| "Sam, you killed him." Daniel exclaimed. |
|
| "Hail, Dorothy," commented Jack O'Neill from somewhere behind him. |
|
| "Yeah, I guess I did. I didn't mean to. I just meant to stop him, or at least slow him down a little." Sam sighed guiltily. "I guess I can't control these ribbon devices, any better than I can the Goa'uld healing devices. I'd say I need more practice but, quite frankly, I'd rather not use them at all. That said, at least I could see the benefit of practicing the healing device…" |
|
| "I understand, Sam." Daniel told her thoughtfully. Sadly, he took another look at the system lords broken body, lying on the floor of the tunnel and turned away to find Jack and Teal'c waiting further down the passage. |
|
| Sam slipped the ribbon device from her hand and placed it carefully in one of her pockets. She then turned to follow the others back outside. |
|
| Once Jacob spotted them coming out of the hatch he hurried over. Straight away he noticed the shocked expression on Daniel's face. Daniel was closely followed by Sam who was also showing signs of shock. |
|
| "You did good, Sam" Jacob told his daughter as he enveloped her in a great bear hug. She returned the hug vigorously but couldn't find the words to answer him. |
|
| The other members of SG-1 stepped away to allow the two Carters to have a family moment. Jack noticed how pale and shaken Daniel was and placed a hand on the younger mans shoulder. Daniel started slightly at the sudden touch, but once he realised that it was Jack he relaxed slightly into the gentle pressure. |
|
| "You OK?" Jack asked him quietly. |
|
| "I'm fine," came the standard reply. |
|
| "It's just, you look more than a little shook up there, Danny." Jack continued. |
|
| "Jack, I'm fine really." Daniel explained. "I'm just tired. Maybe it's an after-effect of the Nish'ta." |
|
| "Well, we'll be flying back to Peterson, pretty soon. There's no point hanging around here. Let the marines take over the clear-up operation from here on in. Get all these people back where they belong and get them rehabilitated to normal life again. That won't happen overnight, I'm sure of that." Jack gave Daniel's shoulder a quick squeeze. "You really sure you're OK?" |
|
| Daniel gave a loud sigh and looked down at his feet. Without realising it he was kicking around the woodchip that made up the forest floor. "Um……er, well……Oh hell, Jack." |
|
| "Hey, hey now, come on, you can tell me." Jack assured him. "Get it off your chest. If you don't then you know Fraiser'll make you to talk to Mac the Quack or one of his friends when we get home." |
|
| "Well…erm…What will happen to him now?" Daniel asked his commanding officer. |
|
| "Who?" asked Jack, puzzled by the question. "Tommy? He'll go home with his Dad, once the medics have checked him over. He's not been there that long, after all. I'm sure that with a bit of counselling, he'll be as right as rain in no time." |
|
| "No, Jack. I didn't mean Tommy. I meant Setekh. It's not like we've caught and killed a system lord here on Earth before. I just wondered - will the Tok'ra take him?" Daniel looked sadly back towards the hatchway. |
|
| "I guess so, Daniel." Jack said softly. "That's kind of the point of the whole things, isn't it. It was the Tok'ra who asked for our help in the first place. You know that they remove the symbiotes from all the Goa'uld that we kill. They then study them to make sure that they were who they were claiming to be. Hence the wonderful 3D 'family tree' that they showed us the other day. I guess that Seth's symbol won't be blinking any more, after today." Jack grinned as he said the last part. |
|
| Daniel didn't smile back. Jack noticed that the linguist had started to dig a veritable trench in the floor with the toe of his boot. |
|
| "What about the host, Jack? What happens to him?" Daniel asked. |
|
| "I've no idea, Danny. We can ask Jacob later on. Come on, we've got to get packed up and ready to ship out." Jack said, giving Daniel's shoulder a pat before turning back to the pair of Carters who were waiting to return to the tented base of operations. |
|
| As they started walking back towards the waiting vehicles, Jack looked back and saw that Daniel hadn't moved from his previous position. The sensitive, young man was standing, studying his feel, with his shoulders slumped in a position of abject misery. |
|
| "Come on, Danny. You'll get left behind if you're not careful." Jack shouted back to him. He saw Daniel sigh and rub his hands over his face, before he moved to follow Jack and the others. |
|
| 'You are SO not fine, Dannyboy.' the older man thought. 'We've killed plenty of snakes before and you've never reacted like this. Mind you, it must have been a shock to have it happen right in front of you like that. Carter seems Ok now, and it was her who actually killed him for Christ's sakes. Whatever it is, Danny, I'll find out and get you to spill. Maybe not today, but sometime very soon.' |
|
| ~#~ |
|
| Soon SG-1 were back in the vehicles and on their way back to meet their plane. Daniel was still subdued, a fact that Sam had picked up on now, as well. She looked worriedly at Daniel and glanced over at Teal'c. He met her eyes with his own concerned ones. 'Teal'c's noticed as well then,' thought Sam. 'Something's definitely bothering Daniel, but what?' |
|
| She looked over at the Colonel, who met her gaze and shook his head slightly. That was enough to tell Sam that Jack was aware of the problem as well and it put her mind to rest somewhat. |
|
| ~#~ |
|
| The journey back to the mountain was uneventful. Their transport plane delivered them safely back to the Peterson Air Force base where they were met by jeep and returned 'home' to the mountain. |
|
| Upon arrival, General Hammond greeted them and congratulated them on a successful mission. He advised that they were all to report to the infirmary for routine check-ups. Once Doctor Fraiser had finished with them, SG-1 were free to go home. |
|
| The debriefing was scheduled for the next morning. The reason for the delay, General Hammond explained, was to allow Jacob time to return to the mountain with the body of the former system lord. The retired General could then take part in the debriefing session as well, before returning to the Tok'ra base with the body. |
|
| ~#~ (part 2) |
|
| SG-1 reported to the infirmary as ordered so that Janet and her team could get started on them. |
|
| Each team member sat themselves on one of the beds, Daniel taking 'his bed' by the far wall. He sat with his shoulders slumped, seeming to study his hands, which were clamped tightly together in his lap. |
|
| Sam looked over at the silent linguist but realised that he was not, in fact, looking at his hands but somewhere far, far away. She looked over at Colonel O'Neill, who was seated on the bed next to Daniel's. She realised that he was also watching their youngest team member with a concerned look on his face. |
|
| The Colonel looked back at her and shrugged his shoulders with an expression on his face that simply said, "I have no idea, Carter." |
|
| Janet chose that moment to walk up to them. Announcing that she'd see Teal'c first so that he could go and Kel'no'reem. |
|
| She looked at the Colonel to check he agreed with this but ended up following his gaze towards the bed in the corner of the room. |
|
| When she saw Daniel's dejected looking stance and his vacant expression she let out a sigh. "Colonel O'Neill, maybe I'll get Dr. Waterman to examine Sam and Teal'c while I take you and Daniel?" |
|
| Jack gave her a grateful smile and answered, "Thanks Doc, I'd be grateful if we could have a little more privacy." |
|
| "I'll arrange for Dr. Waterman to take Sam and Teal'c into one of the ISO rooms for their check-ups. Just hold on a moment, Colonel." Janet said. |
|
| "Thanks, Janet." Jack called quietly after her, as Janet moved away to locate Doctor Waterman. |
|
| She returned shortly with the other Doctor in tow. Dr. Waterman quickly ushered Sam and Teal'c from the room after taking a concerned glance at Daniel. |
|
| "I'm not sure what the problem is, Janet. Something's definitely buggin' Danny, has been for a few hours now." Jack explained to her. |
|
| "And you've no idea what brought this on?" the doctor asked him. |
|
| "Nope. He's been a bit quiet since the start of this Seth saga. I suppose it's a bit out of the normal scope of his job - raiding an armed sect, here on Earth. I can't see why it would provoke this severe a reaction though. Sure, Sam did kill Seth right there in front of Daniel, maybe that tipped the balance or something." Jack shrugged and looked baffled. |
|
| He noted that Daniel hadn't even acknowledged their conversation. Normally he hated being talked about as if he wasn't in the room, and couldn't help but comment on it. "Do me first, Doc. Give Danny a chance to maybe work his way out of this himself. Let's keep him in sight though, just to be on the safe side." |
|
| "Yes, Colonel. I agree, although wherever Daniel is, I'm not sure he'll be back in a hurry." Janet said sadly. She pulled the curtain around both Jack and Daniel's beds, making one large examination area. Daniel didn't look up, or even seem to notice. |
|
| Janet quickly did Jack's examination, only needing him to remove his T-shirt and jacket. After checking the back of his neck and the inside of his throat, Janet agreed that Jack's MRI could be postponed until the issue with Daniel had been sorted out. That way Jack would not have to leave the curtained area until he decided to do so. |
|
| Jack put his T-shirt and jacket back on and, with agreement from Janet, moved to sit next to Daniel on his bed. He gently laid a hand on the younger man's chin and turned Daniel's face to look into his eyes. |
|
| "Hey there, Danny. You gonna come back to us now? It's just me and ol' Doc. Fraiser here. No one here that will hurt you. Come on, Danny. Come back from whatever far away place you've gone." |
|
| There was no sign of any visible response from Daniel and Jack looked worriedly at Janet. |
|
| "Try again, Jack. Please." she urged. |
|
| Now Jack moved his hand from Daniel's chin to cup his cheek, he then brought his other hand up to support the other side of Daniel's face. With his thumbs, he gently stroked the younger man's cheek bones while quietly murmuring encouragement to Daniel to return to him. |
|
| After a while, Jack noticed Daniel start to blink, and the vacant look in his eyes started to fade. |
|
| "That's it, Danny. You're nearly there. Come back to me." Jack spoke softly, keeping up his gentle strokes on Daniel's cheeks. |
|
| Suddenly, Daniel sucked in a deep, gasping breath and focussed straight in on Jack's face, looking both confused and worried at the same time. |
|
| "Hey there, big guy. You back with us now?" Jack asked him gently. He slowly lowered one hand from Daniel's face and rested it on the younger mans arm. He kept his other hand on Daniel's cheek until Daniel jerked his head round to look at Janet and then turned back to Jack again. |
|
| "Jack? What happened?" he asked, still taking rather deep breaths. |
|
| "I was gonna ask you the same thing, Daniel. You kinda shut down on us for a while there." Jack replied. "You OK now?" |
