Title: Gated Death
By: Tiffany F
Pairing: Gil/Nick
Rating: FRM
Warnings: mention of suicide
Summary: ***Crossover Stargate SG-1*** A man is found dead in Vegas. Not all that unusual, except for the letter left for a General Jack O'Neill. What secrets are hidden now? I don't own CSI or Stargate SG-1 and claim nothing. I'm just plaing around.

A/N: I was really mad how Carter treated her fiancee in Season 8 and this is the result. Also, haven't seen any crossovers for these two shows (my favs) and thought I would try. Hope you like.



Las Vegas was a city that never slept. It was a place where people came to play. They came to live, to wed, to have fun. And, sometimes, they came to die......

"Catherine, you have a trick roll at the Monaco," Grissom said, walking into the break room. "Sara and Warrick, a 419 in the desert. Nicky, you're with me."

"Just another night, huh boss," Nick said, taking the assignment slip.

"Wouldn't miss it," Grissom replied.
********************

The hotel wasn't on the strip and it wasn't higher end. The CSIs on the night shift sometimes processed three or four rooms like that a week. This one though, this one was different. Gil Grissom knew it the minute he walked in the door. "Suicide," he said, looking around. "Nick, do you have the camera?"

"Right here," he said. "Are you sure it's a suicide?"

"I see two notes, one of which is sealed in an envelope," Grissom replied. "It could be a staged scene, but I don't think so."

"Never thought I'd see the day when Gil Grissom was jumping ahead of the evidence," Nick teased, making sure to press against his lover's body as he made his way into the crime scene.

They processed the scene with practiced ease, working in silence, sometimes handing the other a tool before it was asked for. Finally, once the body was gone, taken to the morgue, they turned to the notes. As Grissom observed, one was sealed, the other on the table.

------I just can't do this any more. Please deliver my letter for me. There's no one who will miss me, except maybe Robert. Make sure he understands it's not his fault.------

"It's signed Pete," Nick said, bagging it. "A lover's tiff maybe?"

"I don't know," Grissom replied. "This other letter is addressed to an Air Force General. There're a lot of twists here, one's that don't make any sense."
********************

Dr. Al Robbins looked up as the pair of CSIs made their way into his morgue. He'd been working on the body from their case and, for once, it was easy answer time. At least for him; the family would have some harder questions.

"Albert," Grissom said, joining him next to the table, "what can you tell me?"

"Suicide," Robbins replied softly. The deaths of those who chose to take their own lives always subdued him. "This young man shot himself in the head."

Grissom looked over at Nick and saw him smirking. "Yes, Nick?"

"Nothing," Nick said quickly, schooling his features. "Anything else, Doc?"

"A few fibers and some hair I sent to trace," Robbins said. "His name is Peter Shanahan from Colorado. He's a policeman in Colorado Springs."

"So why'd he come to Vegas and why'd he shoot himself?" Nick asked.

"I think that's a question for this General," Grissom replied, looking over at his partner.

"Unscheduled off-world gate activation!" Sergeant Walter Harriman called over the intercom as the klaxons started ringing. General Jack O'Neill ran down the stairs from his office and into the control room. "It's SG-1's code, sir," Walter continued. "They're under attack."

"Open the iris," Jack ordered, heading for the door that would lead him down into the gate room. Damn he hated this. He hated that his team was out there putting their butts on the line for the planet while he was able to sit, safe, behind a desk and wait for them to come home. Sometimes he wondered what he'd been thinking. Or, more likely, not thinking at all.

The Stargate activated with a ka-whoosh and shimmered blue against the walls of the underground military complex. Jack waited for someone to break through the event horizon, one of his team to come back. He ducked as staff weapon blasts erupted from the gate, blistering the walls around the control room.

"Close the iris!" Colonel Samantha Carter yelled as she, Teal'c and Daniel tumbled down the metal ramp. The metal iris shut with a hiss and the wormhole disengaged.

"Quite an entrance there, kids," Jack said, helping Daniel up. "Everyone okay?"

"Yes sir," Carter replied. "The uh, local Goa'uld took exception to us."

"Ya think," Daniel replied, earning him a look from O'Neill.

Jack shook his head. "All right, get checked out. We'll debrief at 1600 hours."
********************

Daniel had just joined Jack in his office when the phone rang. "General O'Neill."

"My name is Gil Grissom, I'm with the Las Vegas Crime Lab," an even, soft male voice said. "Do you know a Peter Shanahan?"

"Not personally," Jack replied, frowning. He wondered how a crime lab could have gotten his office phone number. "One of my teammates is engaged to him."

"Sir, Shanahan is dead and he left a sealed letter for you," Grissom said. "Is there any way you can come to Vegas? It would help us with our investigation."

Jack froze at the words; not investigation, but dead. He couldn't imagine what could have happened to the man who seemed to have stolen Carter's heart. "How did he die?" he asked.

"Self-inflicted gun shot wound," Grissom said softly. "Normally I wouldn't deliver this kind of information over the phone, but it's an unusual case."

