1. Chapter 1

**Thirty Five Hundred Years**

_Category: Drama/General _

Summary: Life and science without the terror of imminent war.

Rating: PG

Season/spoiler: Future

Status: complete

Archive: Heliopolis, Fanfiction, Gateworld, Carterfic, SJD yes, and whoever who wants it.

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended.

_**Author's Notes:** This scene has been rattling around in my muse for around a month. Finally I got the motivation to try and see if I could write something that could do justice to the idea and scenes in my head. This is just a first shot at it. I may add to this… or rewrite some of it… or all of it… haven't decided yet. Muse is undecided… it was hard enough to force Muse to put this much into type… because once things are in type, it forces the story in directions that Muse did not anticipate. Muse does not like losing control!_

_This story spends some time up-front time with Daniel… and since he has usually been a fairly minor character in my other stories, I thought that it was fitting that he gets some space in this one. Although not an archeologist myself, I have tried to get the dates and such correct for Ancient Egypt. If I got them wrong, please let me know… We geologists rarely look at rocks that are less than a million years old! _

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**THIRTY FIVE HUNDRED YEARS**

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Dry. Dusty.

Old. Abandoned. Derelict.

Ruins of stone.

Shades of light grays and tans.

Covered with a millennia of dirt and dust.

No one had walked here for more than 3500 years.  
But the presence of people long since gone still permeated the air.

He pulled in a long, slow breath.  
The air was a bit stale and he could taste the ever-present dirt and sand.

His experienced eyes traveled over the room's features.  
Dusty grey-brown walls. Covered with hieroglyphics, etchings and murals.  
A stone and dirt floor strewn with broken artifacts.  
A few small recessed alcoves.  
And bones. More… bones.  
They'd found the same remnants in each room and passageway.

The refuse of a final battle played out on this ground 3500 years ago.

He allowed his imagination to play a scene for him of what he knew had happened here.

Soldiers defending their god.  
Against heretics.

Dying for their god…as the attackers invaded the pyramid temple of their deity.  
And the attackers forced their way in.  
Losing people for each yard gained.  
Soldiers and attackers died and left behind as the battle progressed inwards.  
Bodies strewn behind as the battle moved forward.  
Bodies that were now bones. Lying in the dust.  
Markers and reminders of what happened here.

For this had been -the- battle.

His breath hitched and he closed his eyes and tried to center himself.  
Brought himself back from his imagination of the historical scenes.

Here and now.  
He was here. He was here, now.  
This was now.  
The year was 2008. Not 1500 B.C.  
Two Thousand and Eight.

And his eyes took in the desolate room and dry stone walls again.

He concentrated on his hearing and he nodded reassurance to himself as he picked up the muffled conversations from his two research assistants in the larger room adjoining the one he was in.

The Here and Now.  
He shook his head slowly to himself.

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Now, he lived each day…in the present… and the hours slipped easily into days and weeks.

He carefully whisked the loosened grains aside.  
He ran his fingers lightly over the emerging inscriptions.

So painstaking and careful, he worked to uncover the ruins.

There were more than a dozen workers made of graduate students and research assistants. Work was progressing in several different rooms within the temple. Most worked in twos or threes. But today he was working alone. Lost in the simple, careful excavation. The hours and hours of painstaking work to reveal and preserve a small portion of the inscriptions.

Simple work… yet exacting… and unforgiving. A single moment where patience lapsed and he could damage the very artifacts that he was diligently and lovingly trying to reveal and preserve. Pushing a little too hard… rubbing a little too long in one spot… and he could damage or erase what he was attempting to uncover.

He expertly flicked the delicate whisk brush back and forth to remove a bit more of the newly loosened grains of his efforts.

Gently rubbing, occasionally digging… just a little with a fingernail or one of his fine-work tools… many of them looked a lot like dental tools… and, in fact, a few of them were… as he'd discovered over the years what worked best for certain circumstances.