|
| "I…I…I guess so. How long've we been in here? Where's everyone else?" Daniel asked. |
|
| "Carter and Teal'c have gone for their post mission check-ups and MRI scans. I've had my check-up, it's just you left to do now, Danny. Do you feel up to it?" Jack rubbed Daniel's arm in a soothing motion. |
|
| "You wanna talk things through first?" he asked, looking at the doctor for approval. She nodded almost imperceptibly, and not wanting to disturb Daniel in his obviously fragile state, slowly backed out of the curtained area. |
|
| Daniel's eyes flicked to where she had been, then settled again on Jack. He was breathing much more normally now and relaxed visibly when he realised they were alone. |
|
| "That's better, Danny. You had me worried there. You wanna tell me what that was all about?" Jack asked. |
|
| Daniel's forehead wrinkled as he thought about what he was going to say. "Um, well…she killed him, Jack. Just blasted him into the floor." |
|
| "It had to be done, Daniel." Jack said gently. "If Sam hadn't got to him when she did then he might have got away. He was nearly at the exit as it was - you know that." |
|
| "Yeah, I know, Jack, but she didn't have to kill him. If we'd managed to restrain him in some way then the Tok'ra could have at least tried to remove the symbiote - Setekh - from the host. At least that could have given the host some sort of a chance…some opportunity to have his life back." Daniels eyes were tearing up now, but he was just about to keep the tears at bay by blinking furiously. |
|
| "Is that what this is about, Danny?" Jack asked. "That we didn't try to save the host? Even if we'd tried, there's no guarantees that the Tok'ra can remove the symbiote safely. It doesn't work every time, the symbiote works out what's happening and kills the host before they can be safely removed." |
|
| "We could have taken him to Cimmeria and let the hammer take him - the host could survive that way. At least he would have had a fighting chance, the way things went today he had no chance at all." At this point the tears started falling. Jack found that he couldn't just sit beside his friend now and pulled Daniel tightly into himself. He enveloped Daniel in a fierce hug and this let the younger man finally release his emotions. |
|
| ~#~ (part 3) |
|
| After a short while Daniel pushed at Jack's chest, asking to be released. Jack let him sit up, fished into his pocket and handed Daniel a handkerchief. The linguist dried his eyes and blew his nose. When he was finished he looked from the handkerchief, to Jack, then back at the handkerchief again before stuffing the piece of material in the pocket of his BDUs. |
|
| "That's alright, Danny." said Jack, trying to lighten the atmosphere a little. "You can keep that!" |
|
| Daniel gave a very weak smile, acknowledging Jack's efforts. "Sorry," he said. "…and thank you, Jack." |
|
| "No problems, Dannyboy. You know I'm here for you." Jack told him, rubbing the other man's arm. "Feel better for getting that off your chest?" |
|
| "Kind of," replied Daniel. "Sorry, it sort of snuck up on me without warning." |
|
| "Yeah, I sorta guessed that." Jack responded. "This is more than just your average 'kill the snake and the host dies too' though isn't it? Killing snakes has never affected you in this way before, Daniel." |
|
| "You're right…of course." Daniel admitted. "It is just this particular host." |
|
| "Why, Daniel? What makes him any different from any of the others that we've come across?" asked his friend. |
|
| Daniel thought for a moment. "You know, I don't really want to talk about this here, can't we talk later, when we get out of here?" |
|
| "It's OK, Danny." Jack said. "It's just you and me here. Janet's giving us some time, she's left us alone in here for as long as we need." |
|
| "Well, OK. But promise me you won't think I'm going wacko on you." Daniel agreed. |
|
| "Oookay, that doesn't sound positive. Go on, I promise I won't think you're nuts." Jack assured the younger man. "What is it, Danny?" |
|
| Daniel took a deep breath and looked at his hands before speaking again. "That host - Seth's host - well he reminded me, an awful lot, of my father. I know that it's not possible that he is, just for a moment, when we were standing before him, the resemblance took my breath away. I know my father would have been much older now, had he lived, but looking at Seth was like looking into my father's eyes on the morning that he died. It's a face that I haven't seen in over twenty years, apart from during the Gamekeeper's twisted little game. Then, when Sam killed him and his body was lying there - broken in the ground - I guess I just lost it somewhat, it brought back bad, bad memories. I'm sorry, Jack. That was really stupid of me, I'm so, so sorry, Jack." Daniel's breath was catching in his throat as he drastically tried to explain himself to Jack. |
|
| Jack reached out and carefully grasped hold of both of Daniel's arms, gently trying to ground his friend. "Hey, hey, Danny, calm down. You don't need to apologise. We've all zoned out before now. You held it together when it mattered - hell, you held it together all the way home - that's the important part. You didn't let it affect the mission, you did what you were told, and you got home safely - don't think that you did anything wrong, you didn't, really you didn't." |
|
| Daniel took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm himself down like Jack was asking. "Thanks, Jack. Thanks for listening, thanks for being here and thanks for not thinking I'm crazy." Daniel actually let out a tiny chuckle as he said the last comment, then added, "I wasn't sure you'd understand." |
|
| "Daniel, you can tell me anything. I'll always listen to you. I might not always agree with you but I will always listen when you need me to." Jack said earnestly. "You got any pictures of your folks? I've never seen your parents so I can't say whether I agree with you on this one or not." |
|
| "I've not got any on me, I've got a few in my office though. I've not got many, most of them got lost or damaged in the foster homes that I was sent to. They're kept locked in the drawer in my desk - too many memories there to keep them out on display. Does that sound awful?" Daniel asked. |
|
| "Nah, Danny, it doesn't. I've only got one of Charlie in my office." Jack told him. "The rest are in the box in my locker so I can get to them if I need them. Kind of like your desk drawer, I guess. That way, life and work stay mostly separate - it's the way I've always done things - kept the two apart, I mean." |
|
| "Sorry, Jack. I didn't mean to make you start thinking about things that you don't like to talk about." Daniel said, starting to look distressed again thinking that he'd upset Jack. |
|
| "Hey now, none of that." said Jack. "Now, how about we get the Doc back in here, get you cleared medically, then we can get out of here. You're gonna come home with me, I don't think you need to be alone with your thoughts today." |
|
| "Jack, I don't want to impose." Daniel objected. "You deserve the time off as much as anyone. I don't think I'm going to be good company today anyway. You don't want me messing up your free time, I'll just go home. I'll get someone to drive me if it'll make you happier." |
|
| "No, Daniel, you won't. I'll drive you because you're coming home with me - no arguments." Jack answered. "Even if you don't say a word to me all evening, I'll know where you are and I'll know you're OK. And…if you do feel like talking, then I'll be right there and not on the other end of the phone. OK?" |
|
| "OK, Jack, you win. I want to go to my office before we go though. I want to get the photo's out of my desk drawer. I think I need them with me this afternoon." Daniel told the older man. |
|
| "Agreed, Danny." said Jack. "Now, you OK if I go and get Fraiser? We can't go anywhere until she clears you." |
|
| "Yeah, Jack. Go and find her, please. I really want to get out of here." |
|
| As Jack made to jump off the bed, Daniel reached out and grabbed his hand. As Jack turned back to him, he said in a quiet voice, "Thanks again, Jack - for everything. You don't know what it means to me - to know that I've got a friend like you." |
|
| Jack squeezed Daniel's had firmly. "Me too, Danny. Me too." |
|
| With that, he pulled his hand from Daniel's and went in search of Janet Fraiser. |
|
| ~#~ (part 4) |
|
| Janet sent Jack for his MRI scan while she did Daniel's examination. When the archaeologist returned from his own scan, Janet cleared the pair of them to leave the mountain. |
|
| After they both changed they agreed to meet up at the checkout station so that Daniel could collect the photographs from his desk drawer. |
|
| The young man hurried to his office and was thankful that no-one stopped to speak to him along the way. He flicked on the light and quietly closed the door, leaning backwards on it while he let out a long cleansing breath. He scrubbed his eyes and looked around the room, remembering the many times that he had come here and hidden himself away. How easy it was to bury himself in his work and lock the outside world away. |
|
| This time however, the office didn't feel like a haven to him. It didn't feel like a safe-house where the world could not intrude. His eyes were drawn to the top drawer of his desk - the drawer where he knew the precious mementos of his parents were stored. 'No,' thought Daniel, 'Today seems different, and the office - well that just seems wrong somehow.' |
|
| Slowly Daniel moved away from the door and cautiously unlocked his desk drawer. He moved tentatively, as if he was going to release a load of demons, if he wasn't careful. |
|
| He removed a padded envelope and hugged it tight to himself as he closed the drawer. He then opened the office door, switched off the light and went to meet Jack. |
|
| ~#~ |
|
| They travelled back to Jack's house in silence. The older man kept sneaking worried glances at his best friend. Daniel was huddled in the passenger seat of the truck, staring vacantly out of the window and clinging to the padded envelope like his life depended on it. |
|
| Once they were well on their way, Jack patted Daniel's leg. "Won't be long now, Dannyboy. We're nearly home." |
|
| Daniel looked away from the window but didn't try to meet Jack's eye. He let out a long sigh and mumbled, "'K, Jack." |
|
| ~#~ |
|
| When they entered the house, Jack ushered the younger man into the sitting room and pressed him gently into sitting on one of the sofas. Jack then went through to the kitchen to make some coffee. Thinking about the day that Daniel had just been through, he added a generous measure of whiskey to the archaeologist's mug, figuring that Daniel would need a little help to relax this afternoon. |
|
| ~#~ |
|
| The afternoon was spent in Jack's sitting room, looking through Daniel's package of memories. Jack admitted to Daniel that he could see the likeness between Melburn Jackson and the host carrying the Goa'uld System Lord, Seth. |
|
| It turned out that as well as photographs and a few newspaper clippings, there was a pair of Claire Jackson's metal rimmed glasses and her wedding ring. When he saw it, Daniel gently picked up the ring and turned it over and over with his fingers. |
