The first time the small group of scientists had given them a demonstration of the device it had made him cringe. But at the same time he could sense the power it possessed and it was intoxicating. He was certain now that the wait had been worth it. Their vision of possessing the weapons and technology necessary to protect earth and to further their agenda was closer now to becoming a reality.
At first glance the device reminded him of what the skeleton of a helmet would look like. But that is where the similarities ended. Four thin metal rods anchored the device to the skull with the small metal discs at the ends of each. The discs attached to the skull in a similar manner as the Tok'ra's memory recall device, 'locked' in place with the control wand, except that these discs were not configured to trigger memories. They were only the anchoring system to insure that the device stayed in place.
The memory instead was triggered by the multitude of microthin filaments which lined the entire inside grid of the device. The thin probes could be programmed to pierce the skull into the brain tissue, into whichever area they chose to explore, stimulating the recall of every memory,even the subconscious.
Once they had completely mapped the brilliant mind of one Doctor Daniel Jackson, the knowledge he possessed could then be used to benefit mankind, as well as their Organization. A small sacrifice for such a greater good. Of course they didn't presume that Dr. Jackson would be a 'willing' donor. Therefore, this special device, once it was attached could not be removed, not without Dr. Jackson paying a great price.
What is the price of pain?
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
The waiting would soon be over. The Organization had been making preparations for the past several months. Ever since the mission report from the SGC had been handed him, the wheels in his head had been turning. Examining all the possibilities, all the angles. The reports had made a fascinating read.
Dr. Daniel Jackson, who had 'ascended' to a higher plane of existence over a year ago after being exposed to a lethal dose of radiation, had mysteriously returned. It was while on the planet, Vis Uban, looking for the Lost City of the Ancients, that Dr. Jackson had been found. It seems he had been living on the planet for more than a month among a tribe of nomads, his memory apparently erased. Now he was back as a member of SG-1.
But it was one of the most recent reports from the mountain that had totally consumed his thoughts since. It seems that Master Bra'tac and Teal'c's son Ry'ac, had been rescued from a slave labor camp on an alien planet. Evidently they had been held prisoner there for months, the SGC totally unaware of their captivity. If not for the information that the SGC had acquired of their plight and the location of the planet on which they were being held prisoner, the two would most likely be dead.
The source of that information had not been included in the 'official' mission report. Apparently Dr. Jackson had somehow remembered being on the planet in question while he was 'ascended.' The hidden memory somehow making its way to the surface. The subsequent search and rescue had found the planet to be exactly as the vision the Doctor had described.
Their sources inside the SGC had learned that Dr. Jackson had apparently been regaining his memory gradually since his return. But whether or not SG-1 were attempting to cover up the fact that Doctor Jackson was also regaining the memory of his time while he was ascended, was of little consequence.
The fact remained that Dr. Jackson had now become a very valuable asset. The knowledge he possessed would give the Organization the power it had strived for. They had learned from the mission reports from Kheb what kind of power these 'ascended beings' possessed. All they'd had to do was find a way to retrieve that knowledge and the power would be theirs. And they had found the way.
The underground lab had been experimenting with the technology of the Tok'ra Memory Device for some time. The initial tests had been promising. They had finally been successful in developing a device that would be capable of tapping into the memory much deeper within the human brain than previously thought possible. Using it along with the newly modified Stimulation Transmitter, thoughts and memories could now be triggered and displayed on a holographic screen.
Now finally the years of meticulous research and months of planning were going to pay off. The Organization had utilized all of their resources in planning each phase of the operation. They were confident that this device would work quite effectively. Final preparations were in place. Only one detail remained. The delivery of Dr.Jackson to the underground lab where the memory retrieval process would take place.
The Organization had had Dr. Jackson under surveillance for several weeks now, both inside and outside of the SGC. The protective 'cocoon' that Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter, and Teal'c had surrounded Dr. Jackson with since his return to human form, had forced delays in the next phase of the plan. But Dr. Jackson had recently moved off of the base into an apartment complex. Their patience soon to be rewarded, the final trap was set.
How do you catch an archaeologist?........................Just like any prey, you just need the right bait.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The large two story structure appeared serene from the outside. The swing and rocking chairs on the porch that wrapped around the entire front of the house gave it a relaxed appearance. Set back off the main road in a secluded area the surrounding multitude of trees gave them the privacy they required.
Thick concrete walls encased the lower level of the house. Most of the experimentation had taken place at the main complex 150 miles away. The holding area had been prepared especially for Dr. Jackson's arrival. The usual iron bars lining two sides and white padding completely covering the remaining two walls and the floor. With the power back-up systems, the lower level was fully self-contained which would ensure them of no outside interference.
The only entrance to the lower level was through the hidden door in the closet on the main floor. One way in. One way out. Accessed only by the use of the transmitters entrusted to the few individuals who would be having direct contact with Dr. Jackson.
He could feel the anticipation building of finally seeing results from their years of work.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It surely must have been a quiet place up there among the ascended, Daniel thought, because it seemed like he was still trying to get used to how noisy the world was. The alarm had went off waking him from a sound sleep.
He'd forgotten to turn off his alarm when he had stumbled into his new apartment in the wee hours of the morning, forgetting that today General Hammond was scheduled to go to Washington for a meeting. The General had given SG-1 the day off, firmly "requesting" that they not return to the base until tomorrow's briefing,
True, they had been off world more than on base the past several weeks, but the negotiations had been more complicated than originally anticipated. It was a good thing that the treaty had been signed. But now he had a long backlog of work that had piled up and it seemed there were just not enough hours in the day.
The only and I do mean the ONLY 'good' thing Teal'c had going in his favor when he still had that snake in him was that he didn't have to sleep. Maybe he could talk to Hammond about moving his office to one of the planets that had 36 hour days. Now THERE he could get some work done, as he grinned to himself shaking his head.
But on second thought, if he couldn't move Jack's house, Sam's lab and Teal'c's room with wall to wall candles too, then it wouldn't be worth it because he'd just spend more time going back and forth. How could he miss his friends so much when he didn't even remember the year he was 'away' ? All he knew for sure was that he wanted to be here more than anywhere else in the world, or the ascended world too.
Even though he had no memory of his actual'ascension, he sometimes got feelings that he wondered if they were from that time. He had had only a few memories from the year he was ascended. According to Teal'c he had spent some time helping Bra'tac and Teal'c survive the aftermath of a Jaffa slaughter in which they were the only survivors.
He had evidently dropped in on Jack in the elevator here at the SGC to convince him to help locate the eye that Anubis was going to search for on Abydos, and Jack wouldn't go into details but he'd been told that he had been with Jack while he was a prisoner on Ba'als planet and had helped him escape. He sensed that he had interacted with his friends on other occasions during that time but as yet no more memories had surfaced. Oma had done a thorough job of headcleaning when she had taken away that part of his memory.
Daniel had not been given the scrolls that SG-4 had brought back from PXF539 until almost 10 pm. A glance at the unusual pictographs had banished immediately all thoughts of heading home. He had only planned on doing a brief assessment of the first scroll before he called it a night but he had gotten completely wrapped up in the complexities of the translation. It was close to 4:00 in the morning when he had finally signed out of the base and went home so exhausted that he'd fallen into bed with his clothes still on.
After reaching down to pick the alarm clock up off of the floor where he'd accidentally knocked it when it had went off unexpectedly. Shutting it off he set it back on the night stand, turned over and fell back in a deep sleep.
Ding dong..............Ding dong .................no..................now he was dreaming about alarm clocks Ding..........dong.......... the incessant ringing trying to pull him reluctantly from a sound sleep. He was sure he had pushed the right button to turn it off.
Ding dong
Without even opening his eyes he reached out in the direction of the alarm clock, feeling for the noisy beast. He grabbed it and pulled it to his face and opened one eye to find the button that would silence it for good and.....well....................... it WAS off..... ................o kay. He knew he was pretty groggy but if his ears were playing tricks on him.....................Ding dong.. Ding dong
" Crap ..............................the doorbell"........................he groaned.
Daniel took the pillow and wrapped it around his head to block out the persistent noise
Ding.............dong............. " Daniel ! ......You in there ?"
Daniel let out another groan................................. ' Jaaack'
" Dan---iel! I know you're in there. Wake up We've got places to go fishes to see,"
Another groan as Daniel remembered that Jack had mentioned something yesterday about wanting them to take a drive up to the lake to fish. Did he say yes?? Didn't remember actualy saying 'yes'.
Jack cocked his head listening for some sound from behind the door." I brought cof-----fee Daniel," he said in a singsong voice.
Daniel tried to drift back off into that nice, quiet, restful............... 'Oh great!...... now I can't get back to sleep cause all I can think about now is coffee.'
Jack had abused the doorbell long enough. Doorbells were just too..........tinkly. He had always thought doorbells sounded too darn 'pretty' to be reliable. Yessir. Nothing worked as well as.......... BAM! BAM! BAM!
Daniel sat up. What the heck is he trying to do, break my door? And it's not even MY door. It's my landlord's door.
BAM! BAM! BAM!........Okay. Jack was usually a very patient man........Well, ok, maybe not a 'very' patient man, but sometimes he was patient.............. although nothing came to mind. Alright......... but he could be patient, once in awhile .................... when he had no choice. Only when he'd run OUT of patience, like he had NOW. What the heck had he done when got home? Passed out? He was SO getting a spare key from Daniel. TODAY !
