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Forcing the heavy metal door open, Jack O'Neill braved a look into the dark room. His relief was almost palpable, he could make out three shapes lying on the hard ground, chains leading from the wall to their wrists. After searching for nearly 14 hours, his team, consisting of three quarters of SG1, along with SG4 and SG8 and a battalion of marines, had finally made a breakthrough. They'd found the hidden entrance to this underground complex of rooms and tunnels running under the ruins of the temple where Daniel and his team had been working. He had found his missing archeologists.
He had expected a fierce and bloody battle, but there had been no signs of Goa'uld or Jaffa . Daniel, Ramirez and Sullivan had been taken prisoner, presumably by the damned snakes. SG4, who had accompanied the archeologists to the planet, had never even realized that something was wrong until the civilians had not shown up at camp for their evening meal. They had been prisoners now for close to 36 hours.
Jack hadn't had a chance to chew out Hanson yet for leaving the civilians at the temple without any backup. It was standard operating procedure to have at least one man on guard when a civilian was required to work away from the rest of the team. Hanson hadn't had a chance to debrief the General either, as he and his men had joined the search for the errant archeologists as soon as he'd reported them missing.
Entering the damp room, he played his flashlight over the unconscious men. Spotting his best friend lying farthest from him, he quickly made his way over to Daniel, leaving the other two men to the care of Ferretti and Carter. Teal'c and Hanson stood guard at the door.
He could see in the harsh light that Daniel's hands were chained, but his stomach churned as he saw as to how they had been fastened. A thin metal-like rod had been run through the palms of both hands, affixed to a metal plate placed between his hands. Chains were affixed to metal bars attached to the rod on the outside of his hands. The wounds, although slight, appeared to be infected. "My God" Carter exclaimed, upon examining the similar restraints on Tomas Ramirez. Jack's shaking hand reached for Daniel's still slightly bleeding ones.
Carter took hold of Ramirez's hands, endeavoring to undo the chains. At her touch, Ramirez suddenly came to life and started screaming and struggling wildly. Before Ferretti was able to help her hold him down, Ramirez's flailing foot nudged the leg of the other seemingly unconscious man and Ben Sullivan also started struggling and yelling incoherently. "Help me hold him down," yelled Carter, when she saw that she and Ferretti weren't able to handle Ramirez on their own. Quickly Teal'c and Hanson left their posts and came inside to help restrain the man.
After a few moments, Sullivan quieted down, curling up on his side, sobbing hysterically.
As Jack looked up at the commotion, his wavering hand gently brushed Daniel's and suddenly Daniel curled up upon himself and started to struggle. Jack quickly grabbed Daniel's shoulders to prevent him from injuring his hands further. Daniel fell against Jack's chest, so Jack grabbed him and held him still, rocking his friend gently against him, trying to keep Daniel's hands still. He tried to force Daniel to look up at him, but Daniel wasn't focusing. His eyes were open but he didn't seem to recognize Jack. Jack wasn't sure whether Daniel could actually see him in the dim room, although there was some light coming in through the open door. Daniel was gasping, but unlike the other two men, he wasn't making any sounds.
Ramirez was struggling ferociously against the four trying to restrain him. Carter let him go and dug through her pack, and finding the vial she was searching for, drew the drug up into a syringe and injected Ramirez with it. She added her weight to the men holding down Ramirez, holding tightly onto his legs until the medication took effect.
"Daniel, it's me, it's Jack. It's okay, you're safe. Calm down, we're going to get you out of here. Daniel, look at me." Jack kept talking, all the while trying to calm Daniel, continuing to rock him in his arms. He looked over as the others carefully approached the now quiescent Sullivan, trying to catch their breaths after their hard struggle with Ramirez.
Feeling the body in his arms relax slightly, he looked down at Daniel. He was panting harshly, his body still shivering slightly, but his eyes had finally focused on Jack. Squeezing his friend's shoulders slightly, he asked "Daniel?"
Daniel stopped struggling completely and he slowly raised his bound hands towards Jack's face. Jack quickly grabbed his hands, not wanting Daniel to tug on the chains, but he curled his fingers around Daniel's. Jack could finally see recognition in Daniel's eyes.
Carter had readied the second syringe and at her nod, Teal'c and the other two men quickly grabbed Sullivan. At their touch, he began yelling and struggling once again. At the sound of the hysterical man, Daniel suddenly curled himself up as tightly as he could. Jack grabbed his neck and forced his friend's face into his shoulder. He could feel Daniel trembling, his harsh pants puffing against his neck. Jack placed his hand around his nape and gently massaged his neck, trying to calm his friend down. "Shhh, it's okay, it's okay. They're just taking care of Sullivan. He'll be all right," Jack murmured softly to Daniel.
Once Sullivan had succumbed to the drug, Carter turned to Daniel, and was surprised to see him lying there relatively calm in the Colonel's arms. "Sir?" she questioned, holding up the spent syringe.
"I don't know, Major" he answered. "He's more lucid than they are. Maybe we can get him home without the shot." She nodded and approached Daniel, but her touch on his leg caused him to buck and struggle once again.