|
| "You know, Jack, I've saved this ring all these years, I wanted to give it to Sha're but I've never had the chance. Do you realise that, Jack. I've never given my wife her wedding ring. Now she's out there with another man's ring on her finger and, who knows" he says with a sob, "…who knows, by now she might have another baby in her belly too." |
|
| 'Oh damn, I really don't want to get onto this topic this afternoon.' Jack thought. "Hey, Danny, you can give her the ring when we get her back. You do know that we're not going to give up looking for her, don't you, Daniel?" |
|
| "Yeah, I know, Jack, but I'm also realistic. Good things in my life don't last - they never do - I know we might never get her back alive. Even if we do, how's it going to have affected her? Will she still be my Sha're and will she even want me back after I completely failed to protect her?" |
|
| "Hey now, no talking like that." Jack scolded. "Sha're will always love you. You didn't fail her, you've spent the last two years searching the galaxy for her after all. When we get her back, if she doesn't want to stay on Earth, well we'll work something out. Daniel, let's concentrate on getting her back first. That's go to be top of the list of priorities now. We'll deal with afterwards - well, after. Now I'm going to make us another drink and then you're going to turn in for the night. I know it's early but you've had an emotionally draining day. I'll add a little something extra to your coffee to help you sleep. Your spare clothes are in their usual cupboard in the spare room You know where everything is so why don't you go and get changed. I'll be right here when you get back." |
|
| "OK, Jack. Sure thing." Daniel replied, exhaustion evident in his voice and he got up and moved to the stairs. |
|
| Jack carefully gathered Daniel's photo's and memories together into a neat pile and placed them on top of the envelope. "You know, we really need to get you something better to keep these in, Daniel. This old envelope has really seen better days." |
|
| Daniel smiled sadly. "I know, Jack, but that envelope is the only thing that managed to travel through all my different foster homes with me. I didn't even manage to keep the furry rabbit that I'd had since birth. That got lost during one of the moves and I never got it back. It took me a long time to settle into the next house after that, believe me. I don't know what I'd have done if that envelope had got lost. They're the only pictures that I've got of my parents. That's why it stays in my office - it seems safer than having it at home somehow." |
|
| "OK, so you get to keep the envelope, I understand, Danny." Jack told him. "Now scoot and get changed." |
|
| "Scooting as ordered…sir!" Daniel gave Jack the first real smile of the day - albeit a brief one - it was a smile, none the less. |
|
| It lifted Jack's heart to se Daniel raising himself a little out of the depression of the day. He smiled at Daniel's retreating back and went to make the drinks. |
|
| ~#~ |
|
| Daniel was back on the sofa when Jack came out of the kitchen. Jack watched as Daniel meticulously arranged the photographs into a certain order, then piling them up with the bottom edges in precise alignment. |
|
| Daniel looked wistful as he placed the last item on the pile. Jack looked and saw that it was the newspaper article covering the accident that had claimed the lives of Daniel's parents. |
|
| With the tip of one finger, Daniel gently stroked the face of his mother in the picture. He then looked at his father and sighed, "How sad am I, Jack? That I'm seeing my long dead father's face in one of our sworn enemies? The enemies who have taken my wife for Christ's sake." |
|
| "Danny…" Jack moved over to place a hand on Daniel's arm. |
|
| "No, Jack. I'm not going to fall apart again. I should be able to handle this, they've been dead for over twenty years. I know the Gamekeeper showed me them last year, I don't know how well I remembered them before that though. He dragged the memories from somewhere buried so deep in my mind that I only see them in my sleep. Would I have thought that Seth looked like my dad if he hadn't done that? I don't know. I don't know if it's changed how I remember then or not and it's worrying me now. There's a hell of a difference seeing them there 'in the flesh' instead of just printed on paper. If I didn't have these photo's would I have even consciously remember what they looked like at all? It was just so long ago, Jack." |
|
| With that comment, Daniel placed the article on top of the pile and carefully put everything into the well worn envelope. He then held it out to Jack, "Can you put this somewhere safe for me? Please." |
|
| "Of course I can, Danny. I'll put it in my safe overnight, then you can take it back to your office in the morning." Jack held out his hand and took the envelope from Daniel. "Now drink up, I'll be back when I've locked this away." |
|
| "Thanks, Jack." Daniel said and reached for his coffee. He took a large swallow and spluttered as it went down. "Jack!" he shouted, laughingly, after his CO. "Just how much whiskey did you put in here?" |
|
| Jack's grinning face appeared at the doorway, "It's purely for medicinal purposes - just don't tell Fraiser !" |
|
| ~#~ (part 5) |
|
| The next morning, after a surprisingly nightmare free sleep, the two men got up, showered, dressed and ate breakfast in companionable silence. After breakfast, Jack got the battered envelope out of his safe, handed it to Daniel and the two friends travelled back to the mountain together. |
|
| Jack kept a close eye on the young archaeologist, but decided that Daniel had obviously calmed down a lot during the night and seemed much more his usual self, albeit a little pale. |
|
| They changed into their SGC uniform in the locker room and walked together to Daniel's office to deposit the envelope safely back into his desk drawer. They then made their way to the briefing room to meet up with General Hammond, Jacob Carter and the rest of SG-1. |
|
| They were the first to arrive and took their usual places at the large table. |
|
| After a moment, Jack leaned towards Daniel, "You OK, Danny?" he asked quietly. |
|
| "Yeah, Jack. I'm OK. Thanks for listening, I know I can be a head case sometimes!" Daniel smiled a little as he said this. |
|
| Jack smiled back and replied, "Comes to us all sometimes, Dannyboy, comes to us all." |
|
| At this point, General Hammond and Jacob Carter entered the room, immediately followed by Sam and Teal'c. General Hammond took his seat at the head of the table, Sam and Teal'c took their usual places, opposite Jack and Daniel, and Jacob walked down the room and sat next to his daughter. |
|
| "Well people," General Hammond began. "I'd like to congratulate you on a job well done. I'm sure we've more than exceeded the Tok'ra's expectations on this one. There's one less Goa'uld in the galaxy - and, thank the lord - removed from here on Earth. There were minimal civilian injuries, and the cult of Seth is now officially out of business. Well done, all of you. Now, Jacob, I believe you have a few words also?" |
|
| "Thank you, General." Jacob replied. "Indeed, a successful mission. The Tok'ra will be more than pleased when I return to base and report back to them. There was a great doubt that we would manage to locate the missing system lord at all, let alone as quickly as we did. That we could dispatch him so efficiently, with little loss of life, is an added bonus." |
|
| Jacob's head bent close to his chest and when he raised it again Selmak was in control. "I feel I speak for all the Tok'ra when I add my thanks to the SGC for their assistance in this matter. Since the Tok'set disappeared, the Tok'ra have had many problems locating their system lord. It is with a great deal of gratitude that I thank Doctor Jackson for finally tracking him down. Also, Samantha Carter, I thank you for acting when you did, when I could not, thereby ridding the universe of yet another system lord." |
|
| Sam looked down at the table-top, embarrassed by the praise coming from the alien within her father's body. "You know, I didn't mean to kill him. I was trying to stop him," she said quietly. |
|
| "None the less, Samantha, the job was done well." Selmak told her. "You and Doctor Jackson should be acknowledged the part that you played in that." |
|
| "Well said, Selmak." General Hammond commented. "I agree." |
|
| "Thank you, Sir." Sam replied. "Thank you very much." |
|
| She looked over at Daniel who was chewing his lip and looking uncomfortable. She moved her gaze and met Jack's eyes. The Colonel looked over at Daniel and sighed quietly to himself. He gave the linguist a gently prod with his finger and, with his eyes, motioned towards the General, when Daniel looked at him in confusion. |
|
| "Ah…oh…yes, General," the young man stuttered, clearly not knowing where the conversation had gone in the last couple of minutes. |
|
| The General was used to Daniel being distracted during briefings so simply nodded at him before turning his attention back to the Tok'ra on the other side of the table. "So, Selmak, what happened to the Tok'set? How could they just disappear? Did they lose track of him and get dissolved into different anti-Goa'uld factions?" |
|
| "The Tok'set had the same problem as all the Tok'ra groups, a lack of willing hosts was causing dwindling numbers. I think this was compounded by the fact that Seth appeared to have gone to ground somewhere on Earth, which has been cut off from the Stargate network for so many years. Travel to and from this planet has been extremely limited, without making our presence known, and this would have caused the numbers of Tok'set to decrease further. They would not, with all good judgement, reveal themselves to the primitive peoples of your planet - so unless able to leave would be unable to gain new hosts when they were required. We have a few remaining Tok'set members working with us now at the Tok'ra. It was them that made us realise that Seth was probably still hidden here somewhere on Earth. Apparently two, very respected members of the Tok'set had remained on Earth to track him. It was decided that, due to the host problem, it was too risky to keep the rest of them here and they set up a base of operations on another planet, easily accessible by ship. The two, here on Earth, sent messages back to the Tok'set at random intervals, but the messages suddenly stopped coming. The Tok'set were concerned and sent a cloaked ship. The body of Stellaris, both the host and the symbiote, was found in the Valley of the Kings in your Earth year 1968. After that, neither Setekh, nor the Tok'set member who was following him, was ever heard from again. They simply disappeared. After years of searching the remaining Tok'set members were - as you said - dissolved into other Tok'ra groups. Many of them have travelled to our base and are awaiting news as we speak." |
|
| "What was the name of the Tok'set member who disappeared when Setekh did?" Daniel enquired quietly. |
|
