Mr. Jacob Carter, here this very afternoon. He could see the man's buggy, approaching along the road from town, right on schedule. And behind that he was delighted to see the four wagons with his personal possessions, following a mile or so back. He would have everything safely under his new roof before nightfall. He turned and dashed back down the stairs to take one last look around the inside of the house before the travelers on the road arrived.

He felt a strange trepidation as he put his hand to the latch of the front door. What had made such a convincing noise of laughter earlier? Daniel did not believe in ghosts or spirits. It must have been some trick of the wind blowing through the open front door. He took a determined breath, and pushed through into the entry way, then made a quick excursion to the back of the house. He was relieved to find two comfortable rooms off the passage to the kitchen, that would be quite suitable for Mrs. Mansour and whatever maid she chose to hire. Daniel would have been happier to have Mrs. Mansour occupy one of the upstairs bedrooms, but Mrs. Mansour had always ridiculously maintained it was not her place, despite the fact that Daniel thought of her much more as a close relative than a housekeeper. She had been his nanny when he was a small boy and in some ways he felt closer to her than to his mother.

Satisfied and full of nervous energy, he returned to the front door to greet Mr. Carter, whose trap Daniel could hear just arriving at the gate. He was surprised to find that it was a young woman stepping down to the drive.

"Good morning!" she called cheerfully, standing with her hands on her hips, surveying Daniel, then the house behind him. "It's about time someone took this place in hand!" Before he could cross the small garden, she was letting herself in through the gate and striding toward him, hand extended. He took her hand, thinking to politely kiss it in greeting, but she pumped his arm enthusiastically.

"I'm Sam Carter," she introduced herself, "And I am dying to get my hands on your lighthouse!"

"Daniel Jackson," he stammered, returning her handshake somewhat weakly. "I apologize Miss Carter, I presumed…"

Dr. Carter gave a rude, dismissive, and rather unladylike snort.

"Everyone assumes 'Carter & Carter' refers to my father and brother," she said.

"Come, along," she admonished him. "Mr. Teal'c said that you wanted the best architect in town, and really, I do have other commitments. And it is Doctor Carter," she declared. "Or just Sam, if you prefer. I have never been one to stand on formality."

Daniel wanted to protest that he would never consider addressing a young lady such as herself by her given name, but she was in such a whirl that Daniel couldn't get a word in edgewise. He found himself hustling to catch up. She pushed into the lighthouse without waiting for him to open the door for her. She stood inside the structure and stared up, nodding to herself.

"Just as I expected," she said. She commenced climbing the stairs, lifting the skirt of her stylish visiting gown of kilted purple silk, and ascending without even pausing for breath. Daniel followed her through the trapdoor into the lens housing, where he found her nodding again. She approached the glass and began examining it closely.

"If your plan remains to convert this building into a library," she began, "then as I see it the chief concern is to protect your books from the elements. You will definitely want to keep this room as your conservatory, but in the case of damage to the glass, you want to insure that no water can leak in and dampen your collection."

"I hadn't thought of that," Daniel admitted.

"I should be able to make this room quite watertight, and we'll put a gasket around the trapdoor."

She descended again, lecturing as she went.

"I believe we should build two levels below this one, giving you a ground floor, and a first and second level, in addition to the glass reading room on the upper level. The next biggest problem as I see it is the lack of windows on the lower levels. I suggest we bring in gas lighting from the house. I don't know what you were planning for board footage of shelving. I was thinking we could build closed cabinets on the bottom and open shelves on the top, and go floor to ceiling on each level, lining all the walls, of course. I have some drawings."

As he followed Sam out the door of the lighthouse again, he turned to close the door. From the corner of his eye was startled to see the body of a man, sprawled and broken on the stone floor. He flung the door open again with a shout, but when the light fell on the spot, there was nothing there.

Sam had already crossed back through the gardens, oblivious to Daniel's distress. She reached into the seat of her conveyance and brought out large rolls of paper.

As he followed in Sam's wake, he saw that they had spent enough time in the lighthouse for the first wagon of Daniel's household goods to arrive. Mr. Teal'c was helping Mrs. Mansour down from where she had been sitting atop a large locker.

"Excuse me," he said to Sam. "Why don't you take your drawings into dining room and I'll be right in after I speak to my housekeeper."

"Of course!" Sam replied. "I'll move my horses out of the way."

"Do not trouble yourself," Mr. Teal'c intoned, bowing to her deeply. "Please allow me." He took Sam's offered hand and kissed it tenderly.

Daniel was surprised. He wasn't sure that he had ever seen Teal'c take any interest in a woman. He was betrothed to a noblewoman in his homeland selected by his parents, or perhaps even married to someone, Daniel had never been able to get clarity on that relationship, but in any case he had always seemed completely loyal to this long-distance romance. Daniel chuckled and left Teal'c and Sam to deal with one another. He turned to the wagon and found Mrs. Mansour surveying the contents of the carts.

"I trust the trip has not been too trying," he said to Mrs. Mansour.

"It was quite comfortable, DanielJackson," she replied. She was already looking over the house, her expression as unreadable as always.

"Alright then," Daniel said. "I'll be taking the front room on the second floor, with the big windows and the telescope. There is an apartment by the kitchen for you, and Mr. Teal'c should select whatever of the upstairs rooms suits him best. Otherwise, I leave everything to your judgment. The house is quite fully furnished, but the pieces I've seen very much suit my taste, so we will probably keep most of it."

Mrs. Mansour nodded and began immediately instructing the workmen driving the other wagons.

The next several days were a bustle of activity. Daniel went back down to town the next morning to finish the business of the purchase, after which his time was spent in the lighthouse, discussing the details of the library with Sam Carter.

"The space is so dark and small, I think you should forgo the usual mahogany and cherry and use a pickled oak for the shelving," Sam opined.

"Really? Won't that be ridiculously yellow?" Daniel was dubious.

"Like white gold in the lamplight," Sam corrected him.

He considered, then agreed. His resources were not limitless, and she had convinced him to allow her to reconstruct the interior of his new residence for indoor toilets and bathing, a project that was going to cost him a pretty penny. Americans and their fear of baths – he wouldn't give in to that, even if then his own stench would cover everyone else's. Pickled oak was a lot cheaper than mahogany.

---

On the third day, he woke unexpectedly before dawn. The sky was just showing the gray light of the approaching sun. Daniel had never been an early riser, unless he was sleeping out-of-doors. He stumbled in the not-yet-familiar room and found his dressing gown, and made his way down the stairs to the kitchen, where he thought to start the coffee himself.

He was not surprised to see a warm glow of light from the kitchen. Mrs. Mansour usually got an early start, to have breakfast ready for the household. But there was no noise coming from the kitchen, which struck Daniel as odd. The house lay in absolute silence. He came into the doorway, and was surprised to see a small boy of about six or seven, playing in the middle of the floor with a tiny fleet of a half dozen carved, wooden toy ships. A slender, attractive woman of about thirty with a long blond braid bustled about from the worktable to the stove. She was loading bread into the oven and tending two bubbling pots as well. The kettle was steaming strongly.

The entire scene was entirely without sound.

Daniel advanced into the kitchen and suddenly the room was dark and cold.

"DanielJackson, what are you doing about the kitchen, and so early?" Mrs. Mansour said from behind him. He stepped aside to let her pass. "I have not even prepared hot water!" Her rapid Egyptian and mildly annoyed tone were both grounding and reassuring.

"I beg your pardon, Mrs. Mansour," he replied. Egyptian was his first tongue, learned in his native country, where he had been born and orphaned. "I'll just go back up and get ready for the day."

He walked slowly back through the dark house and up the winding staircase. As he moved down the corridor to his room, he heard a man, sobbing deeply. At first he thought Teal'c was in some sort of distress, but as Daniel paused outside his friend's door, the room behind it was quiet. He continued down the hall, toward the entrance to his own bedroom. The crying was definitely coming from there. He saw the shadowy figure of a man, hunched over in the seat Daniel had placed beside the telescope to look out at the sea.

He would be indignant to find an intruder in his home, but the heartbroken weeping brought tears to Daniel's own eyes. He went hesitantly into the room, and just as the phantoms in the kitchen had disappeared, the man in the chair was gone.

---

Teal'c took a final serene sip of the tea and set the empty cup in the saucer.

"I believe it is time for me to retire, DanielJackson. The fire makes me drowse."

Daniel hummed acknowledgement.

"I'll probably go up shortly," he muttered, barely noticing as Teal'c left, and then Mrs. Mansour came in to clear away the tea tray.

"Will you need anything else this evening, Dr. Jackson?" she asked.

"No thank you," Daniel replied. "I'll be going up soon, too."

"Then I will finish up in the kitchen. You should not read by the firelight. You will hurt your eyes," Mrs. Mansour admonished him, and Daniel was left alone.

He set his book aside. He rested his head onto the linen antimacassar, rubbing his eyes. Usually at this time of night, he was still good for another hour or three of reading, or possibly frantic scribbling in his notebooks, but after the early start this morning, he was much more tired than usual.

He found himself staring at the painting of Captain O'Neill, above the mantelpiece. The painting always drew his eye. There was something about the intensity of that dark stare, the shape of the firmly set jaw. Daniel sighed as he felt his body respond sexually to the man's handsome image. Every night he had been alone in this room with those eyes on him it had been the same, and he had succumbed. He let his hand fall to the buttons on his trousers. He held his member through the silk of his drawers. The process went quite quickly after that. He made a sticky mess of himself staring up into those wonderful, amazing brown eyes.

He sighed again when he was done. Three times this week and it wasn't even Saturday yet. Well, the laundress could think what she may. He took himself upstairs and slept soundly, undisturbed by dreams or wayward spirits.

---

The little boy played on the floor. His wooden ships crashed into one another. His mother glanced in his direction and silently admonished him. The woman's back was to Daniel, but the boy turned and spoke to her, then moved his toys more to the side. She hustled across with rising bread on a tray. Then Mrs. Mansour came in with an armload of wood for the fire and the room went dark.

Daniel found them every morning. They had changed his habits, turned him into an early riser. Neither Teal'c nor Mrs. Mansour had encountered them, he was certain. The scene was always the same, and the spirits did not interact with him or seem to notice him in any way. It seemed almost like a memory, but not his own memory. His own memories were full of sound and context.

He was beginning to wonder if his mind were playing tricks on him. To imagine laughter in a wind storm, seeing silent visions all about the property. These did not seem the actions of a sound mind.

And yet, man of reason though he thought himself to be, Daniel was sure that these manifestations were not things he had imagined. He did not otherwise feel any nervous symptoms.

He resolved to find out as soon as possible the history of his new home. It was said that spirits walked abroad when they had unfinished business that did not allow them to rest. Perhaps he could offer assistance to these poor restless souls and free them to move on to a better place.

With that resolve he went into the kitchen himself to fetch the rest of the day's wood for Mrs. Mansour and let his mind move on to more mundane matters, such as hiring more household staff as soon as practicable.

---

"Do you know about the previous owner of this house?" Daniel asked Sam. He had to raise his voice over the pounding of her hammer. He had learned quickly that she enjoyed the labor of construction and was as adept at it as she was at solving the more intellectual design problems.

"Of course," she said absently, groping for another nail and not finding them to hand. "Everybody for miles around knows the story of the O'Neills. Now where have my nails gotten to?" she muttered.

It had been a constant problem for her. She would leave something in one place, only to find it had been moved someplace else, inconveniently out of reach, or it had altogether disappeared. "I would think my crew was taking things," she had complained one evening as she was leaving, "but I have worked with all of them far too long to think them anything but honest. And that lumber pile has a mind of its own! There is no way to stack it that it is not constantly tumbling. My toe was fairly crushed this morning! And how poor Mr. Jenkins took that blow to the arm two days ago is beyond me! The stack was barely knee-high!"