Coming to the conclusion that the only way Daniel was going to get back to sleep was to get to the door and send Jack on his way, he got out of bed. He started to head for the doorway but paused, looking down at the crumpled clothes he had worn home from the base. The last thing he needed this morning was a lecture from Jack about working too hard, sleeping too little, If he suspected that he'd left the mountain just a few hours ago he would have a fit. Shedding the wrinkled clothes and grabbing a pair of sweats from the dresser, he stumbled to the living room. He unlocked the door and peeked out just enough so he could see if Jack really did have coffee.
"Oh.............Hey Daniel?" Jack smiled innocently at the sleepy-eyed man now standing in front of him, "it's about TIME."
"Jack,.......................what are you doin' here?" Daniel yawned and rubbed one eye while peeking out at Jack with the other.
Jack took in the groggy appearance of the one poking his head out of the narrow opening of the door." You look like crap Daniel. Didn't you get any sleep at all last night?"
Daniel eyed the large coffee only inches away and then his eyes met Jack's. " Thanks Jack. Sorry I don't look as 'pretty' as you in the morning. Jeez, It sounded like you were gonna break down the door. I'm surprised one of the neighbors didn't call the police."
" You do realize, Daniel, if you'd given me the spare key you had made for me yesterday, I wouldn't have to stand out here and wake your neighbors."
Jack looked at his watch and then at Daniel, " Just what time DID you get home?"
Daniel opened his mouth to say something, but seeing Jack eyeing him suspiciously closed it. He wondered if maybe Jack was just toying with him. He probably already knew exactly what time he had signed out at the SGC.
" I'm not sure....................... exactly," Daniel said waiting to see if Jack would buy it.
Jack thought for a moment and then shrugged, " Well, never mind, you can sleep in the truck on the way there. There's a fish up there with your name on it Daniel," he said, anxious to get an early start.
Daniel eyed Jack, weighing whether or not to tell him the truth about when he'd finally made it home.
" Thanks Jack, for that nice word picture. Now I can dream about rivers of fish with D.A.N.I.E.L. stamped on their fins wearing tiny little glasses." He snickered and rubbed at his eyes. " Listen, to be honest, I didn't leave the base until just a few hours ago," Daniel confessed as he looked at Jack trying to read in his face if he was really telling him anything he didn't already know. But seeing nothing that let him know what Jack was thinking....................How does he DO that? He's good, Daniel thought as Jack's expression remained unreadable, "And I really just want to go back to bed, but if you really want me to go, I will."
As Jack studied the face of the obviously exhausted young man in the doorway he said," Okay, I can see you probably need sleep more than a four hour road trip. So I'm gonna let you off the hook................ But this time only Daniel. I really should wait until Teal'c can go with us anyway. He's a real fisherman you know."
" That's not what Teal'c told me Jack. He said the man at the bait shop told him there hadn't been any fish in that lake for years, " Daniel grinned and looked down trying not to giggle.
" Ah, but that doesn't mean you can't fish, Daniel." Jack held the coffee out to him, " Here, you might as well take this. I already had one on the way over."
Daniel reached to get the cup offered," Thanks Jack. Next time. I promise."
Jack released the cup from his grasp and patted Daniel's arm, " Get some sleep Daniel, you really do look like crap," He turned to go but paused, "Briefing tomorrow. 0900, Don't forget. Going to that planet with the.....................the sheep god or or whatever. Well, I'm off, See ya in the morning."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Daniel crawled out of bed feeling a whole lot better. He glanced over at the clock, 11:35 a.m. He couldn't recall when he'd had a decent nights sleep. Well, decent if you didn't count the short interruption when Jack had stopped by earlier. All he needed now was a shower and he'd feel like a new man. Good thing Jack wasn't here, he grinned. If he'd heard him say that he was sure he'd have come up with some remark about Daniel actualy was a new man as of a few months ago. His eyes traveled down his arms to his hands as he turned them over, examining them again. He tried not to think about it much, the way his skin had looked when the radiation was ravaging his body, but when he did it sent a shiver through him. Shaking the dark memories from his still groggy mind, he stood up and dropped the sweats and headed for the bathroom just as the phone rang.
He stopped, turned and stared at the phone, trying to decide whether or not to answer it. He sighed........
"Hello?"................... "Oh hi Mrs.Baker"................." I uh, really don't know that much about cars."............ "Well I guess I could take a look at it"................."no, no, it's ok, it's no trouble, really"...................."uh huh, a dark blue Thunderbird, in the rear parking lot?"....................... "I'll be right down."
He hung up the phone with a sigh. Guess the shower can wait ten more minutes. Daniel walked over to the pile of clothes lying on the floor looking down at the sweatpants and the clothes he'd worn home and slept in and broke out in a grin. I wonder how long it'll take for me to get that image of a fish wearing glasses out of my head. He grabbed the pants and shirt, took a sniff, " Not that bad I guess............ for a mechanic." He put the slightly wrinkled clothes on looking around for his shoes. Grabbing his cell phone from the table and eyeing the keys figuring he would only be out a few minutes left them there. He was sure he really couldn't fix whatever was wrong with the car, but he would take a quick look and offer to call her a cab.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The white van was parked right next to the shiny blue Ford. The dark tinted windows hiding the man who was holding the tranquilizer gun. "He's on his way," the driver spoke into the radio.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Daniel hurried outside walking in the direction of the rear parking lot. He paused and looked around seeing that it was pretty well deserted. A couple of foreign cars, a pickup truck, a van and the only dark blue Ford in the lot. ' Must be it,' he thought as he started walking toward the car trying to estimate how long it might take for him to take a cursory glance under the hood and get Mrs. Baker into a cab, and him into the shower.
He neared the vehicle and hoping not to startle her, lightly tapped on the driver's side window. The woman sitting in the car did not move, just stared straight ahead. He tapped once more calling her name, " Mrs. Baker. It's me, Daniel,"
Then very slowly the woman turned and looked up at Daniel and grinned. When he saw her face he realized this wasn't Mrs. Baker. Confused, he opened his mouth to ask if this was Mrs. Baker's car, but before he could get the words out he felt a sudden sharp pain in his neck. "What the?..........." He moved his hand to the back of his neck and felt something stuck into his skin.
He grasped it and pulled it out, and as he looked down to see what it was he held in his fingers, his eyes rolled back and he crumpled to the pavement. Suddenly the doors on the van slid open and two men rushed out. Quickly they picked him up and tossed his limp body into the van.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
General Hammond was a patient man. Lord knows he's had to be with a team like SG-1 under his command. To the outside observer they appeared to be a mismatched group. The former Black-Ops Colonel who led his team with an iron fist and a soft heart. The military brat turned astrophysicist who could talk just about anybody right under the table. The former First Prime who although a man of few words, when he walked into a room, believe me, everybody took notice.
And then, there was the brilliant young archaeologist, civilian to the core but one of the bravest, most resiliant and resourceful, 'soldiers' he'd ever had the pleasure to work with. His thirst for knowledge, his desire to look at more than one solution to a problem, and his uncanny ability to think 'outside the box' had gotten his teammates and the whole planet, out of many a jam. He had to admit the young man had earned a special place in a lot of people's hearts, himself no exception. The team possessed an unwavering strength and loyalty to each other that few could match.
This morning's briefing had been delayed because they were one team member short. Phone calls to Daniel Jackson's apartment had gone unanswered. So now Jack was on his way over there to haul him back to the mountain. He had an uneasy feeling about the delay.
He should probably use this time to catch up on the pile of paperwork waiting on his desk. He wondered sometimes if the paper could be secretly replicating.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Deja'vu ! Jack could not believe he was at Daniel's apartment................a-- gain. Knocking on his door.................a-- gain. Not even gonna try that useless doorbell. He was going to get that key from Daniel as soon as they got back from the planet PX whatever.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
" Daniel ! Forcryinoutloud, I know you're in there. I saw your car out front." Jack was SO gonna kick his butt when he opened that door. "Okay. That's it. I'm not standing out here all day ya know." BAM! BAM! BAM! Jack reached down to the doorknob, not expecting the odds to be in his favor, but grinned a wicked grin as it turned easily in his hand.
He opened the door and stepped inside. " Daniel ! Here I come ready or not." Funny how good it felt to be able to tease the young man again. The one who had wormed his way into Jack's life several years ago and, into his heart as well.
Jack looked around the room as he headed in the direction of the bedroom. It was awfully quiet. If he is still in bed after I let him get out of fishing just to sleep yesterday......" Hmmmmm. That's odd." Jack thought,as he glanced into the kitchen. 'He didn't smell coffee.'
"Daniel, you're in BIG trouble with the General." But even as the words came out of his mouth he kind of snickered to himself. Why, there is no way Daniel could ever be in any kind of trouble with General Hammond. The General was so happy to see Daniel come back home after we'd found him on that planet that he could probably get by with anything.
As he made his way to Daniel's bedroom door, he stopped, "You'd better be decent cause I'm comin' in!" Jack stepped into the room and looked around, but no Daniel. Thinking he might be in the adjoining bathroom he called his name again, but nothing. He walked into the bathroom stepping over a pair of sweats. Looks like the same sweats he had on yesterday.
Jack stepped back out into the bedroom and put his hands on his hips." Where the heck are you Daniel?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Daniel was trying to figure out where he was without opening his eyes. Something was wrong........ with him...As soon as he could get his mind working enough to open his eyes maybe he could figure out what that was.. If he felt this dizzy with his eyes closed, he hated to think how much worse it would be with them open. But he had to try.
