Note: This is a sequel to an early story, Retribution, and will make a whole lot more sense if you've read that story first.

Disclaimer: Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.

The Face of a Friend, Part 1

General Hammond looked at Jack with concern as he finished his request.  "I trust your judgment, Colonel.  If you think he's a threat to Dr. Jackson...."

"I do," Jack said shortly.  "I've been doing some checking around.  You know that Pirelli was black ops."

Hammond nodded.  "That's one of the reasons he was fast-tracked into the program."

Jack winced at that.  "A few old colleagues were able to give me some information.  Seems Pirelli is known for holding grudges."  He fidgeted with the papers in his hands as he spoke.  "I'd just rather he didn't have such easy access to Daniel.  Assigning him to another facility might give him a chance to cool off."

"It wouldn't hurt.  Plus, I've been less than impressed with his efforts in the new role I've assigned him here on base."  General Hammond turned back to the files on his desk.  "I'll give this some thought.  Thank you, Colonel."

Jack nodded, and left Hammond's office.  He told himself again he was doing the right thing.  Since that mission with SG-11, when Daniel had exposed Pirelli's command weaknesses and succeeded in getting him taken out of the off-world rotation, he'd been worried that the man would try to exact some revenge on Daniel.  So far, other than a lot of tension whenever the two of them crossed paths, things had been quiet.  But Jack couldn't shake his uneasy feeling, and had delved a little into Pirelli's past to see if he could get some insights.  Nothing he'd seen had made him feel any better.

But seeing Pirelli leave Cheyenne Mountain - oh, that definitely would make him feel better.

"So anyway, the people seemed to be descended from a branch of the..." Daniel stopped, looking over at Jack.   "You're not listening to a word I'm saying, are you?" he said accusingly.

Jack looked over, covering his momentary lapse quickly.  "Sure I am." 

"Right...well, this can wait," Daniel said, much to Jack's surprise.  "Because as of ten minutes ago," he glanced down at his watch, "I think we're off duty."

Jack's surprised double-take melted into a grin.  "I'm rubbing off on you, aren't I?"

Daniel gave him a small smile in return.  "Had to happen, I guess," he said.  The two of them rounded the corner of the corridor, almost colliding with another soldier.

"Sorry, I..." Daniel started, then clapped his mouth shut.

Pirelli, hauling his rucksack up on his shoulder again, gave him a blistering glare.  

Jack bit back a curse.  Of all the people they had to run into....

"Dr. Jackson," Pirelli said dryly.  "Sorry I didn't stop by to say goodbye before leaving," he said, pushing his way past Daniel and Jack.

"Leaving?" Daniel said, before Jack could stop him.  

Pirelli halted, turning around.  "They're reassigning me, Jackson," he said.  "Nice - you even managed to look surprised."

"I am surprised," Daniel said, glancing over at Jack.  

Uh-oh, Jack thought, as he watched Daniel's mind working.

"Guess this mountain wasn't big enough for the both of us," he said, then watched the look that Daniel gave Jack.  He turned without another word and left, leaving Jack and Daniel standing awkwardly in the corridor.  

"So when were you going to tell me?  Or were you?" Daniel asked.

"I wasn't," Jack confessed.  "Look, Daniel - the guy had it in for you.  Having him off-base will give him time to cool off."

"Jack, trust me - I have more experience with bullies than you do - and he's not going to cool off," Daniel said, staring at Pirelli's retreating back.  "Especially not now."

Several months later

"Mornin'!" Jack called to Daniel from across the hood of his car, and chuckled as Daniel jumped in surprise.

"Hello, Jack," Daniel mumbled, pulling his backpack out of the car before slamming the door.

"Get up on the wrong side of the bed, sunshine?" Jack said, falling into step beside Daniel.

"Just a really long weekend," he said.  Jack glanced back at his car.  "Yes, I wrecked my car, Jack.  It looks worse than it really is."

"So now are you going to trade that rollerskate in for a real vehicle?  An 83 Honda Civic hatchback is not exactly meant for mountain weather."  Jack readied himself for Daniel's usual 'it's just a mode of transportation, it gets me where I need to go' argument, but was surprised when Daniel just turned to him with a smile.

"Maybe an SUV?  Yeah - a big, obnoxious gas-guzzling American SUV." Daniel said, as they boarded the shuttle bus on its way into the mountain.  "Four-wheel drive, lots of chrome.  Archaeologists need something that can go off-road, don't they?  Even if I go off-world more than off-road."

Jack glanced around the shuttle quickly, satisfying himself that luckily, all the personnel within earshot were SGC.  "We're not in the mountain yet, Daniel," he admonished.

