"The truth is that you are a prisoner of Apophis. When the symbiote that I carry matures, you will become its host"
Teal'c, Enemies

"All right, that's sounding a little brainwashey."
Jack O'Neill, Enemies

Chapter One

Colonel Jack O'Neill stared at the blinking cursor on the monitor in front of him and scowled. He had a mission report to finish... no, make that a mission report to start. But try as he might, the words just refused to come.

If he were honest with himself, though, he'd have to admit that he had danged good reasons for not writing the report. The primary one was that it was bound to be cram-packed full of emotional minefields.

The whole sequence of events had started out so innocuously, use their recently acquired Mothership to help the Tok'ra move from Vorash to another planet. No big deal, right?

Wrong.

He rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping that this would relieve the burning eyes and pounding headache, all symptoms of too little sleep and way too much stress. It didn't help. No surprise there.

But until they knew for sure that Teal'c had come to his senses and would survive the rite of M'al Sharran, sleep had been a low priority for the members of SG-1. Once Doc Fraiser had ordered that Junior be reinstalled in Teal'c's pouch immediately, everyone, Bra'tac included, had heaved a collective sigh of relief.

However, during the long hours when no one had known for sure if Teal'c would survive the battle for his mind and soul, the thought of rest or any hint of normalcy had seemed like an act of betrayal. That normalcy had included getting any sleep and food and he was paying for that loyalty now.

While he stood watch over his comrade in the Infirmary, with little to occupy himself except worry, Jack found himself taking a trip down memory lane and recalled the long hours when he'd been pinned to the wall by the orb's spikes so many years ago. Dangling there like an oversized bug pinned to the wall, legs flailing ineffectively against the cement walls, Teal'c had refused to leave his side. He'd even made a joke about it... undomesticated equines. Yep, Teal'c hadn't deserted him then, there was no way Jack could have done less.

Resolutely, he kept his mind on the rite that had restored Teal'c to them, to think of anything else was too dangerous, and led to that emotional minefield that he was so determined to avoid. The relief he'd felt when Teal'c had pulled through was monumental, yet, it opened those avenues of thought he'd sooner not travel.

Last time he'd checked, Teal'c had been deep in kel-no-reem and Dr. Frasier predicted he would be up and around in a couple of hours. It was enough to make him think fondly of Junior - for all of a nano-second. Then he remembered just who and what Junior was - mostly what. Can you say eww?

And now that the crisis was over General Hammond lowered the boom and had informed Jack that his reports were past-due. He'd gone so far as to give him the ultimatum that Jack wouldn't be allowed off-base until said reports were completed and on his desk. Dang, there was always a flip side.

So now, here he was, stuck underground, staring at a computer monitor that remained obstinately blank, except for that danged blinking cursor that taunted him from the safety of the ether. Meanwhile, the fish in his pond were probably wondering if he'd abandoned them for good.

'Jeez, Jack, at the rate you're going, it'll be...' he glanced at his watch and groaned. 'It'll be a long, long time before you get the chance to feed them worms off your fish hook.'

Jack sighed heavily and glared at the still-empty screen. It had been a bad idea - the whole helping the Tok'ra move thing. He'd told Hammond that. Loudly and often - in person on one of his short trips back and forth from the SGC to Juna - as well as by radio contact.

He'd said it repeatedly to Teal'c.

"Let the Tok'ra get their own Mothership," he'd said. "There was no share and share alike going on, so why 'lend' them 'his' Mothership?" He'd asked... and been ignored.

They'd just gotten their mitts on it, and Harlan's robot duplicates had paid for it with their... life fluid, or whatever that silvery gunk was. But would the powers that be listen to him? Nooo. Sure, the shrubs who made those decisions were always harping on the lack of anything useful to show for all the millions spent to keep the Stargate operational. Yes, they did that, in spades. Heck, they'd even go so far as to shut them down and turn off the lights.

So, when they'd finally got their hands on a Mothership, with all the parts mostly intact and in working order, the Top Brass said to make nice with the friendly snakeheads and play moving day at the Tok'ra house.

