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nightspear) wrote2008-07-04 08:21 am
Translations (18/19)
Title: Translations (Table of Contents)
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize is mine. I gain nothing of material value from this.
Pairings: Gen.
| Chapter1 | Chapter2 | Chapter3 | Chapter4 | Chapter5 |
| Chapter6 | Chapter7 | Chapter8 | Chapter9 | Chapter10 |
| Chapter11 | Chapter12 | Chapter13 | Chapter14 | Chapter15 |
| Chapter16 | Chapter17 | Chapter18 |
XXXXX
Chapter 18: Saved and Lost
XXXXX
13 April 1998; Land of Light (P3X-797); 2200 hrs
The wormhole deactivated shortly after Jack tumbled out onto grass-covered ground. He rolled to his feet and caught a glimpse of Bra'tac's face before a fist shot out and landed on his nose.
"Ah, God!" Sinking back to the ground, he held a hand to his face and glared up at the Jaffa through watering eyes. "What was that for?"
"That, human, was for disrupting my original plan, nearly destroying my chance to save your world, and then endangering the success of your own plan," Bra'tac snapped.
Jack clambered up again, indignant. "Hey! It is our world to save." He checked his hand and, content to see he wasn't bleeding, went on, "Besides, our plan saved your butt, and its success wasn't endangered just because I didn't leave you to blow up with the ship!"
"Hm," Bra'tac snorted. "We did not see Klorel's ship destroyed. We must wait to see whether we did in fact succeed. We cannot know from here if your planet was attacked."
"Optimistic, aren't you?" Jack said.
Bra'tac's lips twitched upward, and he held out his hand. "It was a daring plan," he allowed, making it sound like a compliment. "Not bad at all."
Looking cautiously at the Jaffa's face a minute longer, Jack stepped forward and clasped the man's arm with a grudgingly respectful, "Not bad, yourself."
Only then did he look around. They were alone in the woods, and he narrowed his eyes warily, picking his gun up from the ground and clipping it on. After the hellish day they'd just had, the last thing he needed or wanted was for something to be wrong with their little safe haven of a destination.
"Is it just me," he commented, scanning their surroundings, "or is this awfully dark for the Land of Light?"
"The Stargate's on the Dark side, sir," Carter reminded him, turning on another flashlight to give at least a little light. "But it's okay--the disease has been eliminated."
Feeling a little silly, he lowered the gun. "Of course. All right, first off...everyone okay?"
The two Jaffa were on their feet and showing no discomfort at all, and Carter picked herself up, calling out a quick "yes, sir." Jack's gaze zoomed in on Daniel who was standing and still staring at the now-inactive Stargate. "Huh," he said mildly.
Carter laughed suddenly. "Sir--we did it."
Daniel joined in, exhilarated by the escape. "You saved the world!" Even Teal'c was smiling, and Bra'tac didn't protest this time. Unless the bomb had failed--and Carter's gadgets tended not to fail--there weren't a lot of other ways that could have ended.
Deciding they deserved a minute for themselves, Jack walked forward to cover the few steps between himself and where Daniel was grinning at him. He pulled the boy into a fierce hug and felt arms closing around him in return, finally, finally reassuring him that they'd really all made it and hadn't gotten a boy killed needlessly. "Don't do that to us again, kid, you hear me?" he said.
Jack let go with one arm to pull Carter in for a quick embrace. "Good work on those bombs, Captain. Remind me never to get on your bad side."
"That's not always preventable, sir," she dared when he released her, blushing even as she flashed a bright smile at him and Teal'c and the back of Daniel's head. Bra'tac looked half-wary and half-amused by their odd Tau'ri actions but gave each of them a respectful nod. Teal'c merely smiled knowingly.
Eventually Jack remembered that, even assuming Earth was still in one piece (which it was, it definitely was), the SGC probably thought they were dead, so he pulled away, leaving a protective hand resting against Daniel's back. "Teal'c, you know where we need to go?"
"I will proceed alone to my wife's dwelling," Teal'c said. "The people here recognize me--there is no need for all of you to come."
"Thanks," Jack answered.
By the time Teal'c had disappeared into the woods, Jack could feel tiny shivers running through Daniel's body, so he pushed him down to sit by the Stargate, taking away the zat still in his hand and passing it to Carter. "Hey, kid. You wanted to go through the 'gate when your life wasn't in peril, huh? I think you need to work on that last part."
Daniel giggled, then cut himself off, looking mortified.
Frowning, Carter crouched down, touching Daniel's upper arm and reaching around to his back. "What the..." She looked at her hand, and Jack caught a glimpse of glistening, dark fluid before she hurriedly lifted his shirt. "Are you hurt? Where's this blood coming from?"
"Oh, it's not my blood, mostly," Daniel said, not sounding perturbed at all, batting her away and waving a hand carelessly. "That was the Jaffa you shot, Jack. I think he died right over me. He kind of splattered."
Immediately rethinking 'adrenaline rush' in favor of 'in shock,' Jack peered closely at him. "You feeling okay, there?"