Daniel only looked vaguely guilty at his slip.  "Right - sorry," he said, in an off-hand manner.

Jack looked at Sam and Teal'c impatiently before glaring at the doorway once more.  They gave each other an uncomfortable look as he glanced at his watch again.  

"Would you like for me to go check..." Sam started, but Jack stopped her with an annoyed glance.

"No, Major - he's a grown boy and he said he was on his way fifteen minutes ago." Jack said.

Almost on cue, Daniel walked into the gateroom, pulling on his vest as he walked.  Jack gave him a withering look, but Daniel seemed oblivious as he fumbled with his equipment.  

"Glad you could join us," Jack said, motioning to the control room to begin dialing.

"I just had a few things to finish up," he said absently.  

As they stood waiting for the gate to open, Jack motioned toward Daniel's eyes.  "Aren't you forgetting something?" 

Daniel stared a moment.  "Oh - you mean my glasses.  Ever hear of contacts?"

Sam did a double-take.  "You finally got contacts?  Wow."

"It was strongly suggested by my optometrist."

"Losing money on that 'repair or replace, no questions asked' policy, huh?" Jack said.

"Actually, I've had them for a while - they just took some getting used to," Daniel said.  "So where is it we're going again?" he asked, as the gate spun open.

"P9X-933," Sam said, giving him a surprised look.

"The one you were so hot on seeing because you thought the ruins looked Mayan or something," Jack said.

"Oh - that one," Daniel said, as they walked through the gate.

"Nothing here of value," Daniel said, standing and dusting off his hands.   The rest of SG-1, who'd been keeping watch at various points in the temple, looked over at him in surprise.  "We've spent too long here already."

"Are you sure? I mean, it seems like these inscriptions..." Sam started to motion around at the displays covering each wall.

"Have you added archaeology to your many fields of expertise, Sam?" Daniel shot back.

"Hey - that's uncalled for," Jack said.  "She asked you a legitimate question."

"And how would you know, Jack?" Daniel said.

Jack was at Daniel's side in three strides, and grabbed his arm, steering him away from the other two members of his team.  "Listen, if you're having a bad day, keep it to yourself.  Don't take it out on the rest of the team."

"If Sam had said the very same thing, would you have doubted her word on it?  Why am I the only person on this team whose opinion is ever questioned?"

Jack's hold on Daniel's arm tightened slightly.  "What is it with you today?  First you leave us to kick our heels in the gateroom for thirty minutes, and now this?"

Daniel glanced down at Jack's hand on his arm with a look of disdain.  "I thought you'd be glad to get back home, Jack - you didn't want to come here in the first place." 

"That's not the point."

"It's exactly the point.  Besides, it's insignificant - as I've already said."

"When we get back, I want you to spend some time with Dr. Fraiser - full workup," Jack said.

"Why do you think that I need checking out just because I'm tired of putting up with your bullshit?" he asked Jack calmly, before brushing off his hand.

Jack's face tightened into a grim mask.  "Just wishful thinking, I guess," he said, with none of his usual sarcasm.  "That wasn't a request," he said, as Daniel started to turn and walk away.  "Either get checked out - or stay behind the next time," he said, leaving Daniel to glare at his back before turning to leave for the gate.

"There's nothing wrong with me," Daniel said, as soon as Doctor Fraiser took the thermometer out of his mouth.

"It won't hurt for us to just check, Daniel," she said, rolling up his sleeve.  

He grimaced as she wiped down his arm and prepared to draw blood.  "I thought you said it wouldn't hurt," he said.

"I lied," she said with a smile as she pushed in the needle.  "How's everything been going lately?  Are you feeling tired..."

"Only for about the last five years," he snapped.

"Anything unusual - headaches, nausea...."  Janet continued as she withdrew the syringe and put away the sample.

Daniel rubbed a hand over his face wearily.  "This is a waste of time."

"You may think so, but your commanding officer doesn't - so the sooner you cooperate, the sooner you're out of here," Janet said sternly.  

A nurse came over.  "Doctor Fraiser, could you come here a moment?" she asked.

"I'll be right back," she told Daniel, before walking across the infirmary.  He looked around impatiently, legs swinging against the side of the bed.  Then his eyes fell on his medical file, which Janet had laid by the bedside.  He picked it up carefully, and began leafing through the pages.

"Interesting reading?" Janet said, when she returned a few minutes later.  

Daniel looked up.  "Yeah - pretty interesting reading," he said, handing her the file.

"You've given me a lot to write up over the last few years," she said.  "Now, where were we?"

Jack walked quietly to the door of Daniel's lab, peering in before actually tapping on the door to announce his arrival.  Daniel, who'd been hunched over his computer, hands massaging his temples, looked up suddenly - and without a smile, Jack noticed.