"Yes," Jack agreed. He scribbled a note and passed it over to Daniel, who was looking at him in bewilderment. "I can hop a plane and be there by midnight," he said. "Can you have someone meet me at the airport?"

"Will you be on an air force plane or commercial?" Grissom asked. "Because they come in to two different areas."

"I'll have to go commercial," Jack replied. "I just hope they can get me on a flight. Can I get your number in case my plans change?"

He scrawled down a cell number and hung up swearing to himself. "Danny, I've got to go to Vegas. Will you tell the others that the debrief has been moved until I'm back?"

"Sure," Daniel replied. "Do you want me to come with you?" He followed Jack out into the hall.

"Yeah, I could use someone who I can trust," Jack replied. He ducked into the locker room and opened his locker. "Can you get Walter to book us on the next flight out?" Jack pulled out his dress blues. "And I guess dig up a suit; this sounds pretty serious."
********************

Walter the miracle worker managed to get them two first class tickets on a flight that would put them in Vegas around 0030. Jack didn't talk with Carter before leaving the SGC because he didn't know what was going on. He just knew it wasn't good.

"All right, Jack, can you tell me what's going on?" Daniel asked once they were in the air. He'd changed into the black suit and white shirt he kept in his office.

"Pete Shanahan is dead," Jack replied softly. "In Las Vegas; someone from the crime lab there called me. Apparently he's left me a letter."

"Left you a letter?" Daniel asked, puzzled. "Why wouldn't he leave anything for Sam?"

"I don't know," Jack said. "I've never even met the man. I'm a little more concerned about why Pete would want to kill himself and why he'd do it like this."

Daniel sighed. "Sam's been a little odd but she just says it's because of her father," he said. "Teal'c and I haven't really pushed her too hard."

"Do you think Carter did something stupid?" Jack asked.

"I don't want to make any wild guesses," Daniel said. "We'll know what's going on when we get there and not before."

"Then we treat this like a mission, Danny," Jack said. "Just another mission where we have no clue what's going on."

The plane landed as near to on time as they ever did. Jack and Daniel made their way through the airport to the baggage claim area. Neither of them had an idea who they were meeting; they were relying on the fact that Jack was in uniform. Looking around, Daniel did a quick survey and picked out two men who he guessed would be their rides.

"Over there, Jack," he said, knowing full well that Jack was performing a threat assessment.

"Where?"

Daniel was going to point, but stopped as the men walked towards them. One was older with dark curly hair going slightly gray at the temples. He had piercing blue eyes behind wire glasses and was dressed in black. Normally Daniel didn't like to see that much black on a man, but on this one it looked good. The man's partner was handsome, a real lady killer with short brown hair, deep brown eyes and a tan. He was wearing a silver shirt, black jeans and boots. As they got closer, Daniel could see that the younger of the pair carried a gun and both had ID on their belts.

As for Grissom and Nick, spotting the handsome general was no problem for either of them. His gray hair was short but not buzzed in common military style. He had a scar through his left eyebrow and a number of awards and decorations on his blue uniform. When they drew closer, Gil could see his eyes were a deep chocolate brown, very much like his Nicky's eyes. The other man was a bit of a puzzle; he was younger and dressed not in a uniform but a suit. His short brown hair was messy as if he continually ran a hand through his, his light blue eyes were hidden behind wire frame glasses and he was very well built.

"General O'Neill, I'm Gil Grissom," he said, holding out a hand. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. This is Nick Stokes, my partner on this case. Our car is just outside. Did you check any luggage?"

"No," Jack replied. "We thought it would be faster to carry what we needed. Have you managed to figure out what the hell is going on?"

Daniel almost groaned and jumped in as he had done on so many other occasions. Diplomacy was far and away Jack's worst subject, for lack of a better word, because he had the patience of a three year old on a pot of coffee. "Jack," he said, "remember what I told you last week?"

"Don't take the last cup of coffee or you'd use me for target practice?" Jack asked.

"Please forgive my colleague," Daniel said. "Manners aren't his strong suit. I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson. Do you know why Pete killed himself?"

"No," Grissom said, remotely opening his Tahoe. "Suicide is probably the one crime we must leave unsolved most of the time. We're hoping that the letter he left for the General will shed some light on the issue."

"You haven't opened it then?" Daniel asked.

Nick shook his head. "If we hadn't been able to reach General O'Neill then we would have," he said. "But we wanted to give you a chance to read it first."

"Now, you see, that's where I'm having trouble," Jack said. "I mean, I've never even met the man and he leaves me a letter before shooting himself. I just don't get it."

"Suicide leaves more questions than answers," Grissom said. "That, at least, holds true for all cases. Now, traffic allowing, we should be at the lab in twenty minutes."
********************

Used to the rocky walls of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex and being at least 28 stories down, both Jack and Daniel were impressed with the Vegas CSI labs, especially the glass walls that both knew wouldn't stand up to one of Carter's modified Naquada bombs, let alone a zat blast. They followed the CSI team down the halls to an office full of things floating in jars, bugs, and books.

