Title: A Brief Encounter
Author: Lingren
Feedback: dalintel@aol.com
Category: Angst, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Season: Season 5
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Summary: An unexpected brief encounter leads to a deeper understanding.
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom,
MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this
story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged
hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations,
and story are the property of the author(s).
Major General George Hammond stood at the window of the control room and watched as his premier team gathered in the embarkation room below. He could hear the light hearted banter between the younger members, as the stoic Jaffa, Teal'c quietly looked on, every now and then raising one eyebrow, his only participation in the conversation. The General smiled to himself, it was always this way with SG-1. Raring to be off somewhere and happy to go together. They were a team in the strongest sense of the word. They were an inseparable unit, an eclectic mix of personalities and backgrounds, but they worked well together, as one. That's why they were the best.
"General?"
Colonel Jack O'Neill's voice interrupted his thoughts, and he turned to face his 2IC, and CO of SG-1.
"Ready to leave Sir. Any last minute orders.....like...don't go!.....you've changed your mind and you're going to let SG-6 have the pleasure after all."
"Sorry Jack.....no such luck. This one's all your's I'm afraid." Hammond smiled.
"Well.....can't win 'em all I suppose." Another boring mission to retrieve a downed UAV's data, he thought.
"The mission stands as the briefing Colonel. Just go careful out there."
"As always Sir." grinned Jack.
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of."
"Can't think what you mean General, but we'll watch ourselves."
Jack gave a quick, somewhat relaxed salute and the General watched as he retreated to the gate room to join his team. He nodded to the technician seated at the computer.
"Sergeant! Dial up P5Z 459."
"Yes Sir!"
Jack was the first to step from the shimmering wormhole, closely followed by Dr. Daniel Jackson and Major Samantha Carter. Finally the appearance of the big alien, Teal'c completed the team. After checking the immediate area for hostiles, they relaxed slightly, and turned to their CO for instructions, when nothing disturbed the peace and tranquillity around them. They suddenly realised with their first real breaths on this strange looking planet, that they were not going to like exploring this world. The air was foul, it smelt like rotting flesh. They wrinkled up their noses in disgust, and looked at each other.
"Carter.....couldn't you get a sensor or something attached to the MALP that will sniff out the atmosphere before we actually get to 'smell' it. At least that way we would get some warning."
Sam grinned at her CO and raised her eyes to Daniel, whom she noticed, was by now looking decidedly ......green.
"The readings on the MALP indicated that the atmosphere posed no threat to us Sir, even if it is a bit......'ripe'."
"I'll hold you to that Carter! Well this is really.......odd." Jack tried not to inhale too deeply as he spoke. He looked round at the flora, it was tinted more to the blue spectrum and the sky was a distinct shade of green.
"Yeah Jack.......you could say that." responded Daniel, fighting to stay in control of his lunch.
"Danny!......you gonna be all right?" Jack asked seeing his friend turn green, or was that just the weird light.
"Umm yeah. Maybe it won't be so bad further away from the gate. Smells like something died round here."
"Okayyyy kiddies let's head on out. Which way Dorothy?"
"The UAV went down about 8 miles in that direction Sir, to the south-east." she said pointing to their left.
"Then that's where we're headed folks." Jack took off at a smart pace. "Carter you're with Daniel. Teal'c!.....you've got our sixes."
They trudged in near silence for a couple of miles. Jack kept checking on Daniel, he appeared to be holding up, and was adamant that they shouldn't worry about him, he was feeling better all the time. Not! Although the smell persisted, it didn't seem to get any worse, and they eventually grew accustomed to it. After a brief rest for a quick meal of energy bars, they continued until they reached a vast lake. It's shores swept away on both sides for miles. Jack studied the area with his binoculars and reckoned it would take them at least a few days to skirt round it. He looked at Sam with his eyebrows raised, an unspoken question on his lips.
"This is so bizarre Sir. The UAV sweep, didn't show any signs of a lake at all. According to the images, it was supposed to have crashed on a scrubby plain. I just don't understand it Sir."
"Well unless I'm much mistaken Carter, it's looks suspiciously like a lake to me." He knelt down on his good knee by the water's edge and stroked his hand through it. It felt wet. It looked wet. "Yeah! It's definitely a lake." Yet it was unlike any water he had come across before. Where his hand entered the water, there weren't any ripples of any kind. It was more the consistency of thick soup. It made his fingers tingle. "Better take a few samples Carter, this 'water' is just as weird as the rest of this place. Try not to get any on your hands though....it feels....cold and ......odd!" he added wiping his hand dry on his pants and shaking it, attempting to bring the feeling back into his now numb fingers.
"Sam, are we even on the right planet? Maybe they mis-dialled!"
"This is a wrong number?" quipped Jack.
"No Sir. Daniel, I'm sure we're on the right planet, but there's something not quite right here. I.....I keep getting the feeling we're being watched."
Jack's attention was distracted by a cry from Teal'c.
"O'Neill! Over there!.......A few yards from the shore."
They all squinted against the glare of the sun to where Teal'c was pointing. There was something smooth and shiny just under the surface of the water which the sun had glinted off.
"It's the UAV Sir. We are on P5Z 459."
"Ohh great. Of all the places to come down in!" Jack looked round to assess the best way of retrieving it. He spotted some rocks near by, in a line which reached out towards the downed equipment. He grabbed some rope from his backpack, and tied a noose at one end. "You three stay there, I'm gonna try to lasso the wing and pull it over to you, so you can grab it. I don't want anyone going too near that...'water'?......whatever it is. Don't much like the look or feel of it." He made his way out over the line of rocks and started to toss the rope out to the UAV.
"Careful Sir. You wouldn't want to fall in."
He stopped, and glared back at Sam frowning. He turned towards the UAV again, and tossed the rope out towards the wing of the miniature aircraft. It took several attempts, before he managed to secure the rope around his target. From then on things happened so quickly he wasn't quite sure what was happening. He lost his footing and fell into the water with a resounding splash, hitting his head and shoulder on the rock he'd been standing on only seconds before, the blossoming pain temporarily stunning him. If he didn't know any better he would say that something had grabbed his ankle, but he knew he was alone out there. One minute he was standing secure on the rock and the next he was splashing about in the lake and fighting to keep his head above the water.
Sam and Daniel watched as he tossed the loop further into the lake. Then they saw him lose his footing and fall into the water, splashing around like a fish on a hook. He managed to find his footing and stood gasping, up to his chest in the freezing water, to recover his breath. They howled with glee as they watched him struggle to stand up. They held onto each other in fits of giggles.
"Great Jack......don't fall in.......hee hee.....oh well done Jack! Oh God.....I needed a good laugh." cried Daniel.
Before he could summon up his disbelief at falling in, he once more found himself yanked under the surface. He tried yelling for them to help but he was being pulled further under. His lungs burned and a cold, numbing feeling came over him. He was a good swimmer, so why wasn't he able to get to the surface. What the hell was happening to him, what was keeping him under, he could see nothing to explain his predicament. His painful shoulder hampering his attempts to rise up against the pull of the liquid. His head thumped mercilessly. Something was dragging him down into the depths, and he couldn't fight it off. After several minutes his limbs began to feel like lead, the water was so cold he was freezing, and he knew he was losing the battle to survive. He couldn't understand what was keeping him from reaching the surface. His chest felt like it was going to explode, he couldn't hold his breath any longer and with a last agonised thought for his friends his final breath vanished when the natural reflex to take a gulp of non existent air, ended with his lungs filling with the freezing liquid, and his consciousness deserted him.
Daniel and Sam were laughing so much they failed to see how serious the situation was. However Teal'c, who vowed he would never understand the Tau'ri sense of humour fully, quietly observed as Jack's thrashing grew less, until his body went limp and he witnessed his friend's struggle come to an end, he disappeared for a few moments below the surface, then reappeared floating face down, still and lifeless.
