With mounting frustration, evidenced by his hands shoved into BDU pockets, Daniel invisibly tagged along behind Sam and Jack as the two officers exited the lab turning in the opposite direction taken by Teal’c and Nick. The ever vigilant and courteous Jaffa was escorting his reluctant grandfather to the VIP quarters. Daniel knew he was acting like a very dependent little boy, but the scary reality that he may not ever return to his own existence, phase, or whatever, was really beginning to frighten him. He wanted to stay as close to Sam and Jack as he could, even if they couldn’t see him or detect his presence.
Daniel didn’t blame Robert for not finding an answer on just how the skull had done this to him. His fellow archeologist was trying in his own way, Daniel knew that. He didn’t blame Sam either. As soon as Janet had given her permission, Sam, on semi-wobbly legs, had gone directly to the lab, shadowed by a very observant physician. As much as he could have been justified in doing so, Daniel did not blame Nick. After all, his grandfather had come here, okay, blackmailed Jack to do it, but still had come and told them everything he could remember of his alleged teleportation by the skull from the crumbling structure in Belize to P7X-377 back in 1971.
“He described the cavern perfectly, sir. He had to have been there,” Sam said as the two officers rounded a corner.
“Ahh, giants?” came Jack’s skeptical reply.
“Yes, that’s weird, I admit,”
Daniel interjected even though he knew neither of his friends could hear him.
“Somebody built that place,” Sam
pointed out the obvious.
“That doesn’t help us,” Jack
chided.
“But if he really was transported
to P7X-377, maybe the skull tried to send me somewhere and something
interrupted the process,” Daniel continued theorizing out loud to an audience
existing of himself.
Sam punched the elevator button to
summon the car. As she waited she faced
Jack. “Do you get the feeling that
Daniel’s still around?”
“Of course I am,”Daniel
thought, but declared, “We have to go back there.” Sam was right. Someone,
or some alien race, had built that pyramid over that humungous cavern.
Jack hesitated before
answering. “Kind of,” he reluctantly
admitted.
“I guess it’s because we miss
him,” Sam admitted, grinning sadly.
“I miss you guys, too,” Daniel
agreed silently. “And we have to talk
to those giant aliens,” he continued postulating his theory.
“Or radiation sickness,” Jack countered.
“What? No,
I’m right here, guys! Right here!”Daniel
mutely screamed as his astral self remained motionless, stunned at Jack’s
flippant dismissal of the possibility.
Sam’s grin widened at Jack’s guarded admission. “Good night, sir.” She turned and entered the waiting elevator, her grin fading to
be replaced by a grim look before the door slid shut.
Jack, hands, now stuffed in his
own BDU pockets, casually strolled down the deserted corridor.
Daniel was shocked. “What!
That’s,” he stuttered. “That’s
it! Whatever happened to working through
the night!?” he shouted to Jack’s retreating back. His disappointment and frustration, which only he could hear,
echoed then faded “I’d do it for you,”
came Daniel’s plaintive reminder, fully voicing his hurt at his friend’s
seemingly lack of enthusiasm in solving this mystery and retrieving him.
Daniel had, in fact, willingly
done the same before, most noticeably when Sam and Jack had been catapulted
through the second gate located in a glacier in Antarctica. Stranded, wounded and freezing, they had no
idea where they were. Daniel didn’t
either, until he had been able to figure out the improbability of a second
Stargate located on Earth. He had
worked continuously, despite being injured himself, for days, which included
several sleepless nights, trying to rescue his friends. He expected the same effort and dedication
from them when he desperately needed their help.
Frowning, Daniel again slipped his
hands into his pockets and slump shouldered; he shuffled down the hallway with
no destination in mind. He was sulking
about his perceived betrayal by his friends.
“Maybe it’s a good thing no one
can see me,” Daniel muttered.
Sam and Jack’s seeming
indifference to his fate really hurt, piercing his heart with as much imagined
pain as if a knife had stabbed the organ.
Really hurt. Daniel paused in the
middle of the corridor and crossed his arms tightly across his chest.
“Stop it!” he berated himself “Stop feeling sorry for yourself.”