"Here they are," Daniel said helpfully, handing the nails across to her before she could become very annoyed.

"Well, not to worry," she declared, resuming her pounding. "I am not the least bit concerned about spirits and phantasms." She grinned over at him.

"Naturally," Daniel agreed, choosing not to embarrass himself before this woman of science and logic by describing his own encounters with the ghosts of the place. "But I beg to differ. Everyone knows the story of this house's previous occupants with the exception of its current occupants."

"Well, that's easily remedied," Sam declared, mercifully setting her hammer aside. "Let's go up," she suggested.

They climbed the steps and ascended through the trap door. She took a drink from a metal canteen that she brought with her every day, sighing as she sat Indian style on the floor, staring out the windows at the sea.

"How shall I begin?" she mused, then smiled mischievously. "It was a dark and stormy night…" she said, pitching her voice in sinister tones. Daniel laughed. "And in this town there resided a gallant and dashing sea captain named Jonathan O'Neill." She returned to her usual cheerful voice. "I believe you have seen his portrait in the drawing room? He was not a man to stand on formality, and was known to everyone of every class about town simply as Cap'n Jack. Of course, he was rarely about in any case, as he was quite successful in his chosen field and always sailing someplace or another. All the seven seas, all four corners of the earth, and so on and so forth."

"This house was built while he was away, mostly under the supervision of my father. I did some of my first drawings for him. The sketches for the upper level are framed in my office," she said, sounding unusually sentimental. "I was very excited when father and the Captain agreed with my plans for the big windows in the master bedroom."

"He chose this property knowing that this lighthouse was soon to be decommissioned. Of course, back then they were only choosing the location and building the foundations for the new one. I was so jealous of the engineers on that project I can tell you. I spent hours thinking about how it would be done. Father became quite peevish with me and he sent me off to school just to get rid of me until the new lighthouse was constructed, I think."

Daniel smiled thinking of it. He could only imagine what Sam Carter, obsessed with a new idea, would be like.

"Anyway, Cap'n Jack was quite eligible, though as he got older, he never had eyes for any woman in the neighborhood, and indeed was not known to have had any romantic connections whatsoever until he sailed into the harbor one October with a new bride. She had golden hair, crystal blue eyes, and the most cheerful and friendly demeanor. Everyone loved her instantly, even Cap'n Jack's disappointed following of young ladies. Sarah O'Neill kept him in town for the better part of two years, through their honeymoon, her easy pregnancy, and the delivery of their first child, Master Charles J. O'Neill. But she couldn't keep him in town forever. Captain O'Neill was too much a man of the sea. So he inevitably sailed again, very soon after Charlie's birth."

"He would come back to town every seven or eight months or so, bringing a cartload or three of treasures every time. Sarah would glow with happiness when he was home, but pined for him terribly when he was abroad. She was known to sit in the big window with the spy glass for hours, or she would climb up in this tower to look farther out over the horizon."

Sam paused for another drink, then continued.

"And so the family went on. Then, two years ago, the town was struck with a terrible epidemic of influenza. The entire household was ravaged. Both Mrs. O'Neill and little Charlie were taken from us. Charlie was six. Captain O'Neill arrived home not ten days after the two of them were laid to rest, arriving before the message sent had managed to catch up with him. The first he heard of the tragedy was when he arrived home to find the house shut up and only one of their serving men attending the property. The fever had claimed almost the entire staff as well."

"He must have been inconsolable!" Daniel murmured, horrified. Sam nodded in agreement.

"So it seemed. He locked himself away – saw no one, accepted no invitations. He was never seen about town. He would be sighted riding alone on the road, or in the churchyard placing forget-me-nots on the graves of his wife and son.

"Then, nearly a year ago now, it was October, I'm sure, he committed suicide. He flung himself from the steps here at the top of the lighthouse to the floor," she gestured toward the trapdoor, "way down there. The man who found him said he broke every bone in his body and cracked his skull open."

She paused again. Daniel thought of the quiet scene in the kitchen, the crying figure in his bedroom, the broken body on the lighthouse floor, the dark stare of the portrait in his drawing room.

"That turned out to be an exaggeration of his injuries, and there was scanty evidence to confirm suicide, but in any case the Court accepted the inquest's findings in that regard and took possession of his estate. Of course, many people in the county remain appalled, since it could just as easily have been an accident. But Judge Kinsey has always been jealous of the Captain's wealth and the ladies' interest in him. It is whispered that Judge Kinsey used the estate to pay the bills of Dr. Fraiser, the surgeon who worked so hard to save the captain and who attempted to revive him, but then kept the rest of the money for himself, including the proceeds of the sale of Gull Cottage to you. The Court's accounting states that he used the estate's funds to repay Captain O'Neill's debts, but everyone knows that he never was indebted to anyone."

Daniel was aghast.

"No wonder he didn't want anyone to buy the house," Daniel said unthinkingly.

Sam laughed.

"Not you, too! Mr. Brooks said a spirit was trying to prevent him from selling the place! The rumor he spreads about you is that he was lucky you were so determined to have it, sight unseen, or you would have abandoned the idea after your first viewing of the house, as well. Did the doors really slam? Was there really horrible, cackling laughter?" Sam's expression showed that she thought Mr. Brooks's tale was more amusing than believable.

"It's true. There were slamming doors that day, and the noise of a man laughing. And I will tell you, Sam. I have seen spirits in this house, and heard a man weeping."

Sam's face adopted a look of concern.

"Then you must let me review your house at once for gas leaks!"

"I beg your pardon?" Daniel asked, confused by the sudden change in subject. Then he smacked himself on the head. "I'm so stupid! I should have thought of that myself!" Daniel had spent enough time entering closed spaces underground to know the dangers.

"Immediately! Carbon monoxide is a chief culprit in many a manifestation of the spirit world. My goodness!" She leapt up, as if to go right away to begin her evaluation, but that reminded Daniel his ostensible reason for coming out to see Sam this afternoon.

"If you must," Daniel said, knowing that what he had seen was real, and not the result of any carbon monoxide or gas leak or any such thing. "I was actually hoping that you might accept an invitation to dine with us this evening. We will be very simple, sadly, but I believe that Mr. Teal'c would very much like the opportunity to become better acquainted with you." Daniel felt such a kindred spirit with Sam that he did not hesitate to share this confidence with her, although other ladies might feel he was being too forward.

"Indeed?" Sam replied with surprise, thrown off her stride and losing her momentum to rush to the house and begin her inspection. "Perhaps I should know more about Mr. Teal'c before I further this acquaintance? With my mother gone, I find that I must be my own best protector in matters of courtship and the heart." But Daniel could tell from the sparkle in her eyes and the hint of a smile about her that she was in no way inclined to be cautious or uninterested.

"I would never suggest an unsuitable liaison," Daniel objected. "Teal'c is an old and dear friend of mine. We met at Oxford, when I was reading history. He was reading the physical sciences, by the by. I am sure you will find him fascinating in conversation. You share many of the same interests."

Daniel paused and pretended to consider his next comments carefully.

"Of course, you are aware that he is the Crown Prince of Chulak? His father the king sent him out into the world to discover if we of America or Europe have any ideas or practices that they might find useful in advancing their own people."

"Well, in that case, I am sorry that I will have to decline your kind invitation. For one thing, I am hardly dressed for it," she looked down at her dusty skirts and blouse. They were her working clothes, made of sturdy, practical wool and cotton, and not at all fashionable. Daniel had never before seen Sam appear distressed or concerned in any way about her appearance. "And for another, while I may have very little thought for reputation, dinner with two unmarried men and no chaperone?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

Daniel blushed in embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking at all!"

Sam grinned at him.

"I'm not offended! And I do appreciate the invitation," she sighed then headed down the stairs again. "When I was at school, it was so nice, being friends with men. Of course, that was because I dressed as a boy and cut off my hair. Now that I'm back to being a woman again, it is truly exasperating to have to worry about all this convention and reputation and gossip. The people in the world who want to talk about the things that interest me most are cut off from my social circles."

"Well, then," Daniel said, feeling mischievous, "If you lack social commitments this evening, I am wondering if you could do an extensive and thorough review of the house for carbon monoxide right away. I will arrange for Mrs. Mansour and Mr. Teal'c to be at your disposal in case there is any assistance you need."

Sam grinned at him.

"It is an urgent task," she agreed. They went down the stairs and out to the house at a fast pace.

---

Daniel stood inside his completed library. He was finally unpacking his books. It seemed as if it had taken forever, though to be fair, Sam had refurbished the lighthouse with amazing speed and efficiency. The whole project had only taken her three weeks. The cabinetry was of simple lines, but well constructed. Daniel was as happy with its simplicity as he would have been with ornately carved and finished pieces. He longed to fill all the shelves, but he had not decided the best organization. His tomes were stacked around him, some collected by subject, some by author. He perched on the edge of his writing desk and considered.

He was startled when the wind lifted the cover of a book across the room and rifled the pages, flipping them in rapid sequence - except that the air in the room was still. Sam had shored up the entire structure. There was nary a crack nor leak nor draft in the entire place. The book, now reviewed, dropped to the floor and the next cover whipped open, the pages ruffled. This volume too was tossed to the floor. When the third book opened, Daniel, recovered from his surprise, crossed the room, firmly closing the book again. No sooner had he done so than another book, on the opposite side of the circular room, opened itself. Before Daniel could move to close it, that book too was flung aside.

"Captain O'Neill," Daniel announced breathlessly to the room, "if you enjoy reading from my library, then I must insist that you treat my books carefully and with respect."

As if in response, many books around the room all opened at once, their rapidly turning pages making a loud susurration, then they began launching themselves into the air. One passed quite close by Daniel's head. He had to dodge quickly to avoid being hit in the chest by another. One did hit him low on his back. As yet another book flew at him, he was forced to duck or be hit square in the face. He hastily retreated down the steps to find the lids of the unopened crates on the main ground floor rattling threateningly. He fled to the house.

Thoroughly unnerved, he went to the kitchen, hoping to beg some drinking chocolate from Mrs. Mansour. As he entered the passageway to the back of the house, he saw the now familiar ethereal glow and found that Sarah and Charlie O'Neill were again abroad. He had never seen them other than just before dawn. He turned on his heel. He would have a drink of brandy in his study upstairs, then to bed. Yes. That would do fine. Only, as he came up the stairs into the upper hallway, he again heard Captain O'Neill, grieving his lost family. Daniel dodged into his study, slammed and locked the door, and slept under the throw rug in his large leather chair until dawn broke to frighten the spirits away.

---

Daniel found tasks to pursue in town the next day that were more important than the organization of his library. A cursory inquiry at the local tavern quickly identified the correct church. As he opened the churchyard gates, he was surprised to find that he was not alone in the small cemetery. A gentleman knelt among the headstones by the stone wall opposite the gate. Daniel began moving among the graves, looking for the O'Neills. He noted the many burials from the time of the influenza outbreak. Whole families had been laid to rest in rows. He found himself making his way steadily toward the back of the yard. The grieving man rose to his feet, tall and dignified, and walked past Daniel back towards the gate. Lost in his grief, he offered no greeting, and Daniel did not disturb him. Somehow, Daniel was not able to get a glimpse of his face.

He found the graves of Sarah and Charlie. They were simply marked: "Sarah O'Neill, beloved wife and mother" and "Charles J. O'Neill, Suffer the little children." Jack O'Neill was not buried beside them, but as he was a suicide, it wasn't surprising. Daniel had not asked his resting place, out of respect for the disturbed spirit that shared his home. He placed potted forget-me-nots on the graves.