"And I thought your office was weird, Danny," Jack muttered, looking around.

"Please, have a seat," Grissom said, motioning to the two chairs in front of his desk. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Yes, thank you," Daniel replied.

Nick grinned. "I'll go grab some of the good stuff from Greggo," he said. "Be back in a bit. Gris, you want anything?"

"If you're going to get the Blue Hawaiian, then yes, thank you," Grissom replied. He dug around for a moment and came up with a folder. "I keep asking them to use the in-box," he muttered. "This has been printed already and the only ones we found were from the deceased."

"That doesn't always mean much," Jack replied, taking the envelope.

"True, but in this instance the wounds are consistent with self-infliction," Grissom said. "The evidence is speaking clearly here and it's saying this was a suicide."

Jack nodded and opened the business envelope addressed to him in shaky but clear words. "Danny, does that look like Pete's handwriting to you?"

"I don't know, Jack, I've never seen it before," Daniel said. "Sam's always been careful to keep him away from work. I've never understood why."

"Yeah, I wondered about that too," Jack said. "Because I know he's been to the mountain a couple of times and knows what we're doing there. Why hide him away like that?" He looked at the unfolded piece of paper and almost groaned. "Well, Dr. Grissom, you have your answer."

------General O'Neill,

We've never met but I feel I know you from how much Sam talks about you, Daniel and Teal'c. When Robert first introduced me to Sam, I was amazed that anyone as smart and beautiful as she was could possibly be interested in me. And yet she still went out with me, again and again, we got to know each other and she was everything I'd ever wanted. And I knew she was keeping secrets. Robert told me that she worked for the military and I know how you guys are. But I was willing to overlook that there was a part of her life I knew nothing about because she made me feel whole. I don't know if you've ever been in love but I know that there's no one else on this planet or any other that could make me feel the way that Sam does.

After meeting her father I realized where she gets so much of her strength. Jacob was an amazing man, so was Selmak, and I'm only sorry I didn't have more time to get to know them before they died. When Sam started to push me away, I thought it was because of her father, I knew how close they were. I tried to allow for it, to give her the space she needed while supporting her in any way I could. I foolishly thought that finding her dream house would be enough to help heal her heart. Please tell her the house is still in our names and she's welcome to move in whenever she wishes. I didn't have the heart to put it back on the market. When she described it to me, there was so much love in her eyes that I knew that's where she belonged whenever she was here.

I know that you're probably wondering why I'd leave this letter for you and not Sam when she's the one so deeply embedded in my heart. By now you probably know that she'd dumped me, given back the ring and left me forever. I'm sure that, as a policeman, I'm supposed to be stronger than this but I just can't live without her. It would have been different if she'd died on a mission, if she'd been killed by those snakeheads, but to know she's still alive, living so close to me is too much to bear. And anywhere on this planet would be too close for me to deal with. I love her and she loves someone else. Sam would never admit it, but I've caught the look in her eyes when she's talking about you, General. I hope you realize how lucky you are to have captured the heart and spirit of such an amazing woman. Please treat her with the love and respect she deserves and I'll die happy knowing that there's someone out there who does indeed care for her as I do.------
********************

Jack read the letter silently and then handed it to Daniel with a groan. He couldn't believe there was so much about the Stargate program in a letter left in a room in Vegas. Jack could just picture the look on the president's face if any of it leaked to the media. Hammond had allowed Carter to tell her fiancée about her work on the grounds that it stayed a secret. Now he and Danny would have to do some fast talking to cover up what could potentially be a major leak.

"Jack, did you know Sam had dumped...?" Daniel asked, frowning as he read the note in his hand.

"No, Danny, I didn't," Jack replied. "But then I've never really been able to talk with Carter about anything outside of work. We just sit there and stumble around each other."

"Then you haven't told her about...."

"No," Jack said quickly. "I didn't think she would understand."

Grissom listened to the exchange with a soft smile, his head tilted to the right. He'd known the pair were, if not soul mates, then at least dating. "General, that's a stupid policy but we have a similar one here," he said softly. "You should be careful. Now, may I see the letter?"

"This is going to get messy and political," Daniel replied. "You see, Jack and I work for probably the most top secret program in the world and there are references to it in this letter. I can appreciate that it's evidence in your case but you have to understand our position. The president would be extremely unhappy if any of this got out to the media."

"You must be trained in negotiations," Grissom said with a larger smile. "I certainly can see your difficulty and, honestly, all I need to know is the reason, if there is one so we could close the case."
Nick came in with the coffee. "Greggo is getting better at hiding this stuff," he commented. "We may have to break down and buy some of our own."

"Thank you, Nicky," Grissom said. "Apparently there is a reason one of Colorado's finest decided to take his own life in one of our hotels. The catch is that it's classified at the highest military level."

"You're kidding," Nick said. He perched on Grissom's desk, his left leg swinging gently. "Is there anything we can know about it?"

Jack cleared his throat. "Pete was engaged to one of my people," he said. "It seems that she dumped him over another man and Pete just didn't want to go on without her. It's weird; the man she wants is committed to someone else."

