***

Summary: When Daniel is captured by a heartless woman on a planet SG-1 is exploring, it's up to O'Neill to save him... but the adventure reveals feelings that neither of them knew they had.

Legal stuff: The characters in this story are from the TV series Stargate: SG-1 and are used without permission. I'll return them unharmed... although I might keep Daniel a little longer than the others.

***

The first thing Daniel Jackson noticed after he was thrown from the Stargate was darkness. He nearly tripped over the probe they had sent only moments before as he moved forward to join the rest of SG-1 in front of the Gate.

"That's odd," Captain Sam Carter said, shining her flashlight around the chamber they were in. "It was lit when we sent the probe through."

Daniel shone his own flashlight up at the ceiling. The room they were in appeared to be a cavern of some sort. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, and the air felt cool and moist.

Colonel O'Neill was only half listening. He had already made his way down the uneven slope that led to the Stargate, and was in a small recess near the back of the cave. The beam of his flashlight had caught a flash of metal there, and, his curiosity getting the better of him, he had gone to investigate. Surprised, he bent down and picked up what appeared to be a ring of some sort-- a ring with a sharp metal point where a stone normally would have been set.

In front of the Gate, Daniel had found the DHD, which appeared dusty from lack of use. Just as he began to brush the dirt off of it, Carter screamed. Looking up sharply, he saw her staggering backwards. He leapt forward and caught her, then saw Teal'c aiming his staff at something-- Daniel drew in a quick breath. What *was* that? Two brightly glowing red orbs-- *eyes*?

"Dial... home..." Sam whispered in a forced voice. She was clutching her arm in pain.

Frantically, Daniel dialed the combination for Earth, constantly looking over his shoulder. The red eyes had disappeared, and Teal'c was swinging his staff aimlessly, trying to find his target again.

Daniel dialed the seventh symbol, and the Stargate sprang to life.

"Come on!" he yelled, half-dragging, half-carrying Carter to the Gate. Teal'c took her and leapt through the gate. Suddenly, Daniel remembered that O'Neill hadn't gone through. "Colonel, come on!" he yelled. He started to run back down into the cavern, when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. Spinning around, he saw the two gleaming eyes just inches away from his own. He tried to swing his flashlight up, but he was seized with a sudden dizziness. He found himself completely unable to move. He tried to say something-- he had no idea what-- as unconsciousness swept over him.

At Carter's terrified scream, O'Neill had started to run forward from the recess, but he stopped in utter confusion when he saw the glowing eyes. Some gut instinct told him to hide, and he ducked behind the corner of the Gate. Teal'c and Carter went through, but Jack knew that if he moved, the eyes, visible to him the entire time, would see him. In the dim blue light coming from the Gate, he was just able to make out Daniel's form as it twisted in pain, then slumped down, unconscious.

The owner of the red eyes was still hidden in shadows, but the obscure form still managed to drag Daniel away. O'Neill's eyes darted from the place where Jackson had disappeared into the shadows to the Gate, but he knew that he couldn't just leave Daniel there. He might be dead by the time O'Neill could return with help. As Jack moved stealthily towards the place where the eyes had taken Daniel, the Gate's light dimmed, then went out.

As the Gate on Earth came to life, the controller jumped and started to close the iris, then recognized SG-1's radio signal. He was shocked when only two people came through.

***

Daniel awoke groggily and found himself once again unable to move-- because he was restrained, somehow, against a wall. He struggled mentally, trying to remember what had happened. Everything was a blur, except the memory of the needle and the eyes-- and of Carter crying out in pain, falling into his arms. "Sam..." he whispered, struggling against whatever held him. He heard a low, feminine laugh from somewhere, then a voice talking.

The words seemed jumbled to him, and he couldn't understand them. Trying to hold Sam's memory in his mind, he lost consciousness once more.

Colonel O'Neill paused on the other side of the Stargate, searching for the way the owner of the eyes had gone. Dim lights caught his eye, and he made his way toward them cautiously. He found that they were actually in a corridor which led away from the cavern. With one last look at the Star-gate, Jack started down the hallway, which was apparently a natural formation of the cave. It was lined with other rooms, all dark. How could he possibly know which one Daniel was in? He looked around for the source of the light before realizing that it came from the walls themselves. A closer inspection revealed some sort of phosphorescent lichen. If that was the source of the light, how had the first cavern been darkened?