"Daniel Jackson! Major Carter! All is not well with O'Neill." Teal'c quickly waded into the water to reach Jack. He immediately noticed how different the water felt. It seemed to cling to him and pull him downwards, now he understood why his friend had struggled so much.
Daniel stopped laughing and watched, as Teal'c's words struck horror into him. He dropped his jacket and gear on the ground and waded out after Teal'c. 'Oh God Jack!.......I didn't realise......I'm sorry.' he thought guiltily. He splashed his way towards his friend, hoping that they would make it in time. He noticed the water was very cold, maybe, he thought, that might be to Jack's advantage.
"Daniel Jackson... please be careful. This water is extremely dangerous. It would not help us if you were to fall beneath the surface as well."
"Sam!" Daniel called back, "Get something warm to wrap Jack in when we bring him out, it's freezing in here."
Sam, by now, had sobered up quickly and set about getting sleeping bags and blankets ready to wrap Jack in. She was now so worried. She knew that he was a strong swimmer, she couldn't understand what had gone so wrong. How could she have let him drown while she laughed at his efforts to extract himself from the lake. She felt so guilty. He was her CO for Christ's sake. She was supposed to watch out for him. He was also her friend, no he was more than her friend. She loved him.
Teal'c and Daniel, now up to their chests in the icy water, grabbed a hold of Jack and turned him over as quickly as possible, and pulled him backwards through the water to the shore. Daniel looked down at his face. It was grey and his lips were blue, at least that was how he envisioned them to look. It was so damn difficult with the colours all being off on this world. They dragged him to the shore and laid him down on his back. Sam knelt over him searching for a glimmer of hope.
"Oh God!......there's no pulse."
She didn't hesitate. She lifted his head and pulled it back and placed her mouth over his and blew a breath into him. She carefully counted and Daniel took on the CPR compress ions. They continued to work together for several minutes, before they were rewarded by a ragged breath and a cough, which half roused him. They quickly turned him onto his side to help drain the fluid from his lungs. He continued to cough, and bring up, so Daniel reckoned, several gallons of lake water. Daniel, rubbed his back while he alternately coughed and heaved, gasping in between for breath.
After a while Jack rolled onto his back again and shivered violently. Daniel immediately stripped him of his wet clothes and they wrapped him in the sleeping bags and tucked the blankets round him for extra warmth. Although he was alive, he really wasn't with it yet, his eyes were still glassy, and he remained unresponsive, he couldn't talk, he just shivered and as he continued to cough he wrapped his arms round himself protecting his chest, now sore with all the coughing and heaving.
Teal's gathered some wood and soon had a roaring fire going. Daniel helped settle a semi-aware and unusually docile Jack as near to the fire as possible. They had all noticed the startlingly big bruise that Jack's shoulder now exhibited, and the cut on his head which Sam cleaned as best she could. What was worrying her more was the total lack of response from Jack. There were none of the usual quips or jokes, no puns or flippancy, just silence and empty, vacant eyes that reflected nothingness back at her. He shivered violently and they covered him with another warm blanket, and he soon fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. They set about drying his clothes and settled down to watch over their CO, as night fell.
He was still asleep when Sam rose from her nap to stand watch for the night. Daniel had been sitting with Jack for the first watch but he showed no sign of waking up. Sam was deeply worried. Niggling questions picked at her mind. Had they managed to revive him in time for there not to have been any brain damage? or were they too late and he might never really wake up? He hadn't spoken at all before drifting off to sleep. Maybe they should have taken him straight back to Janet at the SGC. There were so many questions, she was angry with herself, she was supposed to be responsible for them all if anything happened to Jack. She felt she had let him down badly. She sat despondently beside him, lost in thought, and aimlessly poking the fire with a stick.
"Not your fault Carter!" Jack's weak rasping voice penetrated her thoughts.
She jumped about a mile, and turned to see two big brown eyes observing her.
"Sir! Hi ! Thank God!......you're awake. I.....We thought we'd lost you there for a while."
"Can't get rid of me that easy." he coughed and groaned as it hurt his chest. "Ohhh God!"
"Sir? What's the matter?"
"Chest.....hurts. That 'stuff' burned like hell.........cough.......Got any real water?"
"Sorry. Yes Sir......coming right up." She held the canteen to his lips and he tried to drink deeply, but she pulled it away.
"Careful Sir.....just small sips at a time."
"Ridiculous really.....cough, cough.......when you think about it"
"Sir? Ridiculous? What is?"
"There I was drowning........cough........and all I want now, is a.......cough........long cool drink of water." he grinned at her.
She grinned back at him. Then she felt guilty, and looked away, when he kept coughing.
"Sir......"
"Forget it Carter. You didn't know!......cough.....not your fault!"
He had seemed to anticipate her question, even before she knew what exactly she was going to say to him.
"I'm sorry Jack....If I'd only realised you were......."
"I said forget it Sam..........cough........I'll be fine.....really."
"Yes Sir."
"When it gets light we'll head........cough..........back to the Stargate. Forget the UAV.......... cough, cough........In fact forget the whole damn planet." He coughed again and Sam gave him a couple of antibiotics and pain killers to swallow with some more of the fresh water.
"Easy Sir."
"Thanks Sam.....cough.......for everything." he sighed and began to nod off again.
She watched as he gave up trying to keep his eyes open, and she puzzled over his use of her first name, it wasn't like him, he usually stuck to her rank or surname. She could hear his laboured breathing getting deeper as he drifted back to sleep.
If only he'd yelled at her or threatened action against her for neglect ion of duty, she might have been able to live with herself, but it was his calm acceptance of the situation, and of all things, his thanks to her, which threw her completely. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she sat there, annoyed with herself she batted them away angrily.
Teal'c had stood watch nearby listening but not intruding. He knew when to speak and when to hold his tongue. He was relieved when his friend had woken and thankful he had seemingly suffered no lasting damage, although his cough and it's apparent discomfort worried him. It also spoke volumes to him that his CO had not attempted to move at all and had accepted Sam's help so readily. It was not like O'Neill to let the others wait on him, even when badly injured. There was a stubborn independence about him, but even that seemed missing tonight.
Daniel awoke to hear Jack coughing painfully. He knew it wasn't a good sign. It was getting light now and Sam handed him a cup of coffee.
"Thanks Sam. How's Jack? I see, or rather, I hear he's awake now, and he doesn't sound too good."
"No. He said that water burned his lungs, and his chest hurts. I've given him the usual pain killers and antibiotics but he refuses to eat anything. We have to make a move soon Daniel. I want to get him back to Janet as soon as possible."
"I'll be ready as soon as I've drunk this."
She patted him on the shoulder, and knew he felt as guilty as she did.
"Janet will soon have him sorted out Daniel. You'll see, he'll soon be back to driving us crazy again with his usual sarcasm and jokes." She tried to convince herself as well as Daniel.
"Thanks Sam, but I wish he was cracking those awful jokes right now." he looked across at Jack's pale features, and worried even more.
They cleared up the camp site and Teal'c was about to carry Jack for the journey.
"No!......Thanks Teal'c......I can walk."
"You are too weak O'Neill."
"Ya think! I know that Teal'c, but I don't think that my chest will be able to stand a four or five hour trek back to the gate bouncing on your back. I can hang onto your shoulder to keep me upright. Okay?"
"As you wish." He pulled Jack's arm round his broad shoulders and held him firmly round the waist with the other.
"After you Carter. Daniel your turn for tail end duty." he coughed again painfully.
It was a very slow trek back to the Stargate as they had to keep stopping for Jack to catch his breath after each coughing bout. Whereas it took them nearly a day's walk when they first arrived, it now took all day and into the next night to get back again. Jack was exhausted, his arms ached from holding himself upright, and his legs felt like Jell-O. His chest was really hurting and the coughing spasms grew more violent. The others kept a close eye on him, worrying more with each passing hour. Daniel dialled up the DHD and Sam sent the Iris code. Teal'c wanted so much to carry him through, but he was adamant he was going to walk, so Teal'c and Daniel opted for both of them holding him upright.