He had this small room to himself today and he'd been working quietly since early morning. He stopped for a moment and assessed his progress and the inscriptions so far uncovered on the low altar.

Running his fingers gently over the gritty surface he let his mind wander as his eyes roamed over the small stone room. He could almost _feel_ the presence of the people who'd once walked and lived here. As if they'd left a portion of essence behind. Where they'd lived hours, days and years of their lives. That time spent and lived left an imprint on the very fabric of what would ever exist here.

Almost tangible. And yet not.  
Phantasmal.  
A feeling of ghosts.

He was not superstitious…but he had seen so many amazingly fantastic things and beings in the past decade that… that he could not dismiss his current feelings as simply his imagination. Even though he knew that's undoubtedly all it was. His imagination. Even before the Stargate Program, he'd had these feelings whenever he was on a dig… whenever he took the time to think… to let his mind roam over the history that had happened wherever he was currently standing…

It still felt so real.  
That feeling of almost being able to reach out and touch the history and events that had happened here. To almost be able to hold…

It was almost as if the air… as if the air actually held more than just simple gas molecules…

He sighed slowly and shook his head, breaking his ruminations.

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The excavation moved carefully forward.  
Each inch slowly and painstakingly uncovered and revealed.  
Everything and every stage was photographed.  
Items were catalogued and scrutinized.  
Hours of discussion occurred at the end of each day.  
Journals were filled and new ones started.  
Notes were pecked onto laptop keyboards. 

Carefully. Scientifically. Everything was uncovered, revealed, preserved.  
Revealing the stories, the lives, the events of the people who'd built this structure.  
How they'd lived. The structure of their society.  
Their beliefs, religions. Their gods.  
Much of it corroborated findings from other temples and similar structures.  
Much of it corroborated what he'd learned and experienced over the past decade.

None of it caused him much anxiety now.  
Those days were passed.  
The danger had been met, and they had triumphed.  
Most of society still did not know. Was not aware.  
And he did not mind. He did not care.

He simply wanted to return to the simplicity of his science.  
With challenging intellectual puzzles. Challenging and therefore rewarding.  
The comfort of a quiet life. With family and friends and colleagues.

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And again, he reigned his thoughts back to the task at hand.

Gently removing the accumulation of millennia from the inscriptions before him.  
Hands occasionally reaching for the small whisk broom.  
And grain by grain more was patiently revealed.

The hours passed easily.

And the hours slid into days which easily slipped into weeks and then months.

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"DanielJackson?" the deep tones had been respectfully tamped down and he turned to see his large, stoic comrade standing quietly in the room's entryway.

"Teal'c?" he gave his friend a small smile to let him know that he was not intruding.

"It is past the usual time of the mid-day meal. Would you care to join me?" Teal'c inquired.

"Lunch?" he sighed. "Yeah, I guess a break is a good idea."

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_TBC_

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	2. Chapter 2

"_It is past the usual time of the mid-day meal. Would you care to join me?" Teal'c inquired._

"_Lunch?" he sighed. "Yeah, I guess a break is a good idea."_

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**Chapter 2**

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A half-hour later and the two men were sitting in the shade alongside one of the excavation's trailers. Their simple lunch finished.

Project Leader Doctor Daniel Jackson surveyed the panorama before them and took mental stock of their progress and status. It had taken 2 and half months to locate the pyramid with seismologic equipment and then another 6 weeks to excavate the north side. Roughly one-third of the pyramid was currently exposed. They'd gained entrance into the structure a little over four months ago.

His eyes roamed the scene from horizon to horizon. The sun was strong as usual, but it wasn't as hot as it had been for the previous five days. Only a slight dip in the temperatures, but it was more than welcome.

Strong sunlight bounced and scattered off everything. No vegetation tempered the bright golden sand or light grey and tan rocks. The unnatural straight lines and angles of the northern half of the pyramid stood out against the sweeping dunes and blue sky.