Daniel bowed his head, right hand
coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose, the act slightly elevating his
glasses. He stood, unmoving as two SFs
conducting their security sweep marched down the hallway and passed right
through him. With a shuddering
exhalation, Daniel let his glasses resettle and straightened.
“I’m being unfair and
childish. Sam and Jack were exposed to
elevated levels of muon radiation. So
was Teal’c, but Junior protected him.
Even so, he risked re-exposure to return to P7X-377 and retrieved the
skull in hopes of finding me. They
nearly died. They’re tired. They need to rest. I’m just being a selfish bastard.”
Daniel remembered how pale and
unhealthy the unconscious Sam looked in the infirmary. The fevered, cranky and weakened Jack hadn’t been physically better despite
his bravado. Daniel did not want either
to unduly overexert themselves causing more harm to their fragile health or a
possible relapse. Radiation exposure
was not something to be fooled with.
Daniel rubbed his forehead. “I need to think this through again. I’m missing something.”
Decision made, Daniel walked with
purpose to the one place he felt most at home, safe and comfortable: his lab.
Preoccupied with trying to find a
solution to his current predicament, he strode into his murky lab then
stopped. Lost in thought, a few minutes
passed before he realized his desk lamp provided diffuse illumination outlining
in yellow light a slouch shouldered Jack sitting in the desk chair, the framed
photo of Daniel riding the camel before the Great Pyramids of Giza lovingly
cradled in his hands.
“Damn it, Danny. I’ve done it to you again,” Jack’s pain
filled confession whispered to the photograph.
“I’ve left you behind.” One
thumb gently caressed the protective glass covering.
Daniel was immediately struck by
two thoughts: one, Jack was actually
here, not resting in his quarters, and two, his friend’s expression of utter
failure, sadness and hopelessness seemed to have aged his face beyond his
years.
“God, Danny. Where the hell are you?” Jack’s plea was spoken with a cracked voice
filled with emotion as he replaced the photo on the desk next to the smaller
black and white one of Sha’re and he lowered his face into his hands.
Daniel was stunned. Was Jack…was he crying?
“No, Jack. It’s not your fault.” Daniel rushed to his grieving friend’s side
leaning instinctively over to offer comfort.
“I’m right here. I’m right
here,” he desperately repeated his early statement spoken to Teal’c outside the
Jaffa’s quarters. He reached out to lay
a comforting hand on Jack’s shoulder only to watch it pass unimpeded through
Jack’s body. Daniel quickly jerked it
back, saddened by how even the simple act of physical touch was denied him.
“Sir?”
At Sam’s unexpected summons, both
Jack and Daniel suddenly straightened.
Daniel watched as Jack quickly flicked a finger across his left cheek
before he physically regained his composure.
His protective ‘I’m the colonel’ aura surrounded him.
“Sir?” Sam repeated, stepping into
the darkened lab. “Is that you?” She came closer. Daniel barely stepped out of her way before remembering she could
pass right through him. “Are you all
right?” came her concerned query.
“Yeah, Carter. I’m fine,” Jack assured. “Ahh, weren’t you going to bed?”
“Weren’t you going to do the same,
sir?” Sam reminded as she angled around the desk and sat in the one uncovered
spot on the cluttered couch. She
favored the older man with an expectant look waiting for his answer.
“Damn it, Carter, “ Jack sighed
his hard ass façade melting. “I can’t
sleep not knowing….”
“I know, sir.” Sam quickly agreed. Sighing with exhaustion, Sam settled into
the well worn couch, tilting her head to rest on the top. “I’ve been replaying all the tests I’ve
run. I’ve reviewed everything that
happened on P7X-377. I’ve gone over
everything Nick told us of his experience.
I’m missing something. I really
need Daniel here to, well, challenge me, to get me to look outside the box.”
“I’m here, Sam,” Daniel said,
sitting next to his friend on the couch ignoring the books already settled
there. “It’s okay. I’m missing something too.”
“Oh, outside the box,” Jack
repeated. “So,…that why you came here?”