"Incoming Wormhole Sir......It's.....SG-1."
"Already? Open the Iris. They're not due back for another 12 hours. Get a medical team down there now, just in case." General Hammond rushed to the gate room in time to see Sam run through the event horizon.
"We need a medical team now." Sam shouted.
"Major Carter?"
"It's Colonel O'Neill Sir. He's........." She heard the wormhole schloop and turned in time to see the others emerge from it.
They staggered through and collapsed onto the ramp. Daniel and Teal'c stood up again, but Jack just lay there panting heavily, fighting for breath. He was barely conscious as the General walked up to him.
"Colonel?" he asked, but Jack couldn't answer, his breathing was so painful, and his head was now thumping.
"O'Neill insisted on walking for too great a distance after he became ill General, now he is exhausted. It is my fault entirely, I should have insisted I carried him."
"Don't fret yourself Teal'c. The Colonel can be very stubborn when he wants."
Doctor Janet Frasier entered the room at a run and saw her patient was Colonel O'Neill, and that he was down, struggling for breath and non responsive. She hurried up the ramp, gently pushing everyone including the General out of her way. Kneeling down beside him she took in his appearance, taking his pulse at the same time. It was rapid, and weak. She didn't need a stethoscope to tell his lungs had been damaged, and she called for some oxygen. Setting a mask over his face, they lifted him onto the waiting gurney and rushed him away to the infirmary.
"Major Carter what happened to Colonel O'Neill?"
"It's a long story Sir, but the gist of it is, the Colonel fell into a lake and inhaled a lot of 'strange' water Sir, and he said it burned his lungs. I've brought some water samples with me so Janet can analyse it, if need be, to isolate any organisms."
"Why in God's name did the Colonel fall into a lake?"
"He........um.....didn't have much choice General." Daniel broke in. "He slipped and.......well he drowned in it, and we had to revive him, we....er....nearly lost him."
The General was so disturbed by this news he would have liked to debrief straight away, but he noticed how they all looked tired and dishevelled. It had obviously been tough on them. All of them kept glancing towards the door where the med team had disappeared with their CO. He knew he'd have to wait to hear the rest of the story.
"Right SG-1, we'll debrief at 08.00 in the morning. Get yourselves cleaned up and checked over. Dismissed."
"Yes Sir. Thank you Sir."
They all trooped out into the corridor, and Sam headed to the showers first, while Daniel and Teal'c went straight to the infirmary.
When Sam arrived for her post mission check up, much refreshed after her shower and a fresh change of clothes, things were pretty quiet in the infirmary. There was no sign of Daniel or Teal'c. Janet was adjusting the feed on Jack's IV line and she smiled when Sam entered.
"How is he?"
"He's doing okay really, considering he's got a pretty virulent strain of pneumonia. I've hooked him up to some fluids, believe it or not, he was quite dehydrated. I've got him on antibiotics and also set up a pain med to ease his chest discomfort. I'd like to take a look at those water samples, that you brought back with you, later."
"Yeah sure, they're in the lab. Mind if I sit with him for a while after my check up?"
"Okay, but I still want you to get some rest. Don't stay here all night."
"I expect Daniel will be along later, I promise I'll go get some sleep when he gets here."
"You do that!"
Janet completed her usual battery of tests on Sam, and left her alone with Jack. His colour had improved but that was probably due to the fact that he had a high fever, and they were no longer subjected to the weird lighting effects from the planet. Every now and then he would stir and have a coughing fit, but he never woke up fully, then when he settled again she would wipe the sweat from his brow. All thanks to Janet's happy juice that he was deeply asleep, I expect, thought Sam tiredly.
Daniel entered the infirmary to see Sam fast asleep, her head resting across her arms, on the side of Jack's bed. He smiled down at her and gently roused her.
"Sam!.....Sam!"
"Uh? Oh....Daniel......Sorry, I must have dozed off. You okay?"
"Yeah.....I'll stay for a while. Go and get yourself something to eat and then go to bed. You look exhausted."
"Right......Thanks. The Colonel hasn't woken up yet. Janet's happy juice I bet. See you later."
Sam left him perched on the chair she'd just vacated. He didn't look much better than she felt, she thought, making her way to the commissary for a quick snack, before she fell into bed completely drained.
Jack woke the next morning wondering where he was at first. He looked down and saw Daniel's head resting on the edge of the bed, eyes closed and softly snoring. Jack felt fine, only he couldn't remember what had happened to him, or why he should find himself in the infirmary.
"Daniel!" he shook his friend's shoulder. "Daniel!" he said louder, sitting up.
"Hmm.....What?....Jack!....you're awake.!"
"Yeah?......Daniel.....what am I doing in here.......I mean......what happened?"
"You don't remember?"
"Remember what? If I knew what, then I wouldn't have to ask you would I?"
Daniel was thrown by Jack's apparent amnesia about the past events.
"We gated to P5Z 459!"
"Yeah. I recall that.....couldn't forget that smell in a hurry."
"What about falling in the lake?"
"I fell in the lake?......I did not! I remember fishing in it for the UAV."
"Well you did fall in!"
"Na!.....never......now I'd have remembered that!"
"Ah......yes you did......actually you....um...drowned in it. We had to revive you. We got you back here yesterday and Janet said you had pneumonia, that's why you're........in here." he gestured around him, puzzled because Jack seemed okay now. "Jack? You feeling okay? You were pretty sick yesterday!"
"What! Come off it Daniel.....I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me."
Daniel saw that Jack did look fit and well, but it didn't make any sense to him. He called for Janet, who was surprised to see Jack sitting up and apparently healthy.
"Janet! Jack says he's fine, but he doesn't remember why he's here."
"Colonel?"
"Doc?"
"I'd like to check you over Sir! Just to make sure." She couldn't believe what she was seeing. What had happened to him for him to recover so quickly? Surely she couldn't have been that wrong in her diagnosis.
"Go ahead Doc., be my guest.......whatever makes you happy. You won't find anything wrong...... because I'm fine!"
Daniel left to get a cup of coffee, while Janet did her tests, and to ponder over Jack's unexplained sudden restoration to health, but she was worried about his inability to recall what happened after falling in the lake.
Janet proceeded to examine him, she sounded his chest, took blood samples, checked his temperature, blood pressure, anything she could think off. She was completely mystified.
"Well Colonel I can't find anything physically wrong with you. I just can't explain it. What was the last thing you remember?"
Jack thought for a few moments.
"We gated to P5.....whatever, and I went to retrieve a downed UAV from the lake. Next thing I recall is waking up here just now."
"Sounds like you have a short term memory loss Colonel, probably due to the trauma of drowning, but that still doesn't explain how you recovered from pneumonia overnight."
"Can I go now? I'm starving."
"I don't see why not, but do me a favour and stay on the base. I want to keep an eye on you for a while Sir."
"Fine.....Whatever. Ah.....any chance of getting some clothes first Doc?"
"I'll get someone to collect them for you Sir." she smiled.
Jack quickly dressed and went to the commissary for some breakfast.
Daniel sat in a little world of his own in the corner, eating some waffles. Jack spotted him, collected some oatmeal and a cup of coffee, then joined him.
"So Daniel what's on the agenda for today?......You'll have to remind me...I can't remember if there's anything I should be doing." He said tucking into his breakfast.
"There's the debriefing in 30 minutes Jack. Perhaps it might help you to recall something about what happened on the mission."
"Okay. That might help. Just don't expect too much input from me though. It's just a blank." he muttered through a mouthful of food and waving his spoon around.
Sam walked in and stood stunned at the sight of her CO sitting down with Daniel. The last time she'd seen him, he was lying in the infirmary hooked up to various monitors, looking like death warmed up. Jack shrugged at Daniel.
"Anybody would think she'd seen a ghost!"
"Ah well......she probably thinks you are one Jack, after all you technically did 'die' on that planet and the last time Sam saw you, you weren't exactly in good health."