He assimilated and assessed the scene before him. Comparing it to other digs he'd been on... and to all of the alien worlds that he'd walked on in the past decade.

...

For the first portion of the excavation, the first two and half months, the number of workers and the amount of large equipment had required that Dr. Jackson take on a largely supervisory and administrative role. One that he did not relish.

Now however, the excavation had moved into his favorite arena. It was quieter, slower and... more... personal. Now it was just him, some research assistants and graduate students, a small support crew and staff... and Teal'c.

Daniel greatly appreciated the man's solid presence...his strength and the simple reassurance that radiated from him. Over the past 6 months, Teal'c had visited Daniel's excavation three times. Lending his physical strength when necessary... but at other times, lending Daniel his sage, although usually cryptic, counsel or simply his quiet companionship.

Daniel was currently where he'd always dreamed of being. Lead archeologist on a major dig in Egypt. Discovering and unearthing pieces of history that had been hidden or lost for millennia. Deciphering and unraveling the history, the saga, and the legends, of what had happened here so very long ago.

This was his life's work. It was so quiet here now that the large numbers of workers had left once they'd finished unearthing enough of the pyramid for the archeologists to move inside.

So quiet.

He had time now.  
All the time that he wanted.  
He could spend a whole day... or several days working his way through some of the inscriptions and hieroglyphics... No one pulled him away from his work. No one was shooting at him.

The fast and terrifying life that they'd led on SG-1 no longer ruled.  
He was in charge now.  
Project Leader.  
Of a major excavation of a previously unknown pyramid in Egypt.

He no longer had to grumble about Jack's sarcastic remarks... or his insensitivity... or his militaristic thinking and methods. He missed that... and he didn't miss that. He missed Jack... but he really -_did_- like the that fact that he could work on his archeology and translations without being ordered to hastily 'beat feet.' He missed Jack's curmudgeonly demeanor... but he didn't miss the constant terror of war and armed conflict.

He missed the scientific camaraderie with Sam... but he didn't miss seeing her in soldier-mode... automatic weapon ready as her eyes swept the area for danger. He missed the times when he and Sam would team-up and argue a point with Jack... but he didn't miss the times when he felt alone because Sam agreed with Jack's military viewpoint.

The plusses and the minuses.  
The pros and the cons.

His years with SG-1 were some of the worst years of his life. The terror of the Goa'uld and the other supervillians that they'd encountered. He'd died... more than once. The horror of war... the necessity of killing... the wrenching brutality... the wounds... the death. Janet had died in his arms. The images of his nightmares. The things he'd seen, the things he'd done. The people lost. Abydos. Shar'e, Skarra. Sarah's years under the control of the Goa'uld.

The images of his nightmares. They often woke him in the middle of the night.

Shaking, sweating... he'd have to lie there and wait for the reality of the present to seep back into him.

But then, his years with SG-1 were also some of the best years of his life. The amazing archeological discoveries on a myriad of alien planets. The transplanted cultures. The diversity of peoples and languages. The Ascended. The Nox. The Asgard. And Jack and Sam and Teal'c... and General Hammond... and Janet... and Cassandra... The people, the friendships.

And the battle against the Goa'uld was finally turned. The Replicators had amazingly been the key to the downfall of the parasitic tyrants. Oh, there were still Goa'uld around, but they did not wield the same power as before. The parasites no longer maintained their positions as false gods over countless planets and systems. They no longer enslaved most of this galaxy. Earth and its allies were currently mopping up the stragglers...

SG-1 was no longer needed to save the world on a weekly basis.  
And that was a good thing.  
A very good thing.

SG-1 had been what was needed at the time.  
And it was no longer needed.  
Sad in one respect, but also such a relief.  
Such an overwhelming relief.

Daniel had moved on to work on his original life dreams.

Archeological expeditions.

Uncovering the mysteries of the past.