"Fine," he answered, then had to stifle another laugh, his brow furrowing. "Sorry--I don't know why I keep doing that."
"I have seen this before," Bra'tac spoke up, "on the rare occasion that a person who is not Goa'uld is allowed to make repeated use of a sarcophagus."
Jack's head whipped around to the Jaffa. "A sarcophagus? When the hell did this happen?"
Bra'tac frowned. "I told you that Klorel thought the boy dead, did I not? I revived him myself."
Jack reeled, placing a hand on Daniel's head to make sure he was still there. "Revi--revived him? You mean he... Holy..." He raked his fingers through his own hair in disbelief that that had happened without their even knowing about it. "He was supposed to be safer there--we left him there, because...god."
Carter tipped Daniel's chin upward and showed the unbroken skin under the blood. "Everything's healed," she confirmed, sounding shaken herself. "Not even a cut or a bruise."
"The effects he now experiences will fade shortly, with no lasting effects," Bra'tac assured them. "I have seen some who were much, much worse."
"It'll fade? You're sure about that, right?" Jack said, wishing again that they'd 'gated onto the ship just a little earlier, so they could have sent Daniel back to Earth, where he should have been the whole time. Holy crap--what the hell had happened while they were trying to get to the other ship? "Look, I saw his parents use that thing, and they didn't get...giggly afterward."
"But the boy has made use of a sarcophagus before, no?"
"In a way," Daniel answered for himself, then stood, moving away restlessly. "Before I was born."
"Nuh-uh," Jack said, grabbing his shirt and pulling him back. "That's the last time I let you out of my sight off-world." As long as it was just temporary--and Bra'tac would know better than they would--they'd deal with it. Better than...geez. Definitely better.
Once Jack had Daniel's arm in a firm grip and was sure he wouldn't wander off, Carter turned to Bra'tac. "Well. I guess... If everyone's okay, where are you going from Earth?"
"I will return to Chulak," Bra'tac said.
"Is that a good idea?" she said. "You must have been under suspicion already, after the last time we went there."
"And we didn't see Apophis or Klorel on our way back to the Stargate," Jack added, tugging sharply when Daniel started to walk away again into the darkness. "With a head start on us and not needing to stop to shoot at their own Guards...they could've managed to escape. They're not gonna to be too happy to see you on Chulak."
"My place is there," Bra'tac insisted. "At the very least, I must return to see if circumstances have changed after this latest blow to Apophis."
"They won't be guarding the Stargate?"
Bra'tac smirked. "In each shift, there is at least one Jaffa who is loyal to me and to our cause."
"Well, if you're sure," Carter said.
"In a rebellion," he told her, "one can never be completely sure."
"Well, that's cheery," Jack commented. "You know, you could always come back here. Teal'c's son doesn't have anyone to train him."
"That is true," Bra'tac said noncommittally.
Carter wandered over to the DHD, staring at the now-familiar glyphs. "I guess we'll owe Dr. Jackson an apology for doubting him when we get back. Maybe we can have him stay on with us, sir, since they said the mirror was destroyed--imagine how much help he could be, with his knowledge and his experiences." When she saw his expression, her smile faded. "I--I know it might be a little weird at first, what with his history with the other SG-1, but..."
"That's...not the problem, Captain," Jack said.
"Sir?"
"Ah..." Jack glanced at Daniel, who seemed somewhat distracted but appeared to be listening, then decided he'd find out eventually anyway and turned back to Carter. "Remember when the Jaffa started coming through the mirror on base? When we first heard the alarms, Dr. Jackson went down to the subbasement. That's...why we were short a gun and a grenade."
"But there was an...explosion...oh." Her eyes widened. "Oh, God."
"Yeah. It's possible that...well, we won't know for sure until we get back, but, yeah, probably. It's a miracle he made it past all the Jaffa to get down there in the first place."
Her expression showed the same flicker of uneasy sorrow that Jack felt himself. Dr. Jackson had died for them--for their whole reality, of course, but also for them, personally, to watch their backs, because to him, they were close friends. It felt cheap to be unable to see him the same way, but how should they mourn a man who knew them, and whom they didn't know in return?
"Once we get back," Jack said quietly, "we'll need to find out what happened on base just before we left. Everyone who helped buy us the time to get through the 'gate...they'll all be honored as heroes, Captain."
Carter nodded. "Yes, sir."
Daniel tried to pull his arm away, making an impatient sound when Jack didn't let go. "He spoke twenty-three languages," he said out of the blue. At their looks, he clarified, "Dr. Jackson. He told Robert and me. And he had as many PhDs as both of my parents together."
"That's...impressive," Jack said, unable to suppress the thought that that should be their Daniel, too--someone who went to school and earned too many degrees and didn't get dragged through Stargates with a knife at his throat. Then again, those degrees didn't make the alternate Dr. Jackson any less dead. "He was a courageous man. A good man."
"He's dead, isn't he," Daniel said, because no one had ever claimed he was slow on the uptake. "That's what you mean."