Suddenly he heard a rustling noise and, praying that he wasn't jumping into even more danger, O'Neill ducked into one of the darkened rooms. Pressed against the wall, he peered into the corridor in time to see a cloaked figure walking back the way he had come, towards the Stargate. After the figure had passed, O'Neill moved away from the wall, only to find that he was covered in something sticky. Panicked, he moved back into the corridor, the dim light revealing that his arm was coated with something like spider webs. Grimacing in disgust, he brushed them off as best he could and did a quick search for spiders. 'Only something really big could make that much web,' he thought. 'Something big and icky, most likely.' Looking back into the room he had come from, he saw the lichen glowing softly in the spot where he had been. 'So *that's* how they turn out the lights,' he thought. 'The webs hid the lichen.'

Assuming that the cloaked figure was the being who possessed the eyes, O'Neill began moving in the direction from which it had come. All the rooms were dark, however, but just as he began to give up hope, he heard a low noise. He followed it towards one of the nondescript rooms and paused, listening. The noise came again, and he recognized it as a cry of pain-- and it sounded like Daniel. Gun at the ready, O'Neill leapt forwards and shone his flashlight into the room. Nothing attacked, and he moved cautiously through the doorway, not knowing what to expect.

***

"I think you're all right," Dr. Frasier told Samatha Carter. "The blood tests have come back, but we couldn't identify the foreign substance in them. You were injected with *something*-- we just don't know what."

Through a throbbing headache, Carter tried to comprehend what the other woman was telling her. "Wait...." she rubbed her forehead in aggervation. "Where is everyone?" she finally managed to say.

Dr. Frasier looked upset. "Teal'c is with General Hammond. But the others didn't come back."

Sam's half-closed eyes flew open. "What?"

The doctor took a deep breath. "When Teal'c returned with you, you were unconscious. He said that after you were attacked, Dr. Jackson dialed home and carried you to the gate. Teal'c took you through... he thought the other two were behind you. But there's no sign of them."

Carter sat up in bed, causing her headache to explode. She barely winced though... "We've got to back for them!"

"You're not going anywhere," Dr. Frasier said firmly. "Even though you seem okay, I'm not risking it."

"But we can't just leave them there!" Sam argued.

"I'm sure that another team will be sent after them," the doctor assured her. She placed her hand on Sam's shoulder, trying to convince the captain to lay back. "Now get some rest."

Sam reluctantly sat back, but her mind was racing. 'It's my fault,' she thought. 'I should have been watching out, shouldn't have turned my back. If I had been paying more attention...' The thought of Jack and Daniel being hurt-- or even killed-- all because of her... shutting her eyes Carter determined that no matter what happened, she would go back for them.

***

O'Neill played his flashlight around the small room. Its beam pierced the darkness and illuminated Daniel's figure. Jack stared in shock. Daniel was up against the back wall of the room, held there by the same thick spider-web-like material t hat O'Neill had been exposed to. Jackson's whole body was covered in the substance, with only his head free. He appeared delirious. "Daniel?" O'Neill questioned, moving closer.

"Sam..." Jackson moaned softly.

'"Sam"?' thought O'Neill, feeling oddly annoyed. Daniel was stuck to a wall by a giant spider, and he was calling for *Carter*? He leaned over and pulled a knife from one of his boots. He tried to cut through the thick fibers that bound Daniel. It was hard work due to the way the fibers stuck to the knife, and things weren't helped much by Jackson's struggling and incessant moaning. Finally, frustrated, O'Neill slapped him across the face - just hard enough to get his attention. Blinking, Daniel came to, looking groggily hurt.

"Wha..." he stammered, trying to slow the racing inside his head. He recognized O'Neill. "Jack?"

"It's about time," grumbled O'Neill, more to himself than Daniel.

"Where am I?" Jackson asked, fighting a feeling of nausea.