He could have chosen to join one of the exploratory SG teams, but he knew that his heart would never feel right... on another team. Without the others that had made up SG-1. Although, he suspected that Teal'c might have chosen to join him if he'd opted for one of the exploratory teams. But he didn't want his friend to feel that burden of responsibility for him. He wanted his comrade to choose his path in life without guilt.

So, he'd chosen to leave the SG teams that went off-planet. He'd slowed his life down. He was focusing back on Earth. He was focusing back on his archeology and his passion. And Teal'c spent most of his time helping to rebuild Chulak and working with the free Jaffa on myriads of other planets. And when he could, the stoic Jaffa made time to visit Daniel wherever he was on Earth.

Cassandra visited too. She'd been able to come to the excavation site twice on breaks from college. She, like Teal'c, pitched in wherever she could when she was on site. Helping the research assistants and graduate students with the painstaking and careful removal of years of dirt and grime from the face of the relics and inscriptions.

...

"I must leave tomorrow," Teal'c's somber tones brought Daniel out of his reverie and back to the present.

He nodded and smiled at his comrade, "Thanks for coming out here again Teal'c."

The Jaffa nodded and then added, "I should be able to return in two weeks time."

And Daniel silently nodded his acknowledgement as the two men returned their gazes to the excavation tableau before them.

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======== **_End Chapter 2_** =========

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	3. Chapter 3

_He nodded and smiled at his comrade, "Thanks for coming out here again Teal'c."_

_The Jaffa nodded and then added, "I should be able to return in two weeks time."_

_And Daniel silently nodded his acknowledgement as the two men returned their gazes to the excavation tableau before them._

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**Chapter 3**

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_**Three Weeks Later**_

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They had reached the closed doors to the throne room.

A dozen armed SGC Special Forces were arrayed behind Daniel and Teal'c as they moved to open the doors. Everyone else had been sent forty miles away to the nearest city. The graduate students, research assistants, cooks, and other support staff had been given the day off. Just in case.

...

Three days later and the doors were still not open. The graduate students and other support staff had been told to wait for notification before returning to the site.

The doors would not open.  
And they were all frustrated.  
Especially the Special Forces soldiers.  
Initially on high alert and with full senses crackling, the soldiers now watched with jaundiced eyes as Daniel and Teal'c attempted to figure out how to open the doors.

"A little C4 would take care of that problem, Professor," the Special Forces CO offered sarcastically... and hopefully. Colonel Rothson's unit was comprised of special forces currently assigned to the SGC; however, both Rothson and his men had all been assigned to the SGC within the past year and none of them ever had been offworld. They only knew what to expect from briefings, reports, special SGC-conducted classes, video images, artifacts, and tales related to them from other SGC members.

Daniel rolled his eyes, "No thank you, Colonel," he muttered irritably. He wished he could send the soldiers back to their accommodations in town. But that was 40 miles away and if they did figure out how to get the doors open, he would have to wait for the soldiers to return before they could enter the room.

He sighed in frustration. The scientist inside of him disagreed with the required military presence. What he'd seen in his years on SG-1 however, made him realize the necessity of Colonel Rothson and his men. Goa'uld might not rule the galaxy anymore, but they were still a dangerous threat. Not something to be dismissed.

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Two more days passed before he figured it out. A special locking mechanism, with special controls. Some sort of doomsday-type of lockdown. And it had taken two people to get the door opened. Daniel on one side of the large double doors, and Teal'c on the other. Fifteen feet from each other, they operated a sequence of controls, some in concert and some in sequence with each other.

And then etched lines in the door faces lit up.

The soldiers sprang to attention. Weapons were readied.

All eyes watched the doors slide apart.

Everyone waited.  
Silently.

Nothing moved.  
No sounds came from the throne room.

Colonel Rothson gave his men hand signals and his soldiers rolled into the throne room as if there were hostiles holding hostages.

Daniel and Teal'c waited out of sight, weapons drawn and on either side of the now open doorway.

"Clear."

"Clear."

"All Clear, Colonel"

A few more minutes passed as the soldiers policed the area.