He opened his eyes only to shut them even quicker. Too bright!....................Gotta do that slower........ a lot..... slower..........have to remember what happened...............Standing by a car...a sharp pain in his neck and then...... blackness like a veil that swept over him........drugged ?........ but why ?.....who ?
Think Daniel, think........what would Jack do ?............what has Jack tried to drill into your head if you're ever trapped or lost or ?... .........let's see.... access the situation.........sooo hard to think......let's see....ok ...... first.....what have you got? second, what do you need ?.................that shouldn't be too hard......I can do this.....ok.....I have a splitting headache, and...........and I need a handful of aspirin...bad.............no no I don't think that's what Jack meant by that.........ok, first.....where am I ?...I can't find that out lying down here......Gotta get up................open the eyes.......... this time the room finally stopped spinning and he looked up. Up at................
The too bright bare lightbulb hanging down from the ceiling was the first thing he saw..........not the infirmary?.......he slowly rolled to his side and sat up,......crawling over to the nearest wall he struggled to get to his feet...........The room started to spin and his stomach threatened to empty. He closed his eyes willing himself not to throw up..............or pass out............
It was then he noticed the wall he was leaning heavily against........too soft.....too white......Padded white wall.............No............No way.......I can' t be 'there' .............they wouldn't let MacKenzie put me in there again.........He felt a shiver of fear run through his body and an even worse feeling in the pit of his stomach, if that were possible. He then became aware of a throbbing pressure surrounding his head. Keeping one hand on the wall to steady himself, he raised the other to his head.................... " Oh my God ...... metal ?.....his fingers trembled as he felt the 'thing' that was attached to his head.....He felt around finding four metal discs firmly fastened onto his skull with rods,.... part of some kind of grid ? "Oh God." He bent over, his stomach heaving, which made his head hurt even more. He went down on his hands and knees, trying to will his stomach to stop the spasms.
The retching finally ceased, leaving him trembling and covered in sweat. 'I'm in big trouble here,' he thought as the reality of his situation was beginning to sink in.
" Good morning Dr. Jackson."
The loud deep voice startled Daniel. Looking around for the one who'd spoken, he saw a man watching him through iron bars.
" Dr. Jackson, good of you to finally join us." the man said as he continued to stare at Daniel.
Daniel tried hard to focus his eyes, trying to stop the bile that was threatening to reappear.
" What ?...........................Nothing to say ?..........................................And here I was told you were a skilled linguist," he said mockingly. " Twenty-some languages and nothing comes to mind ? "
" Who are you ...What do you want with me ?"
The man started to slowly pace in front of the iron bars, keeping his eyes focused on Daniel. " Well, well,...He does speak.......I do hope you appreciate our efforts to make your new home........ comfortable. Which reminds me. I assume you've noticed the headpiece you've acquired while you were.........sleeping...........You can expect some discomfort from the device................ but it's nothing compared to the pain you will feel if you attempt to remove it. If you choose to ignore my warning, you will make only one attempt, I assure you."
" You never answered my questions." Daniel said, as he struggled to get to his feet once again, " What do you want with me ? "
" It's really very simple, Doctor Jackson. You have something we want.......and we are going to take it."
Daniel stared as the man turned and walked away....... ' Well, that went well.'
He looked all around the cell he was in, looking for some possible way to get out of this mess. But all he saw were two white padded walls, two sides with iron bars, white padding covering the floor, a small sink and toilet in one corner...............'well this doesn't look good' he thought as he realized that there appeared to be no way out and no one knew where he was.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Jack was pacing the floor. He wanted to hit something, or someone. whoever or whatever was responsible for Daniel being missing. General Hammond had contacted every law enforcement agency in Colorado with Daniel's decription, but so far nothing.
Carter had called everyone they could think of, checked out all the places that Daniel might have been, but it was like he'd fallen off the face of the earth. No one had heard from him except for himself when he had stopped by Daniel's place yesterday morning. He couldn't keep from thinking that if he'd only pressed Daniel just a little harder he would have been up at the lake with him and this wouldn't have happened.
He knew something was wrong when he had seen Daniel's eyeglasses still on the bedside table, his keys and wallet lying on the coffee table, and his shaving stuff laid out on the lavatory untouched, his car still parked in the same spot. Daniel had not just taken a walk. He was somewhere, maybe hurt or something and couldn't make it home.
Damn it They'd just gotten Daniel back and now this ! And not on some alien planet but right here under their noses.
Another briefing was scheduled for 1800 hours, General Hammond wanted to gather any and all information about Daniel's disappearance. But what made his gut twist in knots was that they had absolutely no leads, He was closer to Daniel than anybody and he didn't even have a clue of where to begin.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Stubborn fool!
The first session with the memory probe the previous evening had not went well. Not twenty minutes into the session Dr. Jackson had panicked and grabbed at the device with both hands and pulled. The bloodcurdling screams had echoed though the walls of the underground lab until the man had passed out.
Dr. Peterson had not been at all pleased that he'd had to reattach two of the discs on the device, let alone the delicate removal of the filaments still left in his skull that had been pulled out of the discs. He had wanted to begin again this morning but with the medication the man had been given during the procedure he wouldn't be alert enough until this evening. Assuming he was conscious by then. If not he was sure the Doctor would have something in his medical bag to get him awake.
At least he was certain he wouldn't pull that foolish stunt again.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Daniel had never felt pain like that in his life. Pain had exploded in his skull and every nerve ending in his body had been on fire. Passing out was a relief. The man had been right about one thing. He wouldn't try that again.
" Doctor Jackson. Are you awake? " Daniel opened his eyes and turned his head toward the voice.................BAD move!.... his head throbbed as he tried to breathe.
" Dr. Jackson, you've got to eat and drink something." Daniel slowly looked toward the cell bars and saw a woman standing there.
" Listen, I'm going to unlock the door and bring you some food and water. Don't do anything foolish like try to hurt me or trying to escape," she said as she pointed to the cameras attached in several places around the ceiling of the cell. " There is a man watching the monitors who will activate the pain control on the device if you try anything. Do you understand, Dr. Jackson?"
The young man nodded very slowly, his blue eyes watching her intently.
Amy took the transmitter from her pocket and pointed it at the cell doors, and they slid open. Keeping her eyes on him, she stepped inside.
" Where am I ?" Daniel asked her his throat so dry he was hardly able to whisper.
She ignored his questions as she knelt down and opened a bottle of water, holding it out to him. He glanced at it and then at her and turned his head away, shutting her out.
" Fine. Have it your way Dr. Jackson. I'm leaving this here in case you change your mind. But let me give you some advice, you don't want to mess with these people. Nothing will stop them from getting what they want from you." She stood up and turned to leave. Walking back through the doorway, it slid shut behind her.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Jack was madder than h###. That's the last time we help the Tok'ra or Thor or any of them.
The d###ed Tok'ra, always talking them into going off with them on those half-baked schemes , never telling you the little details that had more than once just about got them all killed. And forget trying to get ahold of them. They moved around on planets like galactic musical chairs. Never could find them when you needed their help.
And Thor. Had he ever heard of knocking? What was with him anyway, beaming him up just anytime he wanted to ? Whenever the Asguard had a problem they were too 'smart' to fix Thor just shut off the mountain and strolled through the gate....They were even harder to contact than the Tok'ra. Guess it was one of those "don't call us we'll call you " relationships.
He didn't know if they could help find Daniel or not, but at least they would feel like they were doing SOMETHING. It seemed like they were just spinning their wheels. No closer to finding him than they were a few days ago.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Daniel had either fallen asleep or passed out.........an hour?.......a day? The sound of voices talking in the background woke him and he slowly sat up to look around, noticing a few people standing on the far side of the room. He managed to pull himself up onto his feet using the wall to support himself. He stumbled over to the bars and held tightly as the room tried to spin away. He could sure use his glasses, he thought, as he squinted in their direction. Why is it every time he's captured they take away his glasses?
He had drank the water they left him figuring it would be pretty much overkill to drug the water or food. The thought of food just, ........well.......maybe it was that 'thing' attached to his head, but he couldn't seem to keep much of anything down.
Since there were no windows and he had no watch he had no way of knowing if it were night or day. He couldn't even be sure how many days he'd been here.
Mr. Spencer glanced in Daniel's direction, spoke a word to someone and then began walking in his direction. Once at the cell he stood crossing his arms in front of him. " Well, Dr. Jackson. Are you feeling better?........................Maybe now you'll take my warnings seriously."
" What do you want ?" Daniel asked.
" You're a smart man, aren't you Dr. Jackson? Surely you know that the knowledge you possess is of great value."
" I'm not telling you ANYTHING! "
" Ah, but that's where you're mistaken, Dr. Jackson." The man turned and walked back over to the group who were assembled there and took a seat. " You can proceed."
Daniel suddenly felt a warm buzzing deep inside his head as his mind was flooded with a sea of images, emotions and pain,
" Noooooooooo !" He fell to the padded floor grasping the sides of his head as the nightmares began.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
General Hammond stood at the window overlooking the Stargate staring, deep in thought. The phone call he'd just taken, had only left him feeling drained. SG-1 had been summoned to the briefing room and they were on their way. Every time the phone rang he'd hoped that there would be some word on Dr. Jackson's whereabouts. But even though this was the first lead they had found, he didn't think it would be enough.