"Do not play what if's, Jack," Daniel said firmly. "You of all people should know better than that."

"Yeah," Jack commented softly. "So can we see him?"

"Of course," Nick said. "Come with me."

"You go ahead, Jack," Daniel said. "I want to stay here. You know I'm no good around dead bodies."

Jack snorted. "Yeah, Danny-boy, I know."
********************

"I've seen some bad things in my life, Danny," Jack said once they were settled into their hotel room. "But Pete was pretty messed up. I don't know how they managed to get an ID on him."

"I think we might have underestimated those people at the lab," Daniel replied from the bed. "They're sharp and don't miss much. After you left to go to the morgue Mr. Grissom told me that we needed to be more careful if we didn't want to get in trouble."

Jack poked his head out of the bathroom. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You're whole life has been your career," Daniel said. "I've seen you figure out tactical plans while the rest of us are just barely starting to read the situation. You've got military eyes and you think fast."

"Yeah, and, so, but, therefore?" Jack said. He walked out into the main part of the room and sat on the bed.

"So this man's life has been dedicated to reading people and evidence," Daniel continued. "I don't know if we just give off a vibe or something but Grissom picked up on it. He knew we're partners."

"Damn," Jack muttered. He settled into the bed. "So what's he going to do about it?"

Daniel rolled over and curled up next to his lover. He was always cold at night and Jack was a furnace. "I don't think he's going to do anything," Daniel said. "I think he's in the same situation we are and that was the reason for the warning."

"But you're not positive," Jack said.

"No, he's got too good a poker face," Daniel replied. "I think even if we were to ask him point blank we wouldn't get an answer."

"Well, I've got that teleconference with the president tomorrow," Jack said. "I'm going to try and get permission for Mr. Grissom to go back to the mountain with us. I want someone there who can answer Carter's questions."

"I think he'll keep the secret," Daniel said. "I don't think he talks much, if at all, about anything not related to his cases or research."

"Yeah, what was the deal with that office?" Jack asked.

"I've managed to place the name," Daniel replied. "Gil Grissom is one of only fifteen forensic entomologists in the nation recognized as expert in their field. I guess in his work he's always surrounded by death and it's just bled over into his personal space."

Jack whacked Daniel with his pillow. "That pun deserves to be shot," he said. "Good night, Danny-boy."

"Night, Jack."

Nick awoke before the alarm and rolled over to study his still sleeping lover. During the day, or night, the older man always looked so serious. But when he was asleep, without his glasses, Gil's face relaxed and the worry lines eased. True his blue eyes, his best feature, were hidden but Nick spent so much time gazing into them he had every expression memorized.

He knew how lucky he was. Nick had noticed both the general and his friend eyeing Gil, sizing him up with a little more than normal curiosity. He'd wondered if Gil would ever want anyone closer to his own age, someone who could understand him. Deep down Nick knew he was being stupid; Gil Grissom was a man who didn't let others near him easily. That he'd chosen Nick spoke volumes; it was evidence.

After glancing back at the clock, Nick grabbed the lube from Gil's table and leaned down to kiss his lover awake.

Gil was dreaming about sparkling chocolate brown eyes and a warm smile helping him process evidence in the labs. He was teaching Nick the basics of larva pupation when his brain started telling him to pay attention. Slowly he became aware of a strong chest pressed against his own, warm fingers in his hair and, most important, soft lips caressing his own. His arms lifted on his own to pull Nick down and Gil opened his mouth to welcome Nick's tongue inside.

"Morning, Gil," Nick whispered against his lover's mouth.

"Nicky," Grissom replied. "What brought this on?"

"Just watching you sleep, thinking how good you look." Nick pulled back a little more. "Thinking how lucky I am to have you."

Grissom's eyes changed as he figured out what Nick wasn't telling him. "How happy you are that I'm not running after General O'Neill or Dr. Jackson," he said. "Nicky, I'm the one who's supposed to worry about being left for someone else."

"Never, Gil," Nick said. He lubed up two fingers and eased them into his lover's body. He didn't do this often, usually loving the feel of Gil inside him, but he needed more that evening. "I'm not going to get all sappy on you but I'm in this forever. You're gonna have to die to get rid of me."

"I know, Nicky," Grissom replied, spreading his legs. "If there was any way for us to marry then we'd be there in an hour, if you'd have me."

"In more ways than one, Gil," Nick said. He rolled his lover up onto his left side. "Ready for me?"

"Always." Grissom twisted his head around to kiss Nick as the younger man pressed forward, gently easing his erection into his lover's body.

Nick held still for a moment, waiting. He knew his lover and knew that he'd take two deep breaths to center himself and then he'd relax. Nick wasn't sure how Gil did it; his lover tried to teach him but Nick was fairly loose these days and so wound up by the time Gil finally completed him, he didn't want to relax.

As he felt Gil's body relaxing, he pulled back gently before thrusting back, settling into a slow, even rhythm. A gasping moan let him know when he hit Gil's prostate and Nick grinned as the older man started pushing back against him.