"Allright Professor, looks like the room is all clear," Rothson's voice was getting closer to the two men outside the room. Teal'c nodded at Daniel and the two men stepped into the doorway.

Yup. Standard Goa'uld Ostentatious, Daniel thought to himself. Glancing at the soldiers however, he was amused to see the shocked and stunned looks. This room was in almost pristine shape and condition. A definitive contrast to the rest of the pyramid. All of the other rooms and passageways had been devastated by battle, looting and or time.

This room, however, had been specially constructed and sealed... and protected. Protected from the battle apparently.

But there were bones.  
There were bones even here.  
Even here, people had died.

But not in battle?  
Because the room did not show evidence of a conflict.  
The urns, statues... the throne... ... were not damaged.  
No, this room looked like it was awaiting its owner's return.

Well, except for the several sets of bones on the floor.

Some people had been shut away in here.  
To die of....?  
Wounds incurred elsewhere? Crawled in here to die?

To die of... ?  
Starvation? Holed up away from the insurgents?

To die of...?

...

"Colonel, please tell your men again not to touch anything," Daniel asked.

"No problem, Professor. My men know the rules," the soldier responded evenly. "And I'd like to remind you, and your staff, not to -open- anything without letting us know first."

Daniel rolled his eyes again and glanced at Teal'c before responding, "Yes, Colonel. Don't worry, I know the dangers here. _I'm_ the reason you and your men are here."

The military man did not flinch or give ground, he simply nodded and stepped over to join a few of his men on one side of the room.

Daniel glanced at the soldiers scattered around the room. He _had_ been the one to request their presence. He knew of the dangers possible if they were to naively open some seemingly-innocuous urn or jar. He didn't want his excavation turning into one of those mysterious 'legends' in the archeological world because they'd been unlucky enough to encounter and release a trapped Goa'uld.

He'd actually requested the armed alert of the special forces on seven other occasions during the expedition's excavations. Each time they'd been ready to enter a new region of the temple with unexplored rooms, he'd asked the soldiers to sweep the rooms first. Until they'd reached this room, he was fairly certain that his archeological staff had thought he was slightly nuts. And the desolate ruins that they'd found each time reinforced their opinions of his sanity (or lack thereof).

Until they'd reached this room. And this room was so different... so opulent, that everyone was just staring. Daniel and Teal'c were the only two in the room who'd seen this type of display before.

...

And over on the left hand side of the room was the biggest possibility for their expedition encountering a Goa'uld. Because over on the left hand side of the room... was a sarcophagus. Apparently intact.

He hadn't known that there would be one here, but they hadn't seen one in any of the other rooms... and he figured that if there was a sarcophagus in this pyramid, then this was the most likely room left of those they had yet to explore.

Daniel and Teal'c quickly moved around the room, checking it over and looking for anything that appeared dangerous. But all they found were dirt, dust, bones... and some smudges... stains?... brown lines and areas of denser dust...? Puzzling, but something that could be studied later. For now, however, not finding anything conspicuous or overtly threatening, the two converged near the sarcophagus.

"It appears intact," Teal'c observed as the two men scanned the outside of the Goa'uld technology.

"Mmmm....," Daniel responded distractedly. There were more of the brown stains and smudges. Peering closely at it, Daniel could only make out that it looked like... regions of dense dust or dirt. Again, he pulled himself away from the smudges and began scanning the inscriptions on the top while Teal'c moved over to study the controls.

A few minutes later, Daniel looked up from his studies and met Teal'c's gaze and the Jaffa nodded affirmatively. "Colonel?" Daniel called Rothson over.

"Professor?" the soldier returned as he joined the two men next to the gaudy coffin.

"Colonel, we are ready to try opening the sarcophagus," and Daniel waved his arm towards the ostentatious box.