He couldn't deny that he'd become awfully fond of that young man. He still didn't like to think about how hard it had been to lose Dr. Jackson after the accident on Kelowna. It had hit SG-1 especially hard. They were a closeknit team, when one was hurt, they all hurt, and they would all rally around like a mama bear with her cub if one of them were in trouble.
He knew that Colonel O'Neill had felt responsible for Dr. Jackson's "death". It wouldn't have surprised him if the Colonel had retired. When they'd found our boy, and brought him back home Jack had been grinning from ear to ear. He hadn't seen Jack that happy in a very long time, It was good to see. They certainly were a pair.
And now one was missing..................
Jack stepped into the briefing room, followed by Sam and Teal'c, and looked at Hammond uneasily. " General?"
" I have some news about Dr. Jackson's disappearance, Have a seat."
" It seems that the daughter of one of the tenants in Dr. Jackson's apartment building spoke briefly with him on Tuesday around noon. She passed him in the hallway as he was on his way out. She told the police that Dr. Jackson had told her he was on his way to the parking lot to help a Mrs. Louise Baker who had called him and needed help with her car. The young lady who called comes once or twice a week to visit her elderly father. She hadn't heard about Dr. Jackson until this morning when her father told her that the police had questioned all the tenants about his disappearance.
And before you ask Colonel, the police checked out Mrs. Baker's story too. It seems she has been out of town for the past week and a half staying with her sister. The sister had broken her leg and Mrs. Baker has been taking care of her."
" Then if this woman was out of town, who called Daniel , sir ?" Sam asked worriedly.
" The police don't have any leads yet on who might have made the call, Major. But it looks as though someone went to great lengths to lure Dr. Jackson into the rear parking lot. A broken cell phone that was found in the lot a few days ago has been checked out too. It's Daniel's."
" NID, General ?" Jack said as he could feel his anger rising to the surface. He could think of a few organizations that would be more than capable of something like this, but they were at the top of his list.
" At this point Colonel, we simply do not know who is responsible. But you know yourself that if the NID or another rogue group is involved Dr. Jackson is in serious danger."
Sam looked at General Hammond nervously." So. What now, sir ?"
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Mr. Spencer had ordered them to get Dr. Jackson 'straightened up' before this evening's session. It seems that he had passed out before the session was completed this morning and her boss wanted him awake and alert and strong enough to handle a two-hour session tonight. He had only been using the device on Dr. Jackson once a day but he was so captivated by the progress they were making he was considering increasing that.
Dr. Peterson had told her to give Dr. Jackson another injection for the nausea and "get some food and water in him." Easier said than done. The young man had been getting harder and harder to coax into eating or drinking anything. She had lost count of the number of injections they were giving him, but luckily the times when she had to give them, he was usually passed out, asleep, or too weak to fight her. The trembling and vomiting had been getting worse but it was her job to help have him 'ready' for later this evening.
She had overheard them discussing how to ensure that he stayed alive until the sessions brought the results they wanted. Dr. Peterson had even suggested they insert a feeding tube if he wouldn't eat. But that wasn't her concern. She had her job to do and they had theirs.
She opened the cell door and seeing that the man was apparently still unconscious, she bent down and injected the contents into his arm. As she slipped the cap back on and turned to leave she heard him moan softly. Pocketing the used syringe, she bent over and tapped his cheeks, " Dr. Jackson....can you hear me?"
Daniel heard a voice but wasn't sure if it was a real voice or one of the many voices he heard in his head every day.
" Dr. Jackson, you need to wake up now..."
He slowly opened his eyes to see a woman standing over him. Which still didn't prove that she was there. He had thought Sha're and Jack had been there too but when he had reached out his hand he only touched air.
"......real ?......."
" Y..yes,.. Dr. Jackson...... I'm.. real," She helped him slowly sit up. " Here, see if you can take a drink," She held the water bottle to his lips and watched him drink greedily.
"...Thank......you...."
" Uh.... sure......you're...you're welcome," she answered as she stood up feeling unnerved by the young man's politeness. " Listen, you really do need to eat something today.......I'm leaving this here, try to eat ok?" and she turned and rushed out.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Jack just had to get away from the base for awhile. The mood there was somber, like a dark cloud had descended upon the entire mountain. He couldn't bear the looks of sympathy he got from almost every face that he passed in the corridors. The whisperings and conversations that would cease when he entered a room. It was as if they thought Daniel was already dead. And that was something he would not accept.
He knew that he had really damaged his and Daniel's friendship before he had...died..and then ascended. Looking back he saw a commander who wouldn't listen to or accept any solution or opinion but his own. He had almost made some serious mistakes on Euronda and it had shaken him to his military issue boots.
He had allowed his desire to make an alliance to gain weapons technology to cloud the underlying price to their souls. He had almost made a deal with the devil and it had left him questioning himself for some time. And a commander of an SG team could not afford to do that, not for long. He blamed himself but had taken his anger out on his closest friend. Daniel had asked the right questions. And Jack had just told him to shutup.
Then there was the robot, that came close, too close, to taking over the base, h### the entire world. He could have handled that better too. He'd seen how deeply that whole incident had hurt Daniel. But instead of being a friend, he'd simply avoided him , keeping his distance. No wonder glowy land had looked better to him as he lay there dying. Jack hadn't exactly tried to talk him out of 'ascending', No , he'd just smiled, nodded......and let him go.
When they'd found Daniel on that planet, Carter, thank God, had talked him into coming back with them. Even though to him they were complete strangers, he had promised himself that he wouldn't make the same mistakes again. Sure he'd been frustrated that Daniel didn't remember him at first. But he'd tried to give him the space and time he needed, and he'd gotten his friend back.
Even after Daniel had been back for weeks, he had still needed to make sure sometimes that his friend was really there. He'd suddenly feel like he needed to go find him which usually meant checking his office or Sam's, and just say hi. It was hard for him when Daniel moved into his new apartment because then he would be away from them more.
He knew it was selfish of him but he liked to know where Daniel was most of the time, .....well actually all of the time, but that wasn't possible, really. He'd insisted that Daniel stay at his house after he'd gotten most of his memory back. But he'd understood when Daniel had said he'd found an apartment. The team had been a little overprotective since he'd returned. Heck, they'd practically smothered him, okay? But only because they cared about him and didn't want anything to happen to him again.
He'd been driving in circles with no particular destination, or so he'd thought, until he realized where his instincts had brought him. Right in front of Daniel's apartment building.
He stared at the building a few moments, then got out of the truck and made
his way up to Daniel's apartment. He reached into his pocket and brought out the
set of keys he had picked up on the coffee table when he had been here to wake
him up and drag his butt back to the SGC for the briefing and found.......... He
turned the keys over and over in his hand , remembering standing in this very
spot telling Daniel that he needed a spare key so he wouldn't have to stand out
there and wake the neighbors. He had a
key now...........................
He fought back the watering in his eyes as he unlocked the door and stepped inside. Why had he come here? Had he came hoping to feel closer to his friend? Jack slowly looked around the room. The room that he himself along with dozens of people from the SGC, when the word got out that they needed to get Daniel's furniture and things out of storage and get them over to the newly leased apartment. They'd had more volunteers than they had work to do.
He could still see Daniel's face when he'd brought him here telling him they'd dropped off a bunch of boxes of Daniel's stuff that had been in storage and that Jack wouldn't mind helping him put a few things away. He hadn't had a clue that Jack had kept him away from the apartment all day for a reason. When he'd opened the door and a completely sorted, cleaned, organized apartment full of his friends had yelled 'surprise', that's the first time he'd seen Daniel totally speechless. But he just didn't realize, I guess , how much he means to us, all of us. We had missed him terribly and he was back.....................and now.............now he was....... Jack felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
He hurt....whatever that thing was on his head...in his brain...whatever it was doing to him...........he was sure he wasn't going to survive.....His hope that Jack would somehow find him was the only thing that had kept him from giving up, but he was beginning to fear that Jack was going to find a dead body.
He had clung to his sanity as much as he could....but as his mind was pulled in first one direction ..then another.....and he felt as if his brain were being twisted apart. Had he been here days? weeks? months? It was getting harder to think. Every thought seemed to be covered in a deepening fog.
He looked down at his hands....bloody hands...where he had beat at the iron bars trying to get out of the nightmare......one hand swollen....... probably broken.......it didn't matter...he wouldn't be needing his hands for much longer anyway...............he was lost somewhere that Jack couldn't find him this time.........and he was sure he was going to die......his own voice was like a stranger's... ......the screaming ......his screaming..had changed it.......his head hurt....... throbbed.......but if he stared at the white padded walls long enough he could almost feel himself disappear in the whiteness........he needed to make himself disappear.... before Jack found his dead body.........he felt the fear rise in him again as the low buzzing started deep inside his brain...... and he grabbed his head and sobbed......
NOOOOO !..... STOP !.......JAAAACK !!!!................................................... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Dr, Peterson had given Dr. Jackson the injection of the drug fifteen minutes ago. Mr. Spencer had decided to try a new experimental hallucinogen used to enhance memory. He nodded to the technician to begin and he turned the machine on as they waited and watched.
The images began with the young man speaking frantically in one of the many different languages they have heard during the sessions. The man's memories shifted from one to another more quickly with the addition of the drug. Images filled the screen of him looking down on his bandaged body with blood soaking through, and he started moaning and then crying softly , a woman came to him and unwrapped and then lay clean white bandages over his arms, hands and chest, people came and talked to him and some of them cried, the screen filled with the image of soft white light and a woman asking the young man to go with her on a journey.