“Well, I know this will sound
crazy and certainly it’s not logical, but I thought, where would I be able to
best think like Daniel…” Sam trailed off.
“And here you are.”
“I know it’s…silly,” Sam admitted
embarrassed.
“No, Carter, it’s not silly, Nothing you kids do is silly. I may not always understand some of the
weird stuff you two come up with, but…”
He shrugged, not finishing his thought.
Jack’s gaze slowly traveled the semi dark room. “This is Daniel.” He waved his hand around for emphasis. “His rocks, his notes, his books, this mess that only Daniel…Even
his coffee mugs.” Jack fingered the
half empty ceramic cup of cold coffee sitting on the desk. “Maybe I can help you get started,” he
volunteered.
“How?” Sam asked, lifting her
head, her brow wrinkling in puzzlement.
“Basic survival training,
Carter. How I cope. What do we know and what do we need?”
“What do we know,” Sam repeated
allowing her military training to guide her.
“Well, sir, I don’t believe the skull is a weapon.”
“Well, you’re right about that,
Sam,” Daniel agreed, now mimicking Sam’s earlier posture of resting his head on
the back of the couch, blankly staring upward, chasing away the niggling
question as to why he didn’t pass through the couch into the wall. “Like Nick said, it’s a transportation
device of some kind.”
“Teal’c agrees with you,” Jack
concurred lifting the coffee mug and cautiously sniffing. His face screwed at the pungent odor. “I think there’s something growing in here,”
he commented cautiously sticking one index finger into the cold liquid.
“Right,” Sam continued, ignoring
Jack’s last comment. “So let’s go with
Nicholas Ballard’s original premise, that it’s a teleportation device of some
kind.”
“So, Daniel’s been, what, beamed
somewhere?” Jack asked setting the coffee mug aside. “To visit with the giant aliens?”
“Yes and no, Jack,” Daniel
automatically answered his friend’s inquiry.
“Something else happened, something made the process malfunction, or
something. Obviously, I’m not talking
to the giant aliens,” he proclaimed, still staring at the ceiling.
“Well, yes, sir that’s my
theory. Unless Daniel is…..” Shaking her head in denial, Sam
straightened. “So, the questions are
where is he and how do we get him back?”
“I agree, Sam,” Daniel breathed
now sitting forward resting his elbows on his knees, again mimicking Sam’s
posture.
“Feel free to give the answer any
time, Carter, “ Jack encouraged.
Shrugging her shoulders, Sam
reluctantly admitted, “That’s as far as I’ve gotten in my theory, sir.” She
paused, her expression intent as she thought.
“Although…”
“Don’t keep us hanging here,
Carter,” Jack encouraged.
“Well, remember at the elevator
when I asked if it felt like Daniel was still around?”
“Yeah.”
“Teal’c told me earlier he had a
feeling someone was in his room with him while he was performing
Kel-nor-reem. He said he had the same
feeling someone was running behind him when he retrieved the skull from
P7X-377. When I first went to the lab I
had a feeling, a tingle. Janet said I
was probably still suffering from the after effects of the muon radiation. Maybe this is just my imagination or wishful
thinking, but if the skull is a teleportation device, who’s to say it can’t
teleport someone …into…say..another plane of existence…one not quite in phase
with our own….”
“Carter, not that alternate
reality thing again,” Jack begged.
“No, sir. Not exactly. I have to figure out why that cavern had such an elevated level
of neutrinos.”
“No, Sam,” Daniel interjected,
frustrated. “You have to figure out why
the process didn’t work as it should.”
“You saying the Nintendo’s got
Daniel? That he’s still in the cavern
and we just can’t see him?”
“Well….. Maybe he came back with Teal’c, he’s here now and we just can’t
see or hear him.”
Jack quickly glanced around at the
unmoving shadows held at bay by the weak lamp.
“Ah huh,” he slowly said then focused on Sam. “You’re sure that skull is not an ashtray?”
“Fairly certain, sir. Nor is it a paperweight.”
“Let me guess. Rothman’s brilliant conclusion?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Jack,” Daniel groused, facing the
older man as if he could see him, “Lighten up on Robert. He’s so intimidated by you it triggers his
asthma. He’s doing the best he can,” he
defended his friend and colleague.
