O'Neill sank beneath the surface letting the cold water wash away the remnants of nightmares he couldn't remember in the morning light. Climbing onto the shore, he quickly dried and dressed before any of the villagers stumbled across him. Although it didn't seem to bother the natives, he wasn't into co-ed communal bathing with strangers.

Jack was used to nightmares. Viet Nam, Desert Storm, Black Ops missions, the Goa'uld...Charlie, all were memories he shoved to the back of his mind upon opening his eyes. He'd learned to deal with them. They were just another portion of his life. Normally they were brought on by some trauma which didn't make any sense after spending two peaceful days on Apakia. The one thing he did remember was Shelaya. She had been in the center of his nightmares.

As he moved for the village, he saw Daniel approaching.

"Wanna tell me about it?" Jack didn't need to see the faint darkness under his friend's eyes, the slumped shoulders or the furrowed brow to know Daniel's night had also been disrupted with unpleasant dreams. There had been none of the usual tossing and turning, or crying out in his sleep but after four years, the colonel knew his friend as well as he knew himself. He might not always understand what Daniel was talking about when he went off on one of his scientific tangents but he could take one look at the man and read his body language, hear every subtle nuance in his voice, see every emotion in his eyes as easily as scanning a map.

"What?"

"Talk to me Danny." Jack pulled the younger man to a stop, drawing on all his patience as Daniel suddenly found his feet as interesting as one of his artifacts. Taking his elbow Jack led him to a grove of trees taking a seat on the remains of a large tree trunk. From there they could see the women and older children working in the fields, carefully weeding and nurturing the plants that stretched towards the sun, plants that meant the people would have food for the winter. It suddenly occurred to O'Neill how much these people reminded the anthropologist of the Abydoians. It wasn't just that Shelaya resembled his beloved Shau're, it was everything. These too were a peaceful people who led a communal existance, everyone working to insure their survival, pitching in to care for the elderly or sick. Their respect for all life forms. Their open acceptance of others. These innocent people hadn't suffered at the hands of the Goa'uld and if it was up to the colonel, they never would.

"Bad night?"

"Yeah...no...I-I don't know..." Inhaling deeply, Daniel ran a hand wearily through his hair. "You?"

"Not so good....a few bad dreams."

"Me too....Jack....yesterday when I was talking to Shelaya...." His voice trailed off. Jack could see the internal battle waging within his young friend.

"You know, it's only natural that you might feel an attraction for Shelaya especially considering how much she looks like-"

"No! It's not that! Hell I didn't even...Jack she knows things...things she..." Once again his voice trailed off as he closed his eyes, his head tilted back in frustration. "Actually after talking to her, I hadn't thought anymore about how much she looks like Shau're...Jack...She knows things that she couldn't possibly know."

"Okay Danny, start at the beginning." This wasn't just about nightmares or emotions aroused by a beautiful young woman. This was Daniel trying to decipher a puzzle whose solution kept eluding him and Jack knew it would eat at the scientist until resolved. "What kind of things?"

"Things about us...Shau're."

"Maybe she was picking up vibes from you...I mean face it Daniel you-"

"She knew her name...She knew about Teal'c's symbiote...well actually she thought he was pregnant but-"

"Whoa...whoa....she thought what?" O'Neill eyes lit up with delight. "She thought he was pregnant?"

"Well...in a way, she's right....He is basically carrying a Goa'uld child so...That's not the point!"

"Sorry." The apology might have rang true if he'd been able to completely wipe the smile from his handsome face.