"Daniel!...Cut the creepy stuff. It's me....I'm fine. I'm not a.....ghost! Okay!" He stood up and approached Sam, a huge smile on his face. "Sam! It's all right. I'm really here. See!" He placed his hands on her shoulders, bend his head down and kissed her full on the lips, gently and deeply. "It's really me."
She snapped out of her daze and looked around to see if anyone had seen him kiss her. Her deep hidden feelings surfacing momentarily, before she recalled where they were. The room suddenly fell silent for a few moments before returning to a whispered crescendo.
"Ah Sir......Um....What are you doing?" she whispered frantically, feeling slightly embarrassed by this apparent sign of affection in full view of everyone.
"Just showing you I'm real."
"Yeah but.....like that!"
"What? Didn't you like it?"
"No.....I mean....yes.....but not here Sir!" she muttered under her breath.
"Ohh!" He looked round and saw they were being watched. He shrugged and they sat down with Daniel, who's mouth was still open, his fork suspended halfway to his mouth.
"Jack?" he whispered when he'd recovered. "Are you sure you're feeling all right? I mean this is hardly the place to flout the regulations is it?"
Jack though for a minute and turned to Sam.
"Sorry Sam. I didn't mean to.......you know."
"It's okay Sir." She was shocked at his open behaviour, but secretly enjoyed the feeling it gave her, coupled with the fact that he still used her first name too. She looked at her watch. "It's time for the debriefing. We should get going." She hoped against hope that no-one, who had witnessed his lapse of protocol, would inform the General.
General Hammond studied the papers in his hands whilst walking across the briefing room to the table. He glanced up and stopped in mid stride, stunned, as he took in his subordinate calmly sitting down with the rest of his team, waiting for the meeting to begin. He couldn't believe what he saw.
"Colonel? I thought that Dr. Frasier said you had pneumonia and would be out of action for some time?"
"Yes Sir, she did, but I'm fine now General really. Doc checked me over and gave me a clean bill of health. Although apparently I do have a chunk of memory missing. I can't remember what happened on that planet Sir. I was hoping that my team's recollections would help me recall what went wrong."
"Very well Colonel. It's good to see you're okay now!" 'I think' he muttered to himself. He was extremely puzzled over Jack's very rapid recovery. He recalled himself and placed his notes on the table and sat down. "Let's get down to business people. I'd like to know.............."
The briefing continued and they all, except Jack, contributed to relate the events of that strange mission.
"............Do you recall any of these events Colonel? Has the debriefing helped in any way?"
"Yes Sir, it has. Although I can't remember every detail, I can now say I do vaguely recall most things."
"Good! SG-1, I'm giving you a week's down time so that the Colonel can fully recover from his ordeal."
"Is that really necessary Sir. I'm fine now, and ready to carry on as usual."
"Not this time Colonel. SG-1 will have a week's down time as stated."
"But General....."
"No 'buts' Colonel. That's an order."
"Yes Sir!" he muttered.
Janet walked in at that moment and spoke up.
"As much as I know the Colonel would like to disappear off base for a while, I would like him to stay on here. I want to keep him under observation for a little while longer Sir, and carry out some more tests. Sorry Colonel." she apologised, knowing full well he'd hate undergoing more tests.
Daniel and Sam were waiting for more of Jack's condemnations at this news, but the expected grievances never came.
"That's okay Doc. I understand. Anything you want."
Five pairs of eyes stared at him in disbelief at this apparent meekness in complying with Janet's wishes, especially if it meant he had to forgo his fishing. This was unheard of, Jack was the last person who would willingly undergo tests of any sort. Each of them came to the conclusion that it must be a result of his recent 'near-death' experience. He looked at them staring open mouthed at him.
"What?" he asked puzzled by their looks.
"Are you sure you're all right Colonel?" The General, voicing everyone's thoughts.
"Oh for crying out loud!......I'm fine!"
"Let's hope you are Jack!" muttered Daniel.
When Sam and Daniel as they stepped from the elevator into the hall of the SGC after their brief furlough away from the base, they immediately noticed things were somehow wrong. The klaxon's were blaring out and people were rushing around frantically. Sam saw Teal'c walking towards them and she greeted him. His face was serious as if something was worrying him.
"Teal'c! What's going on? Everyone is running around like there was a disaster. Has anything happened?"
"Major Carter! Daniel Jackson! It is good to see you again. There have indeed been some strange occurrences whilst you have been absent. General Hammond has put the base on alert. Over the last few days, a number of SF's, a nurse, two lab technicians and several SG team members have been found unconscious with various head injuries and cannot recall how they came to be so."
"What? My God Teal'c no wonder everyone's rushing about. How's Jack? Where is he?" Daniel was worried about his friend.
"Colonel O'Neill is fine, if not still a little 'strange'. He is helping to search the base for a possible intruder."
"Strange?" Daniel stopped and laid a hand on Teal'c's arm, halting him. "How do you mean 'strange' Teal'c?"
"Certain comments and actions have been unlike his previous normal behaviour, otherwise he is well."
"Oh! I see." Sam said recalling his apparently docile acceptance of 'doctor's orders' the last time she had seen him, as well as the kiss in the commissary. His liberal use of her first name. Yes that was all strange, but so would anybody be different when they had been brought back from the jaws of death she supposed. "We'll go and see the General straight away."
Teal'c inclined his head and carried on with his given task.
General Hammond was in his office, talking with the most recent victim of the perpetration who was sporting a couple of stitches to his face. Sam knocked on the door and the General looked pleased to see them. He dismissed the young SF guard and welcomed them into his office.
"Major Carter. Dr. Jackson. I trust you each had a pleasant week."
"Yes thank you Sir." they both replied.
"Teal'c informs us that there have been some assaults on SGC personnel." Sam asked.
"That's correct. However none of the victims can recall what exactly happened to them. They all say the same thing though. They were carrying out their jobs when they became dizzy and collapsed, but when they were discovered or came to, they showed signs of having a cut to their heads. Not one of them can recall being hit with anything prior to blacking out."
"What about the surveillance cameras Sir? Don't they show anything about what happened to them?"
"In each case the camera has malfunctioned and shows only static. I've got maintenance crews working on them all now, but even they cannot explain why they have gone wrong."
They were interrupted by the alarms going off again. General Hammond grimaced and picked up his phone when it rang.
"Hammond!" he snapped. He listened for a few minutes, muttering a few oaths. "How is he?" he paused listening. "We'll be right down Doctor. Thank you." He sighed as he put his phone down again. "That was Dr. Frasier, they've just discovered another victim, he's still unconscious at the moment.......only this time it's Colonel O'Neill." He hurriedly left the room and Sam and Daniel followed him to the infirmary.
Janet was just finishing putting a few stitches into Jack's forehead when the General burst into the infirmary. Jack was beginning to come round. He tried to lift his head up, but groaned and let it fall back to the bed. His hand automatically searching out the pain. Janet caught his wrist.
"I wouldn't do that Colonel if I were you, I've just put three stitches into that wound. It will be sore for a while."
"Doc? What happened?"
"Congratulations Colonel you're victim number fourteen."
He groaned again, and tried to sit up, but Janet pushed him back against the pillow.
"Not yet Colonel. You need to rest for a while."
"I've got to get out there and find whoever's doing this."
"Looks to me as if you found him all ready." she grinned. "At least, he found you, for a few moments anyway."
"Hey! That's my line." he retorted, before regretting the quick movement of his head.
The General stepped over to the bed. Jack's eyes were closed and the General hesitated briefly.
"Colonel?"
Jack's eyes flew open, he hadn't realised he'd shut them.
"General?"
"I know you probably don't feel like talking much at the moment Jack, but I have to ask you if you saw anyone before......"
"No Sir......didn't see a thing. I was walking down corridor C5 when I got dizzy and passed out, next thing I know I'm in here with a few stitches and a thumping headache to show for it. Just like all the others Sir."
"Very well, thank you. Take it easy Jack, get some rest. By the way you've got some visitors." he stepped away from the bed and Sam and Daniel came into his view.