Grinding his teeth together, holding Daniel tightly, Jack said to Carter, "Give him the shot." She nodded, took out a new syringe and prepared the needle. As she worked, Daniel stopped struggling. But as she approached Daniel once again, he tried to back away from her. Jack tightened his grip and spoke to him. "Hey, it's just Sam. You know Sam, don'tcha? She won't hurt you."
At Jack's soft words, Daniel stopped trying to move away, and lay still in Jack's arms, trembling and panting. He tried to burrow his head as far as he could into Jack's jacket.
"Daniel?" Sam said softly. Jack could feel him shake harder. She reached over to administer the drug, but he began to struggle again.
"Major, back off!" Jack barked. She quickly moved back, giving Daniel a worried look. After a few moments, Daniel calmed down again. Gently extracting an arm from around Daniel's shoulders, he extended it towards Carter. "Give me the needle," he said gently. Carefully, she handed it to her commanding officer.
"Danny, I'm going to give you a shot, it's going to help calm you down and stop the pain, okay?" At the lack of response from Daniel, he took it to mean Daniel understood. Quickly injecting the contents, he rubbed Daniel's shoulder and arm until he became completely limp. Carter turned and left the room.
Teal'c came over and started fiddling with the chains attached to Daniel's hands. Movement at the door caught Jack's eye, and he saw two members of SG8 arrive with a stretcher and quickly load Ramirez on it and carry him off. Teal'c finally released the chains but left the metal rods running through Daniel's hands. Pointing to the rods, he stated "It is best that we leave these for Doctor Fraiser to remove. They served to administer drugs, she will want to examine the contents." Jack winced.
Sullivan was also quickly carted off, and Carter soon arrived with a stretcher on which Jack and Teal'c carefully lifted Daniel and proceeded to carry him to the stargate.
- - - - - -
Doctor Janet Fraiser finished bandaging Tomas Ramirez's hands, and removing her surgical gloves, picked up a fresh pair and moved to Daniel Jackson's bed. Colonel O'Neill had been sitting beside his teammate's bedside ever since he'd been brought in.
The nurses had already removed Daniel's soiled clothes, exchanging them for hospital scrubs. They'd also cleaned him up and taken all necessary vitals. An IV line was affixed to his forearm. All that remained was for Janet to remove the rods from his hands. Dr. Warner had nearly finished doing so to Ben Sullivan.
She began to swab disinfectant over the wounds in preparation to removing the implement. "Colonel, was Doctor Jackson cognizant when you found him?" she asked.
"Not at first, it took him a few moments to figure out who I was. Not like the other two, they didn't recognize anyone. Daniel never recognized Carter, though. He took a fit when she went anywhere near him."
Janet began disassembling the mechanism as she spoke. "Did he say anything as to what had happened?" Jack winced as she pulled the rod through one of Daniel's palms.
"No, he didn't say a word…" Jack, sitting by the head of Daniel's bed, saw his eyes flutter and quickly warned the Doctor. "Doc, he's coming to."
"That's impossible," she replied, having just finished removing the rod from Daniel's other hand. "He has enough drugs in his bloodstream to keep him under for at least another four hours." And Daniel then did the impossible, he opened his eyes. "Doc!" warned Jack.
Daniel was lying on his right side, his arms extended in front of his body so that Janet could work on his hands. Upon seeing Janet treating his hands, Daniel tensed and attempted to sit up in the bed, trying to get away from her. He brought his injured hands to his chest, cradling them there. His breathing quickened and he started looking around wildly. Jack quickly grabbed Daniel's shoulders before he could get very far and held him firmly, trying not to get the IV line tangled.
"Doctor Jackson," Janet started. "Please, let me finish disinfecting your hands." She extended a hand towards his injured palms, but Daniel continued to try to back away, struggling in Jack's grip. "Daniel," Jack said. "Stop it, look at me," he insisted. At the sound of Jack's voice, Daniel turned towards him. "Hey," Jack smiled. "You don't wanna give the Doc a hard time, do you? Why don't you let her finish up here."
Daniel looked at Janet, then back to Jack. He slowly started to relax and Jack helped him lie down again. Gently grasping the wounded hands, Jack pulled them back out so that Janet could finish disinfecting them. As Janet touched him, Daniel started trembling. Trying to soothe his friend, Jack placed one hand on Daniel's arm to keep it in place, and another on his back, gently rubbing in circles trying to keep him calm. Although clearly upset, Daniel allowed her ministrations.
Sudden, loud screaming started up a few beds away from Daniel. Jerking his hands back, Daniel quickly curled up on the bed, bringing his knees to his chest. Jack could hear Daniel panting harshly. Sitting down on the bed, Jack lifted his friend up and maneuvered himself so that Daniel was cradled against his chest. Jack could feel Daniel shivering, and he rocked him gently, trying to keep him settled.
Janet left Daniel's side and went over to help Dr. Warner tend to Sullivan, who, unlike Daniel, had come to kicking and screaming. As they were attempting to restrain the man to the bed with leather straps, Ramirez woke up and added his howls and screams to Sullivan's. He was also quickly restrained.
Jack was dismayed at seeing his friend in this state. Daniel had always been there for Jack, hell, Jack considered Daniel to be his best friend. But right now, Jack didn't know what to do to help his friend. All he was able to do was hold him and try to keep him calm and still. Jack remembered the last time he'd held Daniel in his arms, it was when Daniel had been coming down off the high of the sarcophagus addiction.