The Special Forces officer nodded his understanding and called his men over and then arranged them around the sarcophagus with overlapping fields of fire. All of these soldiers were SGC trained and were aware of the Goa'uld – even if they hadn't met one personally yet. When he was satisfied with his configuration, the Colonel turned back to Daniel, "When you are ready, Professor."

Daniel stepped over next to Teal'c. The two men had their own weapons drawn. Teal'c had opted for a zat'nik'atel and Daniel had chosen a P-90. He had no desire to lose a battle with a pissed off Goa'uld who'd been trapped for 3500 years. Of course... almost all Goa'uld acted pissed off most all the time anyway...

He took a breath before moving forward.  
This was it.  
Where the reality of the past decade of his life stomped on his newfound quiet.

Where the Goa'uld presence came back full force into his quiet, scientific archeological explorations. He loved unearthing the past and deciphering the mysteries from the fragments left behind.

He did -not- like meeting historical supervillians in the flesh... or in the symbiote.  
He'd just as soon run carbon dating on pottery shards and bones.  
He enjoyed the intellectual puzzle, he liked the archeological detective work.  
Archeological Sherlock Holmes.

He did not enjoy hand-to-hand combat with galactic evil.

Taking another slow breath he glanced over the personnel in the room one more time and then turned to meet Teal'c's gaze again. The Jaffa was waiting patiently and met his eyes knowingly.

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======== **End Chapter 3** =========

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	4. Chapter 4

_Taking another slow breath he glanced over the personnel in the room one more time and then turned to meet Teal'c's gaze again. The Jaffa was waiting patiently and met his eyes knowingly._

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**Chapter 4**

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"Allright, let's do it. Keep alert, people," Daniel instructed and watched the top of the sarcophagus as Teal'c operated the controls.

The top then split lengthwise and the two slabs pivoted apart a few millimeters.

The soldiers tensed and trained their weapons on the top of the artifact.

The two slabs ground to a halt and then lurched and started moving again.

Grit, sand and dust ground under the moving slabs as they lurched aside.

All eyes in the room watched the air above the now-open sarcophagus.  
Nothing moved.  
Nothing leaped out and swooped down to begin murdering people.

And they waited.  
The soldiers were all a bit nervous, while Daniel and Teal'c waited with knowing dread.

But nothing appeared.  
Nothing moved.  
Nothing came from the now-open box.  
No movement.  
No sound.

Which meant that they were going to have to go over and... look inside.

Vulnerable.  
Whoever did that would be vulnerable.  
Vulnerable to whatever might be lurking inside.  
To whatever might be waiting... for the unlucky to come... and look.

Daniel silently met Teal'c's eyes again and the large man signaled for Daniel to cover him while he stepped forward.

Daniel watched the air above the technological coffin.  
Watched for anything.  
For the slightest movement.

Teal'c silently inched forward until he could see into the rectangular space.

And then he froze.

Daniel waited.  
He waited for a sign from Teal'c that there was nothing there. Nothing to worry about.  
And he waited for the opposite. For the sign to fall back with undue haste.  
He waited for something to emerge.  
He waited with that hateful weapon in his hands.  
Ready to defend and protect if necessary.

Only seconds had passed, although it felt like much longer.  
And then Teal'c glanced over at his comrade and signaled for him to step forward and take a look inside. Still giving Daniel no information as to what was there, but the archeologist knew that the Jaffa must not be expecting much danger if he was signaling his friend to come forward.

Cautiously, Daniel inched forward and leaned over to see inside.

... ...

And then he too froze.

There were two bodies inside the sarcophagus.  
One cradled in the other's arms.  
And blood. There was so much blood.

Daniel and Teal'c just stared at the horrible scene before them.

...

And then the larger one moved.

Just a little. Just an arm. Just a little.

And then he groaned softly and his eyes fluttered open halfway.

He started and reflexively tightened his grip around his companion in the box.

...

Seconds. Only seconds... a few minutes... since they'd opened the sarcophagus.  
But time had slowed.  
Each second was felt in its entirety.

...