"Hi guys. 'bout time you two showed up."
"Sir Hi. How's the head?"
"Oh......Sore! But I've had worse."
"So you've had a little excitement since we've been away."
"That's putting it mildly Daniel."
"Got any idea who's behind this?"
"Dumb question Daniel......Doh!.......if I knew, then why would I still be looking?"
"Good point.....but what I really meant was, have you got any clues as to who's doing this..... or why even?"
"Nope!.......It's a complete mystery."
Jack's eyes drifted shut again and the others decided to let him sleep. They filed out of the door to report back to the General for further instructions, oblivious of the slight smile that crept over Jack's face.
"We'll see you later Jack."
"Uh ha!" he managed to murmur before sleep overcame him.
Over the course of the next week, there were several more incidents, although nothing new came to light. Both Sam and Janet had failed to find anything amiss with the blood samples taken from the victims. Then suddenly there were no more assaults and the SGC settled down into it's routine again, but the General insisted the investigations carried on regardless.
Teams continued to go off world and return again without any major disasters. Nobody had any adverse reactions to their 'accidents' and Jack had been cleared by Janet to return to work properly.
SG-1's first mission briefing since their near disastrous outing to P5Z 459 was due to take place at 09.00 hours. Daniel hurried through the door with only a few minutes to spare. He dropped his notes onto the table a grabbed a cup of coffee before sitting down to await the General. Jack was already there, sitting quietly reading the pre-mission notes and preliminary reports from SG -9, the MALP and the UAV, previously deployed on the planet now assigned to them. Daniel looked over at Sam and he jerked his head towards Jack puzzled. Sam shrugged her shoulders and even Teal'c raised his eyebrows in surprise. Jack was busy reading the mission notes, when he suddenly looked up and caught their silent communications. He frowned at them.
"What?"
"Jack!"
"Yeah?"
"You're reading the notes?"
"And?"
"Well you don't normally do that sort of thing."
"Well I am now Daniel!"
Daniel rolled his eyes at Sam and she smirked back at him. Before they could make any further comments Janet and General Hammond strode into the room and they stood up.
"As you were people."
They all sat down again, and the General continued.
"As you can see from your notes P9Y 284 has been designated a Goa'uld free planet. Apparently they haven't set foot there for several generations. SG-9 returned from there last week with good reports of Naquada deposits which the indigenous people are willing to trade for. Technically speaking they're on the same level as those on P3X 797, the Land of Light. They have asked that we discuss a treaty with them regarding sharing some medical technology in exchange for the rights to a mining operation. Dr. Jackson I hope I can leave the negotiations in your capable hands. I'm assigning Dr. Frasier to go with you on this one, for her medical knowledge. Any questions?"
"Sir.....are we sure the native population is friendly? After all, we've gated to so called 'friendly' planets before and have been known to come back with a few extra holes than we started out with."
"That's a risk assessment that you're going to have to undertake for yourself Colonel. SG-9 reported no such hostility towards them while they were there. That's just one of the reasons why I'm giving this one to you and your team. I want to know exactly what we're up against here. Major Carter can explain the mining process. Dr. Jackson, as I already said, can deal with the diplomatic side. Dr. Frasier the medical questions and Teal'c can help you assess their capabilities from the military point of view. Are you not happy with this one Colonel?"
"I'm okay with this Sir! No problem."
"Good Any other questions?.....No?.....All right.....SG-1 prepare to embark at 12.00. You have 48 hours before your IDC is locked out. Report back in 24. Dismissed."
"Uh Jack......the gate room's this way." Daniel and Jack had exited the locker room together and Jack turned the opposite way from Daniel.
Jack stopped in his tracks and turned to face Daniel.
"I know that Daniel. I.....I just need to get something I forgot from my room, I'll see you there. Okay?"
"Oh. Okay. Yeah, see you there!" he puzzled.
Jack set off for his quarters and left Daniel to stare after him, puzzled. It was unlike Jack to forget something just before a mission. Daniel dismissed it as another little change in Jack since that last unforgettable mission. He was worried for his friend, although he seemed in good health physically, he noticed subtle little changes in his personality. He just couldn't put his finger on what though. He watched as Jack turned the corner of the corridor and sighed deeply, before continuing on his way to pick up some books from his lab for the mission.
Jack stopped for a few moments after he had turned the corner. His head was thumping and he felt disorientated. He leant against the wall to steady himself as a wave of dizziness washed over him. After a while he pushed himself back upright again, and carried on walking towards his room. He couldn't afford to let anyone see him in distress otherwise the General would ground him and send the team on the mission without him. He had to go on this mission, it was his only chance.
He unlocked the door to his quarters, shutting it behind him, and half flopped onto the bed. His head felt as if it was going to burst, and he gripped it tightly between his hands in order to try and stop it hurting so much. He argued with himself in his mind, until he realised what he was doing. The last person he wanted to see was McKenzie. He shook his head to clear it, and tried to get to his feet, but he staggered and fell, landing in a heap on the floor. He tried to get up again, but he collapsed against the desk and crumpled unconscious to the floor. A dark shadow loomed over him, checking his pulse, satisfied that he was still alive.
Five minutes before the appointed time Janet joined the gathering team in the gate room. She was well equipped with medical supplies to demonstrate their willingness to trade. Sam helped her to load them onto the FRED. There was the usual pre-mission nerves but it was countered by the excitement of a new planet to explore. Teal'c stood by silently watching everything. O'Neill walked in and noted that everyone, except Daniel, was accounted for. He pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his forehead. He hated playing along this way, but he knew he had to keep up the pretence in order to get home again. He would have to bide his time and wait for the opportunity to get rid of the team and escape. Janet noticed his actions and was concerned for him, she knew the signs. She could read his body language quite well now, and she was certain it meant that he had a bad headache.
"Colonel....are you okay?" she asked, standing at his side.
He looked up too quickly and immediately regretted it as his vision swam a little. Pushing the doubts and pain away, he looked down at her.
"I'm fine......really!" he assured her, but he knew she had seen his actions. "Just a headache, that's all." He could tell by the look on her face that she didn't really believe him.
"I can give you something for it!"
"Naa. I'll be fine once we get going." He was thankful that Daniel chose that moment to enter the gateroom, distracting everyone. "Daniel! Glad you could make it!"
"Sorry Jack, couldn't find the right books I needed."
He signalled the technician in the control room to start dialling up the co-ordinates for the mission.
Janet was still fascinated by the Stargate when it was activated. She didn't get to see this part very often, as she rarely got the opportunity to visit anywhere off world. Mostly she was called to the gateroom after the teams had come back injured and then she only vaguely aware of it shutting down.
"Ready Doc?" O'Neill interrupted her thoughts.
"Yes Sir. Ready!"
They all made their way up the ramp in the wake of the FRED and disappeared one by one into the shimmering wormhole.
It was sometime later that Sergeant Siler was doing his routine maintenance check along the hallways. Today it was the Officers quarters. He knew they were all empty, they were either away from the base or off world on missions, so he knew he wouldn't disturb anybody. He entered each of the quarters in turn, ticking off the items from his list as he saw fit.
When he opened the door to Colonel O'Neill's quarters, he flipped the light switch but nothing happened. He muttered to himself and making a note to have the light bulb changed, he entered the darkness to find the bedside lamp. Having banged his shin on the bed and stubbed his toes on the table beside it, his fingers found the switch and he was pleased to see it worked, as it flooded the room with soft light. Turning round he caught sight of a figure, sprawled out on the floor where it had fallen. Siler rushed over and recognised him as Colonel O'Neill, he stooped down to check for a pulse and was relieved to find one. Grabbing the phone he called for a medical team.
"Sam which way to the village?" O'Neill asked as they emerged from the gate. They were a little surprised to find no-one there to greet them as expected.
"It's about 9 miles to the north Sir."
"And just which way is north?" he snapped.
"Sorry Sir. That way." Sam pointed to their right. She was a little put out by his attitude.