He was sure the silent figure had been kneeling at the feet of Sarah and Charlie. There was a fresh indentation on the grass just between their two graves.

---

Reverend Hammond's sermon was a rousing reminder to think of the poor and the sick as winter set in.

"It was a good lesson," Teal'c intoned, as they waited to meet the minister after the service.

"Reverend Hammond is a great humanitarian leader in this town," Jacob Carter commented. "He is as serious about the good of the community as he is about the Word of God, and he is utterly selfless in his commitment to our children, our old folks, and our disadvantaged. A true man of Christ and a great shepherd for this flock."

Sam nodded agreement.

"And he never has a word to say to me about my 'place' or my lack of a husband," Sam declared. "We are most fortunate to have him."

Her father smiled tolerantly.

"Jacob, Samantha, I see you bring me new sheep today!" Reverend Hammond said, taking Jacob's hand and shaking it firmly, then pressing Sam's hand between his. "If you had not appeared today, I would have been out to see you this afternoon," he said sternly to Daniel, but his smile was friendly and welcoming, and his handshake just as warm.

"I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson," Daniel said, returning the handshake. "I'm sorry it has taken us so long to settle in. You may expect us every week from now on. It was an excellent sermon this morning."

Reverend Hammond became more serious.

"Winter is a dangerous time here, especially for those who have already had hard summers. I am very concerned about the Harlans and the Edwardses, too, as they have just gotten past the diphtheria. It was a miracle, but now they are weak in the face of the most difficult weather and the influenza season."

"Please let us know if we may be of any assistance," Teal'c said, as the big man shook the reverend's hand.

"Mr. Teal'c, I presume?" Reverend Hammond greeted him.

"At your service, Reverend," Teal'c said, bowing in the way of his people.

"Miss Carter has told me so much about you! I was surprised to see you in the congregation today, as I presume being from the dark continent you are a follower of Mohammad."

"Indeed, that is not the case, Reverend. My people follow a moral code, but as a whole we are skeptical of the idea of invisible powers that control our fates. Still, I am abroad from my home to learn from all people and cultures, and I have found that wise teachers can be found in many unexpected places. Your reputation with Miss Carter is such that I would not miss your sermon. I too apologize for the delay in our attendance. I am sure it is our loss."

"Well, it is wonderful to have you both here today, and I hope you will feel welcome as many Sundays as you would like to join us," Reverend Hammond said.

"You are still joining us for lunch, Reverend?" Jacob confirmed.

"Yes, of course, I wouldn't miss it," Reverend Hammond replied. "I'll be along by two or so."

Then the line moved forward and the minister was greeting the next member of his flock. Sam went out into the crisp fall afternoon arm-in-arm with her father and they all walked down the main street in the direction of the Carter residence. They lived in town, but on a large parcel that allowed for a kitchen garden, a wide front porch, and a fair front lawn setting the house back a bit from the bustle of the street. There was a neat, white picket fence with a gate before the white pebble path that lead up to the house.

The house itself was in the popular Italianate style, with shutters that were as ornamental as functional, large bay windows, and an large, open, six-sided gazebo off the back, ideal for taking tea in the sea air during the summer, but a bit brisk for entertaining in the autumn.

Carter & Carter, Architects, had offices where most families would have their front parlor. The party passed through straight into the living area of the house. There were savory smells of roasting meat and the lush warm scent of baking bread wafting from the kitchen.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," Sam said. "It falls to me to be the lady of the house. I need to check the progress of the meal." She dashed off, leaving Jacob to lead Daniel and Teal'c through to his personal study.

"So, Mr. Teal'c, you must tell me all about yourself. My Sam cannot stop herself mentioning you in some capacity every time she comes back from Dr. Jackson's project."

Daniel felt uncomfortable under the sharp gaze that Jacob turned first on Teal'c, then back on himself. Yes, the father of a young lady such as Sam might well have some concern when his daughter prated endlessly about a bachelor unknown to the family, especially one with whom she spent much unsupervised time. Teal'c, however, seemed hardly to notice the possible animosity.

"I stand in awe of your daughter's skills and intellect, Mr. Carter," Teal'c stated with deep gravity. "She is a most unique individual. She reminds me not of the queens of my homeland, but rather of the great kings and warriors. Her mind is sharp and active, and she is always solving problems and rising to challenges. She has revealed to me how much waste there must be in the world if all women are cast aside into the roles of mere nursemaids to small children or tenders of the hearth. Not that these are not important tasks, but there are thousands of men in this world who could never equal Miss Carter in so-called 'masculine' tasks, and yet, most people in all the cultures of the world would expect her to perform as a servant, groveling at the feet of these inferior men, just as an accident of her gender. That is a lesson I will try to carry home with me, that accidents such as those should not be honored, but rather disregarded."

Daniel blinked in surprise at this tirade. Teal'c was usually taciturn to the point of being nearly monosyllabic for days on end.

"Well," said Jacob, who seemed equally surprised. "I can see that perhaps I should revise some of my presuppositions about set roles, as well. And now I also see why Sam holds you in such high esteem. I understand you are a leader in your own land."

Teal'c inclined his head.

"Our ruler, the great and noble Bra'tac, has no son, nor even a daughter. He has selected me a his heir to succeed him when he leaves this world."

"I've looked in all the references on Africa, but it seems Chulak is virtually unknown," Jacob said.

"We do not deal with white slavers, nor do we engage in petty disputes with our neighbors. We therefore seem to be of no consequence to those who write such references, a state reinforced by our territory lying at the southern edge of the Sahara and being nowhere near the ocean. The southern part of our land is rich in forestry resources. We cultivate the soil, husband cattle, and take many medicinal cures from the jungle. But many of our people, including my tribe and the tribe of Bra'tac, are nomadic peoples of the desert. We are very independent, and skilled at finding solutions to difficult problems of survival."

"It sounds like it will be strange for you to return to that life," Jacob said. "You seem to be quite a civilized gentleman now."

Teal'c frowned.

"Indeed, what is hard is the life of a gentleman. Until I can lay aside these trousers and this waistcoat for the robes of my people, I will not feel like a free man."

There was a light tap on the door, and the maid came in with a curtsey.

"Sir, Miss Carter asked me to tell you that all the ladies have arrived and are in the drawing room."

Jacob nearly leapt to his feet.

"We shouldn't keep them waiting," he said. Daniel looked at Teal'c, as Jacob fairly dashed out the door ahead of them.

"Is it my imagination," Daniel asked his friend, "or does Mr. Carter seem very anxious to get to the drawing room to meet the ladies?"

"It makes one wonder if perhaps there is a particular lady expected," Teal'c commented. "Perhaps the esteemable Dr. Fraiser?"

"Who else is coming?" Daniel wondered.

The drawing room was the next room down the narrow corridor from the study, in the opposite corner of the back of the house from the dining room. The house was situated on a hill, and this room had a broad stretch of windows that commanded an amazing view of the town as well as the bay with its traffic of boats and ships just beyond.

Sam rose to greet them as the men came into the room.

"Ladies, may I present Mr. Teal'c, Crown Prince of Chulak, and Dr. Daniel Jackson, our new resident at Gull Cottage. These are Dr. Janet Fraiser and Miss Cassandra Fraiser, and Mrs. Nina Selmak." Daniel so much preferred family gatherings, with their relatively fewer points of etiquette.

"How very nice to meet everyone," Daniel said to the room at large. He took an empty chair by Miss Fraiser, as Teal'c took the seat on the sofa by Sam. He noted that Jacob went to stand by the hearth, where Mrs. Selmak had perched on a low stool and was warming her hands. Daniel give his friend a sidelong glance and was rewarded by a nod and a small smile. Mrs. Selmak was obviously the object of Mr. Carter's affection.

They had barely settled when the maid came to the door to announce the arrival of Reverend Hammond.

"Then it's time for dinner!" Sam declared. "To the dining room! I'm famished!"

Miss Fraiser giggled and skipped after their hostess. The rest of the group followed at a sedate pace, Mr. Carter stepping into the front hall to greet Reverend Hammond and escort him through to the dining room.

The dining room table was laid with fine china and crystal. This room also offered another amazing vista beyond the windows.

"Sit where you like," said Sam. Daniel noted that Mrs. Selmak took the place to the right of Mr. Carter. She was the most senior lady in the room (though by no means elderly, probably a few years junior to their host), so taking the seat of the highest ranking guest was the natural place for her. Dr. Fraiser sat opposite her. Sam took the seat opposite her father, and Teal'c quickly took the seat by her right, which inexplicably caused Sam to color a bit. Miss Fraiser hurried to take the seat to the other side of Sam. Daniel thought they must be good friends. Daniel found himself sitting between Miss Fraiser and Mrs. Selmak, across from Reverend Hammond, who was between Dr. Fraiser and Teal'c.

Dinner was served.

"So Mr. Teal'c," Reverend Hammond addressed Daniel's friend. "I have to say that I find the concept of an atheistic moral code to be completely counterintuitive. How can mere man, fallible and sinful, determine an appropriate order of right and wrong? From where arises the higher moral power?"

"Our people feel no need for an outside power to tell us how to conduct affairs between ourselves with honor, dignity, respect and kindness. I must say, before my travels, I would look beyond the borders of our land and wonder how morally impoverished other peoples must be, if they needed an invisible and unknowable force to instruct them in proper relations. By which I mean no insult to any party here."

Daniel noted that Dr. Fraiser had to hide her amusement behind her napkin. Mrs. Selmak seemed intensely interested.

"But how can you know that you have chosen rightly? What if your internal compass is askew?" she challenged.

Teal'c was preparing to reply when Sam cut in.

"I cannot allow this philosophical discussion to continue over lunch! Save it for the study! Or I will set aside my self-imposed moratorium on the discussion of septic fields during meals."

"Oh, Sam, you mustn't!" Miss Fraiser exclaimed.

"If you do, then I will raise the subject of my recent monograph on Lister's antiseptic method," Dr. Fraiser threatened, emphasizing her point by jabbing her fork in Sam's direction. Her daughter cringed.

"I will!" Sam said firmly.

"Then we must desist," Teal'c declared.

"I could not agree more," said Reverend Hammond with a chuckle.

"Well, Sam, now that you have brought all social interaction to a halt, it falls to me as the host to take action," Jacob said with a smile. He turned to his table companion.

"Mrs. Selmak, I believe my genuine affection for you is widely known. I would never presume upon your own feelings, but I cannot wait one moment longer, not even until after desert." He rose from his chair and sank to one knee, raising his eyes to hers. "Will you do me the greatest honor of becoming my wife?"

"Oh!" Sam gasped.

"Jacob!" Dr. Fraiser exclaimed reproachfully.

"Of course!" Mrs. Selmak declared happily. "What on Earth took you so long to ask?!"

Jacob caught her hand and raised it to his lips, then still holding her hand in his, he brought out from his pocket a beautiful ring of turquoise and topaz.

"Oh, it's lovely!" Miss Fraiser sighed. With a delighted smile, Mrs. Selmak accepted the gift and slipped it on her finger.

"Really, Jacob, how ridiculous!" said Dr. Fraiser, even as she had pushed back her chair and gone around the table to embrace Mrs. Selmak. "I'm so happy for you, Nina," she said, hugging her tightly. "Though now I suppose all of lunch will be occupied with conversation of what date, and which flowers, and what sort of honeymoon." The doctor sounded annoyed, but she was clearly pleased for her friends.

Sam had dashed around the table to hug first her father, then Mrs. Selmak. She seemed pleased as well.

"In my country, courtship is long, and betrothals as short as possible," Teal'c volunteered.

"I have space in my calendar for a wedding two weeks from Saturday," Reverend Hammond suggested.