"Just shut up and hold still," O'Neill snapped.

Falling meekly silent, Daniel shut his eyes as the Colonel finally managed to detach him from the wall. No longer supported by the fibers, Daniel staggered forward.

Jack caught him, then found that they were stuck together by the fibers that were still clinging to Daniel's clothes. O'Neill helped Daniel sit down, then removed his jacket with so me difficulty. Shivering in the cool, damp air, Jackson slowly opened his eyes again and looked up at O'Neill. "Where am I?" he asked again.

"We're still in the same place as before," Jack informed him. "The others already went back to Earth."

"Why didn't you?"

O'Neill looked surprised. "I couldn't just leave you here."

Daniel blinked in confusion. "What am I doing here?" he asked.

Jack - feeling that the conversation was pointless anyway until Daniel was a little more coherent - looked around nervously.

"I think we'd better get out of here," he told Jackson, "before whatever it is gets back."

"What?" Daniel asked, staring up at Jack out of his bloodshot blue eyes.

"Never mind," groaned O'Neill. "Come on, get up." He dragged Jackson to his feet, but Daniel stumbled, and O'Neill had to support him as they staggered out of the chamber. It seemed to take years for them to get all the way back to the room that the Stargate was in. When they finally reached it, Jack motioned for Daniel to stay quiet, then looked cautiously into the room. At first it appeared to be empty, but h e suddenly noticed two small, red lights. The eyes, and whatever they belonged to, were there.

Ducking quickly back into the corridor, O'Neill motioned for Daniel to return the way they came. Daniel opened his mouth, but Jack clamped his hand over it and practically dragged him back down the hallway. O'Neill chose one of the dark rooms at random and moved to the farthest corner. He switched on his flashlight again. Jackson looked at O'Neill, puzzled. "Why did we come back?"

"There was something in the room with the Stargate."

"What was it?"

"Whatever the eyes belong to."

Sudden fear diffused Daniel's face. "I remember the eyes. They hurt me." O'Neill looked at Daniel. The way he had said that-- his childlike innocence intrigued him.

"What happened?" he asked.

Daniel tried to remember through the haze in his mind. "I... I saw them after they hurt Sam. Then I dialed home... then I carried her to the gate. After she and Teal'c went through, I felt something stab my shoulder, and when I turned around the eyes were there." He looked up again at Jack. "They were what hurt me."

O'Neill looked carefully at Daniel's left shoulder and saw nothing, but when he checked the right one, he saw a small puncture. A thought struck him, and he pulled out the ring he had found near the Stargate. The metal point was exactly the same size as the puncture.

Jack didn't even bother to tell Daniel about the ring; he knew the other man was too out of it to comprehend anything. 'What are we going to do?' O'Neill wondered dismally. 'Who knows what kind of poison that... that whatever the hell it was - put in Daniel. And now we can't even get home." A sudden, terrible thought struck O'Neill. What if another Stargate team came through to rescue them?

The red-eyed monster would be there, waiting for them. They *had* to get back!

Jack turned to Daniel again. "Did you wake up at all before I found you?"

Daniel looked puzzled. "I-- I'm not sure. It was all like a long dream. Why?"

"Never mind that. But you've *got* to remember whether you woke up. I've got to know if you saw the... thing with the red eyes."

"I can't remember."

Daniel was stunned by O'Neill's hand coming in sharp contact with his face. Blinking back sudden tears, Daniel recoiled from the slap and stared at Jack.

Fighting the sudden, unwanted compassion Jack felt for the other man, he grasped Daniel by the shoulders, shaking him. "You have to remember. "*Tell me.*" he said furiously.

"I... I think I started to wake up. Because I remember wondering where I was. I remembered the eyes and being hurt... and Sam..." Jack winced. "Then I heard her laughing."

"Who? Sam?"

Daniel looked up again suddenly, his eyes lighting up. "No. *Her.* The creature with the red eyes. I remember now, I saw her. She wears a dark cloak, and her eyes glow. She told me she could see in the dark." His deep blue eyes grew almost dreamy. "And she's beautiful. She has long, dark hair, and pale skin. She looks almost like... a goddess or something."