"After you then. I'll watch our sixes. Teal'c, Daniel, Doc, you're in between with the FRED. Let's move out."
They all noticed he was a little terse with them, and Janet put this down to his headache. She hoped for all their sakes that it wore off soon otherwise she was going to have to insist he took something for it.
The trail led them from dry open fields with thigh high grasses around the gate, strewn about with rocks of all shapes and sizes, through some woods and then out into lush green countryside dotted about with small houses. They could see the village nestling in amongst some trees in the distance. There were snow capped mountains which rose in the distance and took on a purple hue. It was an idyllic scene.
"Wow!" remarked Sam to Janet. "Now that's what I call a view."
"What's the hold up?" O'Neill's frustrated voice carried from the back of the group.
"Nothing Sir!" She rolled her eyes at Janet who nodded her unspoken agreement. They continued on in silence for some minutes.
Suddenly a familiar noise assaulted their ears. Teal'c knew what it was instantly.
"O'Neill! A death glider!"
"Everyone back to the trees!.......Move it!......Take cover!" O'Neill yelled.
A death glider swooped low overhead and strafed the ground around them with blasts from it's cannons. Everyone made it to the trees in one piece. The only casualty was the FRED.
"Where the hell did that come from?" O'Neill was astonished to see the death glider. They'd been told there wasn't supposed to be any Goa'uld activity here. That was all he needed. "Let's head back to the gate and rethink this situation. They've made our location here. Everyone fall back."
The General waited outside the OR for any news. By the time he had arrived Dr. Warner was already settling his patient into bed, leaving the screens pulled.
"What the hell happened to one of my men Doctor?"
"General please!"
"Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like what I'm about to hear?"
"Because I don't think you will like it Sir. At the moment he's in a deep coma. He's not responding to anything we try. I just don't know if he's going to recover. All his tests check out, but it' difficult to say what's going to happen."
"Dr. Warner, just tell me who it is we're talking about. Nobody has mentioned his name to me yet."
"Sir, the man recovering in that bed at the moment is Colonel O'Neill."
"What? That's impossible. He's away on a mission."
"General, I've carried out several tests and everyone of them confirms that that man in there is indeed Colonel O'Neill."
"Then who the hell..........? Can I see him?"
"Yes Sir, but as I said, he's deeply unconscious at the moment."
Dr. Warner led the General across the room. He could see several monitors, whose wires led to the still form of his team leader, and bleeped their readings regularly, then he looked down at the pale features of his 2IC and knew that his premier team were in trouble.
"Thank you Doctor. Keep me informed of his progress." He glanced across to Jack again, and sent up a silent prayer that he would survive.
"I will General."
Hammond turned and left the room, hurrying to the control room. He had to contact his first team urgently. He just hoped he'd make it in time.
SG-1 plus Janet, picked their way carefully through the woods, keeping their eyes peeled for any signs of Jaffa warriors. Teal'c's acute hearing picked up a troop of Jaffa heading their way. O'Neill led them away to the left and skirted around them. They watched from their hiding place as the contingent marched passed about 30 yards away.
"Teal'c!....do you recognise the emblem?" he pointed to his forehead.
"I do not. It must be a relatively minor Goa'uld. One who is seeking a world to dominate and perhaps raise a Jaffa army from the native population."
"So you don't reckon they'd have that many Jaffa warriors yet then."
"I would think not O'Neill."
"They obviously arrived via a ship, else they wouldn't have a death glider, so would they be guarding the gate Teal'c?" asked Sam.
"It is possible, now they know we are here."
"Great...Just great!" O'neill rubbed his forehead even harder. He was having a hard time coming to terms with having a body again, especially this one. Everything exuded military, he was a peaceful being and the thrill of battle was going against everything he had survived for. "There's only one way to find out." he continued, "Let's get moving." He had to focus on getting to the gate, time was running short, soon the real O'Neill would be discovered.
They kept a line parallel with the main path, but within sight of it, so they could watch for any patrols on the lookout for them.
Coming near to the clearing where the gate stood, they could see a dozen or so Jaffa guarding their only way home.
"Damn!" O'Neill was hoping that the gate would be held only by a few Jaffa. They were outnumbered by over 2 to 1. Actually the odds were worse than that as he realised Janet was unarmed. He handed her his 9mm pistol, now the odds had improved. Using hand signals he motioned to Teal'c and Daniel to skirt round to the right while he would go to the left. "Carter stay here and look after the Doc. Don't move until we've secured the gate. Give me 15 then open fire. Understood?"
"Yes Sir. Good luck."
They moved cautiously away from their hiding place. O'Neill swung round to the left for a long way. Sam watched him until she lost sight of him amongst the trees. After a while she spotted Teal'c and Daniel moving to the cover of some rocks a few yards from the trees to the right.
O'Neill crept to the cover of some rocks about 5 yards from the trees. Checking the Jaffa again he moved towards to the next outcrop of rocks.
Sam watched as her CO stumbled and fell, she was torn between going to his aid and staying put under orders. She looked at Janet for some sort of explanation. He'd been grumpy all afternoon, now this.
"What's the matter with him Janet?" she whispered.
Janet shrugged her shoulders.
"He said he had a headache, that's all. He wouldn't take anything for it."
They looked over to where he had fallen, and relief flooded their minds when they saw him get up again and continue over to the rocks.
O'Neill squatted down behind the solid shelter and rested his throbbing head against the cool rock. This new body was giving him problems, he had hoped to be able to master it properly by now. He looked at his watch and saw it was almost time. He took up his position and at exactly the same minute as Teal'c and Daniel, they all opened fire on the Jaffa around the gate. Sam keeping up a steady stream from her place behind the tree.
The tactics were working, the Jaffa were completely taken by surprise and several went down in the first few minutes, but the others now dug in and fired back wildly. Staff blasts ricocheted off the rocks and trees.
The noise from O'Neill's P90 was making his head hurt really bad now. His vision blurred and he shook his head in an effort to clear it, but his balance was off and he staggered away from the rock and his only shelter. A deep agonising pain burned it's way into his shoulder and he flew backwards onto the ground.
Janet was distraught when she saw what had happened. She thought the worst, wishing she could get to him, but he had ordered her to stay put until the gate was secure. Sam had also seen what had happened but continued firing, taking down the Jaffa who had blasted O'Neill. The last Jaffa fell and there was silence once again. She put her weapon at rest and out of the corner of her eye she caught a movement and grinned with relief as she spotted her CO run for the gate and start dialling. She turned to Janet smiling.
"It's all right Janet. He's okay. The blast must have given him just a glancing blow."
Janet watched in disbelief as O'Neill punched in the co-ordinates. She and Sam broke cover and ran towards the gate. Teal'c and Daniel did the same from their positions. As they approached the gate, it erupted into life. O'Neill turned in time to see the others advancing on him. He swung his P90 up and pointed it alternately between Sam and Janet, and Daniel and Teal'c.
"That's close enough! No one come any nearer. Thanks for everything, I enjoyed the ride guys, been nice knowing ya." he stepped backwards towards the open wormhole. This is where he had to leave them. It was time to go and release his people from their imprisonment..
Sam stepped closer.
"Sir?"
She was stopped by a hail of bullets hitting the ground in front of her. She leapt back in alarm.
"I said that was close enough!"
Sam couldn't believe what had just happened. O'Neill had fired at her. Her heart skipped a beat.
Teal'c lifted his staff weapon towards O'Neill.
"Try it and she dies Jaffa!" he yelled.
"Colonel? What's going on?"
"Jack? What the hell......?"
Before anyone had time to stop him he turned again and leapt through the open stargate. Sam ran to the DHD and noted down the symbols, before they disappeared. She couldn't take in what she had seen or heard. Daniel arrived dumb struck by the events.
"Sam are you okay?"
"Yeah. But don't ask me what just happened Daniel, 'cos I don't have the foggiest idea. I think we had better dial out of here before more Jaffa come. They're bound to have heard the battle."
