"Yes you would."

"What!" O'Neill blurted out incredulously, his expression clearly saying he thought the archeologist had lost his mind.

"Given the choice you would pick Apophis because in the long run he's a greater threat to humanity." Daniel met Jack's eyes for the first time. "Besides, whether you want to admit it or not, you've got a decent streak in you that wouldn't let you kill him outright without giving him a chance to fight back."

"Do you have any idea what Black Ops is Daniel?"

"You're not in Black Ops anymore." Daniel's calm reminder struck home and they sat in silence, each caught up in their own memories.

"How did you know about Major Hai?" Jack finally broke the stillness. Neither man had spoken in close to an hour, each lost deep in his own thoughts. "I seriously thought I'd managed to erase him from my memory."

"This afternoon, when you...got sick, you were...mumbling...alot of it was in Vietnamese. His name kept coming up." Daniel plucked nervously at the strands of grass. "Jack I think Bannock had something to do with you getting sick. I don't know how or why but you were staring at him and...and...I don't know...there was this blank look...Maybe if he is telepathic he stirred up the memories while he was reading your mind...I know it sounds nuts!"

"And visiting an Indian village on another planet doesn't?" Upset when Daniel didn't return his half-hearted smile, Jack's mind returned to the fact he owed the linguist one enormous apology. He was ashamed to admit if the roles were reversed and it had been Daniel saying those contemptable things, he'd have beat the shit out of him. At the very least he'd have walked away without looking back and left the man drowning in his own misery. "Daniel...about what I said...I-"

"It's forgotten Jack!" Daniel had more than his share of self doubt when he'd first begged to be allowed to join SG-1 but with each mission the colonel had watched his young friend's self confidence grow, granted it was only by milimeters but with it came the belief that, military or not, he was an important part of the team. The urgency Jack heard in Daniel's voice, insisting the incident be wiped from both their minds, told him the scholar now had a very tenuous hold on that belief.

"Daniel,-"

"It's not neces-"

"That's an order Jackson!" O'Neill grinned, attempting to remove any sting from the words. "Since you've decided now's a good time to follow orders, I'm going to take advantage of it...I need to say this."

"Jack if I thought you really meant what you said I'd have...it doesn't matter, so please do us both a favor and drop it." "I hope you know just how much SG-1 needs you." Never good at expressing his sentimental side, Jack usually settled for making wise cracks, counting on his friends to understand but this was too important to leave unsaid. Daniel had become an intricate part of his life, not only as a member of his team but as a true friend and that was something Jack never wanted to lose.

"I hope you know how important you are to me...How much I need you."