He watches the scenes playing out, ignoring the sounds coming from the cell, taking notes as the images and people and places flow from one to another over and over. The screen then got harder to make out as it flowed into the image of stone, large rough stones and more people, there is a loud crashing noise and Dr. Jackson begins to scream and scream, louder and more inhuman and suddenly the cardiac monitoring chip imbedded in the memory device started to sound on the monitor, ' D##n it, we were getting close !" he cursed, " Dr. Peterson, get in there and get his heart started so we can continue ! "
Dr. Peterson looked at Amy and then the image on the monitor of the man lying lifeless and pale on his back. He grabbed his bag and Amy followed him into the cell. They knelt down and the Doctor checked his pulse. Nothing. His fist came down hard on the man's chest. Still not finding a pulse he started doing chest compressionss. Amy tilted Daniel's head back and breathed into his mouth....... once......... twice......... They exchanged worried glances as they tried to bring the man back to life. After a full minute of CPR Dr. Peterson placed his fingers at Daniel's neck checking.............."I've got a pulse"...the Doctor said as he sat back on the floor. He glanced at Amy's frightened face.
Dr. Peterson stood up got his bag and stomped out of the cell and strode across the room up to Mr. Spencer, "You're going to kill him if you go any further today! His heart is beating now but I won't be responsible if he dies !" The two men glared at each other, finally Mr. Spencer spoke. "Very well, that's enough for today, but you have 24 hours to get that man strong enough to finish what I've started. Do you understand me, Dr. Peterson?"
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Sam hadn't been able to get much sleep since Daniel had turned up missing. She had taken over a room on the base so she could be close by just in case they got any news about him. She had left no stone unturned, or so she'd thought. Guess that's not the case though because Daniel was still missing. She had always relied on her training and instincts to come up with solutions where there appeared to be none. She was frustrated and angry. She solved problems..........that's what she did.....and she was darned good at it..........or she was. Now though when Daniel needed her the most she felt useless.
General Hammond had all but ordered Teal'c to go visit his son. He had felt so deeply responsible for not being there to protect Daniel again and had hardly ventured out of his quarters since Daniel's abduction. And since Teal'c didn't require Kel'no'reem, they knew that that wasn't the reason he was hiding away. He had come back from spending the day with Ry'ac. Stronger but still guilt-ridden.
Colonel O'Neill was hurting a lot more than he was willing to let on. He had went by Daniel's apartment and not come back to the base until the following day. She didn't know what all had gone on with him during that chunk of time, and he wasn't talking. Even though Jack had put on a good front after Daniel had ascended she knew he'd been shattered by it. If something happened to Daniel again, she didn't think SG-1 would survive it intact.
She didn't know what more she could do, or where to look. "Oh God, Daniel, where are you ? "
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Amy had stayed in the cell leaning back against the cell door watching the young man. For not the first time, since this testing began, she was really scared. She could see it in Dr. Peterson's eyes as well. But he would play by their rules, she was certain.
Dr. Peterson had come in earlier and ran a length of tubing down into the young man's stomach through his nostril and attached it to the pump that was feeding the solution into the too thin body. She was to watch him and make sure he didn't wake and pull it out while the much needed nourishment went into his body. But so far he had not moved at all.
Mr. Spencer had said that the Memory Probe was getting very close to the area of the mind that held the knowledge they sought, and they would do whatever it took to keep him alive until they got what they wanted.
She at one time had believed that the protection of the billions of people on their planet was more important than the sacrifices she'd seen done in the name of duty. Tonight though as she waited and watched the young man who had been there over two weeks she questioned her loyalty, her beliefs. Was this really about protecting Earth, or was it more about certain people having power.
" Shau'...re"
The sound was so low she had barely heard it
" Shau're...........I'm...I'm sor...ry"
That she heard........he had called out that name several times during the sessions.....his wife's name..... his dead wife's name....... .......... a tear slid down her face. She quickly wiped it away and stood up. She had to get out of here for awhile.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Mr. Spencer watched in fascination looking from the holographic screen and then back to the monitors from the cell. Dr. Jackson would be speaking, then he'd rush to the wall and claw at it. For the next two hours he sat glued to the images being projected from Dr. Jackson's brain.
Images of him with different people, some alien, he screamed at something unseen trying to fight it off......symbiotes.....hr was running through sand........ " fascinating "................... a planet covered in ice, an SGC team......a woman frozen in ice........ people getting sick and dying,......images were swirling like clouds...... these images looked ....different....he leaned closer concentrating on the images that had a softer hue then most of the others that he'd seen on the screen........he felt the anticipation build within him and he glanced at his watch. It had been a little over the two hour limit he had put on the length of the tests. He looked again at the monitors showing Dr. Jackson, trying to weigh the risk of continuing longer.
" Do you want me to shut it off now Mr. Spencer ?" the technician asked.
" Not yet. We'll stop when I say we stop. Is that clear?"
And the nightmares went on...............................
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Jack was going over the plans one more time. They had the satellite image of the house and the latest thermal infrared scan of the building. If Daniel was there they would find him.
He couldn't believe the phone call. One name. Daniel. One address, only about 75 miles from the base. One warning. " You'd better hurry." Daniel's guardian angels were evidently still on the job.
General Hammond had asked for volunteers for the rescue mission and well, let's just say that the commissary is pretty big and they were trailing out the door and down the corridor. He was stunned when he had stepped out of the elevator and the doors had opened to wall to wall people. He knew people liked Daniel but this blew him away. If Daniel could just see this. It reminded him of when Daniel was saying goodbye to the people of Abydos and they had all gathered around him reaching out toward him, patting him touching, hugging. He'd heard of group hugs before but that was .....unbelievable.
They were geared up and ready to go. His team would go first and the medical transport helicopter would follow. Dr. Frazier had had plenty of volunteers as well. She handpicked the few who would hopefully be bringing Daniel home. The rest would get things ready back at the base. Once they had Dr. Jackson in the air and she would radio back to have them prepare whatever was necessary. The location where it was hoped Daniel was being held, was about one hour away. She had gone over every possible scenario so she would have whatever was needed on the plane to care for Daniel and at least keep him stable until they could get him back to her infirmary. They didn't know what to expect. A lot could happen in an hour.
General Hammond stood staring out the window overlooking the Stargate. He had seen a lot of people come through that gate. He'd seen one young man in particular come through several times when he really hadn't been expected to even be alive. When Apophis's ships blew apart they presumed that none of SG-1 would be coming home. When Nem planted the false memory of Daniel being burned alive, they had thought he was dead then too. They'd even had a funeral for him that time... and when he had died from the effects of the radiation and ascended they didn't believe they would ever see him again...but they did. They had by some miracle found him and brought him home again. He just hoped they would be bringing him back home this time.
" Teams are ready and awaiting your order, General."
" Go bring our boy home, Colonel."
" Yes sir, General ! "
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
They hadn't known what hit them. His teams had been on the ground and stormed the place before they knew what was happening. The three they had taken into custody weren't talking. They denied knowing anything about an abduction, Said they had never heard of or seen a Dr. Jackson. So he had had a little one-on-one talk with one of them and he'd told him about there being a hidden basement. Jack radioed up to the plane for them to run another scan of the building, but nothing showed up.
The team had began to literally tear the place apart, until they hit paydirt. A door hidden below a fake floor of a closet. It was wired to open only with a special transmitter so Carter had had to rewire it.
The team rushed down the stairs to find an entire lower level, walls, floor, and ceiling, encased in concrete. If anyone was down here they wouldn't have shown up on the scan.
A woman stood staring at the guns all pointed at her not saying a word. She handed Jack a transmitter, " For the door..........hurry."
He'd never seen so much computer equipment in one place, The monitors were all mostly static due to the damage to the building. All except one, which showed a man lying on his back, pale and lifeless. Sam gasped when she saw the image, "Oh my God! It's Daniel sir."
Jack immediately ran to the cell door. "Get it open, Carter!"
Major Carter pointed the device at the door. It slid open and they rushed into the cell, kneeling down on either side of him. Jack anxiously watched Daniel as Sam felt for a pulse. " He's alive, it's faint but it's there. "
" Carter, get the med team down here, now! ", Jack leaned closer and placed his hand on Daniel's face. " Daniel.............Daniel can you hear me?........... Damnit Daniel, what did those bastard's do to you...................we're gettin you out of here, Danny, hang on"
Major Carter had keyed her radio, " Medical team, this is SG-1, We have Daniel. We're in the basement, Lieutenant Carlson will meet you on the main floor and bring you to our location, and hurry ! "
"Carter, you want to tell me what that thing is on his head ?"
" I don't know, sir." Sam leaned down to get a closer look at the device," but it's looks like its on there good"
" Did you see his hand, sir?"
" I saw it Carter.....looks like its been stomped on ! " Suddenly they heard a low moan and Daniel's eyes fluttered. Jack immediatly leaned down closer to the young man as he struggled to regain consciousness. " Daniel...... can you hear me? "
" Ja.........k ?" was all they heard before his eyes rolled back.
Sam frantically felt for a pulse, and put her right ear next to Daniel's lips," He's not breathing 1 ! "
" Where's Frazier?" Jack yelled as he quickly got to his knees. Placing one hand on top of the other, he waited as Sam gave Daniel two breaths, then started pressing Daniel's chest counting "One.....two.......three......four.......five..."