"Nina, if you wish me to continue to dine at your table after you are wed to this clod, you will have to take him in hand! Public proposals? Wedding chatter at lunch?" Dr. Fraiser returned to her chair, scowling.

"Perhaps Mr. Teal'c can relate the rituals of Chulak? Then we can stay on the wedding theme without it seeming like 'wedding chatter?'" Daniel suggested.

"Yes, Mr. Teal'c, tell us about your home!" Mrs. Selmak agreed. Daniel noticed uncomfortably that all eyes had gone to Sam rather than to Teal'c.

Teal'c laid his napkin to the side and addressed Mrs. Selmak.

"The wedding may take place anywhere. Usually the groom's mother or nearest female relative selects a place of great natural beauty. If the weather is poor, the ceremony may take place in the home of the bride's mother. The wedding occurs at dawn. The bride approaches the place of the ceremony from the east, surrounded by her entire family and her friends. The groom approaches the place of the ceremony from the west with his family and friends. When the bride and groom meet, they pledge loyalty to one another, even unto death. Then they receive the blessings of all their two assembled tribes, which are united for the day. Then the dancing commences and continues until the dancers give up in exhaustion. It is considered good fortune for the dancing to continue through sunset. Then there is a great feast that lasts until dawn."

"My goodness! How primitive!" Mrs. Selmak exclaimed. "It sounds wonderful!"

"You would like to dance all day and feast all night?" Jacob asked in surprise.

"Wouldn’t you?" Mrs. Selmak countered.

"Actually… yes!" Jacob replied, sounding even more surprised.

"A dawn wedding isn't exactly the done thing," Reverend Hammond said, "but I'm sure we could arrange it."

Dr. Fraiser groaned theatrically.

"Sam, quickly!" Miss Fraiser begged. "If we don't get mother out of here, she'll retaliate. Antiseptic procedure! You have to do something!"

Sam laughed.

"Alright. Dr. Fraiser, shall we retire to the drawing room for coffee and cake and leave the newly affianced to discuss the details in private?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Dr. Fraiser said with obvious relief.

"Well, that was eventful," Daniel mused to Teal'c as they strolled home enjoying the crisp, late afternoon air.

"I look forward to the ball they are planning," Teal'c said.

Daniel shook his head.

"Ecstatic dancing it is not," Daniel said. He gave Teal'c a sidelong glance. "You just like seeing all the dresses."

"Indeed. They are most remarkable and beautiful," Teal'c said, not denying Daniel's accusation or embarrassed by it in the least. "I plan to take several specimens home to be admired by my sisters and cousins."

"Along with drinking chocolate and maple syrup and the recipe for French toast," Daniel laughed. "I hope Bra'tac feels he has gotten his investment back from your trip abroad."

"I will of course introduce the use of septic fields and antiseptic medical treatments as rapidly as possible," Teal'c replied blandly.

"Ah. Touché," Daniel said with a smile.

---

Knowing the history of Captain O'Neill made Daniel somewhat distressed about his obsession with the portrait. He vowed to avoid being alone in the drawing room in the evenings, but the face of Jack O'Neill was etched in his mind's eye. In his bedroom he took himself in hand again, shutting his eyes to better envision the line of the jaw, the way his rough cut hair fell just over his collar. He moved his hand carefully on the hot naked flesh of his erection, in no rush here in the privacy of his own bedchamber.

There was a soft chuckle.
"I wish I could see Brooks's pig face were he to realize that he had brought such a flagrant onanist into our fine community. He goes on and on at dinner about how easy it is to spot the 'followers of perversion' and 'the weak and indulgent.'"

Daniel's eyes snapped open and he was greeted by the vision of Captain Jack O'Neill, perched on the stool by the telescope. He was not dressed as in his portrait, but rather in a loose linen shirt over pale gray trousers. He wore no tie and the buttons of the shirt were partially undone. His hair was a bit too long, curling just over his high collar. Oddly, his feet were bare. It was as if Captain O'Neill were in his own bedroom, in a state of semi-undress as he prepared to retire.

"Oh, please don't stop on my account," Captain O'Neill protested. "Personally, I think it is entirely unhealthy to resist the natural urges. I certainly never went blind and you most certainly do not suffer from any unhealthy gray pallor." He eyed Daniel with frank and appreciative appraisal. Daniel scrambled to pull up the bedclothes.

Captain O'Neill laughed again.

"Not to mention that I am utterly delighted that Mr. Brooks brought a new Hellenist into the community!"

"I beg your pardon!" Daniel replied. His heart began skipping beats. He felt ridiculous, fearing that a spirit might know his secret.

"You were thinking of me just now?" Captain O'Neill asked, with an innocent, almost hopeful air.

"I have no idea what would give you that impression," Daniel replied. "I would not insult you, sir, by including you in any of my imaginings while … doing that!" He thought it had been a convincing denial, but the look of disappointment on Captain O'Neill's face made him wish the he could have acknowledged his thoughts instead.

"I'm wounded." The ghost was definitely pouting. Then he broke into a teasing grin. "You've certainly been thinking about me nearly every other day this week down in the drawing room." His eyes fell to where Daniel's crotch was hidden by the mountain of eider tick. "You really should take care of that. It is clearly not just a piss proud soldier. I really wouldn't mind if you were thinking of me. And relieved it while I watched. And in reference to your earlier comment, I would never be insulted to be the muse for that, especially when the artist is as attractive as yourself." Captain O'Neill's expression couldn't be mistaken for anything other than a leer. Daniel was beginning to become less embarrassed and more exasperated.

"Sir, I really must object to this intrusion upon my privacy," Daniel stammered.

"Well, it is only what comes of sleeping in someone else's bedroom," Captain O'Neill replied tartly.

"I beg to differ," Daniel objected. "You will find that this is my house and I do not appreciate…"

"You do not appreciate?!" the Captain roared. He leaped off the stool and advanced toward Daniel. "My home has been stolen from me and it is you who do not appreciate?"

Daniel flung away his covers and stalked across the room, disregarding how his stubborn and determinedly erect member proceeded him.

"Indeed I do not appreciate your behavior ever since I've arrived. You interfered in the construction of the library and you endangered both Dr. Carter and her workers. And I am quite indignant over your treatment of my books. Of course, I most certainly did not appreciate being assaulted as I was peacefully working. I believe, sir, that you owe me quite a few apologies."

Captain O'Neill watched him closely as he pulled on his dressing gown and tied the sash. Even as they faced off angrily, the captain's eyes drifted down. The garment just accentuated Daniel's continued arousal.

Finally the ghost sighed and offered a weak smile. He retreated back to the stool, but rather than sitting down, he looked out the open curtains at the stars.

"Is there any way that we can make the situation more palatable?" Daniel asked. "I will not go so far as to leave, but perhaps there are other steps I could take that would make it easier for us to live together?"

The ghost was silent for some time. Daniel crossed the room to stand beside him.

"I don't want you to leave," the ghost said quietly. He sounded sad and tired. Daniel reached out to touch his shoulder, then realized he couldn't. He abruptly straightened and turned to Daniel with his teasing grin. "If you move my portrait from the drawing room to this wall," he pointed to a large bare wall across from the foot of the bed, "then I promise not to trouble any other member of this household aside from yourself."

Daniel snorted.

"If I am to make such a great sacrifice, I must have your promise that you will not fling my books at me again."

"I give you my solemn oath," Captain O'Neill declared seriously.

"Very well, I will have it moved in the morning," Daniel agreed.

"And you must promise to continue to sleep in the nude," Captain Jack demanded. "It is the most practical way to sleep," he added philosophically. Daniel eyed him.

"I make no promises regarding the winter until I learn how drafty this house is," Daniel said firmly.

"Fair enough," the ghost said with a smile.

"I would offer my hand to seal the arrangement, Captain, but I'm afraid it would be counterproductive."

"I'd like to offer my hand for other purposes," the ghost said. Daniel gave an exasperated chuckle. "And you must call me Jack, so that I may call you Daniel, rather than Dr. Jackson."

"Agreed, Jack," Daniel said. "Now, off with you. These days I cannot seem to sleep though until dawn, and thanks to this phantasmagorical performance, I am now retiring past the witching hour. At this rate I will scarcely have four hours to sleep."

"Go to bed. I promise you will sleep well tomorrow morning," Jack said.

Daniel huffed, shedding his dressing gown and dropping it on the foot of the bed before crawling back under the covers.

The single candle that had lit the entire exchange went out of its own accord.

"Good night, Daniel," said the ghost.

"Good night, Jack," he replied.

He fell asleep almost instantly. As he was drifting off Jack whispered, "Thank you for going to see them." Daniel dreamed he could feel Jack's lips graze the shell of his ear.

---

He woke up in the dimness of a morning bedroom protected by heavy curtains, feeling snug and well-rested for the first time in a week at least.

He had not pulled the curtains. He smiled, thinking of Jack's promise that Daniel would have a good night's sleep.

He dressed and made his way down to breakfast. He couldn't stop thinking about Jack. Daniel had never imagined that anyone could think he was anything other than a horrible, debased and immoral man, unclean and damned by his impulses toward other men. That Jack knew his secret and was not offended… that he actually desired Daniel in return… the whole thing seemed crazy and unreal.

It is unreal, Daniel found himself thinking, as he sat down to his breakfast. He took up the spoon and broke open his egg. There was no such thing as a ghost. He was imagining this entire adventure, complete with a handsome, imaginary lover.

"DanielJackson."

Teal'c's gentle baritone startled him. He had hardly noticed his friend at the table when he sat down.

"If you do not have a care, you will soon have marmalade on your cravat. And I am sure you do not wish to incur the ire of Mrs. Mansour if you should soil her second-best linen table cloth."

Daniel had been staring into space, his bread hovering half-way between his plate and his mouth. He quickly placed it back on his saucer.

"No, I expect she would not thank me for egg on my collar, either. What are you wearing?"

Teal'c was the most dapper gentleman of Daniel's acquaintance. He would suspect the man of wearing a corset, even, except that Daniel had seen Teal'c bathe upon occasion and his waist was indeed that narrow and his chest that broad. But this morning, he was wearing the shirt with the wine stain that had never come out, and the trousers that had been scuffed and blood-spattered that same evening. The only reason Teal'c had not hanged was because every white guest at the party had averred to the police that the outraged and bloody Mr. Cronos had in no way been attacked by the Crown Prince of Chulak. Rather, he had made a fool of himself by drinking heavily then tumbling down the stairs. Mr. Teal'c had only been unhappy enough to be passing up the stairs as Mr. Cronos lost his footing, spilling his wine over Mr. Teal'c's beautiful silk shirt and finely tailored suit.

"Sir, I must warn you against wasting police time in the future," the beat officer had warned, in a broad, Irish brogue.

"What?! This is an outrage! That black ape attacked me brutally! Are you going to stand by and allow…"

"David," said General West abruptly. "Please. You are just embarrassing yourself. Thank you, Officer, for your time," the host of the party said, gently leading the officer back out of the parlor and to the hallway leading to the back stairs. A servant stood by. "Martin, please escort the officer out and see to it that any dinner or drink he needs is provided."

"Of course, sir," Martin replied, and the officer was whisked away and Teal'c survived for at least the eleventh iteration of Daniel's Africans-in-America speech. Not that it ever seemed to do much good. At least he had held his tongue and not angrily admitted to the crime of daring to raise his hand to a man who had emptied his glass over his shirt.

"I am wearing clothing appropriate to assist Dr. Carter with her plans for today's work."

"Oh, right. She's been warning me for a few days that she will be digging up the back garden," Daniel replied. "I may have to step out and see what she's up to myself."