"Love you," Nick whispered. He kept his thrusts as even as he could; wanting to savor their time together before work but Gil was pushing to go faster. Nick grinned and lowered his head to Gil's neck, kissing gently.

"Nicky, please," Gil gasped, feeling like his body was on fire. He reached for his own cock, stroking it.

"Mine," Nick growled, batting the hand away. He wrapped his hand loosely around his lover's erection, teasing. Nick grinned again as Gil's hips started a rocking motion, trying for more friction or more speed.

When Nick felt that they were both on edge, to the point that to prolong things any longer would limit their pleasure, he tightened his grip on Gil's cock and started stroking as he increased the speed of his thrusts. And then, only because that general was still in the back of his mind, Nick bit down on Gil's neck.

With a cry of his lover's name, Gil came, shuddering at the intensity. His mind told him to get Nick jealous more often if this was the result. He couldn't remember the last time their love-making had been so intense.

"I think we should call in sick," Gil muttered a few minutes later. "I don't think I can move."

"I think we have to," Nick replied. "We have to find out what's so damn secret about that letter."

Gil leaned back and kissed Nick tenderly. "If I had to choose between an obviously crazy man, a government cover-up and a night or crazy people or staying here with you, there's not even a choice," he said. "I wouldn't let you out of this bed."

"Thanks, I think," Nick replied. He pulled back carefully and waited until Gil was on his back before leaning in to kiss him. "The fact that you're willing to play hooky for me means a lot."
********************

It was a busy night for the Vegas CSIs and Gil forgot about the visitors from Colorado until he walked into his office for a reference book and found the general waiting for him.

"I'm sorry, General O'Neill," Grissom said, sitting behind his desk. "It's turned into, as Nick would call it, the night of the pifflings out there. What can I do for you?"

"I spoke with the president today," Jack said, "and I was correct that he's not happy about this situation. However, he's granted me permission to invite you and Mr. Stokes to Cheyenne Mountain for debriefing and also to help explain things to Carter."

"General, I thought you said this project of your was classified at the highest level," Gil said. "Neither Nick nor I have any level of clearance."

Jack sighed and silently cursed Daniel. Diplomacy was his department, Jack just tended to upset people by saying the wrong thing. Okay, usually by saying whatever was on his mind, the point was that Daniel was better in these situations than he was.

"The president authorized you to go as far as level 20," Jack said. "Those are guest quarters and a few labs. All the top secret stuff is further down and well secured. I really just want someone there who can answer Carter's questions because I sure as hell won't be able to."

"Carter must be the deceased's ex-fiancée," Grissom said. "I'm not sure how much help I'll be."

"Oh for crying out loud," Jack muttered. "Dr. Grissom, I expect you know a lot more about me than I'm comfortable with. I'm going to be honest. Samantha Carter has a crush on me and apparently thinks its going to go somewhere. That I'll suddenly ignore or break every rule I've sworn to uphold as long as I wear this uniform. She's already ruined one family because of it and I don't know how to convince her I don't love her."

"You could always let her see you kissing someone else," Grissom said.

"Yeah, tried that, it didn't work," Jack replied. "And the one I truly love is, well, let's say that I have to retire before I can say anything there."

Gil smiled. "I'm in a similar position," he said. "As you and Dr. Jackson are do doubt aware. I'll have to see about the time off; I'm night supervisor and I can't just take off on what most would call a whim."

"You can if you have a personal request from the president," Jack said. "I'm not kidding when I saw that this project is top priority and has to remain secret. Can you be ready by 0600?"

"For the president, yes," Gil said, totally serious, but his eyes were twinkling.

"He's doing what?" Carter exclaimed, looking at Walter in what could only be called shock.

"General O'Neill just called from Vegas," Walter replied, calm as only he could be. "There was an incident in the city related to the SGC and he's bringing two civilians to be debriefed."

"Why?"

"He didn't say," Walter replied, the tone in his voice indicating he wouldn't question the general about anything. "I've been ordered to notify you and Teal'c and have guest rooms prepared."

Carter shook her head. "He's always done things his own way," she said, a small smile forming on her lips. "All right, I'll dig up that old ball cap Teal'c used to wear when we had to take him off the mountain."

"Or we could just go with the cultural tattoo," Walter said. "That story seems to be readily accepted these days, especially with the way he talks."

"There is nothing wrong with my manner of speech," Teal'c said, walking into the briefing room. "I was informed you wished to speak with me."

"Yes," Walter said. He quickly relayed the messages from General O'Neill.

"Thank you, I shall be ready," Teal'c said. He bowed slightly and left the room.

"Hey, Teal'c," Carter called, catching up with him. "Why do you think the general is bringing two civilians to the mountain? Don't you think it's a major risk to the project?"

Teal'c considered her questions for a couple of minutes. "It is not for me to attempt to guess O'Neill's motives," he finally said. "O'Neill is a smart man, one who knows the ways of battle and I shall support him."

"Yeah, but two totally unknown people poking around," Carter said. "It's going to put some major stress on things."