The medical team rushed down the stairs, as they continued giving him CPR.
Dr. Frazier was quickly on her knees beside Daniel's still body. " How long, Sam?"
" About a minute ......" Sam told her as she kept focused on Jack's counting waiting for when she needed to breathe for him again.
"1 amp. epinephrine stat !!" Janet grabbed an alcohol swab out of the med kit and wiped his chest." Okay, stop CPR." Taking the long syringe she plunged the needle deep into Daniel's chest. After handing the empty syringe to the nurse, Janet quickly placed the stethoscope into her ears and held it to his chest as Jack and Sam watched anxiously, " Come on...............come on Daniel...don't you die on me...............................Okay......I've got a pulse. Lets get him out of here. Now!"
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
As soon as they had Daniel in the helicoptor it took off for the base.
Dr. Frazier's team focused mainly on keeping Daniel stable on the trip back to the base. She radioed ahead that they were on their way and tried to describe to them the device that was attached to Dr. Jackson's head. She had been shocked at the sight of the metal object that appeared to be imbedded somehow into his skull. Even with all of the unusual things she had seen at the SGC, it was still unsettling. But they would have to wait until they got back to the infirmary before they could even attempt to deal with that.
" Nancy, get him on the monitor and then get me his vitals stat, I'll get the IV in." Janet gathered what she needed and tried to find a good vein. This was gonna take a little longer than usual probably due to the dehydration. She finally got the IV in and secured it with tape.
Nancy Philips had seen a lot in the ten years years she had worked as a trauma nurse but she evidently hadn't seen it all. She tried not to let herself get too close to the cases she worked on, but sometimes it was harder than others. This was one of those times. She had cut the clothing out of the way and was hurriedly getting the leads onto his chest for the heart monitor. She glanced over at the man sitting quietly just outside the cockpit who was watching. She had been a little surprised that Dr. Frazier had allowed the Colonel to ride back to the base in their chopper. But she could see from the way he watched the young man that they must be very close. Since his heart rhythm was now being continually monitored by the machinery, she concentrated on getting his resperations and blood pressure. She checked his blood pressure and then deflated the cuff and checked it again.
"His BP's 90 over 70 and dropping, doctor !" Nurse Phillips called out.
Janet had been listening to his heart and lungs and was focused on the erratic readings she was seeing on the monitor.
"Get me .4 mils Vasopressin, and keep checking his pressure." Janet slowly injected the syringe into the IV, and waited and watched tensely as the rhythm slowly began to grow more regular.
"Ok, Nancy ........give me his vitals every ten." Janet wasn't thrilled with readings, especially his pressure. She moved the few feet to the cockpit door to asked the pilot how much longer before they were back at the base. She glanced at her watch and went back to the seat beside Daniel." Nancy, we'll be there in about fifteen minutes. How's the BP ?"
"100 over 70 doctor."
" How's he doin ?" Jack asked, his eyes focused on Daniel.
" He's stable, sir. But I'll feel better when he's back in the infirmary. Any idea what that object is on Daniel's head,Colonel ?"
"Carter thinks the discs look a lot like that memory thing the Tok'ra use." Jack looked up at Dr. Frazier, " Can you get it off ?"
Janet had to look away. " We'll do everything we can, Colonel. "
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
They were nearing the base and were preparing to land. Dr. Frazier had already double checked the tubes and machinery connected to Daniel. " Okay, listen up ! As soon as we're on the ground I want this stretcher out of this chopper. A gurney will be waiting. They're holding both elevators for us. Once we're on level 9 we've gotta switch elevators. Remember, be careful with Dr. Jackson's head. "
As the helicoptor came to a rest, they sprang into action, An airman was waiting as Jack slid the door open. He jumped inside helping Colonel O'Neill get the stretcher out and onto the gurney. The other medic who had been up front in the helicoptor grabbed the portable crashcart and hopped out onto the concrete. Jack pushed the gurney quickly toward the waiting elevator as Dr. Frazier and Nurse Philips kept their eyes on Daniel and the monitors.
Once they were inside Janet punched #9, the doors slid shut and the descent began.
Janet's eyes going from the monitor to Daniel to the slowly descending numbers 2..........3..........4..........5 .......... 6.........7....
Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. The shrill alarm of the heart monitor echoed in the small space.
" He's not breathing. Check his airway".................... they watched as the straight line moved across the screen. " He's crashing ! Charge the paddles" ...................................."Clear".................................. Daniel's body arched up and slammed down on the gurney just as the doors slid open to frightened faces. " Nurse, Bag him."........................... Janet watched the monitor but saw no change as Nurse Philips pushed air into his lungs. " Charge the paddles" .........................................................." Clear !".........Janet pressed the paddles against his chest and he arched up then slammed down once more.....................................All eyes were glued to the monitor. Finaly a blip followed by two more. " He's back. Let's move! " Jack let out the breath he'd been holding and pushed the gurney past the people lining the corridor and into the waiting elevator that would take them the rest of the way. Jack punched #25 and the doors slid shut........12.................14...........................17.......................................22..........................25
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
The medics were waiting at the infirmary doors to take the injured man inside. Dr. Frazier stopped and laid her hand against Colonel O'Neill's arm, " Please, Colonel, I promise I'll let you know as soon as I have any news about Daniel." Seeing the Colonel look at her and slowly nod, Janet turned and burst through the doors.
Dr. Frazier went up to stand at the head of the gurney. " Nurse, I need to intubate him to keep his airway open in case he crashes again. Hand me the scope." Dr. Frazier tilted Daniel's head back and took the scope and guided the endo tube into and down his throat. " It's in." She adjusted the oxygen settings and began a more thourough exam.
" Nancy, get a Foley set up, and I want his vitals every 15 minutes." Dr. Frazier very gently picked up and examined Daniel's swollen blood-dried hand and turned to the other nurse, " Nurse, get an X-ray on this hand." She went around to the other side of the bed and drew blood from a vein in Daniel's arm and handed it to a technician. " Get this down to the lab stat. I want a CBC and Chem 7."
" Doctor, his pulse is 70, BP is 110/60 and resperations 15 ."
Dr. Frazier shined her penlight in each of Daniel's eyes. His pupils were equal but somewhat slow to react. That was definitely something she had to keep a very close eye on. She watched as the X-ray technician rolled in the portable machine and started getting it set up to X-ray Daniel's hand. She would bet it was broken from the look and feel of it. The question was, how badly?
She looked closely at the dark dots of bruising with puncture marks along his upper arm streaked with dried blood. She put the stethoscope into to her ears and listened first to one side of his chest, then the other. She put the stethoscope into her pocket and lifted the sheet up exposing one leg, careful to keep the rest of him covered. She noticed the same dark dots of bruising along his hip. Looking down his leg and not seeing any serious injuries, she covered him and went over to the other side of the gurney. He had some bruising on the other arm, too. She pulled the sheet back to examine his other leg and noticed even more bruising and puncture marks. Some which looked infected.
Dr. Frazier and the nurses stepped away as the films were taken of Daniel's hand. When they stepped back in she went up to the technician, "When you get those X-rays done, have Dr. Mosely look at them right away."
" Nurse. Dr. Jackson has some punctures on his left upper thigh and hip that look infected. Get those dressed and then take him over for his head CT." Janet glanced at her watch. She really should take a minute to get out to the waiting room while Daniel was having tests. "One more thing, Nancy, as soon as he's back from his CT, I'd like for to get Dr. Jackson cleaned up. And then let Dr. Richard's know so he can get the EEG. I'll be in the waiting room for a few minutes if you need me."
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Jack had walked down to the far end of the corridor and back thirty-seven times. Drank three coffees. Snuck four cigarettes in the storage closet. Picked up twenty six out of date magazines and read one. He'd checked the clock on the wall thirty nine times. What was taking them so long ?
Sam had been watching Colonel O'Neill for the past three hours. She didn't know who was more tired, him, or her from watching him. This latest scare had taken its toll on him, on all of them. She stood up and then walked uneasily in the Colonel's direction. She took a seat beside her CO. "Are you okay, sir? "
Jack glanced at her and roughly rubbed his hand through his hair, " No Carter. I'm not sure if I'll ever be 'okay ' again."
Whew! Worse than she thought. She knew he was worried about Daniel but she didn't know what to say so she gently squeezed his arm, "He's come through worse than this before, Colonel, He's the strongest person I know." and they both took up the vigil not quite as alone with their worry.
"Colonel ...Major...Teal'c, .... How's our................. boy ?" The General's asked as his attention was drawn away to the corridor lined with people. " Are all these people here for Dr. Jackson?"
" We haven't heard anything yet, and yes sir, their here for Daniel. Actually there were quite a few more but some had to leave to go on duty."
" Well, he's in good hands, Major," The General then turned his attention to Colonel O'Neill, " I thought you should know, the three men that were taken into custody were found dead in their cells an hour ago. Cause of death is as yet unknown. And the woman who was arrested in the basement where you found Dr. Jackson, was the woman who called in the location where Dr. Jackson was being held."
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Suddenly all eyes turned in the direction of the infirmary as the doors opened and Dr. Frazier came out. She scanned the worried faces. " Dr. Jackson is stable but he's still unconcious. Since we've almost lost him twice, I've intubated him to keep his airway open and his oxygen levels up. He's severely dehydrated and has lost a fair amount of weight, which has put a strain on his heart. It appears that he's had a nasogastric tube inserted sometime in the last few days. There was some minor irritation in his throat and esophagas.