“Okay,” Jack continued as if
agreeing with Daniel’s reprimand.
“Look, if Daniel is floating around here invisible, wouldn’t he try to
communicate with us somehow?”
“Maybe he has been trying, sir,
and we’re not listening.” Sam rubbed at
her forehead. “No. I have to get back to the original
problem. Think about it.”
Despite his current predicament,
Daniel grinned as he saw Jack’s face blanch knowing Sam was about to launch
into a verbal theorizing escapade.
“All those leptons have to be in
that cavern for a reason.. Maybe the pedestal is the fulcrum for the energy
before its transmitted through the skull.
It’s somehow activated when someone steps onto the platform. Those
energy sparks that enveloped Daniel had to come from somewhere. Unless I can recreate the scenario, ..maybe
I can with a computer simulation. That
way…”
“Carter?” Jack interrupted.
“Sir?”
“How long does Daniel have?”
Sam suddenly stood. “You’re right, sir. I need to get started on this right
away. We’ll find him,” she reassured
before dashing from the lab.
Daniel sat straighter, pleased Sam
had a direction to follow. “You’ll
still have to go back to the planet, Jack,” he told his friend.
Jack, not hearing Daniel, again
picked up the photo. “You’re the one we
need working on that skull. But..” he
huffed out a breath. “Hang in there,
Danny. We’ll find you. I promise.” Jack replaced the photo and stood reaching
to switch off the desk lamp. For some
reason he changed his mind and left the light on.
Before he could depart, a second
silhouette appeared in the lab’s entrance.
“O’Neill’
“Teal’c,” Jack greeted the new
arrival as the Jaffa strode into the lab.
“General Hammond requests your
presence in the Briefing Room at 2200 hours.”
“Did he say why?”
“To discuss the matter of Nicholas
Ballard.”
“Or to chew on my ass some more
for bringing him here,” Jack mused.
“Ahh, Teal’c, weren’t you escorting old Nick to the VIP room?”
“Doctor Fraiser interceded. She wished to conduct a medical exam of
NicholasBallard. I am to retrieve him
from the infirmary in thirty of your minutes.”
“So…what, you’d thought you’d hang
out in Daniel’s lab until then?”
Teal’c tilted his head to
acknowledge Jack had guessed correctly.
“Indeed. I am most distressed by
the disappearance of DanielJackson.
Since my second return from P7X-377, I have experienced….” Teal’c became
silent. His face, partially hidden by
shadows, creased in bewilderment as he stared fixedly at the cluttered couch.
“Hey, Teal’c,” Daniel proclaimed,
waving to his staring friend.
Teal’c moved over to the couch and
stood, hands clasped behind his back and continued staring at Daniel.
“Teal’c…can you…can you see me?”
Daniel asked, hope rising within himself.
“Teal’c?” Jack asked. “What?”
The warrior turned to address the
older man. “It is nothing, O’Neill,” he
dismissed.
“No, Teal’c,” Daniel said loudly,
jumping to his feet. “I’m here.” He emphasized this fact by frantically
grabbing Teal’c’s shoulder only to see his hand pass through the Jaffa’s body. He stopped, realizing this was useless,
curbing his mounting frustration.
“I believe I have been affected by
the radiation generated in the cavern,” Teal’c confessed. “I seem to sense the
presence of DanielJackson perhaps because I wish it to be so.”
“It’s okay,” Jack absolved,
patting Teal’c on the shoulder. “Carter
and I have been having the same ..feelings Daniel is here.” He lifted his hand away and waved it for
emphasis.
“Indeed. I have often felt the presence of DanielJackson in this very room
when he is not present.”
“Yeah…me too,” Jack confessed.
“You have?” Daniel asked, amazed,
silently observing this exchange between his two friends.
“But Carter thinks, this time, it
may be true, that Daniel is here. That
the skull made him out of phase as weird as that sounds. And those tingles we feel is him trying to
communicate with us.”