| Selmak allowed Jacob control so he could continue the briefing. "She was Nephthys - the most senior member of the Tok'set. She had been trailing him for many, many years across a number of carefully selected hosts. Selmak thinks that the loss of Nephthys, along with the system lord was the final straw for the remaining members and that is why they disbanded. You can see why the Tok'ra were getting desperate for a host for Selmak when Saroosh was dying. If they had lost Selmak then, a great deal of cohesion could have been lost between the different Tok'ra factions. The fallout could have potentially been devastating." |
|
| Jacob went quiet at this point and the SGC members realised that he was conversing with Selmak in his head. |
|
| After a few moments Jacob shook his head and smiled. "Sorry folks, Selmak was just giving me a mental ear-bashing about - I believe the expression you would use, Jack, would be - 'biggin him up!'" |
|
| Jack smirked, and Sam let out a chuckle. "Dad, you're terrible!" |
|
| "Yes, he is," Selmak replied. "You wouldn't believe what he gets up to inside this head! But enough, we must get back to base. I see our 'friend' is waiting for us downstairs." |
|
| Selmak pointed towards the window overlooking the gate room. Near the base of the ramp stood a gurney with a sealed body bag lying on it. On seeing this Sam let out a soft gasp and Daniel uttered a quiet "Oh." |
|
| Jack looked at his two youngest team-mates. He gave Sam a reassuring pat on the back, and moved to Daniel's side. He squeezed the young man's shoulder and quietly, so no-one else could hear, whispered, "You going to ask about the host or do you want me to ask for you?" |
|
| Just as quietly Daniel simply replied, "Please, Jack." That was enough for Jack to know that Daniel didn't want to ask for himself. |
|
| "So, Jacob, what will happen to our little snaky friend down there? And by friend, I use the term loosely." |
|
| "Setekh will be removed from the host before being split into his component atoms. That way there is no way that he can be resurrected, either by sarcophagus, or by any, as yet unknown, device." |
|
| "And…" Jack paused and looked at Daniel. "…what about the host?" |
|
| "He will be studied for any changes that the symbiote may have made, either on his body or his genetic makeup." Jacob explained. "Atomising the symbiote is an extremely power-hungry exercise, to atomise a whole human would require an amount of power that the Tok'ra could not justify. Therefore we conserve power by sealing the hosts into the crystalline structure of the tunnels. Also, that way, the host is perfectly preserved for if any other samples or studies are required." |
|
| Jack looked at Daniel again, this time to ask if that was enough info. Daniel simply shrugged at him. |
|
| "Come now people. Jacob is due back to his base shortly. I assume you'll be wanting to see him off, Captain Carter?" |
|
| "Yes please, Sir." Sam replied. |
|
| ~#~ (part 6) |
|
| In the end all four members of SG-1 gathered in the gate room with General Hammond, to see Jacob return home. |
|
| Sam stood near her father and looked sadly at the gurney waiting near the base of the ramp. Jacob noticed and moved to give his daughter a hug. "You OK there, Sammie?" he asked. |
|
| Sam sighed, "I just keep seeing him after I caught him with the ribbon device. Lying there in the dirt, where he fell. I know I'm supposed to be this strong soldier and I know I've killed before - I've had to - but this was different. I didn't shoot him with a gun, I killed him with my own power, through the ribbon device - basically I killed him with my own bare hands…" she trailed off, hugging her father tightly. |
|
| "Would it help you, Samantha, to see him peacefully at rest?" Selmak asked her. |
|
| "Oh…um…what?" asked Sam, confused by what he meant. |
|
| "Sammie," it was Jacob speaking now. "What Selmak means is that Seth looks very peaceful in there - he just looks like he's sleeping. I supervised him being placed in there myself, for security reasons, obviously." |
|
| "Oh, I see." Sam answered. "I…kinda wouldn't mind - if only to get his shocked face out of my mind, every time I close my eyes. If that's really OK with you, I mean." |
|
| "George?" Jacob queried. |
|
| The General agreed, "As long as Captain Carter is sure, then it's fine by me." |
|
| "Thanks, Sir, I am." Sam assured him. |
|
| Jacob leant over and gently unzipped the top third of the bag. He then peeled it open to reveal the pale face of the former system lord. |
|
| Sam moved over to her father's side and gripped his hand. "You're right, he does look like he's sleeping. He looks so peaceful," she said quietly. |
|
| Jack, Daniel and Teal'c hung back to allow Sam to have a moment with her thoughts. Jack then moved forwards, placed a supportive hand on her arm and gave a gently squeeze. He then stepped back and stood with the General. |
|
| Teal'c moved forwards and looked down at the body of Seth. He clasped his arm to his chest and bowed his head. Like Jack before him, he then moved aside so Daniel could also view the body. |
|
| Daniel took a tentative step forwards and took a guarded look at the body of the man who had so upset him the day before. Tears came unbidden to his eyes and he blinked quickly in an attempt to stop them falling. When he realised he was failing in this he quickly turned and fled the room, leaving General Hammond gaping at his retreating back. |
|
| "Damn it," Jack whispered under his breath. He went to follow the younger man, but before he moved he remembered that he hadn't been dismissed. |
|
| With worry clearly audible in his voice, the stunned General asked, "Colonel, what in heavens name was that all about?" |
|
| "Oh…sorry. Sir, I should have thought…" Jack replied distractedly. |
|
| "Thought what, Colonel?" the General asked. |
|
| "Oh, well, Sir," the Colonel explained. "The thing is old Seth here reminds Daniel of his father. Seeing him again now, I can really see what he means as well. He could be Melburn Jackson's long lost brother. He looks just like him." |
|
| "Does Doctor Jackson need to see someone - a psychologist maybe?" the General asked. |
|
| "Well, Sir, you know what Danny thinks of shrinks - he's got too much history with them. We had a good old heart-to-heart last night" Jack told his CO. "We looked at some photo's of his folks, told some stories, that sort of thing and he seemed a lot better this morning. I can't believe I just let him walk up and take a look in there. That didn't need to happen and I'm sorry, Sir." |
|
| "Not your fault, Colonel. Go find our young friend, take him home if you need to. Come back in the morning, when all this…" he waved his arm in the direction of Jacob and the gurney. "…will be gone." |
|
| "Thank you, Sir, I will." Jack replied. "Goodbye, Jacob. I'll see you around." |
|
| "Bye, Jack. Look after Daniel, he's like a second son to me…well to more than one of us I'd imagine." He added, looking at General Hammond, who nodded discreetly. |
|
| "OK," said Jack. "I'm going. The resemblance is uncanny though. Could be a long lost cousin something…" |
|
| With that, Jack left the gate room, determined to track down his distraught friend. |
|
| Jacob sighed heavily and resealed the body bag. His head dipped and Selmak surfaced, "The last thing I wanted to do was upset Doctor Jackson," the Tok'ra said sadly. "I thought it would offer some closure to Samantha, I did not think that the other members of your team may become distressed by what they saw." |
|
| Sam slipped her hand into her fathers one and gave it a squeeze. "You couldn't have known, Selmak. None of us could…apart from the Colonel maybe." |
|
| "Don't worry, Captain Carter. When I next see Colonel O'Neill, I will be speaking to him about that." General Hammond promised her. |
|
| "Dad, do you suppose it would be possible to send us some samples for DNA testing? It may help Daniel if we can show hard evidence that Seth's host was in no way related to him. If it turns out that he was a long lost cousin or something…well, we'll have to deal with that if it happens." |
|
| "Colonel Carter," Teal'c spoke up. "Would it not have been possible for MelburnJackson to have fathered a child before he was betrothed to DanielJacksons mother?" |
|
| "Of course it would, Teal'c…Oh, I see what you mean. The host is, or at least was, about the right age to be an older sibling to Daniel. The Colonel seemed insistent that the likeness was uncanny and, even though I only saw Daniel's parents briefly, he does look familiar. I remember from the Gamekeepers recreation that Daniel got most of his looks from his mother. Another son, from a different mother, could have taken his fathers looks instead." |
|
| "Indeed," replied Teal'c. "Would your DNA test not indicate that possibility also?" |
|
| "Yes, Teal'c, they would. Whoa, I can't believe we're even standing here discussing this. I'm so glad that Daniel isn't here, he'd be mortified." Sam said, suddenly feeling guilty discussing Daniel's family so openly. The archaeologist was a very private person, rarely discussing his life outside of the SGC with anyone other than Jack. |
|
| "I'll get the samples to you, sweetheart." Jacob told her. "Don't you worry, I'll be discreet. I might come along for a visit when things calm down a little, I can call and see Mark and the girls again at the same time." |
|
| "Thanks, Dad. Does everyone agree that we keep this from Daniel for the time being? At least until we have some results." Sam asked the others. |
|
| "A sound plan, Captain Carter. There's no need to upset the young man any more than is necessary." General Hammond agreed. |
|
| "Indeed." Teal'c also approved. "I too will refrain from discussing this matter with DanielJackson." |
|
| "Thanks, both of you." Sam said. |
|
| "Time's getting along, George." Jacob reminded him. "Selmak is getting anxious to get back." |
|
| "No problem, Jacob," the General told him, and turned to the control room and called out, "Dial the gate." |
|
| Moments later the gate began to spin. |
|
| Sam turned back to Jacob who gave her a last hug. "See you soon, Dad." |
|
| "Sure thing, Sammie," her father agreed. "I'll be back just as soon as I can." |
|
| The wormhole established with its usual kawoosh and Jacob slowly manoeuvred the loaded gurney up the ramp and into the shimmering event horizon. He turned and gave Sam a quick wave before stepping thorough himself and disappearing. |
|
| ~#~ (part 7) |
|
| Jack finally tracked Daniel down in the wooded area above the mountain. The young man was sitting at the base of a tree, hugging his knees closely to himself. As he approached, Jack could see that he had tears rolling down his face. |
|
| When he saw Jack coming nearer, Daniel buried his face in his arms and pleaded, "Jack, leave me alone. Please, Jack, just go away." |
|
| Jack sank to his knees in front of Daniel. "Told you yesterday, Danny, that's not going to happen. You know that, don't you?" He gathered the traumatised young man into his arms. Daniel briefly attempted to push away but soon realised he needed the comfort that the older man was offering and he buried his face in Jack's strong neck. |