And now where was that same Mothership with its ultra-cool space guns? Gone, eaten up by the techno-bugs from hell and then crashed into a jillion pieces on some planet - pieces so small, Carter would have to haul in an electron microscope to find one.

The only good thing to come of it was that in crashing, it had hopefully wiped out all the Replicators onboard and finally killed off that scum-sucking snakehead Apophis. May he rest in pieces - lots of them. Chances were pretty good that he was nothing more than a wet spot on the planet's surface, squished into so many pieces that not even a sarcophagus could put him back together again. And wasn't that a shame? NOT!

In the meantime, he still hadn't made any progress on his report - or should he say reports? The Mothership had been sadly lacking in the PC department, so he just hadn't had the time or the equipment to write them. They had huge honkin' space guns and death gliders out the wahzoo, but apparently the snakeheads didn't put a premium on fonts and bullet point summaries. And don't get him started on the Tok'ra's idea of record-keeping. Last time he'd checked their crystals weren't compatible with Microsoft. Not that he'd had the spare time to write those danged reports anyway.

'Enough wool-gathering, Jack. Your trip down memory lane is not getting this sucker typed.'

Back to the mission and how it'd all started - with the directive that they help the Tok'ra move. Times like these it sucked to be a colonel to one's general. Though he did have to admit that Hammond - or the brass over him who gave the order - had no clue what was gonna happen - hell, 'he' hadn't a clue that what happened would have happened. And he was there watching it happen when it happened.

He frowned as his mind tried to follow the logic of his last thought and failed so he sighed in frustration.

'Whatever.'

Jack buried his head into his hands and remembered the shock as Teal'c's heavy and frighteningly limp body catapulted into his arms and smoke and seared flesh burned his nostrils. His training had kicked in even as his mind was consumed with white static that blared the news that his friend had gone down for the count - and wasn't getting up this time.

Treacherous legs propelled him into cover as well-trained arms had given answering fire to the Jaffa that drew a bead on him. And through the blue haze of the zat hiss the object of Teal'c's obsession loomed - Tanith. A very much alive Snakehead complete with overbearing smirk that Jack so wanted to wipe off his face.

At that moment the whole Jaffa Revenge Thing was all that kept Jack O'Neill from succumbing to his body's need to shut down. Frozen muscles released a hail of bullets to wipe out the snake. But it wasn't enough. Though he thought some of his rounds might have found their mark, it was too late. Tanith was gone, along with Teal'c.

Jack wailed inside as he finally lost consciousness. Teal'c was dead and Tanith lived. He so wished the reverse was true, but it was not. Far from it. Even with Junior's help to heal him from the worst of injuries, this wound had to have been fatal.

Caught up in his thoughts - in real time - his own fingers dug into the back of his neck, as if he could rip his head off and rid himself of the memories that lay there. This most recent one was just a diversion from the main event, the dirty hidden one that he refused to face.

Eyes reflected back to him from the computer monitor, hollow with loss, and dark with guilt - covering the pain he refused to - could not - acknowledge.

Years of practice got the words and actions down in dry impersonal mission reports; the emotions would take a brick of C-4 to dislodge from his subconscious. Somewhere, down deep, that box was having additions added. Jack just wished it would assimilate them at a faster rate.

Suddenly he was back in the Mothership with his team. They had just brought Teal'c and his Jaffa friends onboard. Along with someone else too, only they hadn't known that at the time. He stiffened as the previous events unfolded inside his mind, with Jack an unwilling audience.

***

As the cargo bay doors swished open, Jack saw a man who he'd given up for dead - Teal'c! Unaccustomed emotions washed over him at the sight, and his friend had never looked so good as now. With an honest, wide and teeth-baring smile, he walked toward him with open arms, eager to touch and hold one of his greatest treasures. "Hey!" Jack wrapped his arms around him as they embraced. "Buddy!"

Abruptly, Teal'c disengaged and stepped away, Jack's side arm now in his hand and pointed directly at him.

'For crying out loud,' he thought as his exuberant emotions crashed around him. 'If I didn't know better, I'd think Teal'c was one of the bad guys.'