Teal’c arched one eyebrow,
considering this explanation. “The
theory has merit. Once I have delivered
NicholasBallard, I will resume my Kel-nor-reem to endeavor to contact
DanielJackson.”
“Good,” Jack enthusiastically
approved. “You endeavor in your
meditation, Carter’s off endeavoring in her lab with her computer and I’ll,
well, I’ll just endeavor. Looks like
we’ll all be working through the night.”
“Indeed, as it should be,” Teal’c
agreed as he followed Jack into the corridor.
“I knew you guys wouldn’t give
up,” Daniel proclaimed to their retreating backs simultaneously berating
himself for his earlier self-doubts.
Daniel moved to slouch in his vacated
chair, the voices of Jack and Teal’c fading as they walked down the
corridor. He rested his right elbow on
the desk, cradling his chin in his hand.
“Now what?” he asked his quiet
lab. As expected, there was no answer
to his query. Inactivity was such a
foreign concept to him despite nearly four years of Jack forcing him to drink
beer, watch sports and mellow out.
Daniel glanced longingly at his inactive computer. He couldn’t even pass the time getting
caught up on his work, his agile mind questioning why he would be unable to
work at his computer but be able to sit in his chair. He mulled over this mystery for a few minutes. No logical answer was forthcoming. He filed this incongruity away for future
discussion with Sam. Despite his
current predicament, he may as well remain optimistic he would be rescued.
Daniel was, however, buoyed by the
reality his friends, contradicting what they had said earlier, were working
through the night to find a means to rescue him. He fervently hoped their efforts would be successful and
timely. He had an invasive fear the
longer he remained out of phase, the less his chances were of returning to
normal. He glanced at his scummy coffee
mug. Peering inside, he winced. Jack had been right, something was growing
in there. On the up side, Daniel
thought, straightening, this out of phase existence kept him from being thirsty
or hungry. And the painful,
intermittent indigestion, which had plagued him the last week or so before
going to P7X-377, seemed to be non-existent.
He stood wondering what he should
do now. Sam was on the right track so
hovering in her lab to watch her progress sounded good. Then again, if she got sidetracked, Daniel
would allow his frustration to overwhelm him.
Maybe he should go to Teal’c’s quarters and attempt to again communicate
with the Jaffa while he underwent Kel-Nor-Reem. It had apparently almost worked before. Then he knew.
“I should go and visit Nick. He won’t be able to see me, but he shouldn’t
be alone in a strange place.”
Being alone and frightened in a
strange place surrounded by people he didn’t know was something Daniel was more
than familiar with. His thoughts and
emotions were conflicted when it came to his grandfather. He harbored a lot of pain at the apparent
indifference and abandonment engendered by Nick’s refusal to adopt the
terrified, distraught little boy he had been upon the death of his
parents. But Daniel’s innate compassion
for those who were suffering welled within him. Nick, as he was today, could so easily have been a forerunner of
Daniel’s future: a ridiculed, shunned
and broken old man still clinging to a fantastic theory no one would
believe. If not for Catherine and the
Stargate Program….
“What was it Nick said in the
lab?” Daniel asked out loud. “Can you
imagine what it feels like to go on the most incredible journey of your life
and have no one believe you? At least
we have that in common.”
Daniel glanced at his watch. Janet should be finishing with Nick
soon. He’d go to the VIP room and wait.
He didn’t have to wait long. Casually leaning against the wall—there’s
that contradiction again-- arms crossed, Daniel saw the door open and his
grandfather escorted inside by Teal’c and the female SF apparently assigned to
stand watch in the corridor.
“There will be a guard posted
outside the door should you require assistance,” Teal’c explained.
“When you see Daniel, would you
tell him I,.. Well, never mind.
Something I should tell him myself,” Nick decided, dismissing his two
escorts.
“Very well.” Teal’c bowed respectfully before exiting.
The door closed. Daniel watched Nick shuffle towards the bed.
He didn’t see the imposing, arrogant Nicholas Ballard remembered from his
childhood but a tired old man, crushed by the weight of being thoroughly
dismissed for espousing his fantastic theories. Daniel silently had to admit he still had a difficult time
accepting the giant aliens thing—even after all the amazing discoveries he’d
witnessed participating in the SGC.