"ColonelCarter, the SGC is always under 'major stress' and has survived every time," Teal'c said. He smiled. "I believe the day the stress leaves will be the day we all will have to worry."
********************

"Jack, are you nuts?" Daniel asked as they boarded the plane.

"That's what you always tell me," Jack replied. He glanced back and saw that the two CSI were starting down the jet way. "Look, the president believes they need to be debriefed and I'm not arguing. Not this time, anyway. Besides, I really don't want to face Carter alone and Grissom seems like the best person to deliver the news. They'll be kept on twenty the whole time."

Daniel bit his tongue and waited until they were on the plane. Dr. Grissom and Stokes were a few rows behind them and on the other side of the isle. "Jack, we just got things back to normal after two attacks, not to mention the rebellion. Why not just tell these guys that Pete was insane, made everything up about snakeheads and other planets and leave it at that. We've never had any trouble lying to the public before."

"Danny, do you really *want* to try and lie to someone who studies people?" Jack asked, his voice just as low. "I'm not planning to tell them anything about the project, just make sure they understand how important it is, have them do their bit with Carter and they'll be gone in 24 hours. It's as simple as that."

"Around the mountain, nothing is ever that simple," Daniel muttered.
********************

It was dark. The lights showed stone walls with painted markers and pipes. For Grissom it was just another place to absorb, to learn, to see. For Nick it was a littler harder; the younger man liked to be in the open, to be able to see what was around him. They were taken to a nice room on level 19 and left with a guard outside their door. General O'Neill said he had to check in with his people and make sure everything was still running properly and Daniel had just vanished.

"Any idea what they're doing here?" Nick asked, sinking into a chair.

"Cheyenne Mountain is an old military missile silo," Grissom replied, perching on the bed. "NORAD is housed here in the upper levels but I don't have any evidence to what could be on the lower levels. Whatever it is, they have tight security around it."

"A little too tight," Nick said. "I count three cameras in this room alone. They don't trust us."

Grissom smiled. "We're the outsiders here, Nicky my boy," he said. "We're here to help General O'Neill explain the situation to one of his people. I can't see any reason for them to trust us; we don't have the necessary clearance."

"And we can't do anything to pass the time," Nick sighed. "Did you bring paperwork with you?"

"And some other things from our case last night," Grissom replied. "I thought it would be a good idea to use our spare time as wisely as we can."

Nick laughed. "You were expecting these cameras weren't you."

"It's the military, Nick," Grissom said. "The evidence spoke very clearly that we would be monitored the whole time we were in this mountain. And there's a high probability of audio monitors as well."

The younger man turned and smiled up at one of the cameras. "Oh well," he said. "Can I see the reports, please?"
********************

"Who are they?" Carter asked, watching the monitors in the level 16 security office.

"Two crime scene investigators," Daniel replied, his arms folded over his chest. "Dr. Grissom, the older of the two, is famous for some of his works on entomology. I don't know much about the other one, Nick Stokes, just that he's very good at his job. Both men are quiet; they think and analyze things before acting. I don't think we have to worry about security."

"Did you tell General O'Neill that?"

"No, but I'm going to," Daniel said. "Not that we should take them down and show them the gate, but I don't think we have to worry about them talking about anything they see here."


Jack found Walter waiting by the elevator on level 28. "Sir, SG-10 returned from P3R-981 and are in isolation," Walter said, following Jack down the hall to his office. "You won't believe this one."

"Tell me its something we can keep low key," Jack replied. He sank into his desk chair. "I've got those CSI people up on Level 20."

"The mission report is on your desk," Walter said. "But I think the faster we get those people out of here the better."

"Just tell me about it," Jack sighed. "So I can wonder what the hell I was thinking and then we'll deal with the problem."

Walter really, really tried not to roll his eyes. Jack O'Neill made an impression everywhere he went for being stubborn and sarcastic. But he was also one of the best officers Walter ever served with. "Sir, P3R-981 was a swamp," Water said. "Apparently there were a lot of bugs and SG-10 sustained a large number of bites. Upon their return to the SGC it appeared the bites were infected. The doctors tried several treatments but nothing worked."

Jack rubbed his eyes. "So what are we looking at; some kind of Goa'uld attack, an alien virus or some kind of weird mud? It can't be any worse than that damn plant."

"Uh, actually sir, it can," Walter said carefully. "SG-10 is in room B. I think you need to see this for yourself."

"All right, get Daniel to meet me there," Jack said. Now he understood why Hammond never took a vacation. The base fell apart without a commander around. Still, in his seven years of active field duty he'd been to some weird ass planets and dealt with some really strange things.

"Oh, hey Jack," Daniel said, bumping into him in the hall. "Our guests are settled into suite 20a. I think they're good."

"They're gonna have to wait," Jack said. "SG-10's run into some kind of trouble on their latest mission and are in isolation room B. Walter says it's something to do with bugs."

Daniel frowned, looking puzzled. "That's ironic," he said, "seeing as we have one of the top entomologists in the nation here."

"Ento-what?" Jack asked.