Daniel was a strong and self-sufficient man. Having endured hardship at a young age when his parents died right before him, he was fostered off from place to place until he was old enough to look after himself. His own grandfather had wanted nothing to do with him, and Daniel spent his late teens and young adulthood in school, earning himself two PHDs and various other degrees. Even then things didn't go well for Daniel. He'd been laughed out of the archeological society due to his wild theories on pyramids and aliens. Actually, he'd been right about the whole thing, the problem was, he couldn't tell anyone due to the nature of his current work.
Jack had seen Daniel totally out of control twice in his life, once when he'd been suffering from addiction, and the other when everyone thought that he was psychotic. Jack was horribly afraid that Daniel was heading down that particular venue again.
Once the doctors managed to sedate the two patients, Janet returned to Daniel's bed. It took Jack several more minutes to get Daniel calmed enough to allow Janet to finish treating his wounds. When Jack had tried to slip out from beneath Daniel, Daniel suddenly twisted and grabbed Jack around the waist to try and keep him there. Jack relented and continued to hold his friend until Janet finally wrapped his hands in bandages.
Once finished, Janet injected a sedative into Daniel's IV. When he was certain that Daniel was deeply asleep, Jack extracted himself from underneath Daniel, and took his seat by the bed, watching as Janet took a blood sample from his slumbering friend.
- - - - - -
Janet Fraiser looked tired as she walked into the conference room. Nodding at the General, she quickly took her seat. "Doctor, how are your patients?" he asked. Jack, Carter, Teal'c, Ferretti and Hanson were also attending the briefing.
"Physically, they're going to be fine. They're all a little battered, but nothing too serious. Bruises and scrapes, mostly. They're all dehydrated and half-starved, and the injuries on their hands aren't severe and will heal without any nerve or ligament damage."
She took a deep breath before continuing. "As to their mental health, sir, I honestly don't know. Both Ramirez and Sullivan are either hysterical or nearly catatonic when they're awake. They won't respond to any of their teammates or friends. We've had to sedate and restrain them to prevent them from injuring themselves. If there's no improvement soon, I'm going to have to recommend that they be moved to Mental Health."
"But Daniel isn't reacting like they are," Jack interrupted, worried that Daniel was going to be shipped off to the loony bin once again.
"You're right, and I have absolutely no idea why." Looking at the General, the doctor explained. "Dr. Jackson appears to be responding solely to Colonel O'Neill, sir. He is clearly very upset when anyone else approaches, but has an almost childlike trust in the Colonel."
"He hasn't spoken since we've found him, has he?" questioned Sam.
"No, and that's also very strange. The other two are very vocal when they're awake, they're screaming and yelling and cursing, but Dr. Jackson hasn't uttered a word since he's been in the infirmary."
"He never made a sound when we found him," Jack added. "The others were screaming like banshees, but he was quiet even then."
"I'll exam his throat to make sure that there's been no damage to his vocal chords," Janet said to the Colonel. Shuffling some papers, she added, "preliminary blood work shows that one of the drugs that was administered to them was some kind of hallucinogen. It could be what's causing their delirium at the moment, but I still don't understand why Doctor Jackson is behaving differently. There's another drug in their system which seems to have increased their metabolic rate, and any sedatives we give them are only effective for short periods of time. I'm still running tests. I'll let you know when I have further results."
The General nodded and replied, "Thank you Doctor." Turning his attention away from the Doctor, the General questioned, "Major Hanson, maybe you can inform me as to why you hadn't assigned anyone to remain with the civilians while they were away from base camp?"
"Sir, there didn't seem to be any need. The planet was clearly uninhabited, and we had plenty to do ourselves at the camp."
Jack interrupted "That's no excuse, there should always, always! be someone with non-military staff. And you know Daniel. Hell, I warned you that he always walks into trouble."
"Sir, Doctor Jackson himself insisted. He was armed, and has had years of battle experience with SG1. Are you telling me that you don't trust your own man?"
"Hanson, I trust Daniel with my life. But the reason I insisted someone remain with him and his men was to prevent exactly what did happen," Jack yelled.
Hanson at least had the courage to say, "guess you're right, sir."
Turning to Jack, the General asked, "Colonel, do you have any idea what the Goa'uld would have wanted with our civilians?"
"No sir, at this point we don't even know if they were Goa'ulds. Or why they didn't take SG4 rather than the archeologists. We also don't know what Daniel and his team had discovered at the site. Until one of them is able to tell us, we won't know why they were kidnapped in the first place."
Sam added, "Sir, Ramirez and Sullivan are newly appointed to the SGC. If they were tortured and questioned, they wouldn't have much useful information to divulge."
"Ahhh, but Carter, the snakes don't know that," Jack pointed out.
"Yes, sir. But I meant to say that maybe that's the reason why they're reacting differently than Daniel is. Maybe because they were tortured and weren't able to give any information away. Daniel, on the other hand, knows most of the SGC's classified information, so he would have been able to…"
"Carter, are you saying that Daniel gave in to torture?" Jack was almost growling.
"No sir, I'm just saying that maybe…"
"Damnit Carter, I know Daniel, I know he wouldn't talk!"