Nick removed his coat jacket and
laid it on the bed before he sat, his posture reflecting that of a defeated
man. “I am sorry,” he declared to the
room.
“For what?” Daniel responded, even
though he knew Nick could neither see nor hear him.
“For not adopting you when your parents
died,” Nick answered, as if he knew Daniel was present.
“You were traveling all over the
world,” Daniel continued even as a small part of his mind questioned the
coincidence of how this seemed to be a two-way conversation.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Nick
continued.
Daniel felt a shiver course
through him. How had Nick ascertained
his childish explanation to his lonely existence? “I was eight years old.
How could it be my fault?” It
had taken many years for him to finally realize this truth.
“I’m sorry for allowing my
obsession to drive me to madness.” Nick
swiveled his head in Daniel’s direction, perfectly imitating Teal’c’s action
earlier in his lab. “Can you forgive
me?” Nick pleaded, remorse mirrored on his aged, lined face.
Suddenly, Daniel had a
revelation. He straightened, moving
away from the wall. “You can see me?”
he asked, fearing there would be no answer.
“Yes, Daniel, I can see you.”
Daniel was flabbergasted. Could it be..Had he finally found the means
to communicate? Despite knowing he
shouldn’t get too excited, he physically rushed forward. “Why didn’t you say something?!!” he
demanded, shouting.
“You’re not real so it doesn’t
mean anything,” Nick dismissed, looking away.
“No! No! “ Daniel denied falling to his knees, begging. “Nick, I’m real. I’m real. You’re not
hallucinating.””
“Hallucinations always say that,”
his grandfather scoffed.
“Not this time, Nick. The skull,” Daniel blurted. “The skull did this to me.” That caught Nick’s attention as he again
focused on the kneeling Daniel. “I’m,
I’m trapped. I’m in another
dimension. I’m out of phase or
something. If you don’t help me I don’t
know how I’m going to get home,” Daniel pleaded, his fear causing his words to
tumble over each other accented by his fluttering hands..
Nick’s bushy white eyebrows
arched. “So, what do you want me to
do?”
Daniel was stunned, not fully
expecting to be believed nor have his explanation so readily accepted. He stood and walked to the bed and his
seated grandfather and slowly sat beside Nick.
“Wait a minute. You could see
and hear me in the hospital, couldn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, of course you could.” Daniel lightly slapped his face. “That was a stupid question.”
“Yes,” Nick agreed. His wrinkled face screwed in thought, his
eyes boring into Daniel. “The skull did
this to you.”
“Yes.”
“Then I was right…all these years…
I was right!” Nick straightened
immensely satisfied and triumphant
“Yes, Nick. You were right,” Daniel placated.
“You’ve been to the cavern. How? Tell me,” he demanded.
Daniel ghosted a smile. Now that was the arrogant, demanding
Nicholas Ballard he remembered. “It’s a
long story. You were right about the skull just as I was right about the true
function of the pyramids.”
“Built by aliens,” Nick scoffed.
Daniel raised one hand. “Just hear me out, Nick. I think I’m running out of time. Long story, short. An artifact was unearthed
on the Giza Plateau in 1928. It’s an
alien construct, a huge stone ring. We
call it a Stargate. It creates an
artificial wormhole. Via a vast network
of these Stargates located through out the galaxy, we can travel to other
planets.” Daniel paused in his recitation gauging Nick’s reaction. The lined face clouded in disbelief, then
disappeared to be replaced by acceptence.
“I believe you, Daniel. So this is how you traveled to the planet
where the cavern is located.”
“And found the second skull, the
one Jack brought you here to look at.”
“Did you see the giant aliens?’
Nick asked hopeful.
“No. Something went wrong. I
believe the teleportation process was interrupted. That’s why we need to take the skull back to P7X-377 and try it
again.”
“And we will do this…through your
Stargate.”
“Not we. You’re staying here. But
you need to convince Jack and General Hammond we need to do this.”
Nick chuckled. “They think I am insane, Daniel. They won’t listen to me.”