'How much of this is true?' Jack wondered. 'And how much did he dream?' Somehow he couldn't conceive of a beautiful woman with glowing eyes who went around poking people with her ring. "Did you talk to her? Did she tell you anything?"

"Yes... She said... that she needed me. She said that she wanted me to... make love to her."

'Okkay. Dream,' thought O'Neill. "Are you *sure* it wasn't Sam?" he was unable to refrain from saying. "Sounds like your ideal dream to me."

His bitter sarcasm was wasted on Daniel, who was still talking, "It *wasn't* a dream. She said she wanted to sleep with me so she could bear children. She's the only one left, you see, all the others died. And she has to reproduce. She needs me to make a child for her." His voice grew detached, rambling. "I have to go find her, she *needs* me."

He tried to get up, but Jack held him down forcibly. "Let me go!" Daniel pleaded. "I have to go to her!"

"Stop it!" Jack growled at him. "She hurt you, remember? She hurt Sam." He watched the memory return once more to Daniel, and his face contorted in naive pain. 'What on Earth did she put in him?' Jack wondered. 'I've never seen him so... helpless before.'

"But... maybe... she didn't mean to?" Jackson said, hopefully.

"It was deliberate, Jackson, face it," O'Neill snapped back.

Again the pained expression. Jack was shocked to find that he was getting some sort of sadistic pleasure out of this. Daniel had never been so open to him before, and Jack had never felt so in control of his friend's person.... "What else did she tell you?"

"Nothing." Jackson's voice trailed off. "She didn't-- wait!" Suddenly he paled. "Oh Gosh, you're right... she said she was going to kill me!" His voice grew panicked. "We've got to get out of here! She said that afterwards, she would kill me."

'Like a human spider,' though O'Neill. 'The webs, the eyes, the "bite". She mates, then she kills.'

"We can't leave, not yet," Jack said. "She's waiting by the gate, to see if anyone else is coming. She thinks you're tied up, and I don't think she knows I'm here. Otherwise, she would have come looking for me."

His mind raced furiously as he tried to sort things out. "Did she say when she was going to... uh... do it?"

Daniel shook his head in pain.

"I'll have to just watch the corridor," Jack thought out loud. "She should come by when she goes toward the room where she imprisoned you. As soon as she goes by, we'll have to run the other way, to the Stargate and dial home. I only hope she doesn't come in here first." He completed.

He looked down at Daniel, saw the exhaustion on his face. "Look, get some sleep. I'll watch for her."

Jackson shook his head slowly. "No."

"That's an order," snapped O'Neill.

Daniel shook his head again.

"I bet you'd be more than happy to go to sleep if I were Carter, wouldn't you?" sneered Jack, unable to take it any longer.

Daniel looked up at him, shocked.

"You love her, don't you?" said O'Neill. "When you were unconscious, you were saying her name. You were dreaming of her. You want her."

"I..." Jackson said, unable to think of anything to say.

"Don't even bother to deny it, I know it's true." 'Why am I doing this?' O'Neill asked himself. 'Why does it matter?' For some reason, the thought of Daniel and Sam together made him furious. Was it jealousy? Was *he* in love with Sam? Or was he just trying to hurt Daniel? And if he was, why was he enjoying it so damn much?

"Why do you care?" Daniel finally said. "Are you in love with her?"

Hearing the very question he had been asking himself, Jack drew back his hand to hit Daniel once again, but the other man winced so pitifully that O'Neill lowered his hand.

After a long moment of silence, Jack saw that Daniel was trembling.

"What's wrong?" he asked roughly.

"I'm cold," whispered Daniel. For the first time, Jack noticed the coolness of the damp air, and remembered that he had left Daniel's web-covered jacket in the other room. Looking at Jackson, he was again touched by the utter helplessness he saw. Something in whatever the spider-like woman had given him had lowered every one of Daniel's mental defenses, perhaps to make him more open to the... mating.

Jackson's blue eyes seemed deeper than usual, and his lips were parted fearfully. Instead of the desire to hurt him, Jack felt a need to comfort Daniel... perhaps to emphasize his control over every aspect of the man. O'Neill finally tossed aside his last inhibitions, and took Daniel in his arms, covering them both with his jacket.