|
| He released his knees and leant further into Jack's embrace, crossing his arms protectively over his chest, as if to protect his heart. Jack noticed this self protective gesture and tightened his hold on Daniel, rubbing up and down his friend's back with strong, firm strokes. |
|
| A while later Jack was beginning to wonder if Daniel had fallen asleep. He had been very still and quiet for a long while. Jack experimentally stopped stroking his back and Daniel stirred almost immediately. |
|
| Pushing himself away slightly and looking at Jack with tired, bloodshot eyes, he found that he couldn't bring himself to move completely out of the elder man's embrace. He dropped his eyes from Jack's face to his knees, and muttered quietly, "What's going on with me, Jack? Why is this affecting me so badly?" |
|
| "Aw, Danny." Jack replied. "That's not the discussion to be having here. Let me take you home, where it's warm and comfortable and we can talk properly." |
|
| "We can't go home yet, Jack. We've still got hours left before the end of the day." Daniel pointed out. |
|
| "We can go, and we are going." Jack said firmly. "Hammond told me to take you if I need to." |
|
| "Oh my God…the General." Daniel cried. "What must he think of me? I just ran out on him…and Jacob too." |
|
| "Hey hey, Danny, calm down. I spoke to the General, I didn't explain everything but I told him enough. He was worried about you, he wasn't angry." Jack assured him. "Don't you go fretting about that, you're not going to get in trouble or anything like that, Danny. How the hell did you manage to get up here without anyone seeing you anyway? No-one knew where you were." |
|
| "Er…well, I'm not really sure. I don't really remember coming out here; it's all a bit of a blur." Daniel admitted quietly. "How'd you find me then?" |
|
| "I checked all the logical places, and then thought about where I'd go if I needed some place away from everyone." Jack told him. "I kinda assumed you wanted to be alone." |
|
| "Didn't keep you away though, did it?" Daniel said, leaning his head back on the tree behind him. |
|
| "Never, Danny. You know me, can't keep away from my SpaceMonkey." Jack said with a grin. |
|
| "Jaaack!" Daniel moaned, smiling slightly at Jack's favourite nickname. |
|
| "There now, that's a better look," Jack commented, patting Daniel's cheek with the palm of one hand. |
|
| Daniel leaned into the touch for a brief moment, "Thanks, Jack," he said. "Thanks for coming and finding me." |
|
| "Any time, Danny, any time and every time. Come on now," said Jack, clambering to his feet. "Up you get. We're going home." He held his hand out to Daniel and helped him up. |
|
| "Er, Jack, what about our clothes?" Daniel asked, tugging at the shirt he was wearing. |
|
| Jack looked over the clothes that both he and Daniel were wearing. "We've not got any patches on. We'll just take off the outer shirts and stash them in the truck. We'll be OK in T-shirts until we get home. You've still got clothes at my place - we can change when we get home." |
|
| "OK, Jack. As long as you're sure that's alright." Daniel checked. |
|
| "Yeah, Danny." Jack said. "We'll be OK." |
|
| And with that the two friends set off back down the mountain to the parking lot, Jack's truck and home. |
|
| ~#~ (part 8) |
|
| As it turned out the Tok'ra dropped out of contact not long after Jacob took the body of Seth back to their base. Sam was a little upset but no-one was particularly worried by the lack of contact. Jack pointed out - several times - that the Tok'ra only made contact with Earth when they wanted something. If they didn't need the Tau'ri to do their dirty work for them then they tended to make little or no contact at all. |
|
| The months went by, during this time the SGC was visited by Thor, Nirrti, Cronus and Yu. Teal'c and Cronus were both seriously injured before Nirrti's treachery was discovered. |
|
| Shortly afterwards, Daniel fell victim to an anti-Goa'uld device and, diagnosed as schizophrenic, was sedated and locked in a padded room. Only once Teal'c became ill and Daniel miraculously recovered was it discovered that both problems had been caused by one of Machello's inventions. |
|
| Once Daniel had recovered he was sent to Orban, a planet with Precolumbian Teotihuacan culture, and fascinating, Aztec type pyramids. While there it was discovered that the memories of the Orban children were used to enhance the knowledge of all the adults on the planet. Colonel O'Neill took one of the children, Merrin, to a school on Earth and thus taught the Orbanian society a better way to treat their children. |
|
| Not longer after that, Charles Kawalsky and a duplicate Sam Carter are discovered inside Area 51. They are found to have come through the Quantum Mirror that was stored at the facility and tensions within the team ran high before they were finally sent home. |
|
| A small amount of contact was had between the Tok'ra and Earth when the whole of SG-1 were captured by a bounty hunter named Aris Boch. Sam had been held hostage by the hunter while the other's were sent out to eliminate one of his Goa'uld enemies. This Goa'uld turned out to be a Tok'ra agent and the tables were effectively turned upon the bounty hunter when SG-1 refused to carry out the killing. |
|
| The next mission that SG-1 was sent on turned into an ordeal, when the medieval natives decided that Teal'c was a demon and sacrificed him to appease their God. SG-1 discovered that the local God was actually the Goa'uld known as Sokar and that he was using the Unas to collect his sacrificial offerings. With help from one brave young man they all managed to get home relatively unscathed, although shaken from the apparent resurrection of their favourite Jaffa. |
|
| After a couple of weeks recovery time SG-1 were ready to be sent into the field again. On the first trip back through the gate they run straight into a Jaffa training camp, run by Apophis. The main purpose of this camp was to train the Jaffa warriors to destroy the Tau'ri of the SGC. The trainees refused to believe that their God was dead until they were played a recording of Apophis's death. None of the members of SG-1 were left untouched by this emotional experience but all refused counselling - as was usual for the team - they preferred to support one another. |
|
| ~#~ |
|
| The SGC received a distress call from Kasuf, telling them that the Abydonians were under attack. Many of the Abydonians had been rounded up and were being held in a slave camp by a great number of Jaffa warriors. Many of the SGC units were sent to the aid of the Abydonians and succeeded in freeing Daniel's father-in-law and his people. |
|
| Sam and Jack hadn't initially realised that Sha're was also on the planet. Teal'c had seen Daniel enter a large tent and followed him. Upon entering, he discovered that Amonet had Daniel in the clutches of her hand device and was torturing the young man, obviously intent on ending his life in a slow and painful way. |
|
| With only a split second to make a decision, the large Jaffa turned his staff weapon on his friend's beloved wife and released her from the misery of being a prisoner within her own body. |
|
| As the blast hit her chest, Amonet collapsed to the floor and her eyes lit up as she died. Sha're survived a few seconds longer than the Goa'uld and Teal'c watched as a distraught Daniel scooted closer to his dying wife. |
|
| Sha're looked into her husband's eyes and told him that she loved him and much to Teal'c's dismay he saw the life of the young woman expire as Daniel reached out to touch her face. He dropped to his knees beside Daniel, and whispered quietly, "I am sorry, DanielJackson." |
|
| Daniel continued to stroke Sha're's face and softly replied, "You did the right thing, Teal'c." |
|
| Jack and Sam chose that moment to burst through the doors of the tent and were confronted by the sight of an injured Daniel, lying on the floor, stroking the face of his now-dead wife. |
|
| Sam had wondered if she might throw up at that point. She just uttered a quiet, "Oh, God," before she had to turn away - to take some very deep breaths. |
|
| "Teal'c?" questioned Jack, looking down at his friend. |
|
| "DanielJackson will be fine." The warrior said, and dropped his head as he realised that Sha're never got to hear her husbands quiet reply that he loved her too. |
|
| ~#~ |
|
| When they returned to the SGC, Daniel was immediately admitted to the infirmary to be treated for the ribboning that he had received from Amonet. The team visited him while he was there but it was clear that the young man was spiralling into a deep depression. |
|
| He seemed unable to comprehend that Sha're was actually dead so Jack found himself wheeling an exhausted Daniel down to the morgue to show him the body of his wife. |
|
| In his confused state, Daniel had argued that the SGC should have left her body on the planet for her Jaffa to put in a sarcophagus. He also claimed that he could have survived longer under the ribbon device and accused Teal'c of shooting too soon. |
|
| Teal'c seemed to realise that Daniel wasn't in the right frame of mind and that he wasn't thinking clearly. Daniel's words hurt - a lot - but the warrior refused to turn his back on his young friend. |
|
| ~#~ |
|
| When Janet Fraiser finally released him, Daniel had wandered around the base, not entirely sure what to do with himself. |
|
| He went back to his apartment but after a lot of soul searching he returned to the mountain and handed General Hammond a folder containing his resignation papers. |
|
| Daniel explained to the General that the reason he was going through the gate was to find Sha're. Now that she had been found that wasn't necessary any more. Hammond claimed that he wouldn't accept the resignation but Daniel reminded him that it was a free country and that as he was a civilian there was nothing the General could do to stop him. |
|
| ~#~ |
|
| A short time later Daniel found himself in his office, packing his belongings into boxes. Some would go into storage, some to other offices within the SGC, and some were his to take home. |
|
| Jack came in and heckled him for a while, griping about the 'geek' who they'd assigned to replace the other man. He claimed that Daniel wouldn't be able to stay away from the SGC and reckoned that Daniel would miss all the excitement, the cultures and the living history. Jack jokingly gave him a week before he'd be back but Daniel simply informed the older man that the SGC would go on without him and walked out. |
|
| He came across Teal'c in the corridor. The Jaffa tried to speak to the young man but Daniel refused to be drawn into conversation with him. He knew in his head that Teal'c had done what he needed to do but his heart just wouldn't quite forgive the large Jaffa. Every time Daniel saw his friend, he saw flashes of Sha're falling to the ground with the staff-weapon burn through her chest. He hoped that, eventually, the close relationship between Teal'c and himself could be reforged. He didn't hold out any hope that day would come soon though, his heart just wouldn't allow that. |
|