Jack rolled his shoulders to get rid of the itch that had developed there, the same one that erupted whenever things were about to go south in a very bad way. That itch had never proven him wrong before, and at that moment, it was going into overdrive.

"What cha got going here, Teal'c?" Jack's smile faded, along with his last hope of this all being a joke when he saw Apophis and the smirk of satisfaction the snakehead was wearing. Why did that itch have to be right so many times? Jack thought with disbelief.

"Well done, Teal'c! Finally you may resume your rightful position as my First Prime."

Held at gunpoint by Teal'c, the Jaffa squad divested them of their vests, radios, remaining weapons, and their utility belt - and anything that was attached to said utility belt. With their canteens gone, they were about to get very thirsty.

When an overzealous Jaffa tried to take the belt that held up his pants, Jack protested. "For crying out loud, it's holding up my pants."

"Leave it," Teal'c nodded and motioned them forward with Jack's sidearm. Jack's. His. Crap.

And through the whole messed up scene, Apophis strutted around like he owned the place and Teal'c backed him up. It was enough to make him wonder if Teal'c really knew what he was doing.

As his mind struggled to come to grips with the new events, Jack noticed the smallest, most inconsequential things. Carter looked like she'd been slapped, and Daniel's face was all wrinkled as his brain tried to work out the new facts that had presented themselves.

Jack's fingers itched to push Daniel's glasses back up his nose and he quashed it with an effort. After all, he'd already allowed himself a spontaneous moment and look where they all were because of it!

Jack O'Neill grimaced as they were escorted to a compartment; led there on the orders of their teammate, Teal'c. Something smelled, and it wasn't because they hadn't had a shower in quite awhile.

'But Teal'c hates Apophis, he must have a plan... and all I have to do is play along until he lets me in on the secret. Yeah, that must be it. Teal'c would never... would he?'

As they were herded into an empty compartment, Jack took his time so that Teal'c ended up at his side. Then he stopped and spoke in a whisper. "All right, this is... feeling like, ah, a strange plan... just... let me know what to do... and when..."

His words stopped only when Teal'c backhanded Jack with his own handgun, a move which knocked O'Neill backwards where he landed on his back with a thud.

"Ah!" Automatically Jack curled into a ball and rolled with the punch. "Whoa!" he yelled and cupped his nose with his palm. "Ow!" his voice had a nasal twang heard through the cover of his hand.

Daniel advanced toward the nearest Jaffa and then stopped short when Teal'c brandished Jack's gun threateningly at him. "Come on, Teal'c. You don't really think you're... still First Prime of Apophis?"

Teal'c scowled. "I have never ceased to be in the service of my god."

"All right, that's sounding a little brainwashey." Jack staggered to his feet, still fingering his sore nose. "You don't believe that guy's a god any more than I do."

His words seemed to have an effect as Teal'c lowered the gun, squared his shoulders and lifted his head. An arrogant expression painted his features, an arrogance other 'bad' Jaffa affected. Jack never imagined that ugly expression on his friend's face, let alone directed at him.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Jack asked angrily in a too-even voice. Teal'c's expression didn't change from the cruel scowl of disdain so Jack continued in an astonished tone. "Come on! We're friends. You're trying to tell me you don't remember what's happened these past four years?"

"I remember everything. It makes me 'ill' to think I was forced to pretend to be your friend."

Daniel raised his eyebrows in seeming disbelief at the contempt contained within those words and exchanged a worried glance with Carter.

Ignoring their expressions of disbelief, Teal'c continued. "So many times, I've saved your life when I've wished I could watch you DIE!"

Jack affected an injured but understanding yet mocking tone, similar to one he'd heard Dr. McKenzie use. "It hurts me that you would say that... but, that's okay... cause I know it's not true."

Teal'c's haughty scowl never faltered as his words continued to hammer at Jack's belief in his friend. "Your 'belief' is not necessary."