"Bug expert," Daniel replied, rolling his eyes. He knew his lover was smart and preferred to play dumb all the time.

"Well somehow, Daniel, I don't think we can just ask Dr. Grissom for help," Jack said. He made his way up the stairs to the observation room. "These aren't exactly earth bugs and if he's an expert then he'll know that."

"Uh, Jack, I don't think we have a choice," Daniel said, staring at the scene in front of him.

The five man team of SG-10 was lying around the room on the floor, obviously dead, with some kind of beetles flying around them. "Yellow and pink," Jack said slowly. "What the hell did this planet look like?"

"I think that's the least of our worries," Daniel replied. "How are we going to get rid of these things and recover the men?"

"Insecticide?" Jack asked.

"We tried that, sir," Walter said from behind them. "Nothing we've come up with works and the bugs seem to require living flesh to breed."

Jack turned and looked at his sergeant. "So what do the medical and science staff say?" he demanded.

"They're working on it, sir," Walter said. "That's Nurse Benson in the far corner. He managed to get a small bug in a container and out to us before he was overcome."

"I want to meet with the scientists in an hour," Jack said. "In the meantime, lock down the mountain and get everyone and I mean everyone checked for bites. I don't want any of those things getting lose. Is that clear?"
*******************

Gil and Nick looked up as the door to their room opened and General O'Neill strode in. "Gentlemen, we have a situation that requires your aid," Jack said. "I just got off the phone with the president and he's agreed, based on current conditions, to grant you the necessary clearance."

"What's wrong, General?" Grissom asked.

"Six of my people are dead and we have no clue what's going on," Jack replied. "The no clue part is fairly routine around here but losing people isn't. You're not going to believe a lot of what I tell you but it's the truth."

Nick glanced at his partner. "Why wouldn't we believe you, General?"

"Because I'd think I was lying if I hadn't initially seen it with my own eyes," Jack replied. "I've been here since the beginning. I'm special ops trained, I'm sure you both realize what that means."

Grissom nodded. "It means you're very well trained."

"Yes," Jack said. "Danny can tell you the history of what we're doing here when there's more time; hell, without him we wouldn't be doing it."

"Sounds serious," Grissom said.

"I'm not joking when I saw the fate of the world rests on our shoulders and what we do here," Jack said. "I'm the commanding officer for the Stargate program. Using alien technology we're able to travel to other planets."

Nick fought down the urge to laugh and wound up snorting. Jack sighed and stood. "Come with me," he said. "Both of you, here are your badges. As of right now you're consultants for the project."

"You still haven't told us the problem," Grissom pointed out as they walked down the hall to the elevator.

"Bugs," Jack said. "I'll get Daniel and the other scientists to tell you more; I've got a meeting to go to. I'm told you're good, Dr. Grissom; I guess we're about to find out how good."

"Dr. Grissom," Daniel said as the older man joined him in the observation room. "While I wasn't sure bringing you here was the best option, I'm glad you're here now."

"What's going on?" Nick asked, following his lover into the room. "General O'Neill just told us about traveling to other planets and bugs."

Daniel sighed. "Most people don't believe us and truthfully I don't blame them," he said. "I'll be happy to fill in the blanks later but right now we've got a room full of carnivorous bugs that standard poisons won't touch."

Grissom turned and looked through the glass to his left. In the room beyond the window he could just make out what, at first glance looked like logs but as the dark beetles moved he realized were actually six corpses. "These look like Bembidion confusum," Grissom muttered. "They're normally found on barren, clay-sand shores of rivers and lakes."

"Do they eat flesh?" Daniel asked. "Or hatch out pink and yellow?"

"No," Gil said, turning to look at the other man. "Do you have pictures or other references I can use? Otherwise, I need to go in there."

"That's impossible, it's under strict quarantine," Daniel said. "And we're not in the habit of sending people to their death. We've got video and stills plus the man in the corner managed to send us out a contained specimen before he was killed."

"Then is there a place I can work?" Grissom asked.

Daniel nodded. "There are microscopes at the other end of the room," he said. "I've got to go to the briefing, I'll bring back what information I can on the planet but it's a first visit and I'm not sure how much was recorded before the team got sick."

"All right," Gil said. He took the pictures and specimen tube. "I'll see what I can do."
********************

Nick knew better than to interrupt his lover while the man was working. Grissom had an ability to focus that bordered on magical and was usually just annoyed when anyone dared to break into his train of thought. So Nick sat and flipped through the folders Dr. Jackson had left and thought about what he'd been told. He almost, almost wanted to believe it was possible to travel to other planets but it just wasn't possible. Science hadn't progressed far enough to let anyone travel that far.

"Temperature," Grissom muttered. "Nick, can you look in the folder and tell me what the average temperature of the planet is, please?"

"You don't actually believe them, Gil?" Nick asked, flipping to the requested page.

"There's no evidence to support a lie," Grissom said. "I've never seen bugs like these before, anywhere, and that suggests to me that they're from another planet."

"Does anything faze you?"

"Yes," Grissom said. "Do you have a number for me?"