| Daniel brooded silently the whole way back to his apartment. Jack and Sam loaded more boxes into Jack's truck, and followed him. When the unpacking was complete, Daniel was obviously uncomfortable with their presence and both Jack and Sam gave him a hug before leaving him alone with his thoughts. |
|
| ~#~ |
|
| Between himself, Jack and Kasuf the arrangements were made for Sha're's funeral and the body was wrapped and taken through the gate to Abydos. |
|
| General Hammond and Janet Fraiser both attended the funeral of Sha're, along with Sam, Jack and of course Daniel. Teal'c felt that he would be unwelcome so stayed behind at the SGC. |
|
| The funeral was carried out to standard Abydonian tradition. The only concession being that Daniel read out the funerary speech in both Abydonian and English, so that all people gathered around the grave would understand the proceedings. |
|
| The young man was standing next to Kasuf at the head of Sha're's grave. The gathered members of the SGC stood on one side and a group of Abydonians stood on the other. Daniel held a large white feather and knelt in front of a set of golden scales before beginning the eulogy. |
|
| I speak for Sha're who can no longer speak for herself. |
| I have spoken no lies nor acted with deceit. |
| I was once possessed by a demon who did these things against my will. |
| The demon is gone and now I am without sin. |
| Grant me a place in your blessed dwelling. |
|
| At this point Daniel placed the feather he was holding on the scales sitting near the head of the open grave. |
| |
| If my heart weighs more than a feather my soul still contains sin. |
| If not, may my soul join the gods |
|
| The Abydonians raised their faces to the sky in prayer and Daniel stood up. |
|
| By the trial of the great scales, thy heart is light. |
| Thy soul has been found true. |
|
| He then bowed his head, turned around and quickly walked away from the grave site, closely followed by Kasuf. The grave was carefully filled in by the SGC and assembled Abydonians but neither man returned to watch. |
|
| The General and Janet returned to Earth soon after the funeral and left Sam and Jack behind on the desert planet. They allowed Daniel some time alone to grieve but before long the young man sought out their company before the three of them travelled home together. |
|
| ~#~ |
|
| Daniel stayed within easy reach of his apartment for a few days, only venturing out a couple of times for essentials - such as milk, which he managed to run out of twice due to the amount of coffee he was consuming. |
|
| On the third day he returned to the SGC and met the new SG-1 coming back from off-world. He spoke quietly to Teal'c and told the Jaffa that he thought he'd done the right thing. He then pulled Sam to one side and grilled her on the workings of the Goa'uld hand device. |
|
| Sam was confused when Daniel told her that he thought Sha're had been trying to send him a message via the ribbon device. She told him that as far as she knew the ribbon device was designed to kill but acknowledged that there was a possibility that it had other - as yet undiscovered - uses. |
|
| When she asked him what the message was about, Daniel looked thoughtfully at his ex-team-mate and simply said, "I'm not sure." |
|
| ~#~ |
|
| The next day, Daniel returned to the SGC. He sought out Teal'c who was in his quarters, deep in the trancelike state of Kel'no'reem. |
|
| The large Jaffa opened his eyes when he heard the knock on his door. He was pleasantly surprised to see Daniel standing in his doorway and motioned him inside with a gentle nod of his head. |
|
| Daniel then proceeded to question Teal'c about what would happen if two Goa'ulded hosts were to produce a child. Teal'c had been expecting to have this conversation with Daniel since he witnessed the young man assisting his wife with the birth of Apophis's son. He told him all that he knew - that the human child would contain all the knowledge of the Goa'uld who had lived before them - and then closed his eyes and sat in silence allowing Daniel time to think. |
|
| Daniel absorbed everything he had been told and sat peacefully in front of Teal'c, in quiet contemplation, for a few minutes. |
|
| Eventually he stood up and left the room, barely acknowledging Teal'c's softly uttered declaration that he was pleased that Daniel once again valued his knowledge and that he could come to him for assistance whenever it was required. |
|
| ~#~ |
|
| It was a pensive Daniel who walked slowly towards the office of General Hammond. |
|
| Walking through the open doorway he was confronted by Jack light-heartedly griping about Robert Rothman - Daniel's replacement on SG-1. Daniel had known Robert since college and knew that the man was more than capable of taking on the role that Daniel had filled until recently. |
|
| A short conversation went on between the three men, Jack asked whether there was any chance of Rothman leaving the team and when Hammond suggested that would only happen if Daniel returned the young man jumped at the chance. |
|
| ~#~ |
|
| Hammond arranged that the first mission back for the 'whole' SG-1 would be a quiet return trip to an empty planet. Sam would have soil samples to collect and Daniel could look for signs of ancient civilisation. |
|
| The day passed without event and as the dusk fell, the team set up camp for the evening. They sat around the fire and ate their MREs in companionable silence. Once the meal was finished and the coffee was brewed conversation slowly started to flow. Jack started by, once again, griping about Robert Rothman and Sam made everyone chuckle by telling them about the latest calamity that befallen Bill Lee, in her lab the previous week. |
|
| The other three team-mates were hoping to gradually get Daniel to talk and their patience was eventually rewarded. Quietly and hesitatingly the young man told them of the strange dreams that he'd been experiencing since Sha're's death. He explained that he believed the baby to be a Harcesis child and that had been the reason for his rejoining the team. He now had a new purpose for going through the gate and that he wouldn't stop until he had found Sha're's baby, a baby who - he told the team - he thought of as his own. |
|
| Sam and Jack both expressed their doubts that Daniel had received a message from Sha're although they admitted that there was obviously a good reason that Amonet had taken the child and hidden him away from the rest of the Goa'ulds. |
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| Teal'c remained silent during the discussion, out of all of the team-mates, he had the most knowledge of the possible Harcesis offspring. The large man was undecided as to whether Daniel had received a message through the ribbon device but remained open-minded on this point. He knew though, without a doubt, that the Goa'uld queen, Amonet, would have killed his gentle friend had she had him in the clutches of the ribbon device for many more minutes. Above all he knew that he had done the right thing when he had fired upon Sha're, freeing her from the torment of living, trapped and helpless within a body that was no longer hers. |
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| Teal'c had once vowed his life to the service of Jack O'Neill of the mighty Tau'ri. Now he vowed that he would devote his life to another tortured soul as well, that of the young archaeologist, Daniel Jackson. |
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| ### |
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| Excerpts used from Forever In A Day (Stargate SG-1, Season 3, Episode 10). I claim no rights over them and no money has changed hands. |
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| ~#~ (chapter 9) |
|
| The Tok'ra remained silent for another couple of months until - without warning - Martouf paid a visit to the SGC. He sought out Sam and told her that Jacob had been captured by Sokar and literally sent to 'hell'. Hell turned out to be a volcanic moon called Netu and the only being known to have ever escaped from there was Jolinar - the Tok'ra who had died to save Sam's life the year before. |
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| SG-1 plus Martouf travelled to Netu but were discovered and, in turn, were forced to drink a powerful narcotic drug known as the Blood of Sokar. |
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| When Daniel's time came he experienced himself having a conversation with Jack about Sha're's baby boy. Jack was trying far too hard to get information out of Daniel as to the location of the baby. The younger man realised that something was wrong and refused to tell 'Jack' anything more. |
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| The experience made him realise how important the boy would be to both the Tau'ri and the Goa'uld alike. He had an awful feeling that neither race would give up searching for him without a great deal of bloodshed on one or both sides. |
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| With a lot of luck and fantastic timing on Teal'c's part, the team managed to escape from Netu just seconds before the moon exploded due to a Tok'ra bomb planted at it's core. Everyone was shaken by their experiences on Netu but luckily only Jacob was seriously injured. |
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| Selmak began repairing the damage caused to his much-loved host while Teal'c flew everyone back to the Tok'ra homeworld in the Tel'tak. |
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| ~#~ |
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| Once they landed on the Tok'ra homeworld Aldwin immediately went in search of the council members to complete his report on the mission. The young man was still reeling from the fact that everyone had been saved and was in awe of Teal'c's ability to pilot the Tel'tak so precisely. |
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| Martouf bade his goodbyes to the teams and gave Sam a fierce hug before leaving her with her extended family. |
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| Jacob and Sam went to Jacob's quarters and took some time to collect a few things together. While on the ship they had decided that Jacob was going to spend some time at Sam's house resting, before the pair of them took a short break away. Sam was overjoyed at the thought of spending some quality time with her father, after the past few months out of contact and the last near-disastrous mission, she felt the need to, once again, bond with the most important man in her life. |
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| ~#~ |
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| SG-1 plus Jacob left the Tel'tak with the Tok'ra and gated back to the SGC to a heroes welcome. News had spread fast that the team had 'escaped the fires of hell' and it had been noted how close they had been to never returning at all. |
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| General Hammond greeted them on arrival and set a time for the debrief for later that afternoon. Once that was arranged everyone was hustled down to the infirmary for the more-in-depth-than-normal post-mission examinations. |