“Yes, they will. I’ll tell you what to say and you repeat
exactly every word I tell you.” That
was easier said than done, Daniel knew.
No one ever told Nicholas Ballard what to do. On cue, Nick’s affrontage appeared. “Please, Nick,” Daniel begged.
“Please, do this one thing for me.”
Nick became contrite. “Yes, I abandoned you all these many
years. This one thing I can do to help
you, Daniel. This one thing.”
Relieved, Daniel stood and
automatically bent over to assist Nick only to have his hands pass through the
older man. Nick didn’t hide his
amazement at what he witnessed.
“Daniel…”
“I know. It’s very frustrating. We
have to hurry.”
“Yes, but it’s night,” Nick
pointed out slowly standing and lifting his coat from the bed.
“Don’t worry. Working through the night is something we do
here all the time,” Daniel assured, anxiously encouraging Nick to dress faster.
“I don’t like your friend, Jack,”
Nick declared, slipping one arm then the other into the suit coat.
“What? Why?”
“He didn’t believe me about the
giant aliens,” Nick huffed, offended.
“Jack believes you, Nick. Trust me.
He just has a problem with scientists.
Repeat what I tell you and he’ll believe you.’
“They’ll think I’m hallucinating,”
Nick continued his argument as Daniel herded him towards the exit. “What if I fail to convince them?”
“We’ll convince them.”
Nick stopped before the door his
hand reaching for the doorknob, and then it fell away. “Daniel, after we rescue you, will I be
returned to the hospital?”
Daniel looked at his grandfather,
and for the first time in his life saw fear and dread in Nick’s weary
eyes. For years part of him had wanted
to hate this man for abandoning him as a child, while part of him had always
craved Nick’s acceptance and praise for what he, Daniel, had accomplished. As Nick’s only living relative, Daniel
realized their positions had reversed.
Now he had the authority to decide his grandfather’s fate.
“You won’t have to go back, unless
you want to. My friends here are good
people, Nick, and they’ll help us. But,
“Daniel cautioned, “you won’t be allowed to tell the world you were right. The Stargate program does not officially
exist. You’ll be forbidden to tell
anyone of what you’ve learned here. You
won’t be able to vindicate your theories to your archeological peers. I’m sorry, Nick.”
“You believe me, Daniel. That’s all that matters,” Nick said,
reaching his hand rest it on Daniel’s shoulder only to see it pass
through. His eyebrows arched. “Your theories about the pyramids are also
true. You must be frustrated you can’t
tell our academically constipated peers you were right.” Nick added, his own
indignation rising at Daniel’s similarly unjust circumstances.
“At first, I was. But my friends, they believe in me. That’s all the recognition I need.”
“I believe in you, Daniel. Can you forgive me for not saying so until
now.”
Daniel relished this moment. Finally, some recognition from his
grandfather. But it was short lived as
reality rudely intruded. “We have to
go,” Daniel encouraged.
Nick nodded his head and opened
the door.
I just hope this works Daniel
prayed as he watched Nick officiously insist the SF take him to Jack and
General Hammond right this minute. He
had something important to tell the soldiers.
At least, Nick had never lost his pompous attitude. Instead of finding it irritating, Daniel
realized it would work to his advantage.
And if his theory about the skull was right, Daniel anticipated spending
a lot of time with Nick discussing controversial archeological theories as
peers, not as adversaries. He felt a
warm glow of happiness engulf him.
There was still time for them to develop a loving relationship similar
to the one General Hammond shared with his two granddaughters. Daniel was eager to get started.
*****
“Hey.”
At the familiar greeting, Daniel
looked up from the digital reprints of the Goa’uld inscriptions SG12 found on
P9X-001. Now that he was back, in
phase, he thought he’d try and make a dent on the work piling up in his in
basket. Keeping busy would also help
disperse his immense disappointment of losing Nick so soon after they had developed
a begrudging respect for each other. As
he flashed a small smile of greeting to Jack, the fire in his right side flared
again and the smile became more like a grimace.
“Hey,” he managed to say wishing
the pain consuming his gut would go away.