Daniel seemed surprised at first, then relaxed against O'Neill. As they clung together in the darkness, Jack felt Daniel's breath on his neck, his hair against his face....

'Oh God, I shouldn't feel this way,' O'Neill thought desperately. 'Not about my subordinate. Not about another man.'

Daniel raised his head, and their eyes met. Jack had never felt so confused-- or so needed-- in his entire life.

***

As soon as Dr. Frasier let her, Carter was out of bed. She and Teal'c tried desperately to get General Hammond to allow them to return to find O'Neill and Jackson.

"Not yet," Hammond said firmly. "There's obviously something there, something that injured you, and possibly the other two. We need to get more medical supplies ready and assemble some more people. We don't know what's out there, and we're certainly not going to lose all of SG-1 to it."

"Yes sir," Carter said obediently.

"It's not fair!" she exploded after Hammond left. "Daniel and Jack are back there... they could die if we don't get back soon!"

Teal'c was silent as she continued ranting, hearing her out before he spoke. "You have strong feelings for them, do you not?" he said after she was quiet.

"What?" Carter blinked in surprise.

"You care a lot about them."

"Well... yes... they're my friends," Sam said, to cover her confusion.

"Are you in love with one of them?"

Blushing, Sam recalled the reason why she had not been paying attention when she was injured. She thought about Jack, and how she admired his strength, his tenacity....

Teal'c's silence brought her back to the present. "No, of course not," she shot back as she turned to leave. "We're only friends."

She stalked out of the room, aware of the skeptical look Teal'c gave her.

***

Jackson's blue eyes seemed to look right through O'Neill, to see right into his soul. O'Neill wondered what Daniel would find there.

'Maybe I'm not jealous because of Sam,' thought Jack. 'Maybe it's because of *Daniel.*'

He was suddenly acutely aware of the warmth of Daniel's body, and how tightly the other man was holding him. Those big blue eyes pleaded with him, begging him not to hurt him. Before he could stop himself or even think about what he was doing, Jack pulled the other man closer to him, their lips brushing together in the lightest of caresses. In the brief second that they touched, Daniel's lips parted, almost expectantly. It was more than enough to convince O'Neill to repeat the gesture, this time lingering as the caress became a passionate kiss.

Jack had never, ever felt, or even imagined feeling, this way about another man before. As he had told Carter some time in the distant past, he liked women. His problem was with scientists. Although now, he was kissing a scientist who most definitely wasn't a woman. But *why*? Why on Earth-- or whatever planet they happened to be on at the moment-- would he want Daniel Jackson, of all people? He could be such a pain, so annoying... and so absolutely helpless.

O'Neill lost all train of thought in the startling passion he felt. Daniel's lips were as soft and sensual as a woman's, and he kissed surprisingly well. 'What is he thinking?' Jack wondered. Then suddenly, all passion, all warmth, died as h e thought, 'What if he's thinking about Sam?' The thought of Daniel's mind being on anyone but him caused Jack to pull back roughly, pushing Daniel away from him.

The hurt look in Daniel's beautiful eyes was almost more than Jack could stand, but before either of them could speak, a noise in the corridor made them both turn and look. Jack was just in time to see the cloaked woman making her way down the hall, moving in an odd flowing motion. As soon as she passed, O'Neill leapt to his feet, Jackson following him. Jack ran to the door, and, after checking to be sure that the woman had disappeared into one of the rooms, he raced for the Stargate, praying that they wouldn't get caught.

He and Daniel made it to the Stargate, and Jackson began dialing home. Just as he locked in the last symbol, O'Neill saw two glowing red orbs approaching them.

"Daniel!" he screamed, shining his light full on the source of the eyes. It played across the noble features of one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, true to the description Daniel had given.

Completely ignoring O'Neill, the woman stepped forwards and laid her hands on Daniel's shoulders. "Don't leave me," she whispered in a seductive voice. "I need you."