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| Teal'c had stayed in the ship with Aldwin and hadn't ventured inside the moon. The large Jaffa was merely a little fatigued and in need of rest and a hot meal. After a cursory once-over from Janet Fraiser, he was allowed to depart to his quarters for some much-needed Kel'no'reem. |
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| Janet's team of nurses soon got everyone else installed into infirmary beds. They were all issued scrubs to replace their filthy attire and one by one were thoroughly checked over. Samples and swabs were taken from everyone to be sent to the labs for further analysis. |
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| When all the check-ups were complete, Janet was pleased to see that there were no lasting effects from drinking the 'Blood of Sokar'. She told them that she guessed it was an organic compound that was broken down quickly by the human body. Once the initial effects wore off it seemed - so far - that there were no obvious, adverse side effects. |
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| She released them and recommended that they all take a shower before visiting the commissary. Everyone was showing signs of dehydration but, luckily no-one was bad enough to require the use of an IV. |
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| SG-1 filed slowly out of the infirmary and made their way down to the showers. Jacob told Sam that he had something to discuss with Dr. Fraiser and he would meet up with her in the commissary once they had all cleaned up. Sam was immediately worried but her father assured her it was nothing to worry about and that he would explain more to her later on, when there wasn't so many people around. |
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| ~#~ |
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| Teal'c met up with the others later on that morning. He had returned to the infirmary to check on his friends and had been pointed in the direction of the commissary where he finally located them all. |
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| The friends were all freshly showered and were tucking in to large plates of food. Teal'c grabbed a plate, piled it high with food and pulled up a chair to join them. |
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| "T, glad you could join us." Jack called, smiling broadly. "You know, I think you've made a life-long admirer in Aldwin." |
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| Teal'c gave one of his mysterious smiles and bowed his head in quiet agreement. |
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| "It's true, Teal'c," Sam continued the conversation where the Colonel had left off. "He clearly didn't believe that you could intercept the matter stream like you did with the Tel'tak." |
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| "Indeed he did not, MajorCarter. Did you not speculate as to why he was sealed inside the cargo hold when you ringed inside?" |
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| "Actually, yes I did." Daniel interjected with a laugh. "I didn't think about it at the time, I guess he did something to upset you?" |
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| Teal'c nodded, "He was most insistent that we leave the area. He was very vocal in his assumption that it would be suicide to fly between the ship and the soon-to-explode moon of Netu. I was forced to remove his Zat'nik'atel and place him within the cargo hold while I completed my mission." Most people would have thought Teal'c was being very self-deprecating as he said this but to those people who knew him well he looked almost smug. |
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| "Well done, T. You showed him. You showed him, good!" Jack said, clapping the large warrior on the back. "That'll teach him to underestimate our Jaffa!" |
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| Teal'c bowed his head at the praise and just uttered a quiet, "Indeed." |
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| When they had finished their meals everyone went their separate ways to complete rough mission reports before the debrief later that day. |
|
| ~#~ |
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| SG-1 stood around the large table in the briefing room waiting for General's Hammond and Carter to arrive and when the two men entered the room, they were side by side and deep in conversation. When they reached a logical break in their discussion, Hammond looked up and motioned for everyone to sit down. SG-1 took their usual positions at the table and Jacob sat down in the chair next to Sam's. |
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| The briefing took up a large chunk of the afternoon. The team were very uncomfortable when they had to describe their experiences whilst under the influence of the Blood of Sokar. Sam explained that she was taken first and told them how she saw her father and that he was trying to get her to tell him the iris codes to Earth. She said that he was so insistent that she must tell him the codes that it couldn't possibly be true and she refused to give him the information that he wanted to know even though Jacob would allegedly be killed for her lack of information. |
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| Jacob covered Sam's hand with is own and gave it a comforting squeeze, then he moved his mouth close to her ear and whispered, "I'm proud of you, sweetheart." |
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| Sam gave him a tight smile in return and whispered back, "Thanks, Dad." She then looked back at the General and said, "That's all I know, Sir. Once he realised I wasn't going to tell him anything he had me thrown back in the cell with everyone else…then they took the Colonel." |
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| Jack coughed, wincing when he realised he was going to have to relive his experiences with Charlie. "Yes, his royal snakiness had me kneeling before him, played hell - pun so very much intended - on my old kneecaps, Sir. If, by some strange twist of fate I should see him I'll have to recommend that he invests in some nice crocheted floor mats before we next go visiting." |
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| "Colonel," the General said, shaking his head wearily. "Please, just go ahead with your report." |
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| Jack shuffled his papers around, looking more uncomfortable by the second. "Sorry. Sir," he said quietly before returning to his report. "Anyway, old 'pophis…well he tried to tell me Carter'd blabbed, I told him I knew she'd told him squat and that he was going to get nothing from me either. He jabbed the Tok'ra recall device into my head and…and…" Jack stopped, shuffled his papers again and pinched the bridge of his nose between the forefinger and thumb of his left hand. |
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| "Colonel," the General said quietly. "I'm all too aware that this is difficult but it's got to be done. We've got to know what Apophis was trying learn and whether he got any information out of any of you. Please continue." |
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| Jack lowered his face until he was effectively speaking to the table. If he didn't raise his face then no-one could make eye contact with him which was the way he wanted it. |
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| "Charlie…He used Charlie to try and get me to talk. Things didn't happen the way they were supposed to, not the way things happened in my memories." Jack inhaled a deep ragged breath and pulled himself up straighter in his chair. He looked the General straight in the eye and said, "He wanted to know how I'd got in touch with the Asgard, Sir. I didn't tell him anything…anything at all." |
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| "I'm sorry you had to go through that son, all of you, truly I am. Apophis was clearly trying to find any information that would allow him easier access to Earth or indeed our most important allies." The General raised his eyes across the table until they fell upon Daniel. "Doctor Jackson, it's your turn. Take it as slowly as you want, just please tell us everything you remember." |
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| Sam reached across the table and clasped the young man's hand. He gave it a squeeze before looking up at the General. He scanned the room with his eyes, gaining support through his team-mates gazes. |
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| "Uh…well, Sir…he wasn't exactly after information on Earth or our allies, he had something different in mind when he was interrogating me." Daniel stopped, unsure of exactly how to explain his visions to his team-mates. "Yes, I had a vision, but it was information of a more...personal nature, that Apophis was trying to get from me." |
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| "Would it be prudent to assume that Apophis's hallucinations took the form of your wife, Sha're?" Teal'c asked quietly. |
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| Daniel looked embarrassed and studied the table-top, unconsciously mirroring Jack's stance from a couple of minutes before. |
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| "No, Teal'c," he replied. "I didn't see Sha're…and in a way I'm glad for that. It would have been just…too hard." |
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| The General spoke up from his position at the end of the table. "We understand, son. Please tell us what you saw and also what information Apophis was trying to gain from you." |
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| "It's OK, Daniel. Start by telling us who you saw, work up from there." Sam reached across the table again and gave his hand another squeeze. |
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| "Whew, OK. Well, um…I saw…I saw Jack." Daniel said quietly. |
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| Jack had just taken a mouthful of coffee which promptly went down the wrong way and briefly choked the older man. "What? Daniel, you saw me? What the hell was I doing there?" |
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| "You were trying to get me to tell you where Sha're's baby is." Daniel said, looking the other man straight in the eyes. "I told you that you didn't believe me about the baby and you didn't deny it. You still wanted to know where he was though, even though I'd told you before where I believed him to be. You were very insistent and got really angry when I wouldn't tell you." |
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| Jack cringed, "Aw, Danny. You know it wasn't me…don't ya?" He looked at his friends stricken face, hoping for a sign that the young man still trusted him. |
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| Daniel paused, then nodded slowly, "Yeah, Jack. I know, I do. But you don't realise what this means - do you? If Apophis was looking for the boy then I'm right. There is something more about him than just being a replacement host for Apophis once he grows up." |