"Shall we?" Teal'c asked. "Or do you intend to finish any of your breakfast?"

Daniel looked at his half eaten plate.

"I'll carry it out with me," he said, standing and gulping his coffee, then scooping up his plate and heading out toward the kitchen. He imagined that Teal'c gave him a disapproving glance, but of course, Teal'c never approved nor disapproved of Daniel. It was one of the reasons he was such a lovely house guest.

Dr. Carter was already busy. She was driving stakes into the turf of their back yard, and connecting them with neat lines of string.

"Oh, good! You're finally up!" she said, upon seeing them. "How you can waste so much of the day sleeping, I'll never understand."

"It is because DanielJackson wastes so little of the night on that pastime," Teal'c declared solemnly. "How can we be of assistance?"

"I think I'm all done, except for the heavy digging," she said, dusting off her hands and striding over. She helped herself to a corner of toast that Daniel had already spread with marmalade.

"I’m not so sure about this whole septic field business," Daniel said dubiously around a large bite of bread dipped in egg. "Outhouses and latrines are bad enough…"

"This is nothing like that," Sam stated. "I keep explaining to you. Once the waste passes though the tank, it will be mostly broken down, and then it will be filtered through the gravel, sand and soil of the septic field and will pass into the ground water clean and drinkable at the same time it nourishes your garden plants."

She crossed her arms as her crew took up their shovels, and began digging along the lines she had set out.

"So this has worked well for your other clients?" Daniel asked.

"Other clients?" Sam replied distractedly, suddenly dashing across the yard to adjust one of her markers. With the slightest of smiles, Teal'c followed her, taking up a shovel as he went.

Daniel shook his head and went across the property to his tower and up to his library.

He was surprised to find Jack sitting at his worktable on the second level. All of the books that had been helter skelter the night before were now neatly organized on the shelves, apparently by subject, despite the many languages. But rather than greeting him proudly, Jack was staring peevishly at the stack of envelopes on the table.

"Mrs. Mansour brought up the post a few minutes ago," Jack said, stating the obvious.

"So I see. And this has irritated you why?"

"Judge Kinsey has invited you to his home," Jack said with obvious contempt.

"Ah. Sam has mentioned him. Well, society can't be completely avoided. I suppose it is time I accepted an invitation. I've been here a month."

"He'll be trying to find out exactly how rich you are, and will probably seat you right next to his ghastly, pox-scarred daughter. She's fat and stupid and a miserable dinner partner. I should know. He tried hard enough to marry her to me, before I settled down."

"Well, be that as it may, I should probably go," Daniel said. He opened the letter. "Day after tomorrow," he muttered.

"Did you move the picture yet?" Jack demanded.

"Oh, damn. I intended to ask Sam to have her men do it. Now they'll all be muddy from digging up the yard."

"Why on God's Earth are you letting her dig up my garden?" Jack demanded. He stalked over to the shelves glaring at the spines of the books. Daniel took the seat at the desk and began to draft his reply to Judge Kinsey's invitation.

"Did Teal'c receive an invitation as well?" Daniel asked, rather than acknowledge Jack's question. From Sam's story, Daniel was certain that Jack could only approve of the woman who had designed so much of his beloved home. The ghost was just feeling temporarily imposed upon.

"How should I know?" Jack answered vituperatively. When Daniel looked up, he was gone.

Daniel rolled his eyes to himself at the antics of his housemate, and proceeded to open the rest of his mail. Bills from Jacob Carter for various materials. A letter from a colleague at Oxford, mentioning some work being done in Egypt soon, and would Daniel be available to come and consult? Daniel sat back and considered. Would he want to go back to Egypt? The death of his wife still weighed upon him. He sighed. He wondered if a spirit could sail on a ship? He supposed if he could, that would probably be the ultimate proof that Jack O'Neill's ghost was the product of Daniel's imagination. The undead couldn’t cross flowing water. Everyone knew that.

He took out a sheet of writing paper and his ink, and composed a short acceptance of Judge Kinsey's invitation. He took it back to the house.

"Sam," he called to her as he walked back. She was directing Teal'c's digging personally as her crew worked diligently around them. "Could I get your men to help with a task around the house? I'd like the big painting hanging over the mantle in the drawing room brought up to the master bedroom."

She eyed him.

"I know exactly which painting that is," she said. "You want it moved to your bedroom?"

Daniel immediately regretted mentioning it. It was so obvious. What was he thinking? It was like confessing to her all his deepest, most shameful secrets.

She gave him a broad smile.

"Of course, I'll talk to Mrs. Mansour and we'll get it moved for you. Thank goodness I didn't have my cap set for you," she said boldly. She even brazenly shoved his arm. "Just be careful at the Judge's party. He's all about morality and self-restraint."

Daniel stared at her in amazement.

"You are a most unconventional young lady, Dr. Carter," he finally stammered. She merely made a face at him.

"I cannot believe you are only just noticing that, Dr. Jackson," she replied mockingly. Daniel was sure he had caught Teal'c in that little smile again. Twice in one day. Daniel wondered if he was going to have to give Teal'c the lecture again. Except that when Sam turned away to look over her worksite, Daniel saw how her glance lingered on his friend and her gaze softened, and he knew that Sam Carter would be a fine queen of Chulak one day.

With this thought in mind, he carried his letter into the house and laid it in the tray to be posted.

He spent the remainder of the day working in his library, undisturbed by any phantoms. At first he felt a bit lonely, but as always, the work drew him in, and soon he didn't even consider the time until Teal'c's looming shadow blocked his light.

"Mrs. Mansour asked me to remind you that dinner cannot be served until you have changed and appeared in the dining room."

"Oh, forgive me, Teal'c! I'll be right in!" He stood hurriedly, dusting himself off. Teal'c turned to survey the room appreciatively.

"Dr. Carter has built you quite a fine home for your library," Teal'c commented.

"I think so," Daniel agreed. He bent over and roughly brushed his fingers through his hair, fluffing the dust out. When he righted himself again, Teal'c was regarding him stonily.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. We don't have to make a social appearance until tomorrow. How goes the septic field?"

"Dr. Carter seems most enthusiastic, and quite certain that the scheme will produce wondrous results."

"Hmmm," Daniel replied. He headed down the stairs and down a newly laid gravel path leading him around to the kitchen garden entrance. Sam's crew had been busy. The wall above the mantle in the drawing room was not empty, he noted. Captain O'Neill was gone, and in his place hung the landscape Sha'uri had painted on their honeymoon excursion during the days that Daniel was distracted by the dig in the Valley of the Kings. The careful rendition of the hieroglyphs along the sloping corridor to the tomb of Twosret and Setnakhte had always fascinated Teal'c, and the portrayal of the shadowed firelight by which Sha'uri painted made the painting mysterious and atmospheric. It would certainly be a conversation piece for future guests.

His grief for her was still raw, and the guilt he felt for her death was fresh as well. He and Sha'uri had been a perfect match. She was as much a natural linguist as Daniel was, and spoke dozens of local dialects. Daniel imagined that her father would never have married her to a foreigner, except her brother, Skaara, had the same natural skill. She had a thirst to learn, and even in their short marriage she had acquired fluency in every European language on the various digs around the Valley of the Kings.

But then Daniel got the message about his uncle's find in Belize. Daniel went, and Sha'uri followed, and yellow fever killed her and his uncle, and almost every other person in the camp. Only Teal'c, who had survived the fever as a child, walked out of the jungle with him. Daniel brought the cursed crystal skull out of the forest, sold it without compunction, and came back to America to recover from his loss.

He stood staring at the painting a long time before finally going upstairs to change for dinner.

---

Daniel lay in his bed. The light of the single candle lit Jack's face. The portrait dominated the room. The captain's eyes seemed very serious, but Daniel knew how warm and lively Jack could be, and how mercurial.

As he stared into those eyes, he felt helpless. It was the same chemical, electrical, spiritual connection – the near obsession – that Daniel had felt the only other time he had fallen in love. Maybe it was a sign of his grief over his first love, that his second was a person he couldn’t kill.

"I'm sorry for being so testy this morning," Jack said softly. "Alas, a young lady once broke an engagement with me over my crankiness. I hope you will be more forgiving."

Daniel sighed and closed his eyes. His imagination really was running away with him.

"Don't make me throw books at you gain," Jack warned. Daniel smiled.

"Please don't. I spent all day shelving," Daniel murmured.

"I know you did. You certainly didn't seem to be missing me at all." Jack sounded aggrieved. He walked into view and sat down at the foot of Daniel's bed.

"If we are sharing such confidences, I should tell you a young lady once broke her engagement with me over that very issue," Daniel confided.

"Then her loss is my gain," Jack said. His eyes took on a devilish gleam. "Come on. Show me this time."

Daniel pretended to scowl.

"That is very forward," he said primly.

"Ha! You're more than happy to take it out when you think no one's watching."

Daniel sighed as if put upon and finally rolled onto his back. Jack smiled happily as Daniel pushed the covers away, probably thinking how much he liked that Daniel slept naked, Daniel thought.

He tried not to be embarrassed that he was already hard. Jack's dark eyes on him made him even harder. The man stared at Daniel's erect member hungrily, as if he wanted to reach out and touch it. He seemed to be physically restraining himself from moving closer. Daniel began stroking himself a bit self-consciously.

Watching Jack's face instead of his painting brought Daniel to the edge of his climax very quickly. Jack must have been able to tell from the movement of his hand or the change in his breathing.

"Wait," he commanded urgently.

Daniel yanked his hand away.

"Why, in the name of all that's holy?" Daniel demanded.

"Have you ever lain with a man?" Jack asked him.

"No, never!" Daniel replied quickly, realizing even as he reacted that it was silly to protest so strongly when much of the day he had been imagining what it would be like to sleep in Jack's arms.

"That's a shame," Jack replied. "I would love to put my mouth on you; or take you inside me."

Daniel's climax came on unexpectedly, triggered by the rapid succession of mental images Jack's words suggested. Warm mouth, tight entrances… a second wave shook him. He found himself gasping for air and clutching at the sheets. Jack stood above him, reaching down as if to rub the splattered liquid into Daniel's skin. Daniel sighed into the third rush of pleasure.

"So, here I was, thinking I could only be an inspiration to your pleasure, but now it seems perhaps I can directly cause it after all," Jack was grinning with delight.

"Why are you a ghost, instead of a real person, who could lie down beside me?" Daniel demanded, in accents softened and blurred by orgasm.

"If I lived in this house, we could put a door through the wall, and put our bedrooms side-by-side," Jack suggested.

"Sam would build it for us. She thinks it's sweet, or possibly hilarious, that I want your portrait in this room," Daniel commented. He wanted to watch Jack, but he was feeling sleepy.

"Samantha Carter is a unique and wonderful woman. She might make a good match for you," Jack mused. "I would not be jealous of any liaison you had with her."

"Maybe. But my heart says no. Not to mention that she only has eyes for Teal'c," Daniel replied.

"Well, that's good, as Mr. Teal'c has sent a letter to Jacob Carter this very evening expressing his intentions."

Daniel sat bolt upright, sudden panic replacing drowsy haze.

"I've told him… I do not want to have to leave right now and go back to New York…" He swung his legs over, reaching for his dressing gown, when he found Jack standing right in front of him.

"Hush. Get back into bed. Local ordinance might now allow the wedding here, but I have never known Jacob to deny Sam anything, if it made her happy. If she wants to run off to Chulak and marry Teal'c, Jacob Carter will be there to walk her down the aisle or dance around the bon fire or whatever ceremony is required, and that will be that."

Daniel sighed and let himself fall back onto the pillow.

"I want you to sleep beside me."

Jack looked skeptical. Then he shrugged.

"Alright then, make space."