"People, that's enough," interceded the General. "We won't know what's been said and done until we can question our men, and that won't be until they're lucid enough. At this point we'll assume that Doctor Jackson has been compromised. Major Carter, your first task is changing all the codes in the computer. You know the drill."
"Yes sir", she answered.
"Colonel O'Neill, you are relieved of your duties for the time being."
"Sir?"
"Considering what's happened, it's probably best you remain with Doctor Jackson to help his recovery so we that we can find out exactly what happened. I think you should return to the infirmary and see to our boy." Jack nodded.
"Doctor, you'll keep me informed?"
"Yes sir."
"All right, dismissed."
- - - - - -
Jack returned to the infirmary and was dismayed to find Daniel awake. Doc Fraiser had said he'd sleep for at least another hour, even with the alien drug somehow neutralizing the sedatives. He was still lying on his side, bandaged hands cradled against his chest. The other two men were awake also. They were restlessly fighting their restraints and at every sound they made, Daniel would flinch slightly.
Approaching the bed slowly so as to not further frighten the nervous man, Jack softly called to Daniel. "Hey, you awake?" Daniel didn't look up. Sitting down in a chair by the bedside, Jack gently took one of his friend's bandaged hands and said "Danny, look at me." At the gentle touch and familiar voice, Daniel looked up at Jack. Jack could see that Daniel was breathing fast, and he was sweating slightly. He was obviously upset and Jack could see tremors coursing through his body.
"Awe shit," Jack swore under his breath. Getting up, he sat down on the bed beside him. This he could do for his friend, and try and help ease the memories of the past 36 hours. "C'mere," he said, gently lifting his friend's torso up off the mattress and sliding his own body underneath. As Jack settled his friend, Daniel brought an arm up and circled Jack's chest in a loose hug. Daniel obviously didn't want Jack going anywhere.
Jack had never been the touchy feely type of person until he had met Daniel. He'd only been able to openly show his emotions to his family, it had never extended into his work. When his son died and his wife left him, Jack had withdrawn into himself and abandoned the few friends that he did have. Somehow, Daniel had coaxed Jack out of his shell, he'd even brought Jack away from the brink of suicide.
Daniel brought out both ends of the emotional range in Jack. He could irritate Jack to the ends of his patience, but he could also bring out the most protective instincts in him. And now those protective instincts had been extended to his latest family, which included Carter and Teal'c.
This seemed to be one of those instances where physical contact seemed to be the only thing that got through to Daniel. Jack noticed that he reacted to his voice, but it was mostly his physical touch that got through to Danny. He just didn't know whether Daniel understood his words, or if it was the tone of his voice. Obviously sedatives were not going to work, he had to get Daniel to relax, and then to sleep.
"Danny, why don't you try to get some sleep? I'll stay right here, okay?" Jack brought a hand up and gently stroked Daniel's cheek. After several minutes, Jack could feel Daniel's breathing start to even out and slow slightly. Sullivan or Ramirez, Jack wasn't sure which, suddenly yelled out, and Daniel stiffened up again. Jack sighed.
For the next two hours Jack continued to hold his friend, who would begin to relax, only to tense up whenever a scream or shout disturbed the peace. Finally he signaled a nurse and asked her to go get Doctor Fraiser.
"Janet, can we move Daniel to one of the isolation rooms? He's really jumpy here. I think some peace and quiet might help him get some rest."
After agreeing, Janet settled Daniel in the new room and Jack once again gathered his friend in his arms. This time the relative quiet helped, he felt his friend's body begin to relax and his breathing slow down and even out. Jack was beginning to cramp, sharing the small bed with Daniel was hard on his muscles and joints. After a half hour, thinking he was finally asleep, Jack started to get off the bed when he felt Daniel's arms tighten their hold around him. Looking down at his face, he saw Daniel's eyes were open and staring at the wall.
"Hey, you're supposed to be sleeping." Exhausted and red-rimmed eyes looked up at Jack. "Danny, this bed is hardly big enough for even one of us," Jack joked. Gazing at his friend, he added "Okay, I'll stay here with you, just…go to sleep."
- - - - - -
It was several hours later, and Daniel still wasn't sleeping. At least Daniel was resting quietly, Jack thought. He hated to think how he'd be reacting if he'd had to be tied down like the other two.
Janet walked in carrying a tray, on which was some medical equipment. Seeing that Daniel was awake, she poured some water into a nearby glass, adding a straw to the water. "Colonel, can you try and see if he'll take some water?" Handing the glass to Jack, he put the straw to Daniel's mouth, but Daniel made no attempt to take it. Discarding the straw, Jack took the glass and tipped a few drops of water into his friend's mouth. He was rewarded to see Daniel's tongue come out and lick the drops. Placing the glass once again to his lips, he tipped a bit more water into his mouth. Daniel's hands came up swiftly and he tried to tilt the glass in order to get more water. Jack pulled the glass away. "Easy there, drink it slowly." Daniel finished the water and closed his eyes tiredly.
"Colonel, I want to try and get a look down his throat. I'm going to give him something to relax him now." Taking a syringe from the tray, she injected the contents into his IV. Jack helped turn Daniel onto his back once he was asleep. Janet titled Daniel's head back and taking the piece of equipment from the tray, she used it to look down his trachea.