"Mind if I..." he nodded toward a stool by Daniel's desk.  

"Could I stop you?" he said wearily, motioning him in.

Jack sat down uncomfortably, and they spent a moment in silence before he spoke again.  "How's the head?"

"It hurts," Daniel responded, turning back to his computer and closing a file.  "If you're here to find out how the tests went, I don't have the results yet."

"That wasn't why I was here," Jack said, looking down as he spoke.  He turned over in his mind several possible ways to begin, but Daniel beat him to it.

"You're here to have a 'buddy to buddy' talk with me about why I was such an asshole today," he said, looking over to Jack for confirmation.

"Well, I wouldn't have said 'asshole', but...yeah," Jack agreed.

"Am I not entitled to have a bad day?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Not this bad," Jack said.  "Look, Daniel - whatever it is, I would hope you could talk it out with me instead of feeling like you have to act out like this.  I mean, this whole week you've been..."

"Okay," Daniel said, "Let's talk about it, Jack."

Jack steeled himself.  He knew by the tone in Daniel's voice that this wasn't going to be a brotherly little exchange.  "Okay," he said warily.

"How long have I been a member of SG-1?" Daniel asked.

"Since there's been an SG-1," Jack answered dutifully.

"So when are you going to start treating me with respect you treat Sam?  The respect due someone with my degrees and expertise?  Instead of treating me like some sort of eccentric crackpot?"

Jack sat back a little, stunned.  He'd been on the receiving end of Daniel's anger, his frustration, his down-right pigheadedness - even his despair.  But never could he remember having heard Daniel...whine.

"Daniel, I was worried - this is not like you," Jack said, keeping his voice calm.

"It was nice of you to recommend a physical exam first, though - instead of just sending me back to Dr. McKenzie in psych.  Let's rule out any mysterious alien virus before we decide that Dr. Jackson is just going nuts again, right?"

Jack's face flushed red.  "I'm going to recommend that SG-1 stand down for a while.  And I suggest that you take some time off  - and get your attitude back in check.  I hope this is just fatigue talking...."

"And if it isn't..." Daniel started, but Jack silenced him with a hard look.  

"If it isn't, you won't be going anywhere near that Stargate.  Count on it." 

Jack walked out of the lab, and Daniel knew by the stiffness in his back as he retreated that his words had hit home.  With a bitter smile, he turned back to the computer, and brought up a list of his files.  Slowly, methodically, he began to delete them, directory by directory, until his hard drive and his folder on the network had been wiped completely clean.

She jumped in surprise again as she heard another crash, this one even louder.  She raised her hand to knock on the door, then pulled back.  What if it was a burglar?  Should she call for help?

"Calm down, Hannah," she chided herself.  Burglars didn't bother to turn the stereo on before robbing an apartment.  She knocked on the door timidly, then louder when she didn't get any answer.  She was getting ready to knock again when Daniel threw open the door.  In one hand was a long, wicked looking sword, and his eyes narrowed a little as he looked at her.

"Something I can do for you?" he asked, as his neighbor cowered in front of him.

"Daniel, are you okay?" she said curiously.  He watched as she peered past him into his apartment, her eyes widening at the damage.

He lowered the sword he held.  "I'm fine - next question?" he said, over the music blaring in the background.

"Can you keep it down?" she asked timidly.

"Don't like my choice of music?  Well, that really sucks, because you're going to have to listen to it.  I pay rent here too," he shot back, before shutting the door in her face.  He then turned, and with a smooth motion of the sword, cut a tribal mask hanging on a nearby wall into two clean pieces.

Satisfied, he tossed the sword onto the couch and ran his finger along the keyboard of his piano before stepping out onto the balcony.  He leaned over the railing, looking down at the street below.  "Long way down," he mumbled, before going back in.  He sauntered into the kitchen, and pulled out a bottle of bourbon, then paused.  He left the bottle and turned with a smile.

"I think I need a little trip up to the mountains," he said, before going to his bedroom to change.

Daniel stood by the boarded-up window, straining to see through the cracks to the outside.  Only the thinnest strips of light made their way into the room through the cracks, providing just the hint of illumination.  Outside, the weather didn't seem to be much different; the sun struggled to shine through a heavy haze of clouds.  He rubbed his hands over his arms.  Tonight would probably be another cold one, and the t-shirt and khakis he had on were scant protection.

"Has it really been two weeks?" he said aloud, his voice sounding strangely loud as it echoed off the empty walls.  He looked over to where his supplies were stored.  Yes, thirteen empty water bottles.  He surveyed the small stash.  His supplies would be completely gone in another week.  After two weeks of MREs - no, make that the same MRE, for every meal - starving almost seemed like a good option.