"I think so," Jack said frankly. He loosened his grip a bit and rubbed his thumb against Daniel's arm. "We'll see when we get back. Stop thinking about it for now." Daniel didn't obey this time, though, and fell silent, slumping a little and losing the giddy air he'd had about him before.
Bra'tac snapped to attention, warning, "Someone approaches."
Jack pushed an unresisting Daniel behind himself while reaching for his zat, Carter priming her own next to him. Land of Light or not, they were all still a little on edge, and he'd rather be prepared than taken by surprise. It was a few more seconds before he heard the rustle of leaves announcing someone's footsteps. "Teal'c?" he called cautiously, pointing his zat in that direction.
"It is I, O'Neill," Teal'c's voice greeted them, a few moments before he walked into sight, another figure at his side. They lowered their weapons.
"Master Bra'tac," Drey'auc said. "It is good to see you."
"And you as well, Drey'auc," Bra'tac responded. "How is your son?"
"He is asleep," she said. "I did not wish to wake him only to see his father leave him again so soon." Teal'c frowned but did not say anything in argument. She held out the radio General Hammond had given them. "My husband says you have need of this."
"Carter?" Jack said, jerking his head toward the DHD. She nodded and turned to begin dialing Earth. He took the radio from Teal'c's wife, squinting at it in the dark. "Sorry to drop in on you folks like this, but we didn't have anywhere else we could go."
The sudden light from the vortex lit the night as Carter finished dialing, and it settled back into the familiar, rippling pool.
"Well, let's hope someone picks up on the other end," Jack said, holding his breath as he found the right frequency and sent the signal that would alert the base.
A familiar voice came through the communicator. "This is General Hammond of the SGC."
Jack breathed again, answering, "General, this is SG-1, calling from P3X-797. Please tell me that--"
"We've been receiving reports from all over the nation of two brilliant fireballs in the night sky. Both Goa'uld ships were successfully eliminated, Colonel O'Neill. As for you, we've been fearing the worst--I'm glad we were wrong."
Carter sighed in relief, and even Bra'tac nodded in satisfaction. "All here, safe and sound, sir," Jack said, "and requesting entry for SG-1, Master Bra'tac, and Daniel Jackson."
He imagined that he could hear the smile in Hammond's voice. "Come on through, SG-1, and your passengers, too. We've all been waiting for you."
Jack handed the radio back to Drey'auc. "Thanks again, ma'am and give our best to Rya'c." Turning to the rest of them, he said, "You heard the man, people. We're going home."
XXXXX
13 April 1998; SGC, Earth; 2300 hrs
"It's not his," Jack told Fraiser while they were in the infirmary for their check-up, nodding toward the blood on the back of Daniel's shirt. "Mostly. He's not hurt, anyway." She paused in the middle of taking Daniel's vitals, and her eyes flicked up to Jack. She finished without a word, then opened a drawer and pulled out a fresh set of hospital scrubs.
"Do you want to get changed while I give everyone else their check-up, sweetie?" Fraiser suggested to Daniel. "Take a quick shower, rinse all that off." Daniel stared at her blankly for a moment, then looked back down at his blood-speckled arm. Instead of the nonchalance he'd shown in the Land of Light, he paled suddenly and didn't even pause to nod before taking the offered scrubs and fairly running to the shower in the back.
Whatever the sarcophagus had done seemed to be wearing off, as Bra'tac had said it would, and Daniel had stopped laughing at inappropriate moments and was mostly just a little restless and twitchy now. It was less disconcerting, though the almost complete silence was starting to become worrisome, as well.
"The rest of us aren't hurt, either," Carter said when Daniel had closed the door behind him. "The colonel was walloped in the ribs and we all got tossed around a bit, but that's it."
"Bruised, is all," Jack insisted, glaring at the captain. He didn't say anything further, though; they'd just saved the world, after all. Some latitude was in order.
"So it would seem," Fraiser agreed after inspecting for herself. "Well, then, SG-1. You know the drill--vitals and tox screen. I've got your blood already, so...who's first?"
"I don't think a tox screen is necessary, Doc," he complained, belatedly, since the needle-sticking part was already over with. "It's not like we ate or drank anything foreign."
"You first, then, Colonel O'Neill," she told him. "And rules are rules. For all I know, the air on the ship contained some substance toxic to humans that will kill you in a few hours, and if a blood analysis can show it, I'm taking your blood."
"Yeah, right," he scoffed. "You don't seriously believe that..."
"No, I don't. Now push up your sleeve." With a last roll of his eyes, Jack complied as she wrapped a cuff around his arm. "Now, all three of you look fine, more or less, but," Fraiser said, not taking her eyes from where she was working, "is anything wrong? With anyone?" She glanced up to jerk her head slightly toward the shower room and commented, "I haven't seen Daniel so quiet in...ever, I think. A bit of a change in mood from everyone in the 'gate room."
Many people who'd been at the SGC during the announcement of a possible attack had stayed at the Mountain, and they seemed determined to make up for the long day of fears about Armageddon by having an impromptu party in the embarkation room, which the general was graciously ignoring.
"He's... It's kind of a lot to take in, Doc," Jack said.