Nick sighed. "It looks like the average is in the low nineties," he said. "And humid. The report says it's a swamp planet, no really solid land masses around the gate or within view of the UAV or the MALP." Nick frowned and looked up. "What the hell are those?'

"Scouting equipment," Jack said, walking into the room. "My people are all stumped, Dr. Grissom. I hope you have something for us."

"Have you tried turning down the thermostat?" Grissom asked, not looking up from the pictures.

Jack frowned and looked back at Walter. "Did we try that?"

"I don't know, sir, I'll find out."

"Do that," Jack said, sinking into one of the chairs. "God I hate this."

"General?" Nick asked.

"Having to inform families that people aren't coming home," Jack said. "I don't have a talent with words and it's always so awkward because I can't tell them what the hell their loved ones were doing when they were killed. I can't tell the families that their fathers, husbands, sons, and daughters died defending their whole planet from aliens so evil that no one can imagine."

Nick sighed. "General O'Neill, I realize this isn't the time, but I'm really having a hard time believing all this," he said.

"I know you are," Jack said, looking up as Daniel stopped by his side. "Danny, tell me you have good news."

"No one even thought about putting the things on ice," Daniel said. "Walter's getting Siler to take care of it right now."

Grissom joined the group. "It might not kill them," he warned. "It might not do anything," he said. "But if you can freeze them well enough then could you package them into something and send them home?"

"Gris hates to see bugs hurt," Nick said, smiling.

"Send them home?" Jack asked.

"General, these bugs were probably just minding their own business when your people stumbled into their home," Grissom said. "Most creatures won't attack humans unless threatened in some way. It could be that these bugs are innocent."

Jack sighed. "All right, all right; it goes against everything I'm feeling right now but I'll see what I can do."


Grissom smiled and Nick started laughing. "Gil likes roller coasters," Nick said. "Somehow I think he'll be just fine."

"Yeah and you're going to have the time of your lives," Jack said. "I should warn you though, it's addicting. The rush of the gate, it's like nothing you've ever done."

"You're actually going to take us to another planet?" Nick asked. He was still having trouble with the idea of travel via wormholes, no matter how many times it was explained to him.

"Oh yeah," Jack replied, smiling. "We're going through the gate."

"A field trip?" Grissom asked.

She shook her head in shock and left the room. Jack sighed and looked over at the CSIs. "I hated to do that. She's a good officer and I'd hate to lose her, but I just don't feel anything like she'd like," he said. "I'll have Danny talk with her in a bit, but he's got a field trip planned for us."

"Carter, Pete said that he knew you loved someone else," Jack said. "What I have trouble with is that you accepted the ring from him, you were going to marry him and then you turn around and shove everything back in his face. You know as well as I do that there is not nor can there be anything between us as long as we both wear these uniforms. And I have to say that there's someone who is not you that I love. I plan to spend the rest of my life with them and that's final."

"Suicide leaves more questions behind than answers," Nick said. "We see a lot of them, especially when someone looses everything at one of the casinos. They just don't see that there's another option."

"I don't understand, why would Pete do something like this?" she asked, looking at the men in front of her.

Jack leaned forward. "Carter, he left me a letter before he shot himself," Jack said. "Pete said that he couldn't live without you and chose not to. He said the house is still in your name and you can move in whenever, if you ever want to. He said you belong there."

"Why?"

"Yes," Grissom said. "We found him in a hotel in Las Vegas. He killed himself."

"Peter...You mean Pete Shanahan?" she asked.

Grissom looked up from the folder in front of him. "Colonel Cater, I'm very sorry to have to tell you this, but Peter is dead," he said.

"Carter, come in, sit down," Jack replied. "With all the problems with the bugs, I totally forgot the main reason Dr. Grissom and Mr. Stokes were here. They have some bad news for you."

"Sir, you wanted to see me?" Sam asked, looking into the briefing room.

********************
"Damn," Jack muttered. "All right, go find her and have her report to the briefing room. I'll dig up our visitors; I think they're still reading."

"What about Sam?" Daniel asked, looking at his lover. "We never did talk with her."

Jack started laughing. He really couldn't think of anything else to say.

"P7J-989," Daniel replied. "The inhabitants are always glad to see us and it's a safe enough location these days. I thought about taking them to the Nox home world, but don't think that's a good idea. The last thing we need is Grissom bringing home some of those bugs."

"Where to?" Jack asked. He wasn't about to let his lover go through the gate without him. Not this time.

Daniel smiled. "This from a man who just took out a bunch of replicators and stood up to Ba'al again," he said. "I do think we should take our friends on a small trip. Nick still doesn't believe us."

"Right," Jack said. "I want you to double check everything to make sure those damn bugs are gone and then get back to work." He watched as the small group of scientists walked out. "I dunno, Danny, sometimes I think we're getting too soft."

"Jack," Daniel said from his perch on the general's desk.

"So you're telling me all we had to do was turn on the freezer and the bugs were dead," Jack said, looking at his people. "We pay you how much and none of you could think of this?"