"_Step - Away_!" Colonel Rothson shouted as they heard the weak groan emanate from the box and all of his men tightened their grips on their weapons in readiness for whatever may come out.

Startled, Daniel looked back at the men that he'd temporarily forgotten about. Teal'c appeared unfazed.

"Professor. Step. Away. _Now_!" Rothson ordered vehemently.

"No," Daniel refused softly and then gestured for the officer to join him at the side of the ornate box.

"Professor...," the Colonel tried a warning tone, but Daniel held resolute and the officer reluctantly edged forward to join them. Inching forward, with his gun in front of him, the Colonel carefully leaned over and sharply took in the contents of the box. His military experience quickly assessed the visible blood and state of the inhabitants. Without relaxing though, the officer slowly stood up and waited for Daniel and Teal'c's assessment.

... ...

It had only been a few minutes since they'd opened the box.  
Just a few minutes.  
But so much had happened in those few minutes.

And now, time seemed to snap the other direction. Urgency gripped him as he looked at the half-open eyes of the larger occupant of the sarcophagus.

"We've got to get them out of there!" Daniel stepped forward with Teal'c who moved to assist him.

"Careful, Professor," Rothson warned him.

Before Daniel could respond, a voice came weakly from the inside of the box, "Whu-a-t...?"

"Don't move, we're going to get you out of there," the archeologist interjected.

"What... year... is it?" the weak voice asked a disconcerting question.

Disconcerting, although it shouldn't have been unexpected, Daniel realized quickly. The occupants of the sarcophagus had been inside it for 3500 years... but then, they wouldn't know that. "Two thousand and eight... A.D." he supplied gently.

The half-open eyes met his for a moment and then turned down to his motionless companion. Still cradled in his arms, she showed no signs of life. He moved weakly and put a hand on her throat, feeling for a pulse. After a few seconds, "I... I don't...," came out brokenly.

So Daniel reached in – and the SF Colonel stepped around the sarcophagus to reacquire a clear shot as Daniel moved – and put his fingers on her throat. She wasn't cold. That was a good sign, he told himself. And, there was a pulse. Very weak, but there. "She's alive, but we need to get her to a hospital right away. Both of you."

But the injured man shook his head, "No, close it back up...," his voice urgent even though weak and barely above a whisper.

"What...!" was all Daniel managed to mutter in shock.

"Close it up... and then ship the whole thing. Close it up. Quick!" his weak voice carried accustomed authority even while sliding into desperation.

Daniel looked horrified for only a split-second longer and then he understood. Nodding, he stepped back as Teal'c worked the controls to seal the sarcophagus back up.

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======== _**End Chapter 4**_ =========

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	5. Chapter 5

"_Close it up... and then ship the whole thing. Close it up. Quick!" his weak voice carried accustomed authority even while sliding into desperation._

_Daniel looked horrified for only a split-second longer and then he understood. Nodding, he stepped back as Teal'c worked the controls to seal the sarcophagus back up. _

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**Chapter 5**

**.**

**.**

The sarcophagus was closed again and the room was silent for a moment.  
Daniel and Teal'c looked at each other and then back down at the Goa'uld coffin.

-----------------

"Now what?" Colonel Rothson finally broke the silence with his sarcastic tones.

Teal'c remained impassive, but Daniel started, "Um... well... we need to get this sarcophagus secured and then transported to the SGC."

The officer stared at him, "I thought you said that this pyramid had been buried for thousands of years?"

"It, uh, has," Daniel shrugged unhelpfully for the soldier.

"Those were SGC uniforms," the officer pointed out accusingly.

"You are correct," Teal'c stated firmly and with a tone that signaled an end to the questions.

The Colonel stared at the two men for a moment longer and then, realizing that no further information was forthcoming, he turned away to his men.

---------------------

"Why weren't they healed?" Daniel asked Teal'c. "The sarcophagus is working – otherwise they wouldn't be alive... so why aren't they healed?"