"So shock, or something else?" she pressed. "I need to know, Colonel. He's not a soldier who's trained to deal with this kind of thing."
It was Teal'c who answered, "Master Bra'tac indicated that Daniel Jackson was killed or badly injured, and was later revived in a sarcophagus."
Fraiser straightened up very fast in the middle of taking Jack's pulse, which made her have to start again. "That's the healing technology?"
"Yeah," Jack said. "We don't know what happened, exactly; we weren't there." She glanced up again, and though he saw only surprise in her eyes, he couldn't help thinking you-left-him-there-on-his-own-look-what-happened-what-the-hell-happened... "Bra'tac says the sarcophagus can make you...ah... You didn't see him before, Doc--it was like he was...kind of...high on something." She raised her eyebrows, and he clarified, "Like...floaty and a little too happy, you know? But Bra'tac also said it was temporary, and mild, compared to cases he's seen before."
"I see," Fraiser said, not giving anything away with her tone as she moved toward Carter. "I'll make sure to do his blood work first, then. And also--"
The door to the shower room opened, and Daniel stepped out, dressed in the clean scrubs, his hair slightly wet as if he'd stood under the water to make sure all traces of blood were gone. "What..." He cleared his throat. "My other clothes--what should I..."
"Leave them there," Fraiser told him. "We'll take care of them."
He glanced back at the discarded BDU trousers and T-shirt, then dropped his gaze. "Sorry. Do I...should I leave now?"
"Actually, I was just about to tell your friends that I'm going to have to ask you to stay the night here for observation, because of the--"
"The sarcophagus," he finished flatly. "I understand."
Unsurprised by his lack of argument--or, at least, unfazed--Fraiser patted one of the gurneys. "Why don't you have a seat while I'm finishing up with Captain Carter and Teal'c."
When she finally left, their blood samples in hand, Jack started, "Daniel, are--"
Hammond strode in. "Sorry to have to drag you all away from that party going in my 'gate room," he said with a wry smile, "but I do need to get a basic idea of what happened tonight before I let you go." He looked over them all, pausing. They were all still standing and still in uniform, minus the vests and weapons, except for Daniel. "I...assumed everyone was unhurt, but maybe I shouldn't have been so quick to think that."
"No one's injured, at the moment," Jack said, "but there's a part of the story we don't know about. We were separated almost the entire time."
Hammond narrowed his eyes but nodded. "All right, Colonel. Tell me what you do know, then, from the beginning. We saw what happened in the embarkation room, up until Teal'c went through the 'gate with Mr. Jackson and the Jaffa holding him hostage, but we're all in the dark about what happened after that."
"Well, Teal'c was able to...I guess, confuse the Jaffa and pass a message to Daniel at the same time, which enabled them to act together with minimal injury to either of them. The room on the other side was empty, and we were able to kill the hostile before anyone got more than some scrapes and bruises."
"Thank God for that," Hammond said. "We knew you hadn't brought GDOs with you, so we were about to send the MALP. SG-2 was also prepared to go after you to bring you your GDOs or provide assistance if necessary, not to mention bringing Mr. Jackson back, but we were unable to establish a connection."
Carter explained, "The ship went into hyperspace right after we went through, sir. The coordinates you had became invalid just moments after we got there. In a way, we were actually very fortunate that the Jaffa tried to attack the base--otherwise, we wouldn't have left for almost another half hour, and they would've been on their way here before we could stop them."
"What happened here, General?" Jack asked soberly. "We've...figured out the part with Dr. Jackson and the mirror, but the gunfight outside the 'gate room just stopped all of a sudden."
"There were several casualties," Hammond said gravely, "but the majority of the people on base who went down were only stunned, though we're not sure how yet. When they woke up, we thought they'd been blinded, but it wore off fairly fast, and they're fine now."
"A Goa'uld shock grenade," Teal'c said. Hammond opened his mouth, then closed it, looking resigned to just accepting new technologies he'd never heard of.
"Well, anyway," Jack said, "once we were onboard, Daniel stayed in the room to hide along with one of our bombs, and the three of us took the other. It was basically hours of trying to dodge patrols while looking for the ring transporter. Bra'tac eventually found us when we were pinned down with nowhere to go and got us out to the control room."
"Were missiles sent from Earth?" Carter asked, looking a little annoyed. "Something hit the ship while we were moving through. I thought we told everyone the ships had to be destroyed from the inside."
"Unfortunately," Hammond said in distaste, "it was out of my hands. Since we were unable to contact you after that unexpected departure, they thought it best to assume you hadn't made it. They believed their warheads were powerful enough to disrupt any shields the Goa'uld ships might have. Obviously, they were wrong. To be fair, the Pentagon couldn't be expected just to sit tight and do nothing as we were attacked, not when we didn't know if you were even still alive."
"Yes, sir," Jack said. "Well, it just made the snakes mad and fast-tracked their plans. Cut our time pretty short. Anyway, with Bra'tac's help, we set a bomb in Apophis's ship, met up with Daniel, set the other bomb in Klorel's ship, and went to the Land of Light to contact you."