"I can't see anything physically wrong which would cause him to stop talking," Janet said as she placed the instrument back onto the tray.
"It's not only that he's not making any sounds," Jack said thoughtfully. "It's like he isn't really communicating. He hasn't even nodded his head in answer to a question."
"Come to think of it, you're right. He's definitely aware of his surroundings, and obviously recognizes you. But we really won't know anything concrete until all the drugs are out of his system, and it looks like it won't be for a couple more days. Do you think you can keep him quiet and calm for that long? I'd hate to have to restrain him also…"
"Doc, I'll do anything so you don't have to tie him up. Those chains were pretty nasty, and I wouldn't want to remind him of those and what he must have gone through over there."
"I've examined that contraption, Colonel. It was used to administer the drugs slowly and continuously through the wounds in his hands. Very crude but effective."
"So his hands, they'll be all right?"
"Yes, they'll be fine. There's a slight infection, but he's been given antibiotics, and they should do the trick fairly quickly. Colonel…Jack. You should take the time while he's sleeping to go and eat something. I don't think I'll be able to keep him under for very long, he keeps burning the sedatives out of his system very quickly. I've never seen anything like it."
"I don't want to leave him alone while…"
"I'll have a nurse sit with him, and I'll let you know if he wakes before you come back. Now go, scoot."
- - - - - - Daniel could see the huge coverstone poised right above his head, teetering back and forth. He could hear the creaking of the ropes holding the stone up on the pulley. The coverstone suddenly turned into the stargate in the gateroom, and he saw the protective Iris which covered the stargate start to open up. It then turned back into the coverstone. He knew the pulley wouldn't hold, he could see it start to give. The coverstone was going to fall and crush him…it loomed menacingly, the shadow of the coverstone playing fitfully over his face at each swing of the rope. He tried to cry out and lifted a hand in warning, and suddenly the coverstone was falling, looming larger and larger, suddenly appearing as the stargate, then the closed Iris, then the coverstone again, and suddenly it was crushing him. He couldn't see, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't move. Strangely, there was no pain. Screams were sounding at the edge of his consciousness, and suddenly he could see, the screams were those of his parents as the stone fell, crushing them, not him. He was a child of eight, seeing the coverstone fall and crush his parents to death.
Gasping, he couldn't breathe, couldn't get enough air into his lungs. He was sitting up, and his eyes focused suddenly on a face near his which he didn't recognize. // Get away, get away. Pain, his hands, his head. Don't touch, don't touch me! Have to get away, if they touch, they'll hurt me. Can't breathe, can't get away. //
He batted away the nurse's hands as she tried to keep him on the bed.
// Jack where are you? You should have come, you should have come to help me. JACK! //
Two other nurses came in at the first one's yells for help. Two held him down as one started attaching leather straps to his arms, pinning him to the bed.
// They're touching me, NO! No, let go of my arms. Can't move my arms now. Let go of my feet! What do you want from me! I can't, I can't. Jack, please, please come! //
- - - - - -
Jack entered the isolation room expecting to see Daniel sleeping soundly, and instead he found bedlam. Three nurses were attempting to hold down Daniel while trying to catch his kicking feet in order to tie them to the bed. Daniel was struggling silently, his arms already restrained. Blood ran down his arm where he had pulled the IV out from a vein. Rage surged through Jack and he ran to the bed and angrily pulled the nearest nurse away from Daniel and attempted to untie the leather strap holding Daniel's hand to the cot.
"Get away from him," Jack shouted. The nurse that he'd pulled away from Daniel ran out of the room. Finally getting the leather strap untied, he grabbed Daniel's struggling body and held him down on the bed with his own. "Daniel, stop, stop this," Jack panted. Looking over to the other nurses, who had by now backed off, he yelled, "untie his other hand." No one moved.
Moving one arm up to try and hold Daniel's head still, Jack continued to talk to Daniel softly. "Danny, it's me, it's Jack. Shhhh, stay still. Calm down so I can get your other hand untied." The other two nurses had moved away from the bed, watching warily. The third nurse returned with two SF personnel, who were ready to remove Jack forcibly from the room. "Damn it, get Doctor Fraiser," Jack yelled. One of the other nurses quickly ran out to find the Doctor.
The SFs stood at the door, unsure of what to do. Jack barked at them, "untie his hand. He'll calm down if you untie him." The nearest guard hastened to the bed and quickly untied Daniel's hand. Grabbing both hands in one of his, Jack yelled at the nurses and guards, "everyone get the hell out of here." They quickly left the room. Jack kept talking softly to Daniel. Slowly, slowly, he felt the body beneath him stop bucking, and he felt the tension start to ease.
// Can't move, hurts, head hurts, can't breathe, someone…heavy, hands hurt. Tired, hurts. //
Loosening his grip on Daniel's hands slightly, Jack waited for a reaction. No movement. Slowly moving off of Daniel, he slid to the edge of the mattress and gathered Daniel in his arms. Daniel lay completely limp, his eyes unseeing, his breathing quick and shallow. "Danny, don't do this. Come on, look at me," Jack begged. Turning Daniel's head into his shoulder, he gently massaged the back of his head and nape.