They just finished X-raying his right hand. It appears to be broken but we won't know how badly until the Dr. Mosely takes a look at the films. Some of his blood work is back, and there's an unknown substance showing up. The lab is trying to pinpoint more closely what it could be. All we do know is that it appears to have simliar properties to an hallucinogen.
Dr. Frazier looked at Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter. " Was Daniel conscious at all after you found him ?"
Sam glanced at the Colonel and then turned to Janet. " Only for a few seconds, Janet. He tried to open his eyes and........he uh....said Jack and then he was out."
" Okay.....he's......"
" When can we see him ?" Jack interupted and finally spoke to Janet.
" I'm sending him over in just a few minutes to get a head CT, but the four of you can see him briefly."
Dr. Frazier led them in and back to where Daniel lay, still motionless. The X-ray technician had already gone and Nurse Philips was finishing with the antibiotic and gauze pads on the puncture wounds. " Doctor Frazier, I have his vitals. Pulse 85, BP 140/80 and resperations 25."
Jack, Sam, Teal'c and General Hammond all gathered around the pale young man. Janet could see the worry and pain in their eyes.
Sam wanted to take his hand or smooth his sweat soaked hair but was afraid of where to touch him. He had an IV in his left hand. His right hand was elevated and lying on an ice pack. Small dark bruises covered his upper arms and a few could be seen on his hip just below where the sheet lay. "Janet, what are all those bruises ?"
" They appear to be needle punctures from injections. He'd evidently been given a lot of them. A few were infected but it's not serious. Sam, the Colonel said you had some idea about this device that has been attached to his head?"
" Well Janet, it looks similiar to the Tok'ra memory device, well the discs do anyway. As far as the rest of it, I could only guess. Selmak might be able to help us figure it out. I'd like to contact my Dad, with your permission, sir."
" Permission granted, Major."
Sam leaned close to Daniel and whispered in his ear, "You're going to be fine Daniel" and she lightly brushed his cheek with her fingers and turned to leave.
Teal'c had been quietly watching his friend as he lay so still. "General Hammond. Have those responcible for harming DanielJackson been apprehended?" he asked.
" I'm afraid it may take some time to get to those who were in charge of this operation, Teal'c. But we'll do everything we can."
" Then I will see to it that no more harm comes to him." Teal'c nodded and stepped outside the doorway to stand guard over his friend.
General Hammond averted his eyes from Daniel to speak to Dr. Frazier. " Any idea when Dr. Jackson will be conscious? He's really the only one who might be able to tell us what happened."
" At this point I'd only be guessing sir. I'm afraid I won't know any more about that until I get the head CT and EEG on him. If you'll excuse me sirs, I have to check on some things."
General Hammond stepped closer to Daniel and laid his hand on his shoulder gently, and looked from Daniel up at the Colonel, " You brought our boy home, Colonel........" He looked back down at Daniel and said, "You're gonna be okay now, son." He started to walk out but paused," Briefing is in two hours, Colonel. "
" Yes sir," Jack replied, glad that he was finally alone, away from the well meaning looks. He turned back to Daniel and stepped close to him. His eyes looked over Daniel's too thin, pale body, wires coming out from several places and tubes taking things out, putting things back. He'd never seen so many wires and tubes and things attached to one person, even Daniel. The steady beeping of the monitor oddly reassuring and comforting, the electrodes attached to his chest keeping steady vigil over the heart that had stopped beating twice earlier.
Jack quietly pulled the chair closer and sat down, letting out a sigh. " For cryin out loud Daniel, the lengths you'll go to, to keep from giving me a spare key." He placed his warm hand over Daniel's limp cool arm careful not to bother the IV. " You know, you scared the s##t out of me?............again.........." Jack eyes moved up to the device on Daniel's skull and cringed.
Nurse Philips walked into the curtained off area, seeing Colonel O'Neill sitting there she had to smile. Dr. Frazier had told her about Daniel's shadow whenever he was in the infirmary.
" I just need to check his vitals. You can stay put, sir, It'll just take me a few minutes." She started writing down the readings from the monitoring equipment. She went about her duties quietly and efficiently, emptying the drainage bag, adjusting the IV and finally as she pulled a thin blanket up over his body saying, "He seems a little chilly don't you think so sir? " But before she walked away she leaned close to Dr. Jackson and placed both hands gently on each side of his face, looked directly at him even though his eyes were closed, and said softly, " Dr. Jackson, if you can hear me, you're in the infirmary but you're going to be just fine. I'm one of your nurses and I'll be taking care of you. Your friend, Colonel O'Neill is here right beside you, so you don't have to be afraid,"
Jack watched and listened to her as she spoke to Daniel. Then she turned to Jack, " I think it's important to talk to them, to help them wake up sir, don't you?........I need to take Dr. Jackson for some tests in about five minutes, sir. If you wouldn't mind staying with him until I get back?"
He watched her as she slipped out through the curtain. Jack looked back at Daniel thinking how odd that for some reason the room just felt a little calmer and peaceful. He was even feeling a little better himself just hearing her as she spoke so gently to Daniel. Jack leaned close to Daniel's face " I don't know if you can hear me Daniel, but don't you even think about listening to any glowy things in there, you hear me, Daniel ? You belong right here with us,........with me.......You're my best friend Danny and ....I.... need you." Jack didn't even care that tears had started sliding down his face. He only cared about getting his friend back.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Dr. Frazier opened the file and began her medical report. " Dr. Jackson was found lying on his back evidently unconscious. Within a few minutes he tried to open his eyes and briefly spoke but then he stopped breathing. Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter performed CPR for approximately one to two minutes. I gave Dr. Jackson an injection of epinephrine directly into his heart muscle. He regained a heart rhythm and we transported him to the helicoptor.
We got him on the heart monitor and started IV fluids for the dehydration. At this time his heart beat was still somewhat erratic but we were able to keep him stablized in the air. After landing at the base on the way down in the elevator his heart stopped and he once again stopped breathing. I had to shock him twice to get his heart beating again.
He was intubated after his arrival in the infirmary where he was examined more thoroughly. As I've said, he is dehydrated and appears to have lost as much as 20 pounds in the two weeks he was held. He has during those two weeks been given numerous injections. I believe some of these could have been attempts to replace certain minerals or vitamins due to the unusual levels he had in his blood upon initial testing. We did identify a chemical in his blood that is definitely a powerful hallucinogen. It has some unusual properties in it that could possibly even be alien.The levels in his blood are lowering but too slowly. If they don't begin breaking down and leaving his system soon we may need to put him on dialysis for a short time to assist his kidneys in ridding themselves of it.
Dr. Jackson's right hand is fractured in three places. This will have to be repaired surgically later today partly because it' been fractured for at least a week. We did get the head CT and EEG back. My number one concern right now is the intracerebral bleeding. Tiny blood vessels in the brain have been leaking which can cause the brain to swell. And his EEG is like none I've ever seen. His brain activity appears to be almost twice what a normal person's would be. Daniel should be awake, sir. And I have no idea why he isn't. It's almost like he has shut his mind down and doesn't want to or doesn't know how to wake up.
" Prognosis Doctor ?"
" I know you want to hear something more definite, but the truth is I don't know what all Dr. Jackson has been subjected to for the past couple of weeks. Since we don't know exactly what or why this device has been put on his head, I can't know what it has done to him or what it could still be doing to him."
"Selmak," the General said," I understand you and Major Carter have had a chance to examine the device ?"
" Yes we have General, the device has the same basic structure as the memory device of the Tok'ra. But there is a major difference. This device has filaments lining the entire underside of it. But I must caution you, this device, although similiar, has been altered. There is the possibility that it has some failsafe setting to prevent its removal. Sam and I examined it as best we could and it seems that this device is connected to Daniel's skull with four rods which each have a round disc at the end, similar to our memory device. The Tok'ra memory disc has thin filaments which when pressed onto the skin, usually the temple, shoot into the person's brain. When activated by the control wand the power or depth of the filaments can be adjusted. But our control wand wouldn't work on this device. "
" Selmak. It's been suggested that whoever was behind the abduction of Dr. Jackson, were attempting to use his knowledge of the SGC or even his memories of when he was ascended. The security codes have all been changed so there is no risk to the Stargate program. But Dr. Jackson has had very little memory of his time while he was ascended as far as we know. Can these Tok'ra devices retrieve memories that a person themself isn't aware of ?"
" The Tok'ra only use them for very short periods of time. Usually the memory we are after is easily brought to the surface after only a few attempts."
Jack had been quietly listening to all of the reports. " General, if this memory thing has been on Daniel ever since he was kidnapped we've got to get it off and find out what it's done to him."
The General directed his attention from Selmak to his Chief Medical Officer. "Dr. Frazier in your medical opinion do you believe your team can safely remove this device from Doctor Jackson ?"
" Sir, at this point we simply have no idea what might happen to Daniel if we attempt to surgicaly remove it. But at the same time I am very concerned that the swelling and intracerebral bleeding isn't responding to treatment as well as I'd hoped If the device is still doing something to him then the longer it's in place, the greater the risk to Daniel. "
Sam had been taking it all in, trying to come up with a solution, " Selmak, if you could show me how the control wand is put together then I think I could try to reconfigure the frequency and might be able to match the same frequency of the discs on Daniel."
" I'm sure with Selmaks knowledge we can both help Sam figure this out." Jacob nodded at his daughter and then looked back to General Hammond.