'Okay, so that tactic didn't work, no surprise there, considering who I stole it from,' thought Jack. 'Next step, try reasoning with him.' "It doesn't make any sense." He paused, waiting for a response from Teal'c - one that never came. "Come on! You and I together have taken down half a dozen Goa'ulds."

"Enemies of Apophis." Teal'c's arrogant expression never faltered; that mouth that - in other times had curved upward in a smile only turned downward in a cruel sneer.

"And we kicked his ass - twice. Hell, you sat around and watched him die once."

Teal'c straightened with pride, his eyes blazed with the fire of fanatic adoration. "I knew he would be reborn more powerful than ever."

Jack shook his head; his hands both signaling his disbelief and his need to escape the futile argument, nothing was working. "I'm talking to a wall here." He almost shouted and stepped back, pinning Daniel and Carter with his gaze, hoping they could help. "Anybody?"

Daniel took up his challenge. "Teal'c, remember when Apophis brainwashed your son, Rya'c?" Teal'c ignored him and turned to leave. "Consider the possibility. Daniel's last words were small and spoken to a closed door. "Or don't."

***

Consumed by the memories, Jack shook his head in disbelief. Who would have believed that seeing Teal'c alive and apparently well would have not only made him feel giddy, but guilty? He was supposed to be better than good at his job, but he'd even lost his friend's dead body.

Talk about poor judgment; his sucked as badly as one of Carter's black holes. He'd walked up and hugged the Jaffa knowing full well that he'd been in the hands of Apophis. The shocked look on his face - the one he knew had to be there - wasn't at seeing Teal'c alive, nor at seeing that snake strut in like he owned the place, but at his own stupidity. He'd failed Teal'c again. He should have seen it coming, and taken steps to minimize the damage.

If he'd had his ducks in a row, he'd have captured Teal'c and Apophis. But, no, that was just too easy for Jack O'Neill. Throughout this entire mission, and the couple that came before it, he'd merely been along for the ride, clueless and helpless to effect any change in the events while those around him paid the price for his ineptitude.

A case in point: look at what had happened to Harlan's robots. Much as he wanted to wring Harlan's beefy neck, and whip his double's ass, they didn't deserve what they'd gotten. What had happened to Jack he deserved, but for it to touch Teal'c the way it had...

'Well, Jack, maybe it's time to retire before you really screw things up and they throw you out?'

"O'Neill."

Yanked back to the present Jack jerked and his wheeled chair skidded out from under him, landing him on his butt on the floor.

"T?" Jack smiled up at his friend who stood at his door, the corners of his mouth turned upward in a half-smile, so totally opposite to that previous scowl. "What cha doing?"

Then he shuddered as his words seemed to echo eerily inside his head and brought back memories - ones that he'd done his best to stuff into that locked box. The same box that now had new additions along with other things that were best not dwelled upon and he fervently hoped would be forgotten. Not that they had been - forgotten that is. But one could always hope.

Caught inside the memory, he was no longer in his office. Instead, he stared into the business end of a zat. His last thought was he'd never noticed how beautiful the color of the energy discharge was. Then it enveloped him and he became one with it.

Orginal Header:

Title: "My Brother, My Enemy"
Authors: DinkyJo; a synthesis of Dinkydow and JoleneB
Category: Missing Scene, drama
Pairings: Jack/Sam
Content Level: 18+
Season: Season 5
Spoilers: "Enemies" and "Threshold", references to "Exodus" from Season 4 and "Message In A Bottle" from season Two
Warnings: Jack whumping ahead.
Summary: Teal'c and Jack have issues that need resolving.
Disclaimer: We don't own them, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions do. We won't make any money out of this venture and will put the characters back the way we found them when we're finished with them... finished mostly.
Author's Notes:
Dinky: This came about as a result of a Jackfic challenge by Jackless to write a missing scene for the episode "Enemies" about what goes on between Teal'c and Jack while they are held prisoner onboard the ship. According to Carter, that left 10-11 hours for us to play with. A lot can happen in 10-11 hours. An awful lot. I hope this does an adequate job of filling in the blanks.
JoleneB: The deeper the secret, the fewer who know of it. This will make you wonder just how much we're all missing.