"Right."
Before the General had time to initiate a rescue mission, having failed to raise them on the radio, the great gate activated itself and the technicians took their places in the control room.
"Incoming wormhole!" called Sergeant Davis as the stargate activated. "Closing the Iris."
"Do we have an IDC yet?"
"It's.......SG-1 Sir."
"Open the Iris! Stand by people, there may be some problems with the team."
The Iris slid open to reveal the blue shimmering flux. Almost immediately Sam and Janet came through, followed by Daniel and Teal'c.
"Close the Iris!" yelled Sam, as soon as the others came through. The General rushed into the room as soon as he saw them arrive,
"What happened out there Major? Where's Colonel O'Neill?" He felt slightly relieved at the absence of the false Jack. Now he wanted some answers.
"I don't know where to begin Sir! It's a little complicated."
"Then we'll debrief now. You too Dr. Frasier."
"Yes Sir." She saluted him and turned her attention back to Sam. Raising her eyebrows at her friend, and shrugging her shoulders they followed the General.
All five of them mounted the stairs to the briefing room and took their places around the table to try and piece together exactly what happened.
Sam launched into the story recalling events as she remembered them. Janet, Daniel and Teal'c filled in other facts.
Janet was beginning to wonder why she had been requested to take part in the debriefing, normally she would be back in her infirmary.
General Hammond listened patiently until Sam had finished her report, before he spoke.
"Would you say then that the Colonel was not acting like himself?"
"No Sir. He was acting totally out of character."
"The reason for that........was because it was not the real Colonel O'Neill."
The four of them turned and looked at the General like he'd just grown another head. They couldn't believe what they'd just heard him say.
"What do you mean Sir? Not the real Colonel O'Neill?"
"What I mean Major is that some two hours after you gated to P9Y 284, Sergeant Siler discovered the real Colonel in his quarters........."
"Jack said right before we left on the mission that he had forgotten something and had to go back to his room to get it. As a matter of fact I don't get it!"
"What was he doing there Sir? Is he okay?"
The General took a deep breath before he continued, and he turned towards Janet.
"Dr. Frasier, I'd like you to rerun the tests on Colonel O'Neill and confirm Dr. Warner's analysis. There is just one thing though......." he paused and looked over his team, he saw anxious faces and knew the next piece of news would have them running down the hallway to see Jack........ "Sergeant Siler was checking the routing maintenance job schedule when he came across the Colonel. He.....found him unconscious and called a medical team, but it seems the Colonel is in a deep coma."
There were gasps of shock from all of them seated round the table, but he continued.
"We just don't know enough of what happened to piece this together yet. Dr. Frasier I'd like you to do all you can for him, now you're back."
"Yes Sir I will. With your permission I'll........"
The General nodded her dismissal and she retreated from the room quickly.
"Before you all disappear down to check on the Colonel, I'd like to know if anyone saw where the other O'Neill gated to."
"I took a note of the address Sir. I have it in my note book." Sam fumbled about in her vest pocket and extracted her notes. "Here it is Sir." She hesitated, looking at the co-ordinates, there was something familiar about them.
"Well Major?"
"This address Sir. We've been there recently. It's P5Z 459 Sir. That's the planet where the Colonel almost drowned in the lake."
"What? Why would he go back there?" asked Daniel.
"Perhaps that is where this false 'O'Neill' came from." suggested Teal'c.
"Jack did swallow a lot of that strange water. It had a really weird feel to it. Perhaps it was teeming with life forms that we couldn't comprehend at that time." reasoned Daniel.
"And maybe it didn't like being disturbed." added Sam. "The UAV crashing into it might have caused 'it' or 'them' to react by trying to drown the Colonel." She knew they were all clutching at straws at the moment, but they had to discover what had really happened.
"Or inhabiting his body to seek revenge?" Now the General was beginning to understand the thinking behind their theory. "That would tie up with the stories I've received from the team investigating these mysterious incidents over the last few weeks, and why he didn't seem to be himself."
"What stories are those Sir?"
"All those incidents where SGC personnel were found unconscious with head injuries. We made several attempts to make any sense of all the facts. In every circumstance, it was noted that the Colonel had actually been in the vicinity of the victim when it happened. Nobody mentioned it at first because they didn't think for one minute he would have been in any way responsible for causing the incidents.
"If that was so General, then why was Jack also a victim?" asked Daniel.
"Perhaps to draw the attention away from himself." Teal'c stated.
"That leaves us now with a question of what are we going to do about the other O'Neill, the one from '459. I mean he must have all the Colonel's memories about the base." Sam reasoned.
"It looks like you are going to have to visit that planet again Major. This time I'm sending SG-5 along for back up. Just make sure you all stay clear of the water though. I suggest you get something to eat, and then some rest. You leave for P5Z 459 at 08.00 tomorrow. Dismissed."
Sam wandered into the infirmary, it was her turn for her post mission check up and she wanted to see how Jack was doing. Janet was back to wearing her white coat again, glad to be clean and fresh and wearing 'normal' clothes again. She caught up on the news from the rest of the debriefing as she ran her routine checks on Sam.
"The Colonel's holding his own at the moment Sam, but there's absolutely nothing I can do for him."
"We're due to leave at 08.00 tomorrow. We have to find out why this happened. As it is we've had to change all the Iris and Access codes for the base, just to be on the safe side."
Janet proceeded to check Sam over.
"I'd like to be able to sit with him for a while, but due to the mission being first thing in the morning, I have to get some rest"
"Perhaps you can pop by first thing in the morning, he might be awake by then."
"Yeah sure. I'll come in early."
"Okay Sam, I'm done. See you in the morning. Goodnight."
If Janet hoped for a peaceful night in her infirmary, she was mistaken. A little after midnight, the alarm from Jack's monitor sounded and she ran to discover why, when he'd seemed to be sleeping deeply. His temperature had risen alarmingly and he was thrashing about, caught in the grip of a fevered nightmare. His breathing sounded loud and rasping. On examining his chest she couldn't believe what she was hearing. They were back to square one. He'd developed pneumonia again. She called for antibiotics, injecting a strong one into his IV line. He was bathed in sweat and she gently wiped his brow. She spent the rest of the night keeping a close watch over him.
It was a rather weary Janet that greeted Sam at 06.00 hrs in the morning and explained what had happened when she came to check up on his progress. Sam was startled to find her CO, once again in the grip of pneumonia, especially as he recovered so well before. She thought it over for a while.
"Maybe that's it Janet. Perhaps it wasn't the real Colonel even then. Remember when he seemed to recover overnight, it must have been the alien inside him that suppressed the real symptoms and made us think he had recovered. He had it all along, but we couldn't see the effects, because they'd been 'masked' for want of a better word. Now the alien has left him, it's come back again. The Colonel didn't remember what happened to him after he fell in the lake, because it was the alien who'd taken over his body.
"Then why did he have pneumonia to start with. Surely if the alien could heal itself, then he would surely have kept that at bay from the start?"
"Not unless it took him a little while to heal the body properly. The same reason the Colonel has been okay until recently. Now his body is reverting back to it's true condition, after being 'vacated' by the being or whatever it was."
"That makes sense and would explain a lot. I've got to make a report to the General anyway so I'll put forward your theory."
Janet left to make her report to the General, and Sam sat with Jack for a while. Taking his hand in hers, she spoke softly to him, telling him about the mission they were about to embark on.
"I don't know if you can hear me Sir, but I promise to take care and look after Daniel......." she faltered and didn't know what else to say. "Please Jack don't die. I....I love you too much!"
Sam was the first to step out of the wormhole, followed by Teal'c and Daniel together, then SG-5 bringing up the rear. They walked straight towards the area where the lake was, only to find it had dried up, and the abandoned UAV resting on solid ground again. They couldn't believe their eyes and were busy talking amongst themselves when they heard Major Whiting give a warning shout, and they found themselves surrounded by some very familiar faces. All using P-90's pointed directly at them. All of the guards were the image of other SGC personnel. A movement from the back of the crowd claimed her attention and the guards parted to let through another figure, which she immediately recognised as the 'other' Colonel O'Neill. He strode up to them, clearly worried at their appearance.