"Klorel?" General Hammond asked.
"The son of Apophis, sir," Jack explained. Daniel flinched slightly at that description but remained silent. "He was the Goa'uld in charge of the ship we 'gated to."
"Fair enough," Hammond said, then turned to Daniel. "I will need to know what happened to you, as well," he said, "but if you'd prefer to wait until later, I understand, son. We'll need to do a full debrief later, anyway, for details."
Daniel glanced at SG-1 and wrapped his arms around himself. "I can--"
"Why don't we wait 'til later, if there's nothing you need to tell the general right away," Jack interrupted, despite his own burning need to know what the hell had happened. Unexpectedly, Daniel nodded without any argument and looked down at his feet. "If that's all right, sir?"
"Of course," Hammond said immediately. "Under the circumstances, I think it's fair to say that you've all earned a few days off--we'll go over everything next Monday. And, SG-1...we're indebted to you for what you've done for this world. Welcome home."
When he'd gone, Jack said, "You're sure nothing happened, Daniel?" And then, because something must have happened that required reviving, he amended, "Anything you need to talk about, I mean?"
"Did you see Klorel?" was Daniel's response.
Ah. He should have guessed that that was coming. "Yeah, we did. Skaara. Daniel--"
"The sarcophagus was his," Daniel told the floor. "Klorel came in with his Guards just after I'd been thrown from my hiding place after leaving hyperspace, and they saw the bomb. I stunned the Jaffa with my zat'nik'tel, but--"
"All of them?" Jack said, trying to sound encouraging but genuinely a little impressed. "Not bad, kid."
Daniel grimaced. "There were only two, they were right next to me, and I still missed a few times, so it wasn't..." He exhaled sharply. "Anyway, I forgot to watch for Klorel. He caught me and...used the djera'kesh on me for a while." Teal'c scowled.
"That's what Klorel was using on Bra'tac?" Carter clarified.
Teal'c answered, his voice coming out as a growl, "The Goa'uld often use the djera'kesh for punishment, as it was for Master Bra'tac. It can also be used to torture a person to unconsciousness or death."
Jack felt horror rise within him. Daniel had been hurt badly enough to need a sarcophagus, but he had been thinking of something quick--a zat, maybe, or even a staff blast. This...this definitely sounded worse. "And it--"
"But he stopped," Daniel spoke up, a little desperately. "He stopped, not for long, but...but he recognized me, and I thought I heard him call me by my name. I saw his face, and it was him, not the Goa'uld." He braced his foot against the side of the gurney, tapping it agitatedly. "It was Skaara."
"He stopped?" Jack asked, trying not to let his skepticism show through, because Daniel so wanted Skaara to still be alive in there somewhere.
"Just for...for a minute," Daniel admitted. "And then Bra'tac interrupted him. After that..." His foot began to tap faster. "And then Klorel came back, and, uh...and I guess Bra'tac put me in the sarcophagus. When I woke up, I told him what you were trying to do, and he left me there while he went to find you."
"And then you came looking for us on your own when you heard gunfire?" Jack couldn't help saying, as Dr. Fraiser came back into the room. "The hallways were swarming with hostiles, Daniel."
Carter narrowed her eyes. "Colonel, I don't think this is the time for a performance review--"
"No," Daniel interrupted, frustrated. "He's right. I knew it was dangerous. It didn't...I can't believe it now, but it just didn't seem like a problem when I was on the hatak. I don't have an excuse for why I was acting so...stupid. I'm sorry. I'm very, very sorry, Jack."
He looked miserable and like he was trying to sink into the gurney, which made Jack feel like a bastard for bringing it up now.
Frasier walked toward them. "I've been thinking about the side effects of the sarcophagus that Master Bra'tac mentioned."
Jack didn't take his eyes off Daniel. "Yeah?"
"I've noticed that 'gate travel often seems to cause a small, short-lived increase in endorphins, even when the mission is peaceful, perhaps as a response to the physical stress of reintegration. That's what I found in all three of you, but Daniel's endorphin levels were actually lower than they should have been, considering what you all went through."
"And?" he prompted impatiently when she didn't go on right away.
"And, with the symptoms you described, I'm starting to wonder whether the sarcophagus might have some kind of narcotic effect that he had already started to come down from by the time you got back to Earth. If that's the case, then I wouldn't be surprised if he was acting more reckless or careless than usual shortly after using the device."
"Whoa, hold it--a narcotic?" Jack echoed.
"It's a possibility," she stressed. "The blood work came back abnormal--not inconsistent with narcotic withdrawal--but not what I'd call really alarming. Even Master Bra'tac said the symptoms didn't seem severe, in his experience, and that they'd wear off on their own."
Jack's brain was still caught on 'narcotic,' though, and he didn't have to know anything about medicine to know about that, so he had to ask, "It's not addictive or anything, right?"
Frasier watched Daniel notice and forcibly stop his restlessly tapping foot. "I would like to keep him here overnight for monitoring, just in case it's more serious than that. Whether or not the sarcophagus's effects can be potentially addictive, however, I think he'll be all right, after just this one use. It's not like we have one here he can use regularly and get hooked on."