It had instantly returned as a minor annoyance as soon as Daniel had
gotten back to the SGC. Since then, it
had gotten progressively worse. He
wondered if he was developing an ulcer or something and dreaded asking Janet. He’d just gotten released from the infirmary
twelve hours ago after the post mission physicals. Daniel stubbornly insisted returning to his least favorite place
was not an option.
“Whatcha doin’?” Jack asked
settling in to his usual spot on the couch opposite the desk.
“Trying to work…but all I can
think about is Nick,” Daniel confessed, glad to have his mind diverted from the
discomfort in his stomach.
“Ah huh,” came Jack’s
non-committal reply.
Daniel recognized the tactic as
Jack’s way to get him to open up about what was really bothering him. So, he complied. “I hope I did the right thing, letting him stay on P7X-377 with
the giant aliens,” Daniel confessed. Even now he felt he had too easily given
in to Nick’s desire to remain.
“It’s what he wanted, Daniel. You did the right thing.”
“I know. But,” Daniel paused again, his right hand snaking down below his
desk to massage his right side. “How
will he get back? How will we know to
find him again? How will I know if he’s
okay?”
“I have no idea.”
Daniel gave Jack a sour look at
the flippant answer. “I’m worried about
him.”
“Nick will be okay. After all, he’s a Jackson, right.’
“Ballard, actually,” Daniel
corrected, his left hand brushing away the sheen of wetness covering his
forehead.
“Yeah… Well, at least now I know
where you get your stubbornness.”
“Humph,” Daniel huffed, wincing at
the sudden stab of pain radiating into his chest and groin. That was a bad one.
“You okay?” Jack was giving him the
“don’t-even-try-to-lie-to-me” look.
“Yeah,” Daniel lied anyway lifting
his hand to once again rest on the desk, chasing the evidence of discomfort
from his face. “Just tired.”
“Noticed you didn’t eat much at
dinner. Didn’t Doc tell you to go home
and rest?” Jack nagged.
“I’m fine, Jack,” Daniel
declared. “Besides, I want to stay here
where I feel—“
“In phase?”
“Yeah.”
“Why you got all the lights on?”
“I want people to see me. It’s weird, I know.“
“Everything you do is weird,
Daniel. But it usually works out.”
“”I didn’t want him to go,” Daniel
confessed, returning to the topic of Nick to avoid any continued ribbing from
Jack. “We’d finally reached an
understanding with each other and now…he’s gone again.”
“Feeling abandoned?” Jack asked
with great insight and compassion.
Daniel peered at his friend. “Yes.
Story of my life. You’d think
I’d be used to it by now.” Even Daniel
heard the self-pity in his words.
Before he allowed Jack to undertake a guilt trip about past mishaps,
recalling with clarity Jack’s earlier remorse, he resumed speaking. “Um, I never thanked you guys for not giving
up on me, for working through the night to find me.”
Jack shrugged his shoulders. “You’ve done the same for each of us at one
time or another.”
The pain flared. This time Daniel couldn’t hide it, gasping
and curling over his desk his right arm pressed firmly against his lower
abdomen.
“Okay, that’s it,” Daniel heard
Jack declare through the nausea engulfing him.
“I’m taking you to the infirmary.”
Daniel felt a hand curl around his left bicep followed by gentle,
persistent tugs encouraging him to stand.
“You’re as white as a sheet and you’re sweating. The same symptoms I had from the Nintendos.”
“Jack…I’m fine,” Daniel wheezed
between clenched teeth. No I’m
not! God, it hurts!
Despite his verbal protest he
meekly and gratefully allowed Jack to guide his bent form towards the corridor.
“Like I said, Danny boy, you
weren’t listening,” Jack scolded assisting the stumbling Daniel down the
hallway. “Those Nintendos pass through
everything even when you’re outta phase.”
“Right,” Daniel gasped. “No…matter how dense.”
“Exactly. Looks like we’ll be here
all night, eh Danny? Hope the
commissary is stocked with coffee.”
“Working through the night, Jack.
It’s what we do,” Daniel hissed as they entered the infirmary.
© December, 2003 The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp.
The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters
who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names,
titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.
Back