"The sarcophagus is not configured to handle two bodies... also, there is the possibility that it may be damaged," the Jaffa supplied imperturbably. "It has been sealed in here for thousands of years and some portion of the mechanism may have broken down."

Daniel let that sink in. "They were just barely alive."

"We must exercise extreme caution while transporting the sarcophagus to the SGC in Colorado," Teal'c advised.

Daniel nodded and returned to staring at the topic of discussion.

"They are alive, Teal'c," his voice was almost a whisper... as if to say it louder would cause him to wake up from a dream.

------------------

It had taken four days to orchestrate the careful removal and transport of the sarcophagus to the nearest airfield where they could land a transport plane. Now they were finally in the air and over the Atlantic on their way to Colorado and the SGC.

Doctors and nurses were being assembled for their arrival. Daniel and Teal'c had passed along what information that they could about the status of the incoming patients. Trauma teams and surgeons would be waiting. As well as units of the appropriate blood types... personnel currently on-base were called for volunteers to build up the stock of blood for surgery.

Daniel and Teal'c were currently strapped into jump seats across from each other in the Air Force cargo plane. Teal'c as usual, was using the enforced captivity for Kel'nor'reem. Daniel, on the other hand, kept staring at the large shrouded box which was strapped securely in place and covered with cargo webbing.

They were in there.  
Alive.  
Barely.  
But they were alive.

Daniel and Teal'c had thought that their comrades had died.  
Thirty-five hundred years ago.

In that fateful battle.  
That had saved Earth.

Daniel and Teal'c had returned to the SGC.  
Returned to their proper time.  
Victorious.  
But without their comrades.

_They were alive!_

And they were here – _now_!  
Alive!

He couldn't take his eyes off the shrouded bulk strapped down at the back of the plane.

_They were alive!_

...

Daniel had never expected to find them. They were dead... so why would anyone be looking for them. And... they'd died 3500 years ago... so _no one_ ever expected to see them again.

His excavation had been... a memorial. A sign of respect for those who'd fallen. For those he'd fought alongside for so long. A tribute to his friends. Deeply, and sorely, missed.

He'd expected the possible danger of finding a Goa'uld, with or without a host. He'd been prepared to find nothing of earth-shattering importance... He'd been prepared to deal with remnants and pieces of Goa'uld technology.

But he had not been prepared to find _them._

The possibility had never entered his mind.  
He hadn't conceived of it.

Because if he had, he would have dug this site up without caring about archeological or scientific protocol. They wouldn't have spent weeks and months painstakingly uncovering and preserving each and every inscription and etching.

If he'd had a clue that they might be in here, he'd have had the structure opened as fast as they could without collapsing any walls.

He could have had them out of here almost a year ago.

_Almost a year ago..._

His heart clenched as the image of the two of them in the sarcophagus appeared vividly before his eyes.

...

_Jack lying on his back with  
__Sam on her side and cradled half on his chest.  
__His arms wrapped around her.  
__And the blood. So much blood._

...

The image scared him at the same time that their presence reassured him. His friends were barely clinging to life. Severely injured... and their pain bruised his soul. But they were alive. He held onto that image, in spite of the pain it caused him to see them that way.

_They were alive!_

_._

**_------- End Chapter 5 --------_**

.

* * *

_**Author's Notes:** So... how, and why, did they go back 3500 years into the past? And, what happened when they were there? And... are Sam and Jack going to live? (Well, even though that's not written yet, don't worry, I can't handle major character death... and I include Janet in that!)_

_Author's Notes (repeated from notes at the beginning of the story): This scene has been rattling around in my muse for around a month. Finally I got the motivation to try and see if I could write something that could do justice to the idea and scenes in my head. This is just a first shot at it. I may add to this... or rewrite some of it... or all of it... haven't decided yet. Muse is undecided... it was hard enough to force Muse to put this much into type... because once things are in type, it forces the story in directions that Muse did not anticipate. Muse does not like losing control!  
_


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