Janet entered the room at a run. Her nurse's hurried explanation of the situation had caused her heart to jump into the throat. Seeing Jack half lying there with Daniel in his arms, she approached cautiously. "Colonel?"
"They tied him up. They went and tied him up." His voice got louder. "You told me you weren't going to have him tied down. You lied to me."
"Colonel, Daniel apparently woke up and started to panic. They tried to restrain him and he got violent."
"They should have let him be. He'd have calmed down on his own."
"Jack, you don't know that."
Lowering his face onto the top of Daniel's head, Jack silently acknowledged the truth in her words. Damn, had they just pushed Daniel over the edge? "Daniel, come on, look at me. Come on, Danny."
// My name, hear my name. Jack, where are…Jack! It's Jack, can feel him, smell him. Safe, safe. Jack! //
Jack felt movement, and saw Daniel's limp arm slowly come up and reach for Jack's chest. His hand opened and he grabbed the material of Jack's T-shirt. He felt Daniel attempt to raise his head. Lifting his own head out of the way, he looked down at Daniel and saw Daniel trying to look up at Jack. // Oh God, please, let him see me // Jack prayed.
Bleary blue eyes looked into Jack's chocolate brown ones. Recognition. Tiredly dropping his head back down on Jack's chest, Jack felt Daniel's whole body relax, the only tension being from the hand firmly holding onto Jack's shirt.
"Jesus, Danny. You scared the shit out of me! Why didn't you stay asleep 10 minutes longer?" Jack breathed into Daniel's hair.
Looking up he saw Janet looking at them, a relieved look on her face.
- - - - - -
Sam gently opened the door and popped her head inside the room. "Colonel?" she whispered. Jack looked up and motioned with his head for her to enter. She walked in quietly, and approached the bed. "Is he sleeping?" Jack shook his head. "No, he won't let himself sleep."
Feeling the tension build up in Daniel at Sam's approach, he spoke quietly, "Daniel, it's just Carter. You know who she is, you've worked with her for years. Come on, Danny, look at Sam. She's worried about you, y'know."
"Daniel, hi, it's me," Sam said softly, coming around and bringing a chair up near the bed. "Daniel, do you remember me?" she asked. There was no movement. She gently extended her hand and rubbed one of Daniel's fingers with her own. His fingers twitched, but Jack put his hand on Daniel's arm to prevent him from moving it away. Jack could feel Daniel's breathing start to falter, almost becoming gasps.
"Keep it up for a bit," he whispered to Carter. She continued rubbing Daniel's fingers with hers. Slowly she moved from finger to finger. Jack could hear Daniel's breathing start to even out once again, and he felt him slowly start to relax again. He relaxed the pressure on Daniel's arm. "Danny, do you want to look at Sam? You know who she is. Come on, look at her." Slowly Jack turned his body so that Daniel's face was exposed and gently tilted his head towards Carter.
Sam saw Daniel lift his eyes towards her, but there was no recognition in them. Tears started pooling in her own eyes, and she dabbed them quickly before the Colonel could see them. Daniel closed his eyes, and then opened them, lifting them to her face once again. Suddenly she felt a twitch under her fingers, and his fingers curled around her own.
"Daniel?" she breathed hopefully. A corresponding squeeze against her hand answered her. "Sir, I think he remembers."
"What?" Jack grunted sleepily. He had almost dozed off.
"I think he remembers me," she repeated. Slowly she brought her other hand up and gently laid it against Daniel's cheek. He lay there, eyes closed, accepting the caress.
- - - - - -
Daniel just wouldn't fall asleep. Jack uncomfortably shared the cot with Daniel lying in his arms for the past several hours, and watched his friend relax and start to drift to sleep, when suddenly his body would shudder and he'd wake up with a start. The man was clearly exhausted. Hell, Jack was exhausted himself.
Janet had relegated the task of caring for Daniel to herself and one other nurse. They decided it was best to keep the number of staff around Daniel to a minimum. Sam was the only other person permitted into the room. They would later see what Daniel's reaction to Teal'c was when he returned from searching the underground caves for clues from which they had rescued Daniel and his team.
Janet had brought in a bowl of watery porridge earlier and Jack had successfully spoon fed Daniel, coaxing and cajoling him into eating nearly half the contents. The next hurdle would be lunch. If Daniel was able to eat something then, Janet would remove his IV and move Daniel into one of the VIP rooms, where Jack himself would be able to lie down more comfortably in the double bed there, rather than in the tight squeeze of a shared infirmary cot. Jack's body was aching to sleep, and he found himself dozing occasionally until Daniel's twitches woke him up.
- - - - - -
// Safety, being held tightly, secure, no more questions, no beatings. No, stay awake – no dreams. Breathe deeply, can smell Jack. Aftershave, hint of shampoo, sweat, essence of Jack. Safe with Jack. He came! He came for me! Don't let me go, hold me, don't let them come for me again. Tired, so tired. Daddy…no, doesn't smell like daddy. Jack, it's Jack. Can't sleep, dreams, don't want dreams. Maybe this is a dream, don't want to wake then. Waited so long for Jack to come. Wake up Wake up! Jack might leave if I sleep. Arms holding me. Safe. Safe now. //
- - - - - -
"Come on, Danny, drink the soup. You like chicken broth." Jack, sitting on the bed beside Daniel, tried coaxing him to drink the lukewarm soup from a cup, but Daniel was too exhausted to take in any more food. Jack had managed to get him to drink less than half the soup, he'd been hoping that Daniel would have taken more. He sighed and put the cup down. Reaching over to the tray that Janet's nurse had brought earlier, Jack reached for the bowl of applesauce. Spooning up a bit, he lifted the dessert to Daniel's lips and forced the spoon into his mouth. Quickly removing the spoon, he watched Daniel's reaction. "Mmmm, that's good, isn't it Danny?" he said as Daniel finally got a taste of the sweet stuff and swallowed. Quickly spooning more, he fed Daniel the rest of the bowl. Bed, here we come.