"Carter. Daniel. Teal'c. What brings you to this planet again? Along with Major Whiting and his merry little band of SG-5. What do you want?"
"We came here to talk to you. To ask you why you invaded Colonel O'Neill's body and stole his identity, and by the look of it several others too!"
"We didn't steel them, we just......borrowed them!"
"Why?"
"So that we could go home."
"Home? I don't understand!"
O'Neill signalled his men to relax and indicated to Sam and the others to sit down with him.
"It's a long story Sam."
"Please explain yourself then. But.....I need to know if Colonel O'Neill, the real one, is going to be okay. He's in a coma right now, and we don't know if he'll come out of it!"
"Your Colonel will be fine in a few days. I did not intend hurting him, but there was no other way for me to escape from your planet and come back here to free my people. I would not have killed you Sam. I was scared that you or one of the others would kill me and then I would have failed. Jack O'Neill is a lucky man to have friends such as yourselves, especially you Sam, he has a special place for you in his heart." Sam blushed and didn't know what to think, with Major Whiting sitting nearby listening. Daniel changed back to the subject again to cover up Sam's awkwardness.
"Where were they? I mean, when we came here before we found no evidence of anyone living here!" he asked.
"We are the Ergoans, we are, what you would call energy beings. We can change our form to suit our environment, as long as there is a 'genetic' code we can become anything we touch. Hence when you came we had become water, after it rained, before that trees, or grasses."
"You were in the water? So when Jack fell in there you became Jack?"
"In a sense. I was inside him. He was a human with limbs to do our bidding. It was a way to release my people from this planet and take them home."
"How? I mean I still don't quite see how, with all that went on back in the SGC. What was that all about?"
"I will endeavour to explain it to you. We needed a life form that would enable us to move freely again. Many years ago strange beings came to our world and experimented on us. They stole our 'genetic' code......."
"DNA! They took away your DNA by altering it.....right." Daniel was beginning to see where it was leading now.
"Yes....we were without form, and they brought us to this planet and abandoned us here. We found we could become anything we touched, but as there were no humans here, we found that we were trapped. Trees, grasses, and water have no means of activating the great circle, so we couldn't go home. Until you came along, and we saw our chance to 'borrow' your codes, in answer to our heart's desire."
"Jack didn't slip off that rock did he? You pulled him into the water!"
"We did. I entered him and at first I was afraid. I began to wonder if I had made a mistake when his body shut down and than after you revived him a terrible sickness occurred. I was not sure if you were friendly or hostile at first, so I became O'Neill for a while, healing him when I was satisfied that it would be safe to use him."
"In other words, you were willing to sacrifice yourself if we turned out to be hostile."
He acknowledged Daniel's intelligence, with a nod.
"I began to harvest others 'DNA' as you call it. I needed to gather several samples in order to create other forms for my people to take. The result as you see is duplicates of your comrades. The others are a mixture of the codes. We meant no harm. It is only being used to convey my people through the circle to our true home. Once there we will use our families codes to replicate our true selves again."
"What happens to our codes when this happens?"
"It is lost. We have no means of keeping it when we change. I assure you there will be no need to concern yourselves that we would use it to do harm. Once our own people have imprinted their codes on us we will change and have no memory of our brief lives as your friends. I may retain a few memories of O'Neill, he is a great man. A true friend to you all, but apart from fleeting images, I will remember nothing. Rest assured I will not divulge anything of importance to a living soul. This is the image I found most strongly in O'Neill. Loyalty and Honour to his country, his world. I ask no more or less of myself. Please tell him I am sorry for harming him, and that it was with pride that I became a part of him, even for such a brief time."
The SGC personnel stood up and together with the Ergoans, walked back to the gate, the false O'Neill talking of his own world with longing.
Daniel suddenly realised that they hadn't even asked this 'O'Neill' for his real name.
"I am called Timoa, and I will now lead my people home, to freedom, with thanks to you and Jack O'Neill. I would be proud to call you friends." With that he punched in the co-ordinates and depressed the orange crystal, opening the gate and the way home. He stood back as he watched his people enter the wormhole, before turning to say goodbye, wishing them luck in their fight against their enemies. Then he was gone.
Sam was seated next to Jack's bed reading quietly when she felt him move his hand. Even when asleep Jack was always moving, never still. This time though he had been so still, almost deathlike, now she was sure she felt him move beneath the blankets. She looked up quickly in time to see his eyelids flutter open. He blinked a few times to clear his vision.
"Colonel! It's okay, you're in the infirmary Sir."
"I can see that Carter!" he stated, "What happened?"
"It's a long story Sir. How are you feeling?"
"Actually I feel fine, just tired."
"What was the last thing you remember Sir?"
He furrowed his brow concentrating on his last memory.
"Oh crap!....I fell in the lake! I think.....I remember now.....I drowned."
"Yes Sir you did. Teal'c and Daniel pulled you out and we managed to revive you."
"Thanks!" he said looking up into her smiling vivid blue eyes, stirring his hidden feelings within.
"You remember nothing else Sir?"
"Not a thing! How long have I been in here?"
"Well....this time is been about a week Sir."
"This time?"
"You were here before Sir, after you fell in the lake..........that was nearly four weeks ago."
"What? What the hell happened to the other three?"
"As I said, it's a long story Sir."
Jack looked at the monitors around his bed and the IV lines into his arm.
"I don't think I'm going anywhere just yet, unfortunately."
Janet walked in and was pleased to see him awake at last. She made her usual round of checks and pronounced him well, but she still needed another 24 hours to be sure.
Daniel and Teal'c entered just as Janet left, glad to see no lasting ill effects on Jack.
Sam and Daniel explained everything that had happened over the past weeks and Jack was staggered to discover that he'd been taken over by an entity. Daniel ended, by saying he knew something was wrong by his behaviour in the commissary with Sam.
"Daniel! Just exactly what do you mean?"
Sam had turned a brighter shade of pink than was her usual colour. She frowned at Daniel sitting opposite her.
"Oh......well.....I.....I....."
"Daniel! What happened?"
"I think I just remembered something. I have to go now......don't we Teal'c."
"We do indeed." he agreed, catching on to Daniel's winking. They got up hurriedly and left Sam to explain to Jack." 'Gee...thanks guys!' she thought.
"I'm all ears."
"After you recovered from the pneumonia, you went into the commissary to have breakfast. I walked in the door and thought I was seeing things. Well, the last time I'd seen you a few hours before, you were so sick. You.....you came over to me and.....well......you...kissed me, in front of all the others in the room." she finished not knowing what his reaction would be.
"Oh!" he paused and looked thoughtful. "And you found that........what?......distasteful?..... obnoxious?....."
"No Sir......Jack. It was just......."
He gripped her hand and held it to his lips. Savouring the sweet perfume of her skin. She tingled at his gentle kiss.
"I'll do it again if you want." he reconnoitred gently.
She smiled down at him and he grinned back.
"Timoa said you had......feelings.....for me."
"Smart fellow that Timoa. I love you Samantha Carter! That enough 'feelings' for you?"
"More than enough! I love you too!" She pulled his hand to her lips and this time she held his hand against her cheek, luxuriating in it's strength and warmth. He pulled out of her grip and gently cupped her face in his hand, before caressing her cheek. She could hardly believe that he could be so gentle and loving.
Weariness overcame him once more and his eyes closed in contentment. Sam lowered his hand to his side and whispered the most wonderful words he'd ever heard from her. "I love you Jack O'Neill, never forget that." With those words on his mind he gave in and sleep claimed him again. Sam knew that he was going to be fine now. She knew they would be okay, and together in love, rather than just as a team. Bonded together as one through a brief encounter. Just one small word.....Love, which encompassed a whole multitude of feelings for them now, and it took an alien to make them acknowledge it to each other.
The End.