" Major Carter, Jacob, you can get started right away. Keep me posted"
" There's just one problem, Janet." Sam had looked at all the possibilities but couldn't see any way past it, " I won't know if I've found the right frequency unless I can get it to activate the device on Daniel. Now if I do find the same frequency, I can then reformulate the setting to shut it down , but I don't know how long it would take to figure out the setting that shuts it off. It could be a few minutes or much longer. And I don't know how the device will affect Daniel once it's activated."
General Hammond didn't like the sound of that, but it was looking like their choices were few. " Dr. Frazier, does Dr. Jackson's condition warrant taking the chance of the device being activated in order to remove it ?"
" Sir, if Sam and Selmak can assure me that they can definitely get the device to shut down, then I believe that trying to activate it is worth the risk. I would want him strictly monitored the entire time and would have to insist that it be carried out in the operating room with a surgeon standing by just in case Daniel gets in trouble before they can find the right frequency to shut it down. I hope it doesn't come to that but we would need to be prepared to remove it surgically."
" By the way, Major, all of the computers and equipment that were in the lab where Dr. Jackson was being held will be brought here tomorrow. I'd like for you to see if you can get into the system and see if you can find if there were any recordings made while he was there. It might help us to help him."
" Yes sir, I'll do everything I can."
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Jack was at his usual place in a chair in the infirmary next to Daniel. Carter and Selmak had been hard at work trying to figure out how to get that thing off. They were close enough to getting the right frequency that now they needed to try it out. Which meant they needed Daniel in close proximity to finish configuring the settings on the control wand. The only way to know if they could turn it off, was to first see if they could activate it. Well, he knew it didn't look like they had much choice but still he was more scared for Daniel than he'd admit to anybody. He'd been here a few hours ago when Daniel had had a seizure. He didn't want Daniel to ever have to go through that again.
" They're ready for Dr. Jackson now, Colonel." Nurse Philips started unhooking some of the machines and hooking them into the portable unit that would go with Daniel to the operating room. " You can go to the observation room sir, if you'd like."
Jack watched as Daniel was wheeled out, and then he too headed down the hall.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Daniel was lying in the center of the large operating room. Dr. Frazier, Dr. Moss and two nurses were scrubbed and ready if needed. They had secured Daniel's head so if they needed to remove the device surgicaly they could. Sam and Selmak/Jacob were in a small room adjacent to them ready to begin. They were just waiting for the go ahead from Dr. Frazier.
"Sam are you ready in there?" Sam nodded, and Janet looked up at those waiting in the observation area, " We're ready to begin, General."
She saw General Hammond nod.
"Okay, Sam. We're ready when you are." Janet set her focus on the young man on the table. Watching for the first sign of trouble.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Forty-five minutes had passed and Sam and Selmak hadn't found the correct frequency. She had been so sure that they could do this. She just didn't understand what was going wrong. Maybe she had missed something when she had run the simulations.
" Sam! We're getting something in here !" Janet leaned closer to Daniel, watching him ,the device, and the monitoring equipment.
Sam's voice came back through the speakers, " Janet, we're getting a fix on the frequency."
All eyes in the observation area were on Daniel. Jack was gripping his hands together so hard that his knuckles were white. He just wished he were down there instead of up here.
Janet had her hand on Daniel's shoulder. As she kept an eye on the readings, she could feel a faint vibration coming from Daniel.
" Sam, his heart rate is increasing " and Janet watched tensely as the EEG readings became erratic. " Nurse Philips, call out his vitals while I take a look at this EEG." Janet was not at all comfortable with what she was seeing. His brain waves were all over the place. "Doctor, pulse is 140, resperations 30, BP 220 over 100. "
" Sam you need to hurry, Daniel's in trouble".................Janet watched the EEG and the heart monitor, trying to weigh whether to give the go ahead to the surgeon,
Jack wasn't sitting any longer. He was pressed as close to the window as he could get. His eyes were glued to Daniel. " God! please don't let him die "
" Dr. Greenely is going to have to get it off now, Sam," she was afraid for Daniel to wait any longer......." Let's do it .......nurse prep the area ".............. The antiseptic was poured over Daniel's scalp and Dr. Greenely took the scalpal and the forceps and...............
" Wait. He's seizing! .......give me 1 ml. Dilantin," Dr. Greenely and Nurse Philips tried to hold Daniel's body as his limbs jerked and spasmed. " Try to hold him," Dr. Frazier injected the syringe and Daniel's body slowly relaxed, until he was limp.
Dr. Frazier took a deep brreath and looked at Doctor Greenely, " Let's get that D### thing off, Doctor."
" He looked through the magnifying glasses as he set about trying to detach the first disc. It's in pretty deep, Dr. Frazier, do you want me to continue ? " The surgeon respected that this should be her call on how far to go with it. Janet hated it in the worst way when there was no choice, and this time there was none. " Do what you can Doctor."
He put the magnifying glasses back on and went to work, " I see only three filaments coming out of the disc into his skull. It looks like they're only in about an inch but they're going at different angles. I'm going to try to put a clamp on each one before trying to remove them" ..........................." Okay .....the first disc is loosening"..........." I'm going to try to pull one of the filaments out now" ............................... he slid one up and out and placed that clamp in the waiting container. He then pulled the second filament out with the clamp and handed that one off. "Attempting to remove the third filament"............he held the clamp and slowly pulled on the filament....." I've got the first disc off," he said with relief, just as Daniel's heart stopped.
The alarm squealed. Janet didn't want to shock him unless there was no other choice. The defibrillator plus the current in the device on his head, now that it was turned on, could kill him. " Start CPR. " She grabbed the bag and pressed it over Daniel's nose and mouth forcing air into his lungs, then Dr.Greenely started chest compressions.
Jack was staring at the scene below. He felt like his insides were being twisted apart.
After almost a full minute, a small blip showed on the monitor....then another............and another."
"Janet ! We've got it !" Sam called out scared but relieved, As the heart monitor began sounding more regular, the device around Daniel's head suddenly shut down completely and the remaining three discs detached. The device deactivated and lay loosely against Daniel's head. Janet took hold of the device and looking to make sure that none were still attached in him, lay the device in the tray. She and Dr. Greenely checked the areas where the discs had been imbedded and cleaned them and finally taped gauze pads on each one. Janet took a moment to look up to the observation window and around at everyone in the operating room and over at Sam and Jacob and let her smile of reliel join the others.
Jack finally took a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and slumped back into the chair, his legs too weak to hold him anymore. and closed his eyes, " thank you God, " he whispered.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
The lights in the infirmary were dimmed and at this late hour it was unnaturally quiet. A contrast to the noise and controlled chaos that would begin soon after the sun rose.
Jack had been waiting for Daniel as the gurney carrying him was quietly wheeled in place. Once Daniel was settled ,the nurse took his vitals then checked the gauze pads on Daniel's head. He had been focused so much on Daniel when he was brought in that he hadn't noticed that the nurse tending to him was Nurse Philips.
" Dr. Jackson is one lucky man to have a commanding officer who cares so much for his team, Colonel. He's had a pretty rough time of it but he's gonna be just fine now, you'll see sir. If you or Dr. Jackson need anything, I'll be right next door."
Jack had never met a nurse quite like Nurse Philips. She had a funny way of settling Jack's nerves. Pretty smart lady too, except for what she'd said about who was lucky. It was Jack who was the lucky one to have found a friend like Daniel.
Jack felt, even before he saw, Daniel's eyes watching him. He called out for Dr. Frazier and then leaned close to to him and smlied, " Hey Daniel, don't try to talk, Dr. Frazier's coming."
Daniel's eyes were filled with terror and he started thrashing around on the bed. Jack held his shoulders as well as he could but he was afraid he was going to hurt him.
Dr. Frazier and Nurse Philips ran into the room. " Try to hold him Colonel while I talk to him. I don't want to have to sedate him."
Dr. Frazier laid her hand on Daniel's forhead as she looked into his eyes," Daniel, try to calm yourself. You have a tube down your throat to help you breath, We can take it out if you can relax a little, okay ? " Daniel still looked terrified but wasn't fighting as hard.
Dr. Frazier started peeling away the tape from the tube. " Daniel, I want you to take some deep breaths and then when I say blow, I want you to blow as hard as you can, Okay? Now, take some deeps breaths Daniel..that's good..now blow." She had the long tube out in one smooth movement, and Daniel coughed.
" Your throat will be a little sore. Open your mouth and I'll give you some ice chips." Janet spooned a little into his mouth. He let them melt and cool his throat looking up at Dr. Frazier with eyes that threatened to break her heart.
Jack still had one hand holding Daniel's shoulder, afraid to let him go.
Daniel looked at Jack and blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision, and finally he spoke so softly that Jack could barely hear, " Ja' k ...........................r....r..eal ?" A tear started to trickle slowly down Daniel's face.
Jack cupped Daniel's face with his hands, looking right into his eyes. " Yes Daniel, its me.... Jack.....and yes....God yes I'm real "..... ......the tears started down Jack's cheeks too." It's okay, you're gonna be fine Danny, you're home......"
fin.
Authors Notes: Big, big thanks to my beta, Lenya, a fellow Stargate Obsessed Fan.
© September 2003 I don't own Stargate SG-1 or the characters (darn it!), I have written this story because not to do so would have caused a major brain malfunction. It's for entertainment only. Nope, don't want no money for this. No intent to infringe on copyrights. Please don't post this story anyplace without asking me ok?