- - - - - -
Janet wheeled Daniel into the VIP room, Jack walking slightly in front of the wheelchair in order to remain in Daniel's line of sight. The move was done late at night, where there were fewer personnel walking around and thus less chance of upsetting Daniel.
Jack helped Daniel into the bed, and then walked over to the other side, where he promptly sat down and removed his shoes. Sliding under the covers, Jack sighed happily, finally being able to stretch out fully after alternatingly lying cramped in Daniel's small infirmary bed or sitting in the hard chair beside the bed for the past many hours.
It was agreed that while Jack slept, Sam would remain in the room with Jack, with either Janet or her appointed nurse checking on him every few hours. Sam collected her computer and settled herself to work in the corner where she could keep an eye on her friend and CO. Janet busied herself by arranging the medical equipment and medication she had brought with her into the VIP room on top of a dresser.
Yawning, Jack turned towards Daniel and noticed that the young man was lying on his back, shivering. Lifting himself onto his elbows, Jack quickly put a hand on Daniel's forehead to test for fever. Nope, normal. Cupping Daniel's face and turning it towards himself, he noticed that Daniel's hands were cradled on his chest.
"Doc, I think his hands are bothering him," Jack told Janet.
"How can you tell?" she asked.
"I dunno, I just think he's hurting. Look how he's holding his hands."
"I think you're right, Colonel." Sorting through the meds that she had brought with her, she quickly found the one she wanted and shook two tablets out. Handing them to Jack along with a glass of water, she and Sam helped Daniel sit up while Jack put the pills into his mouth. Bringing the glass of water up to Daniel's face, he encouraged Daniel to drink and swallow the pills.
After laying him back down on the bed, Jack carefully coaxed Daniel onto his side and tucked Daniel's head onto his shoulder.
// Pain, safety, tired, hurts, Jack, holding me, hands hurt, head hurts, Jack's here, stay awake, hurts hurts hurts //
Jack felt the trembling ease off. Daniel's arm came and gently gripped Jack's waist, the way his son Charlie would do to Jack in his sleep when he would come and join him and Sarah in their bed after a nightmare.
Janet turned down all the lights except a desk lamp near Sam, and left the men to their rest. Sam had returned to her computer in the corner and quietly continued to work.
Jack quickly fell asleep. His soft snores caught Daniel's attention and cautiously lifting his head up from Jack's shoulder, saw that Jack was indeed asleep. Putting his head back down on his human pillow, he slowly closed his own eyes.
// Safe, Jack's asleep, tired, hurts, sleeping – Jack's sleeping, so tired, safe, if Jack's sleeping it must be safe, hurts less now, safe safe, sleep, Jack, safe safe, sleep, sleeee… //
Soon after nearly days of sleeplessness, Daniel Jackson was finally sleeping soundly.
- - - - - -
Something soft was tickling Jack's nose. He blew it away, but it continued to annoy him. Lifting his hand to bat it away, Jack felt something hard under the softness. Opening his eyes, he realized that his face was resting in Daniel's hair, with Daniel cuddled up on his side against Jack's shoulder. Carefully extracting himself from underneath Daniel, Jack realized that the arm that Daniel was lying on was numb. As he sat up, he saw Teal'c sitting where Carter had been earlier.
"Hey Teal'c, what time is it?" Jack asked quietly, shaking his arm to get the circulation moving again.
Teal'c got up and walked to O'Neill's side. "It is nearly noontime, O'Neill. I believe you have been asleep for nearly 12 hours."
"12 hours, shit! Danny…" He quickly turned to Daniel.
"Do not worry, O'Neill. DanielJackson has been sleeping as soundly as you."
"How long you been sitting there?"
"I relieved MajorCarter approximately six hours ago upon my return from the archeological site."
"Oh…Did you find anything?" Jack continued shaking his arm, trying to speed up pins and needles coursing through his limb.
"Indeed, O'Neill. I believe that at least ten individuals have been hiding out in the tunnels for several weeks. They must have discovered our interest in the planet and laid a trap for our people, waiting patiently for us to send a team out."
"Step into my parlour, said the spider to the fly."
"I saw no spiders on the planet, O'Neill."
"Forget it Teal'c."
"I believe that the archeological team was attacked shortly after they entered the temple. There was very little evidence of their having started to excavate. It must have been done swiftly and silently, if SG4 heard nothing from base camp."
"Shit. Teal'c, why didn't the snakes take Danny and the others away with them? Why leave them there when they'd finished with 'em? They must have known that we would come looking for them eventually."