"You'll... kill me," Daniel stammered fearfully, but Jack could tell that he was falling under her spell again.

"Daniel-- please--" O'Neill muttered hoarsely. The woman cast him one look, then turned back to her prey. Daniel didn't turn around, but said, "Jack, leave. Go through the Gate. She'll let you go; it's me she wants."

"She's going to kill you!" Jack said desperately. His hand slid into his pocket, grasping something, then pulling it out, keeping it hidden in his hand. "It doesn't matter. She needs me to help her. After that, when she no longer needs me, I might as well be dead. No one else needs me at all."

"That's not true," said Jack softly, meaning every word. "I need you. Desperately."

"Back there... No! you don't--," Daniel's voice was choked with emotion, mixed a strange longing for Jack and the beautiful woman before him, who seduced him simply by needing him.

"It meant everything to me." O'Neill intercepted quickly. "It meant so much, I couldn't stand it." He didn't stop to think about what would happen *after* this. What would happen to them back on Earth. He didn't even think about Sam. The only thing occupying his mind was that he get Daniel away from the spider-lady before she stole him forever. "Daniel, tell her no. *Please.* For me."

Jackson spun away from the woman suddenly, staring at O'Neill with some unreadable emotion on his face. "Jack--" he began.

O'Neill saw in a flash the form of the woman move as she sprung forward, towards Daniel. Reacting faster than he ever knew that he could, O'Neill leapt at her, piercing her neck with the ring that he had slipped on his hand a moment earlier. She fell to the ground with a shriek, the light in her eyes gone out.

Daniel turned slowly in a daze as Jack knelt down beside her. A thin trail of blood came from the puncture on her neck. Jack saw, unsurprised, the ring on her hand, its point turned towards her palm.

O'Neill removed the ring he was wearing and dropped it onto her lifeless body.

Then he stood up and looked at Daniel. "Let's go."

***

They reached Earth just before the newly assembled team left. Dr. Frasier insisted on seeing them, separately, before anyone else. As Jack left her, he passed Daniel, but the other man walked by him without even a glance.

Carter was waiting for him, and she greeted him with a smile.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah." He nodded. She looked absolutely beautiful. He felt a slow smile spread over his face...

...but the moment was broken when he heard footsteps. They both turned to see Daniel standing in the doorway. Carter went over to him, about to ask him how he felt, when she stopped short, seeing the look that passed between the two men.

'He doesn't remember,' thought O'Neill, with certain relief. 'The venom she gave him had him so screwed up, he doesn't remember. If he did, he wouldn't just be standing there like nothing happened....'

'It didn't happen,' Jackson was telling himself at the same time. 'It couldn't have. It was all a dream that the venom caused. How could I have ever believed, even for a moment...'

Sam looked from one man to the other, puzzled. "Is something wrong?" she asked. "You two didn't have another fight, did you?"

"Not exactly," They both said at the same time, both with the same degree of wryness. And they stared at each other.

'He *does* remember.'

'It *did* happen.'

'Crrraaap.....'

Captain Carter shrugged and left the room.

***

10:13 PM.

Carter looked at the VCR clock and sighed, switching off the TV.

'I need a life,' she thought morosely. And of course, that thought raised the question "With whom?"

She thought about Jack. Strong, defensive, never letting anything get to him. The kind of person she wanted to be. Infinitely attractive.

Then she thought about Daniel. And about the look that Jack and him had exchanged that afternoon.

Something was screwy there.

Sam turned the TV on again.

***

10:13 PM.

Lying in bed, trying to sleep, Daniel struggled to make sense of what had happened. He failed miserably. He couldn't understand it. He had thought that his heart was lost forever-- until he had thought that he was slowly falling in love with Sam. And again, he was so sure. But now-- now everything he believed in was shattered. Again. All because of one moment with a man he never thought he could even like. Much less care about so much.

What on Earth-- what in the *Universe* was he going to do?

***

10:13 PM.

O'Neill stared out the window, thinking of Sam. Her warmth, her compassion, her beauty. He saw her beautiful blue eyes before him, teasing and desirable. They faded.

Someone else's blue eyes appeared in their place.

***

The End

***