Daniel shifted over, and Jack slipped through the covers. He appeared to be there, next to Daniel, though the bed didn't shift under his apparent weight, and when he joined Daniel the covers were in no way disturbed. Daniel felt an irrational disappointment.

"You sleep," Jack said. "I'll watch. I think if I sleep I will probably disappear."

Daniel sighed and closed his eyes. He imagined that he could feel warmth beside him. He must have eventually drifted off to sleep, as when he woke it was to dust dancing in the sunbeams that streamed in around the curtains.

---

Daniel steered the trap absent-mindedly, letting his mare pull them at a leisurely pace down the road toward town. He wished he were going to dinner at the Carter home, rather than to a social event at the home of Judge Kinsey. He already had little interest in a further acquaintance with Mr. Brooks, and Jack's low opinion of the entire Kinsey family had Daniel on edge. Plus, he hated dodging young ladies, and from the way Jack described it, Daniel expected to be seated squarely beside Miss Sally Kinsey, who was getting on at the age of twenty-six, and whom her parents were becoming quite desperate to marry off. Even without Jack's depiction of the family, Daniel would guess that Miss Kinsey must be objectionable indeed if she couldn’t find a husband when she had such an important and influential father.

Of course, it seemed that both Dr. Fraiser and the town's physician, Dr. MacKenzie, had been invited, which should make for interesting conversation. According to an informative conversation he'd had with Sam, Dr. Fraiser, while ostensibly a surgeon, was also something of a physician herself, apparently always experimenting with new practical treatments, many of which were unusually successful. Dr. Fraiser apparently put this down to her following of Lister's methods, which most physicians, including Dr. MacKenzie, dismissed. In any case, the good Dr. Fraiser was quite wealthy and much more popular with the locals than her rival, Dr. MacKenzie, despite that most people would have dismissed a woman doctor as little more than a midwife. In fact, it seemed that Dr. Fraiser was even busier than Dr. MacKenzie especially due to the fact that she and her midwife assistant received all the calls to attend births, which frustrated Dr. MacKenzie to no end.

Daniel shook his head. Small towns. Just as full of gossip, jealousy and spite as the grandest salon in Paris.

Still, he was pleased that the Fraisers would be at the dinner. It would be good to have friendly faces. And of course, there would be the Carters, as well. It could be a lovely evening. He wished Jack hadn't made him feel so apprehensive about the whole thing.

The Kinsey residence was a fine large house on several acres of park overlooking the harbor. Daniel and Teal'c were greeted at the door by a manservant, who took their greatcoats.

The table was laid with Rose Canton china, with gold highlights and many butterflies in the pattern. Daniel raised an eyebrow. The Kinsey family was quite well-off by any standard, if the china was anything to go by. He noted Teal'c surveying the room with a critical eye.

"Well-to-do, and not subtle," Teal'c commented, in a voice pitched low for Daniel's ears alone. "It certainly seems to beg the question of how a small-town judge of little industry could be so comfortable."

An older, well-dressed lady bustled across the large room to greet them.

"Dr. Jackson! Mr. Teal'c! How lovely to meet you at last!" She reached out and warmly took Daniel's hand in both of hers. "Dr. Carter has been full of stories of your adventures up at Gull Cottage. The library in the old lighthouse sounds delightful! Charles!" she called to the attendant at the door, "Tell Cook we're ready to sit down. Come, ladies!" She didn't let go Daniel's hand, but tugged him to the chair at her right.

Judge Kinsey arrived at her side. She finally relinquished Daniel's hand to let her husband seat her.

"Very good to meet you, Dr. Jackson," he had an unfortunately over-strong, sweaty handshake. He crushed Daniel's knuckles. Daniel smiled over the wince. "My dear," the judge said to someone over Daniel's shoulder. Daniel turned to find a reed thin, pale young woman there. "This is Dr. Jackson."

The quiet woman took his hand and curtseyed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Kinsey," he guessed. She smiled with little interest. He helped her into her chair, then sat between her and her mother. Just as Jack had predicted. He felt sympathy for her, though. She didn't seem the slightest bit interest in engaging him in conversation. He revised his uncharitable opinion that she had been unable to find a husband, and thought perhaps she was uninterested in the enterprise.

Daniel looked down the table. Teal'c had been placed to the right of the judge, as far from Miss Kinsey as possible, Daniel noted, with Sam beside him, and Jacob Carter beside her. Mrs. Kinsey introduced Dr. and Mrs. MacKenzie, in the seats across from Daniel.

On his own side of the table, on the other side of Miss Kinsey sat Miss Fraiser - Daniel supposed she was just barely old enough for an invitation to this evening - and beyond her, her extraordinary mother. He smiled down the table at them. Mr. Brooks, seated to the left of the judge, rounded out the table.

As soup was served, Judge Kinsey turned to Daniel.

"Mr. Brooks tells us you are an Egyptologist," he said.

"One couldn't help but notice the cartloads of interesting boxes that went up to Gull Cottage last month," Miss Fraiser declared delightedly. "Were they full of treasures of the pharaohs?"

"Sadly, those were more books than treasures," Daniel said with a smile at her youthful enthusiasm for artifacts. "I have a few interesting pieces, though."

"Such as?" Miss Kinsey asked, slightly more interested in his profession than she was in Daniel himself.

"Piles and piles of broken pottery," Jack muttered from over Daniel's shoulder. Startled, Daniel restrained his urge to look back over his shoulder.

"Indeed," Teal'c murmured to himself. Daniel blinked down the table at his old friend. Teal'c glanced over Daniel's shoulder with the tiniest lifting of the corner of his mouth, as if in conspiratorial agreement with Jack. Did Teal'c see him? Certainly no one else at the table had noticed Jack's arrival.

Miss Kinsey was gazing at him expectantly. Daniel blinked at her then resumed eating his soup.

"I have a selection of interesting potshards that I'm working on sequencing," Daniel said. "Once I get it sorted out, I hope to have something interesting for a short monograph on the pre-Dynastic Period. That is really my chief interest, though of course the money is in tomb raiding and selling artifacts, especially gold ones, to museums."

"Is there something wrong with selling things to museums? I should think that was the best place for them," Mr. Brooks commented.

Daniel was taking a breath to tell him exactly what was wrong with that, when Jack materialized behind Judge Kinsey's chair. He was trying to prod the man in his ear as he took a bite of soup. Jack's hand merely passed through the solid object of the Judge's head. Thoroughly distracted, Daniel completely forgot the point he was about to make to Mr. Brooks. Something about academic study and the disruption of provenance or something. Teal'c followed Daniel's line of sight and his eyebrow raised, though Daniel couldn't tell if it was in curiosity at Daniel's sudden interest in the empty air behind their host, or disapproval of (or possibly amusement at) Jack's actions.

"Tomb raiding?" Miss Kinsey exclaimed, "I think I would be terrified of the mummy's curse!"

Daniel tore his gaze away from his ghost lover who had given up on tormenting the judge for the moment in favor of walking all around the table, carefully placing his ghostly bare feet in every soup bowl. He chuckled to himself as he went, though Daniel noted he carefully hopped over the bowls of the Fraisers to land squarely in Miss Kinsey's dinner with both feet. Daniel manfully prevented himself from flinching at the anticipated splash.

"There is no need to fear any mummy," he said. "Most of the so-called curses were made up by locals who either wanted to raid the tombs themselves, or who were hoping to discourage the disruption of the graves and theft of objects that belonged in them. So unless you believe that Ra or Apophis is going to deliver some vengeance on the Egyptologists now…"

"What about the ghost of the pharaoh?" Mrs. Kinsey suggested.

"There's no such thing as ghosts, my dear," Judge Kinsey said dismissively, completely unaware that Jack O'Neill was now sitting squarely in his soup bowl, trying to poke him in the eye. Jack persisted even as the soup bowl was removed.

The next course began. Jack hopped off the table and began prowling the perimeter of the room.

"What about the ghosts in Gull Cottage?" Mr. Brooks asked pointedly, earning an evil look from his host.

"Exactly," Jack pronounced. He seemed to be quickly transitioning from playfully spiteful, to much more angry. Daniel could see it in the tension around his eyes. Teal'c was watching him carefully.

"Have you seen ghosts there, Sam?" Jacob Carter asked his daughter with what Daniel thought was only mock-seriousness. She chewed a steamed shrimp thoughtfully.

"Well, not as such. Though I would have called the entire library endeavor cursed, the way annoying things kept happening. And Mr. Carlson was lucky to have gotten away from that collapse of the lumber pile with merely a twisted ankle."

"A poorly managed construction site does not a haunting make, my dear," Judge Kinsey declared.

"That's it!" Jack snarled. He punched Judge Kinsey in the face. There was no result. The man continued to chew his shellfish contentedly.

"I still do not believe Captain Jack committed suicide," Dr. Fraiser said. The fish plates were being cleared away. She dabbed her lips with her napkin. "There was a complete want of evidence that it was something more than an accidental fall."

"And I continue to stand by my determination," Dr. MacKenzie said defensively. "The man was depressed and mourning unreasonably."

"Horse shit," Jack declared angrily, stomping across the table to bend over and glare into the eyes of Dr. MacKenzie.

"It had been over a year since his wife's death, and he hadn't left the house to do anything more than place flowers on the graves. He wasn't attending church, or answering any invitations. He hadn't sailed…"

"I was about to take a job," Jack shouted.

"Not to mention that Cap'n Jack had perfectly functional pistols and shotguns in his gun cabinet and a much higher cliff to fling himself from, if he preferred not to blow his brains out," Miss Kinsey muttered. Miss Fraiser snorted. Their mothers rounded on both of them with disapproving glances. Jack threw his arms around their slim shoulders as if to hug them both to his sides.

"My dear girls!" Dr. Fraiser admonished them. Jack patted them on their shoulders. Dr. Fraiser returned her gaze to Dr. MacKenzie.

"But that is still a very valid point."

"Of course it is," Jack muttered dangerously. He stepped up on to the table and tried to push Dr. MacKenzie's forehead with his foot, without success.

"Captain O'Neill was a man of action. If he were going to kill himself, he would not have chosen to jump a few floors to his uncertain death when he could just pull the trigger."

"Doctors, please! There are young ladies present," Mrs. Kinsey stammered in protest. Jack glared at her menacingly.



Daniel noticed that the room was getting noticeably colder. Both young ladies next to him drew their fashionable light shawls, that had drooped to dangle on their elbows, closer about their shoulders.

"In any case," Dr. Fraiser pressed, "His papers clearly showed he had accepted a new endeavor, and that he would be leaving in only a few days. And there was no note declaring his intentions or motives."

"Exactly!" Jack said, whirling around to address her.

"To whom would he address such a note, I ask you?" Dr. MacKenzie demanded.

"We both know that the usual addressee is 'Cruel World,'" Dr. Fraiser answered hotly.

"Doctors, we've been over these unpleasant facts too many times already," Judge Kinsey interceded. "And a suicide is hardly a topic for conversation in the hearing of the impressionable and the young." He stuffed a potato into his mouth.

"You," Jack hissed, turning to the judge, who was angrily staring down an obviously furious Dr. Fraiser. The judge went pale and his eyes opened very wide as he suddenly saw Jack. "You killed me. You and your ridiculous cane. You thought you could take everything if you could have me declared a suicide. You took my house and sold it to a stranger," he stabbed his finger in Daniel's general direction. "You took my accounts, and used them to further plump up you fat ass. You would have taken my ships if they had not been held by my partners."

Jack was becoming quieter and quieter the angrier he got. The judge's jaw was moving but no sound was coming from him.

"You took my wife's china for your dinner parties." The table had started vibrating, and the room was suddenly icy cold. The plates began to crack.