He walked over to the mattress that had been thrown on the floor and sat down wearily, tucking his bare feet under his legs.  Two weeks of nothing more than the sound of his own breath were taking their toll.  When he had regained consciousness here in this one room cabin, locked in and left with just a few meager supplies, he'd immediately set about trying to find a way out.  Easier said than done.

The windows had been boarded up from the inside, and when he had managed to pull loose one of the boards, he found the windows barred.  The only door was metal and locked from the outside.  When he had torn up the rancid wall-to-wall carpeting, he had been faced with floorboards that wouldn't budge.  And there was nothing in the cabin he could use to get free - just a mattress that had seen better days and the food.  Whoever had brought him here had even taken his shoes.

"God - whoever you are, just come back and do whatever you're going to do," he mumbled, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes.  He had stopped wondering what lay in store for him, or even who'd brought him here.  The list was a long one in both instances.  What he was wondering now was how much longer he would last without going completely nuts.

Almost on cue, he heard a vehicle coming up the gravel road.  He jumped up, peering through the thin slit in the window again.  A midnight blue Explorer pulled up next to the cabin, and Daniel watched as the driver climbed out.

"Shit!" he said as he saw the man's face.  He backed away from the window in shock.

The man who'd stepped out of the SUV was...him.

"I've already gone off the edge," he said to himself.  "Two weeks was too long."  He moved to the side of the door as keys turned in the lock.  The door was pulled open, and the thin daylight flooded into the cabin.

Daniel waited, holding his breath.  Finally, he heard a chuckle from outside.

"You think you're going to overpower me, Daniel?  After two weeks on water and macaroni and cheese?  I don't think so."  Another moment passed.  "I won't hurt you if you step out where I can see you."

"How do I know that?" Daniel said.

"Hell, I would have killed you two weeks ago if that's what I wanted."

Daniel still paused, and the voice outside, so much like his own that he couldn't tell the difference, growled at him again.  "Or I'll burn this cabin down around you - what'll it be?"

Daniel eased into the light, backing away toward the far wall.  The figure silhouetted in the doorframe sauntered forward into the cabin.

"Hello, Daniel," he said.

"How bad is this problem, Colonel?" General Hammond asked with concern.

"If it wasn't bad, I wouldn't be here.  I'm afraid Daniel's burnt out, sir.  I've never seen him act this way before," Jack said, staring at his hands.  "For the last couple of weeks, he's not been turning in reports, he's late for every meeting, and his attitude sucks."

"Is he a danger to his team?"

Jack thought a moment.  "I think he's probably in more danger of one of us slugging him because of his attitude.  Just kidding, sir," he added quickly.  "I don't think he's dangerous.  But he's not performing his function as a member of SG-1, and if things don't improve on our next mission, I'm going to ask him to stand down.  I wanted you to be aware of my intentions."

"Jack, you're an excellent commander, and I certainly will stand behind any decision you make on this matter.  But - I hope you and Dr. Jackson are able to work through this before that happens."

"Yes, sir," Jack said, as he stood to leave.  "So do I."

"Who are you?" Daniel asked warily, looking into his own face.

"You don't recognize me?" he said, feigning hurt.  "Everyone else seems to.  I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson."

"Oh my God," Daniel said, "You've been at the SGC these last two weeks, in my place.  No wonder no one's come looking for me.  They don't know I'm gone."

The other Daniel walked toward him, tossing down a duffel bag.  "Has anyone ever told you your office is a mess?"

"I'm sure it is now," he said, his stomach twisting in a knot.  Two weeks!  This...person has been impersonating me for two weeks - obviously successfully.  

"Don't you want to know why I'm here?" he asked.  "Let me tell you," he said, not waiting for Daniel to answer.  "I wanted to let you know that you aren't so critical to the SGC as you think.  Someone who doesn't know anything about ancient languages, archaeology, or any of that other bullshit has done your job just fine.  Kind of humbling, isn't it?" he said with a smirk.

"Must have been a slow two weeks," Daniel said, wrapping his arms around himself.

"I've even been off-world with SG-1.  Not quite as glamorous as I'd been led to believe."

His words hit Daniel like a kick to the stomach.  He'd taken his place on SG-1, and his team-mates hadn't noticed.  Never caught on.  Not even Jack, who knew him as well as anyone on this world.  No one suspected.

"Who - or what - are you?" Daniel asked again.

"You really don't know, do you?" he said, reaching inside his shirt.  There was a shimmer, and his appearance changed to someone Daniel knew all too well.

"Pirelli," he said.