|
| "Indeed," Teal'c agreed. "I do not believe that Apophis would trouble himself greatly to regain a child created for the sole purpose of being his host in many years time. If this were all he required the boy for then he would have simply created another. His queen was willing to lay dormant while the child Shifu formed, I see no reason that she would not have been willing to do so a second time." |
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| Daniel shuddered at this. "There's reason now, Teal'c." |
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| "Indeed. I apologise, DanielJackson, I had not taken that into account. I think it is highly probably that you are correct in your assumption that the child is Harcesis. If indeed he is then he will carry the complete genetic memory of the Goa'uld queen Amonet along with that of Apophis. Now that Amonet's line is broken her knowledge will be lost to the Goa'uld unless Apophis can secure the boy." |
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| "But old Poppy's toast. There's no way anyone could have survived that Tok'ra-induced fireball." Jack pointed out. "…Is there?" |
|
| "It is highly probably that Apophis perished in the explosion upon Kheb. However without conclusive proof there is always a chance that he had time to escape. We have believed him to be dead before now but that belief proved to be false. If Apophis had good reason to seek the boy then his highest priority would be survival. Do not forget that his host was already badly damaged prior to arrival on Netu and yet still he survived. I am certain that he would have had no qualms about leaving that host behind should that have been necessary to facilitate his escape." |
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| Jacob turned his nose up at the very idea and Sam turned a shade paler as she thought it over. |
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| "So you do believe me, Teal'c?" Daniel asked carefully. |
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| Teal'c nodded. "I did not doubt your claims, DanielJackson. Only the validity of how you came across the information. I have never before heard of the ribbon device being used to transmit information from either the Goa'uld or the host. However I am more inclined to believe you, than not. If the boy is indeed Harcesis and Apophis is seeking the knowledge that he holds then we must locate and secure the child as soon as possible." |
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| Jacob bowed his head and Selmak came forwards. "I agree, Teal'c. If the boy should fall into the hands of the System Lords - any of the System Lords, that is - then it could be a disaster. The Goa'uld are ruthless in their quest for knowledge and power. If the child holds the combined knowledge of both Apophis and Amonet then he would be a powerful tool to be used against them as well as them using him for their own purposes. Under no circumstances must that be allowed to happen." |
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| "Damn right it can't," agreed Jack, banging his fist down on the table. "We don't have a clue where to start looking though…do we?" The Colonel addressed his question to everyone but they all knew he was really asking Daniel. |
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| Daniel fidgeted in his seat. "All I know is what Sha're told me. She…she said the boy was on Kheb." |
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| "Yeah, you said that before. Kheb? Kheb is good?" Jack asked. |
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| "Not really, Jack." Daniel replied. "Kheb is a myth. As far as I know it doesn't actually exist. I think Sha're wanted to tell me more but she was pulled away before she could do so. I have no idea where to start looking, Jack." |
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| "OK, well at least we've got a name. Hopefully that's more than old Poppy's got…if he's still out there somewhere." |
|
| ~#~ |
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| The briefing concluded shortly afterwards. Hammond gave SG-1 two weeks of downtime to allow them to recover from the ordeal they had just undergone. Jacob had told him earlier that he planned to spend some time with Sam and he agreed that everyone else could do with the break as well. |
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| Teal'c requested that he be allowed to travel home to spend time with Ry'ac. This was arranged and he would gate out the following day. |
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| Jack decided to take Daniel fishing at his cabin and wouldn't take no for an answer when the younger man told him he'd be fine at home. Jack knew that if Daniel stayed at home he'd either work himself into the ground or sit and brood about their time on Netu. The Colonel also wanted to make sure that the young man was truly alright with their friendship after the hallucination of Jack had got upset with him. |
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| Sam and Jacob left the base and went back to Sam's house. Jacob dropped gratefully onto the couch while Sam went to make them both a drink. |
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| When she returned with two steaming cups of coffee and handed one to her father. Jacob smiled and thanked her and she smiled in return. When he looked at her he realised the smile didn't reach her eyes and she had worry lines etched into her face. "Hey, sweetheart. What's up?" he asked gently. |
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| Sam sat down quickly beside him and took hold of his hand that was free of the coffee cup. "I want to know what's wrong, Dad. Why did you have to see Janet. What didn't you want to tell me on the base? Is it the cancer? Had it come back? Can't Selmak cure it any longer?" |
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| "Aah, Sammie, I'm sorry." Jacob pulled Sam into a careful hug, mindful of the hot drinks. "I'm fine, Selmak is fine and hopefully we both will be for a fair while yet." |
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| "Then what?" asked Sam. "Why the secrecy about seeing Janet? Why wait until after everyone else had gone?" |
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| "Sammie, Sammie. It's worse than when you were tiny." Jacob pulled back and looked at Sam, chuckling at her. "Why, why, why. That's all I got from you then as well. Don't worry, it was nothing about me or Sel. When I went back to the Tok'ra homeworld I took the opportunity to pick up the DNA samples that we took from Seth. You wanted to prove to Daniel that he was in no way related to the host, if I remember rightly." |
|
| "Oh, yeah. I'd kinda forgotten about that, what with everything else that's been going on." Sam admitted. "Daniel's not mentioned anything about the Seth incident recently, I think he's deliberately buried the memory of it all. He was so embarrassed about crying in the gate room and running out of the mountain. Do you know that the Colonel took him home and didn't bring him back for three days after that?" |
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| "No, I didn't know that, darling. I'm sorry that I couldn't get the samples to you any sooner, so many things seemed to be conspiring against me getting back here any sooner. Every time I though I could get away something else would come up - and well, then you saw where I ended up. Thanks again for the rescue, by the way. I don't think me and Sel would've lasted much longer if you hadn't turned up when you did." |
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| "Any time, Dad, you just need to ask." Sam said quietly, as she sat back on the couch to drink her coffee. "You and Selmak definitely OK? No lasting side-effects?" |
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| Jacob's head dropped to his chest and it was Selmak who answered. "Samantha, do not worry yourself unduly. Both your father and I will be fine. It is true that we were both weakened by our time in the cell but we will recover completely with a couple of days to rest in." |
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| Sam squeezed Jacob's arm, "Thank you, Selmak. I appreciate your concern for me…and Dad too of course. I was aiming to stay around here this week and planning on maybe going away somewhere next week. It will give us a chance to catch up with Mark and the girls and will also give me time to book somewhere for us to go." |
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| "That sounds like an ideal arrangement, Samantha. I know your father has been regretting not getting back to visit Mark after he had started to rebuild their relationship." Selmak told her. "The other subject you were discussing with your father - in regards to Doctor Jackson - the samples have already been passed on to Doctor Fraiser for study. I believe you are expecting the analysis to show no match between Doctor Jackson's DNA and that of Seth's host. If this is the case then is it entirely necessary for you to inform Doctor Jackson that you have carried out the tests? If he has made peace with himself then surely it would be better to allow him to remain oblivious?" |
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| "I don't know." Sam admitted. "I think there may be rules that say Daniel has to be informed of the test being carried out. I'll have to speak to Janet when we go back to the base. I can't imagine she'll be speaking to Daniel before the fortnight's out anyway. Jack's taken him to the cabin and I wouldn't think she'd disturb them unless something really urgent came up." |
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| Selmak nodded her understanding and surrendered control back to Jacob. |
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| "Hey, Dad. Did you get all that?" Sam asked. "Do you think we should speak to Janet?" |
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| "Yeah, I got that, Sammie. I don't think we need to go running off to Janet just yet." Jacob chuckled. "She's got a sensible head on her shoulders and a big, soft spot for a certain blue-eyed archaeologist. I don't think she'd knowingly upset Daniel unless there was no way she could possibly avoid it. I don't think you need to start worrying about it anyway. Let's enjoy the next two weeks and talk to Janet when we get back. OK?" |
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| "OK." Sam agreed. "You going to trust me to cook tonight or are we going to phone and order something in?" |
|
| "Oh, no, I have a great need for Chinese food tonight so we can have it delivered. Maybe tomorrow night we'll go out but tonight I just want to spend some time alone with my little girl." |
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| "Sounds great, Dad. I'll just phone Mark and let him know you're here then we'll make some decisions about how we're going to spend the next week." |
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