Worried when Daniel didn't complain about being talked about, instead of talked to, Jack teased, "Hear that? Didn't I tell you not to get yourself killed? You're not allowed to from now on--doctor's orders."
"She didn't say that," Daniel argued half-heartedly. "Just that I couldn't use the sarcophagus again."
Jack was pretty sure there wasn't any hidden message in that--Daniel sometimes said things without thinking about them first and was probably just too tired now to realize what it sounded like he was saying--but the idea of Daniel getting killed and not being revived still made him stop breathing for a moment, and beside him Carter straightened a little in concern.
"You've all had quite a night," Frasier said more gently, directly to Daniel this time. "And like I said, your endorphin levels were probably elevated for a while, but they'll be low now. It could make you feel a little...out of sorts, Daniel--that's to be expected, but it'll pass. We just have to wait until everything stabilizes."
Jack shook his head. "His parents never showed any side effects at all, except being alive and healthy."
Frasier paused, then said, "Yes, sir, and I have a few ideas about why. Area 51 research has shown that the power source of a sarcophagus emits some kind of energy that's similar to what's emitted by other Goa'uld devices they've found, particularly ones that require naquadah in the bloodstream to work. Now, this isn't a theory we can really test, but it could be that there's some reaction caused by naquadah in the blood that exacerbates the effects of a sarcophagus."
That caught Daniel's attention. "What? I don't...do I?"
She looked a little surprised. "I requested the results of your blood test at Area 51 as part of your medical records, and they did find small traces of naquadah in your blood. No one told you?"
"No, I was sick, so they just sent me home, but...that's impossible," he said, bewildered.
"Not really," she told him, seeming unconcerned. "I suspect it's just like any other metal. It would be present in trace amounts in Abydonian water, and probably plants and animals there, and it builds up in your body if you're continually ingesting it. The amount they found in you is much lower than what Cassie has or what they found in Hathor's host, but it takes a long time to be cleared from the body. There's still a low concentration in your blood and other tissues. I'm not overly worried about it," she added, looking at Jack, "since we don't know of any toxic side effects in humans living on naquadah-rich planets, but I am starting to monitor the blood levels of all SG field personnel who would be exposed to environmental naquadah, just in case."
"But I couldn't use those Goa'uld devices they made me try," Daniel persisted.
"I'm not surprised; maybe your blood levels are too low. And there's probably something else in the Goa'uld body needed for that. They identified some protein markers in Hathor's host--it could be one of those and have nothing at all to do with naquadah. But, for all I know, the naquadah, or your...unconventional, previous exposure to the sarcophagus might make you more susceptible to certain things."
Daniel dropped his eyes back to the floor. "Things like a second exposure?"
"Possibly. Maybe other substances. Some people are physiologically more vulnerable to addictions of various types; we don't know if or how the sarcophagus may have affected your biochemistry." When he began to look alarmed, she added, "But I don't think you need to worry. You should be fine as long as you don't start bad habits, like using a sarcophagus all the time."
"We'll make sure that won't be necessary," Jack said firmly.
Carter was looking thoughtful. "Janet, how much do you know about the research they're doing on Hathor's sarcophagus at Area 51?"
"It might be more dangerous than we originally assumed, in light of this," Frasier said, understanding Carter's meaning. "We definitely need to look into it some more."
The door swung open, making them look around to see Robert Rothman walk in. He stopped when he saw them all there but didn't turn around. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked.
Jack shrugged when Frasier looked to him, and she replied, "No, Dr. Rothman, we were just finishing up. Do you need something? It's a little late to be sticking around base."
"It's not like anyone actually went home after we were told about ships about to attack," he pointed out. "And I heard about--" His eyes flicked anxiously to Daniel. "I heard about what happened in the embarkation room before you left, so I guess I just wanted to...uh, see if you were okay, Daniel. And to say...you know, congratulations, and thanks for saving our lives and whatnot," he added to SG-1, as an afterthought.
"I'm fine," Daniel said, looking up to make brief eye contact and then away again. "I'll be in tomorrow, if Dr. Frasier lets me."
Rothman and Frasier both opened their mouths at the same time, but Jack beat them to it. "The general said to take some time off, remember?"
"I'm not SG-1, Jack. I wasn't even supposed to be there."
"But you were there. You shot at least three hostiles that I know of. That counts."
Eyebrows raised, Rothman said, a little nervously, "You know, Daniel, that's not what archaeologists usually mean when we say 'fieldwork.' Sounds like quite a story." He hesitated when no answer came. "Uh, everything is fine, right?"
"Yeah, what happened to 'we saved the world,' huh?" Carter prodded. "That's gotta be worth a little vacation time."
With a forced, hollow-sounding laugh, Daniel said, "Sorry--you're right. There's a party--you should all go celebrate."