"You took my wife's rings to pay for your fucks with whores, and you used her pearls to buy the so-called virgin you ruined to cure your crotch rot." The judge's eyes were locked on the specter in front of him.

The other guests were quiet alarmed at the shaking of the table. Teal'c had risen to his feet and adopted the light defensive stance Daniel had come to dread at parties. Teal'c knew the true danger in the room, even if the others did not.

"What in Heaven's name?" squeaked Mrs. MacKenzie, as she rose from the table in fright.

"I will not allow you to abuse your position in this world any longer," Jack declared hotly. He stood to his full height on the table and struck out with a hard kick of his bare foot. The kick struck the judge in the throat, and suddenly he was clutching at his collar, gagging and coughing weakly.

Dr. MacKenzie leaped up to slap him repeatedly on the back. Dr. Fraiser rolled her eyes and set her napkin aside, rising with dignity.

"Stop it you fool, you're only making it worse," she said to her colleague.

With great strength, and no regard for dignity or decorum, she dragged the judge's chair away from the table. The man stumbled to his feet, still staring up at Jack. Dr. Fraiser positioned herself behind Kinsey, wrapping her arms about his middle. She joined her hands and applied a hard, upward punching movement to his abdomen. A piece of potato shot from his mouth across the table to land on Jacob Carter's plate.

Jack disappeared from the table and reappeared next to Dr. Fraiser. He pulled her away from the judge and she fell back, landing neatly in a chair by the sideboard, obviously surprised.

"Dr. Fraiser won't be able to save you," Jack growled with disdain. He flickered out of existence and was again standing on the dinner table. He gathered himself and gave a massive leap into the air. When he brought his full weight crashing down onto the table it collapsed under him. The carving knife in the roast arched through the air. Jack caught it and thrust it home through the judge's heart.

Mrs. Kinsey gave a blood-curdling shriek. Miss Fraiser and Miss Kinsey both yelled and clutched at each other for support. Sam had her hands clapped over her mouth and was staring at Judge Kinsey, who still stood on his feet, fork protruding from his chest.

The two medical doctors began moving together, but Dr. MacKenzie got to the judge first. He yanked the fork from his patient's body. Blood spurted everywhere. Dr. Fraiser caught the man as he collapsed, protecting his neck and head from the fall.

"O'Neill," the judge finally croaked.

Jack stood over him, the doctors oblivious to his presence as they worked together to get the judge's vest and shirt open to try to treat the wound.

"You shouldn't have tried to kill me," Jack said, "Unless you were man enough to see it through."

Judge Kinsey died staring up at him. Then Jack was gone.

Daniel gathered up the two girls and bustled them out of the room, away from Mrs. Kinsey's continued shrieks of horror.

---

It took time for them to see that Mrs. Kinsey and her daughter were settled, and to help the doctors to arrange the body of the dead man. They finally departed, saying good night to Dr. Fraiser and Cassandra, leaving Dr. MacKenzie to prepare the body for burial.

"Had you seen Jack before tonight?" Daniel asked Teal'c, partially to fill the strangely eerie quiet between them as they finally drove their trap through the darkness of the wee hours back to Gull Cottage.

Teal'c nodded.

"I have seen him in the kitchen late at night, always holding a baby as his wife sits with them, knitting by the warmth of the stove. I have found it a remarkably odd scene, since I thought that such a family would be in the drawing room, the baby perhaps with his nanny, but the kitchen is by far the warmest room in the house and the baby was very tiny. And every time I have left the kitchen after witnessing this tableau, I have ascended the stairs and heard Captain O'Neill's grief. He was a good father and a loving husband. His family made him very happy."

Teal'c's voice reflected approval.

"I never saw them like that," Daniel replied. "I always see Charlie and Sarah alone. Charlie plays with his boats."

Teal'c made a low noise. The continued the drive in silence.

When they arrived home, Daniel steered the horse around to the small barn. He discovered a strange animal already occupying he second stall.

"What on Earth?" Daniel mused. "Teal'c do you mind?" he said to his companion. Teal'c inclined his head and set about the business of freeing the animal from the cart. Daniel headed up to the house. Going in through the back door, he saw the glow from the kitchen, and passed through, disturbing Sarah and Charlie. They vanished as Daniel rushed past.

He heard crying, but it wasn't coming from the upstairs. He followed the sobs to the front door. He saw there was a man on the stoop. The sound of his grief ceased abruptly as Daniel opened the door. His feet were bare, and his emaciated body was clothed in a loosely fitting linen blouse, none too clean, and trousers that from the looks of them would barely be held up by a belt, if the man wore one.

"Daniel," the man said, before he fainted away.

Daniel stood speechless. Jack O'Neill lay on the porch, the light of the lamp in the hall limned his long straight nose, hollow cheeks, and shadowed eyes.

"Teal'c!" Daniel shouted.

He barely remembered how they got up the stairs. Jack was lying in Daniel's bed under the eider tick, face pale and eyes restless under nearly translucent lids. Teal'c was racing on horseback down the hill again. Daniel just stared at the man in his bed in utter confusion.

Teal'c arrived back with the doctor much more quickly than Daniel would have expected.

She barged into the room, pushing Daniel aside when he rose to greet her, pulling down the covers without ceremony to examine her patient.

"I met her coming up the road," Teal'c murmured low to Daniel. "I do now know how she knew that she would be needed here."

Jack stirred on the bed.

"Hey, doc," he greeted her with weak humor and familiarity.

"What have you been up to, Captain?" she asked him in a warm, relieved voice.

"I really couldn't say," Jack said. "I woke up in a strange bed, and I just wanted to come home."

"I suppose you did," she answered. "You know you gave Jimmy the fright of his life when he saw you riding off on Bess. I can't believe I didn't listen to Cassie when she said she saw you ride by us. I was just so tired. It's been a very busy night." The doctor sat down gracelessly into the chair where Daniel had been sitting by the bed.

"Well," she said. "I never thought you would make a complete recovery. Only hoped."

"Complete recovery?" Daniel finally exclaimed. "But I thought Jack was dead?!"

If the doctor noticed Daniel's familiarity toward her patient, she didn't comment on it.

"Oh, no. Captain O'Neill survived his so-called 'suicide,' as you can clearly see. He has been catatonic for months."

"I'm sorry, you said 'months?'" Jack repeated. "How long?"

"Since last October," she said. "Nearly over a year, I suppose. Thirteen months, nearly."

Jack gaped at her.

"I had to do something, with you still breathing and you heart still beating! We set your leg and wrist and I used some rubber tubing I acquired for another project to reach down your throat to your stomach. We've been feeding you though the tube. Also, we've been moving your arms and legs for an hour or so every day, and rotating your body about every half hour. I was very pleased that we kept you alive, but frustrated that you never recovered from the catatonia. Now that you are back with us, I am hoping that perhaps you will allow me to publish an article about the treatment."

She stopped her rush of explanation when she found the three men staring at her in amazement. She smiled and cleared her throat.

"In any case, the fact that you survived your 'suicide' at all made me very doubtful it was anything but an accident. As my daughter so boldly stated at dinner this evening, I believe if Cap'n Jack tried to kill himself, he wouldn't have done a half-job of it. "

"I appreciate your confidence, doctor," Jack said dryly, recovering some of his composure. "I hope you will call the constable. I was attacked in my own home and tripped so that I fell over the railing."

The doctor breathed out a shocked gasp, leaning forward sharply.

"Judge Kinsey found you," she said, realizing instantly who Jack's attacker must have been. "Oh, dear God," she fell back into the chair again. Her eyes were wide, staring at Jack in open fear.

"What?" Jack asked, looking perplexed at her reaction.

"You were there," she whispered.

"Where?" Jack asked, confused.

"At dinner. He saw you in his death throes!"

"Dr. Fraiser, please!" Daniel suddenly interjected, feeling the beginnings of panic. Could a spirit be held responsible for a murder? "You are a woman of science! Surely you know Jack couldn't have been at dinner if he was still catatonic and being looked after by Jimmy. Not to mention that someone else would have seen Jack aside from the dying man. There were eleven of us there!"

The doctor blinked and shook her head. She gave a nervous laugh and smiled weakly.

"No. Of course not! Just a flight of fancy." She pressed a hand to her forehead.

"What do you mean, death throes?" Jack asked, eyeing them all. "Who died supposedly seeing me."

"Judge Kinsey," Daniel told him. "Your alleged suicide was the topic of dinner conversation just before the judge choked. There was also an earthquake, and by a crazy fluke, the carving fork flew though the air and impaled the judge. He died of his wounds moments later."

"I'm sure he was thinking of your case. And not to speak ill of the dead, but perhaps feeling his guilt about it as he died," the doctor said.

"They do say that one's life and deeds pass by the mind's eye as one enters the next world," Teal'c intoned. The doctor nodded a somewhat absent agreement.

"Well," she said. "I must be very tired indeed if I could think that Captain O'Neill had anything to do with tonight's events at the Kinsey house." She rose from the chair at Jack's bedside.

"You will need to take care, Captain, as your muscles will be very weak, but I believe the best thing you could possibly do is be as active as your body allows. And eat! I was starting to fear that we were going to lose you through sheer starvation after all. The feeding tube seemed to be losing its effectiveness in the past few weeks. Dr. Jackson," she said, turning to Daniel. "Could I possibly prevail upon you to allow us to stay here for the rest of the night. I will have a cart brought to carry Captain O'Neill back to my home in the morning."

"That's quite alright, doctor," Daniel agreed immediately. "But I hope that Captain O'Neill will consider this to be his home for as long as he desires. Tonight's dinner conversation suggests that I came to be the owner of this place only through gross fraud. I would like to be part of the correction of that corruption of justice, if at all possible."

"Come," Teal'c interjected. "We can resolve these questions when everyone has had a chance to rest."

The doctor nodded. They found that Mrs. Mansour was waiting in the hall to lead Dr. Fraiser down to one of the guest rooms.

"Thank you, Teal'c, for your… support… this evening," Daniel stammered, not sure how much he should say, even to Teal'c, whom he was certain already knew all.

Teal'c made a small bow. "It is my pleasure to be of assistance, DanielJackson," Teal'c replied. "And now, I too will retire. In the morning, perhaps we should send for Samantha to come and construct the door you have been considering between the master bedroom and the one beside it." His look was knowing and indulgent.

"How could you… Oh, never mind. How does Mr. Teal'c ever know anything?" Daniel said in exasperated amazement. "Why don't you plan to ride down to fetch her, as soon as you are up and about and breakfasted?"

Teal'c nodded, and then turned to go into his own room, the door shutting softly behind him.

Mrs. Mansour came down the hall from Dr. Fraiser's room.

"Teta," he said to her softly. "Could I trouble you for anything at all from the kitchen for Captain O'Neill?"

She looked around him through the door at their surprise guest, and nodded solemnly.

Daniel returned to Jack's bedside. The man appeared to be asleep in the nest of warm covers. He only stirred when Mrs. Mansour came in with a tray. There were cold meats, cheese, bread with a pot of butter, a pitcher of beer, a sliced pear. She left it on the table in the corner.

Jack sat up in the bed and bowed to her as best he could.

"Shukraan. Baaraka allahu fiik." Daniel smiled and shook his head. He should have known, from the way Jack had organized his books in the library.

Mrs. Mansour's serious demeanor hardly changed, but Daniel could tell she was surprised and pleased by Jack's heart-felt thank-you in her own language.

"Afwan, efendim, it is only my duty," she demurred. "Ya kaptin, what may I prepare for your breakfast?"

"Anything," Jack declared heartily, as Daniel moved the table to the bedside. "Just lots and lots of it!"

Mrs. Mansour did smile slightly at this.