Rothman looked confused and not a little concerned; Jack subtly gestured with his head toward the door, mouthing 'later.' Not understanding, the archaeologist nonetheless said, "Well, I just wanted to check. Um, goodnight. And, Daniel, don't worry about anything in the office tomorrow." He hovered another few seconds, until Daniel nodded, then turned and left.
"I'm serious," Daniel told SG-1, "I saw Major Ferretti trying to get your attention in the 'gate room, Jack. Everyone's celebrating--you should go. I'm just going to go to sleep or something--it's been a...an odd day."
Frasier quietly stepped out of the room as well at a look from Carter, who told Daniel, "You can say that again. It's been a long day for all of us. You know, in a way, it's a good thing you were there, after all. Bra'tac might not have gotten to us in time to pull us out of the frying pan otherwise."
"And into the fire?" he replied unenthusiastically.
"Bad choice of words," she admitted. "I didn't realize you'd picked up that saying."
"Good choice of words, Captain," Jack corrected, "since we were actually trying to get into the fire without getting burned too much, except we were stuck in the...frying pan." Teal'c raised an eyebrow at him. "Too much?"
"People all over the hatak knew you were there," Daniel said, completely ignoring the attempt at banter. "If Master Bra'tac had found you, he would have recognized you right away. I had to let him think I was Tau'ri and...and tell him I knew Teal'c, and then beg him on my knees in Goa'uld before he would listen to me."
"You also zatted a guy who was about to shoot me, space monkey," Jack reminded him again. "Call me crazy, but I think of that as a good thing. Thanks, by the way."
Teal'c folded his hands behind his back. "Master Bra'tac was impressed by your presence of mind in the face of danger, Daniel Jackson."
Instead of taking it as the compliment that it was, though, Daniel pulled his feet up and hugged his legs. "The danger wasn't the part that bothered me. Just, when Skaara--" He twitched. "Klorel came out and used the..." He buried his face in his knees. "Naturu--gods. It...it hurt."
Jack had a feeling Daniel didn't just mean the way the hand device had felt physically.
"Hey, hey." Jack boosted himself onto the gurney beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "We should never have let that happen, and I'm sorry it did, but that wasn't Skaara, Daniel. That's one thing you have to remember. Your brother would never want to hurt you." He'd never felt for himself what a ribbon device did, but anything that could bring Bra'tac to his knees (and kill Daniel, Jesus, it had killed him) couldn't be good.
Daniel took an unsteady breath, and then he said, his face still hidden, "Do you think Sha'uri was on the ship?"
Jack and Carter both looked to Teal'c, who seemed surprised. The thought hadn't crossed any of their minds. "We heard no mention of Apophis's queen," Teal'c said.
"She's not just his queen."
"We know," Jack said quickly. He squeeze Daniel's arm. "We know."
"I kept wishing to see him again, him and Sha'uri, and when I finally did, it was..." A shudder ran down Daniel's back. "He was still there, inside. Klorel said that my brother...s-suffered greatly...but he was still in there, he remembered me, I heard him say my name. He just c-couldn't do anything. His face was...gods, he knew what was happening, he could see everything, but..."
"Oh, Daniel," Carter soothed, combing her fingers through his still-damp hair. Daniel didn't lift his head, but at the contact, his shoulders started to shake. Jack thought at first that he was crying, but when he brought his other arm around to encircle him, he could hear the ragged breathing of someone trying to hold back his tears. Carter was still gently stroking his hair. "Shh, it's okay. It...it'll be okay."
Daniel didn't unfold himself from his tight ball, but when his breathing evened enough, he asked, his voice muffled in his knees, "Is...is he still alive? Skaara?"
"We don't know for sure, kid," Jack said honestly. "We didn't see him after he escaped, but we think he might have left through the Stargate before the explosion."
"I don't understand what I should... I feel like I should be mourning him, but I don't...I don't even know if he's dead. Or if he's alive, I don't know if he's still... Skaara would rather be dead than..." He stopped, then said, "I should be hoping they didn't escape. It would be better. For the war. But..."
"We have dealt a great blow to the Goa'uld today," Teal'c said. "If Apophis and Klorel did indeed escape, they will still have lost much of their power. You need not mourn your brother now, Daniel Jackson. While Skaara lives, and while we continue to fight, we may still restore him to who he was."
Daniel finally lifted his head a few inches, visibly trying to swallow his grief, one tear escaping down his cheek to be dashed away. When he looked up at Teal'c, Jack could see the familiar look of child and adult warring in his face, but, for the first time, he knew the shocked child was being beaten into submission by the determined adult that was beginning to emerge. "Kel sha, Teal'c. Then I will continue," he vowed.
Teal'c dropped a hand onto his shoulder. "You fought bravely today, my friend."
Jack discovered some grief of his own to swallow, too.
Dr. Frasier stepped back out then, her timing making him suspect she had been listening and just waiting for the right time. "Colonel, Captain, Teal'c, it's almost midnight. Go and join everyone else in the 'gate room or go home, but I can't let you all stick around here."
"Doc, c'mon," Jack said, incredulous, from where he still sat with one arm around Daniel, who surreptitiously wiped a hand across his face. "Just--"
"There are other people waiting to see you," she told him gently. "You should at least show your face so people can see you're all alive--for morale, if nothing else. Besides, I really do need to draw a little more blood from Daniel to check his hormone levels and then let him sleep off whatever the sarcophagus did to his brain chemistry."
"I don't know if I can sleep," Daniel admitted, uncurling himself and restlessly unfolding his arms.
"I must still kelno'reem tonight," Teal'c said. "Perhaps Daniel Jackson can join me in my room. I would be ill at ease at a large celebration."
Daniel made a halfhearted attempt to protest, "Teal'c, you don't have to--"
"It is no bother to allow another to kelno'reem alongside me," Teal'c interrupted. "You already know this, chal'ti."
"Teal'c..." Fraiser started, then reconsidered and sighed. "Let me get a sample first, Daniel. If you're going to stay somewhere else, you still have to sleep as much as you can, and come see me first thing tomorrow. Teal'c," she added, "someone should be with him until we're sure everything's back to normal."
"I will remain with him, Dr. Frasier."
"All right, then, I'll allow it, but tell me immediately if anything out of the ordinary happens," Frasier said. She picked up a tourniquet, then paused. "Guys, if you don't mind? I need to get in."
They were all clustered together, blocking her path. Teal'c took his hand away; Carter rubbed Daniel's arm quickly, then moved back as well. Jack drew him close one more time and said quietly, "Listen. Your brother, and all this crap that's happened--we'll do everything we can to sort it out. You trust me?"
Daniel pulled back gently. "Of course. All of you."
"Are you gonna be okay tonight, with Teal'c? The truth, now."
He nodded seriously. "I know right now I'm a little...and with the sarcophagus... Just give me a night, Jack, to think and...and sort it out. I'll be fine," he promised. "Just give me until tomorrow. You'll see."
Jack wondered what it was that made Daniel think he should have to bounce back overnight from being tortured to death by his brother. And then there was a pang of guilt when he wondered whether they had done this to him, made him feel that he had to prove himself strong, with their decision from months ago to keep him at the SGC and let him help them.
"I'm not asking you to be fine by tomorrow, Daniel," he said. "Take all the time you need. We'll be here, you know that."
"I know." Daniel looked at them briefly with an embarrassed tinge of pink in his cheeks, and smiled sadly. "Go celebrate. You saved the world."
XXXXX
20 April 1998; SGC, Earth; 0910 hrs
General Hammond took a look around the briefing room at SG-1. "He did know what time this was supposed to be?"
"Yes, sir," Jack answered.
"I haven't talked to him since the night of the Goa'uld attack," Hammond said, concern sneaking into his voice. "Is everything all right?"
Jack hesitated a minute. Daniel had been restless and jittery for a bit and prone to moments of staring into space before shaking himself and pretending he wasn't depressed. It was hard to say whether that was actually from the sarcophagus or from everything else, but, whether he was hiding it or truly bouncing back, he'd been acting almost normal in the last couple of days. Not wanting to lie and say 'yes' but not wanting to say 'no,' either, because that would be a lie, too, and it wasn't that simple, Jack was spared answering when Daniel came hurrying into the room.
"I'm sorry I'm late, sir," he apologized, a little breathlessly, as if he'd run.
"Lost track of time?" Hammond said neutrally as Daniel hurried toward a chair. Jack tracked his progress, looking for any sign of lingering melancholy, but...
"Yes, sir, I'm sorry," Daniel said enthusiastically. "Robert...uh, Dr. Rothman and I were going over some of the MALP data from P3C-117--that's one of the planets Dr. Jackson mentioned to us when we were comparing missions between our realities--and we were thinking it would probably be a good place to look into, because we noticed that the...well. Um." He blushed a little, then sat. "Sorry. He'll probably speak with you about that later, General."
Hammond's eyebrows had risen, but he looked less annoyed than amused. "I see. Try not to let it happen again, son." Including SG-1 in his gaze, he continued, "We just need to go over a few details from the mission on the Goa'uld mothership. I've already heard the gist of SG-1's side of the story, as well as Master Bra'tac's, but I still need yours, Mr. Jackson."
Daniel's expression sobered, but his voice remained steady. "Yes, sir." As if feeling another gaze on him, he flashed a small, reassuring smile and a nod in Jack's direction, then turned back to face the general. "Like Colonel O'Neill said, I spent the first few hours hidden in the 'gate room on Klorel's hatak..."
As Daniel carefully recited his part, Jack leaned back in his chair and tried to decide whether the pang he felt now was pride or sorrow.
no subject
Poor Daniel sure picked the wrong time for his first gate-trip, but he did save Jack so we're all glad he was there.
I hope Skaara get's rescued in this universe too. Maybe even Sha're too. I think in this Universe Skaara's death would hurt Daniel more than She're's, so that's different.
I don't know whether P3C-117 is from an actual episode, but I do look fprward to finding out what they'll do with old-Daniel's information.
no subject
P3C-117 is from the episode "The Nox." Canon!SG-5 went there for standard recon, but we don't know anything else about it, so I get to make it up :)