"I will see to it, efendim," she said, and bowed her way out of the room.

Jack fell upon the food like a man who had not eaten in months. Which, Daniel realized, he actually was. Daniel poured out the beer into the glass.

"You are a saint!" Jack declared, downing the whole glass in one long draught.

"That's going straight to your head, you know," Daniel said, laughing and refilling the glass.

"I dreamed such intense dreams," Jack said later, as he reclined on the pillows watching Daniel set the room back in order. "I dreamed about this house, and people trying to take it from me. I dreamed about Sam Carter rebuilding my lighthouse, and digging up my back yard."

Daniel felt his face flushing hot, thinking the other things Jack might remember.

"Will you lie beside me?" Jack asked very quietly.

"Is that wise?" Daniel whispered, to himself more than to Jack.

"Of course it is not 'wise'," Jack replied. "Do it anyway. We'll get Sam to build the door tomorrow."

Daniel turned to face his lover, who was not a ghost anymore.

"You wanted to lie down together, in my dream," Jack said. He sounded less certain than his initial soft invitation. His eyes searched Daniel's face. The same dark, serious, delving eyes of the portrait.

Daniel turned away. He heard Jack sigh deeply behind him. A quick glance over his shoulder showed him that Jack had closed his eyes, his face a study in resignation. Daniel turned the key in the bedroom door's lock, then turned around to be rewarded by Jack's look of surprise, rapidly turning to a very happy smile.

"Naked?" Jack asked hopefully.

"Why ever not?" Daniel replied, again mostly to himself, his heart pounding. He walked across the room, slipping out of his jacket and laying it over the back of a convenient chair, then shrugging out of his braces and undoing the placard on his trousers. It was alarming how quickly he was down to just a his shirt and drawers.

"I would insist on reciprocation," Daniel said, amazed at how steady his voice sounded when his hands were shaking nearly uncontrollably as he unfastened the buttons on his shirt. "But you are a weakened man…"

With a defiant grin, Jack sat up in the bed, practically ripping his loose linen shirt (the same shirt Jack's ghost had worn, Daniel noted) over his head and flinging it across the room. He pushed back the cover and kicked off his trousers. Then he flopped back into the bed, arms open, to find Daniel staring at him with wide eyes.

"Hmmmm," Jack said considering him. "Too sudden?"

Daniel laughed in spite of his consternation. He shed his remaining clothes with more confidence, though he was still somewhat alarmed that he found himself lying down beside Jack in all their naked glory, skin to skin. Jack folded his arm around him, and Daniel reached to drag the linen sheet and the eider tick over them both.

Jack was so warm, and smelled of the lavender water that Dr. Fraiser must have used to wash Jack's still body. Despite being wrapped in the arms of a man Daniel knew was his destiny, he still was overwhelmed by a jaw popping yawn. Jack chuckled. Daniel felt the laugh in his skin, and listened to it reverberate around the inside of Jack's chest.

"What time is it?" Daniel asked.

"Dawn in an hour or so," Jack murmured. He softly stroked his fingers through Daniel's hair. "Go to sleep. I'll keep the watch."

Daniel didn't bother to protest. Jack probably felt he had slept enough for a lifetime. But safely wrapped up in Jack and the bed, Daniel couldn't possibly stay awake himself. He drifted off to sweet dreams, while Jack hummed to himself some song Daniel didn't know.

He woke to the feeling of Jack moving against him. It couldn’t have been much later, as the room was still dark. He had curled around his bedmate in his sleep, and his thigh was lying heavy across what could only be Jack's hard and insistent erection. The realization startled him awake with a jerk that shook his whole body with the conflicting impulses to pull away and to cling closer. Again, his intellect told him it was ridiculous at this late hour to flinch from these desires, so instead he pressed carefully downward and was rewarded with a deep, quiet groan from Jack and another restless shift of Jack's hips. It was that movement that must have awakened Daniel from his sleep.

"Go ahead," Daniel said, and it came out as a growl so feral Daniel could hardly believe it was his own voice.

The response was another shift of Jack's hips.

"Sorry," Jack gasped back. "I didn't mean to wake you." To Daniel, he didn't sound contrite in the least. "But since you are awake…" Jack nudged his hip over, levering underneath Daniel's body, clearly inviting him to move on top. Daniel's good sense warred with his own rising interest. His entire body was responding to Jack – he wanted to do this thing, lie on top of him, bring their erections together. But Daniel could feel Jack's bones through his skin. He still held in his mind's eye the vision of Jack, collapsed at his doorstep just hours ago. Daniel could feel how fragile Jack was in the press of their bodies together.

"No," Daniel rasped out. He reached around and caught Jack's far hip, tugging none to gently to suggest what he wanted. "A different way."

Jack rolled to him easily so that they lay on their sides, face-to-face. Daniel licked his palm, ignoring Jack's slightly breathless chuckle and reached down to capture both of them in his hand. It was a physical shock, feeling twice the heat, twice the girth. Jack caught him in a tight embrace, much stronger than Daniel would have expected, wonderfully unhelpful as he crushed their bodies together. They moaned in unison.

It wasn't long from there. Neither of them seemed able to put up any resistance to the coming climax. Daniel felt his shudder up through his spine, the slippery fluid freeing his hand to move more smoothly. Jack followed him almost immediately. Daniel entertained the idea that it was the utter sensuality of feeling Daniel's ejaculation on his belly and cock that pushed Jack to the maximum. Jack's breath burst out of him in a choked gasp and he shook against Daniel, laughing as he recovered from the initial flood of pleasure.

"Daniel… Danny… Genius…" Jack mumbled into his hair, holding him loosely and breathing him in, not rolling away or making any move to extricate himself. Daniel felt that perhaps he should get up, fetch a damp cloth from the wash basin across the room, but it was amazingly warm and comfortable nestled there with Jack under the eiderdown. He found himself drifting off to sleep without the will to hold the dream world at bay.

Daniel woke with the broad light of day streaming through the open curtains. Jack was snoring lightly. He had rolled on his back at some point and Daniel must have followed him. He was resting with his head on Jack's chest. He wasn't particularly inclined to move, but he felt it was probably time to be up and about, playing the good host and looking after Jack, who would be a convalescent for some time. That thought made him think of the doctor, sleeping just down the hall, who would probably want to see her patient very soon, and that thought had Daniel on his feet, scrambling to wash himself up and dress, and generally put himself in order as quickly as possible.

"What are you rushing around for," Jack muttered, sounding cranky to have his sleep disturbed. "It's hardly eight o'clock yet. I know you usually sleep until at least ten most mornings when left to your own devices. Come back to bed."

"Well, I'm guessing Dr. Fraiser keeps less hedonistic hours. She struck me last night as a woman who would run a quite disciplined household."

Daniel took a certain satisfaction to see Jack suddenly fully alert, looking slightly panicked himself.

"God help us, she's Napoleon in a visiting dress!" Jack said with some alarm.

"Hush," Daniel said, trying not to laugh. "You, at least, should still be lying abed. Just let's get you a little tidier, shall we?" Daniel suggested, bringing Jack the wash cloth, thinking to have the pleasure of stroking the remains of their encounter from Jack's belly. As Jack snatched the cloth from Daniel's hand and began scrubbing, Daniel shrugged. Another time then. He couldn't feel disappointed. Now that he was ready to face the day, he felt the full impact of what had happened last night, and found himself grinning like a lunatic. Jack was flesh and blood and he had taken his place in Daniel's bed as if it were his right, and he didn't appear to be interested in leaving anytime soon.

"Well," he said, a little too energetically. "I'll go down and order your breakfast, then."

"You are not leaving this room until I have trousers on," Jack said threateningly. After some consideration, Daniel retrieved Jack's from the floor and placed them to the side and then went the cupboard, giving his lover instead a pair of his own, accepting the washcloth in return. "You don't know what Janet Fraiser is capable of," Jack had continued through Daniel's musing. "Pull the bell for breakfast! Don't you leave me alone with that woman!"

"Oh, good grief! Fine," Daniel said, smiling in spite of everything. He pulled the bell and unlocked the door.

---

Jack's convalescence seemed to last forever.

Sam built the connecting door between the two upstairs rooms.

Daniel had been right about Jack's relationship with her. Jack "supervised" the entire project, listening with apparently put-upon patience (but Daniel knew with genuine delight) as Sam chattered on about the wedding plans as she cut through the plaster and the studs behind. She described the wedding ceremony as she framed the door. She apparently envisioned a joint blessing with her father and Mrs. Selmak. She pondered travel plans as she set the hinges.

Daniel and Teal'c helped her hang the heavy walnut door.

"And of course, Cassie will be my maid-of-honor and Janet will serve as Nina's matron. And Teal'c has encouraged me to invite Sally Kinsey, as well. Cassie would be bereft if she had to go abroad for months and leave her dearest friend behind."

Jack made a grumbling at this. Daniel gave him a stern look. Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"Miss Kinsey is a delightful young woman," Teal'c declared. "We will be honored to have her celebrate our marriage with us."

"And are the travel plans set?" Jack asked innocently. Daniel suppressed a smile.

"Well, Teal'c tells me they are, but he will not give me even a single detail," Sam said, poking her fiancé menacingly, one finger prodding a huge bicep. He was wearing his wine-stained work shirt again. Daniel looked forward to telling Sam that story one day.

"As it so happens, I can provide some details," Jack said airily.

Sam narrowed her eyes, looking at each of the men in turn.

"And," she prompted.

"Well…" Jack drew out the word. Sam's glare was positively dangerous. "It so happens that I was considering a trip to Madagascar, and as it so happens, the ship I am planning to take has plenty of space for passengers to sail in comfort, and so Teal'c and I agreed that we should make a party of it."

Before he had even finished, Sam squealed in delight and flung her arms around his neck.

Teal'c smiled his tiny smile.

"I believe Miss Carter is pleased with your proposed wedding gift," Teal'c opined.

"Yes!" Sam shouted. She kissed Jack on both cheeks and hugged him again.

"I wish you would quit calling it that," Jack complained. "Let's be practical. I have to get to Africa myself, you know, and you know how I get sea sick when someone else drives."

He took Sam by the shoulders and held her at arm's length.

"You know, young lady, if I were fifteen years younger, Mr. Teal'c here would never have gotten the opportunity to steal you away from us."

Sam snorted and flopped into the chair in the corner, surveying her work. Daniel swung the door closed as a demonstration. The latch clicked perfectly.

"Fiddlesticks," she said to Jack. "Daniel is no older than I am, you realize?"

"Sam!" Daniel exclaimed, startled still to hear the relationship between himself and Jack acknowledged so off-handedly.

"Well, I didn't know Daniel when he was on his mother's teat, did I?" Jack retorted.

"Jack!" Daniel yelped, aghast.

"Do not tease, Samantha," Teal'c said thoughtfully, placing his hand on her shoulder, perhaps somewhat possessively, if his heavy glance at Jack was anything to go by. "One soul calls to another, as yours called to mine. DanielJackson and JackO'Neill had a meeting of the spirits, and in the face of that, all other impediments are insignificant."

Insignificant. Daniel found himself staring into his lover's dark eyes.

"Yes, exactly," Daniel agreed.

"Utterly meaningless," Jack murmured.

If you're interested, all my stories, in order, from one page. Also, my fiction recommendations.

Comments

[green_grrl]

Wow, I was thinking the best Daniel could hope for was a lifetime of dirty talk, but Jack was alive! That is so much better! Plus took ghostly revenge--it's the best of both worlds. :D

[sid]

Fantastic twist for a Happy Ever After after all the longing and tragedy, and a great way to claim the material that inspired this as your very own. Oh, and I just loved Sam! :-)