"I do not believe that the captors were either Jaffa or Goa'uld. I presume that they hoped to get whatever information they needed from our people before we discovered them. Either they extracted the information and left, or they were unable to do so and ran out of time. We do not know at this point which scenario is correct."
"Yeah, I know," he said softly, staring at Daniel.
The door opened suddenly and Sam and Janet appeared, both carrying heavily laden trays.
"Gentlemen, lunch is served. Sir, we're going to need you to wake Daniel up, he's going to need to eat something, otherwise I'm going to have to put the IV back in." Walking over to the table, they placed the trays down. Teal'c went over and helped them clear the table of Sam's paraphernalia.
Jack turned to Daniel and gently placed his hand on his shoulder. Shaking him gently, Jack said, "Danny, time to wake up now." Daniel didn't stir. Shaking him again, he said, "Come on Danny, you wouldn't close your eyes before, now you don't wanna open them?"
Taking Daniel by the shoulders, he lifted the younger man to a sitting position. The movement woke Daniel up, who suddenly grabbed at Jack's arms in alarm. He winced suddenly as his injured palms jarred against Jack's arms. "Hey, it's only me. Wakey wakey, Daniel." Jack grinned at Daniel, who looked up at him sleepily and somewhat confused.
"It's lunchtime, we gotta get some food into you. You can't sleep all day without eating now, you know." Jack looked towards Carter and Janet, and Daniel followed Jack's gaze. Jack felt Daniel's hands on his arms tighten in alarm. "Hey, that's the Doc and Sam? You know who they are, remember. And that's Teal'c. You remember Teal'c, don'tcha Daniel?"
At the mention of his name, Teal'c had turned around to look at Daniel. Slowly he approached the bed and sat on its edge. Daniel let go of Jack and tried to squirm away from him but couldn't go anywhere as he was right up against Jack. "Daniel, this is Teal'c. He's part of SG1 – along with you, me and Carter. You remember SG1, don't you? The guys that kicked Goa'uld butt for the past couple of years?"
"DanielJackson, it is good to see you awake."
Daniel was staring at Teal'c's tattoo. His breathing was starting to hitch. Jack, noticing what Daniel was looking at, said, "Danny, yes, that's Apophis's sign. But you know that Teal'c was Apophis's First Prime years ago…remember?"
"We met on Chulak, do you not remember, DanielJackson?"
"Danny, Teal'c saved our lives. We brought him back with us to earth. He's been with us for years. He won't hurt you."
"I am upsetting him. I will leave so he may recover."
"No wait. Teal'c, try taking his hand, that's what Carter did."
"That may not be a good idea, ColonelO'Neill. DanielJackson appears to be suffering discomfort with his hands, I would not wish to cause further pain."
Noticing that Daniel was cradling his hands again to his chest, Jack realized that Teal'c was right. Overhearing their conversation, Janet went to the meds and shook out two painkillers.
Slowly Teal'c reached into his jacket pocket and took out Daniel's glasses, which he had found at the dig site. Unfolding the glasses, he slowly reached forward and placed them on Daniel's nose. Daniel tried to squirm out of Teal'c reach, but Jack held him fast. At the feel of the glasses on his face, Daniel slowly reached up and touched them with a shaking hand. Then he looked at Teal'c, and Jack felt Daniel start to relax again against him.
As Janet approached the bed, Teal'c got up and allowed her to take his place. "Daniel, do your hands hurt?" she asked. He looked up at her silently. Slowly opening her hand and showing him the pills, she asked again, "Daniel, do your hands hurt? If they hurt, I want you to take these pills."
"Doc, whatcha doin?" Jack asked.
"Just trying something, Colonel."
Daniel looked from her face down to the pills and then back to her face. "Daniel," she repeated. "Take the pills if your hands hurt." Sighing, she pulled her hand away at Daniel's lack of response.
"Doc, let me try," Jack said. Repeating the request, Jack offered Daniel the pills. With trembling hands, Daniel tried to pick the pills up but wasn't able to coordinate his fingers properly. "Doc!" Jack said wonderingly. Gently closing his hand over Daniel's fumbling ones, Jack took the pills and held them to Daniel's mouth. Daniel opened his mouth and allowed Jack to pop them in. Jack took the glass of apple juice Janet offered him and helped Daniel drink from it.
Janet looked at Jack and said, "It doesn't mean anything, Colonel. He'll probably accept anything from you at this point. We're going to need to see how much he actually understands, we'll try running a few tests when he's a bit stronger."
Bringing the tray over to the bed, Janet placed it slowly over Daniel's knees. He looked carefully at the tray, and then at Janet. Sam brought Jack's meal over to him and she and Teal'c both settled down at the foot of the bed to eat their own lunch. Janet tried to assist Daniel with his food as he couldn't grasp anything with much strength with his injured hands, but he'd only accept the food from Jack.
- - - - - -
After helping Daniel to the bathroom and then taking care of his own pressing needs, Jack settled down on the bed beside Daniel and attempted to make a dent in the paperwork which Teal'c had fetched from Jack's office. The others had left and returned to their duties. Daniel had curled up beside Jack, and had slowly inched his way over to Jack's side so that his face was buried against Jack's hip, and Daniel's fingers were curled around Jack's shirttail, almost like a security blanket. Jack absently stroked Daniel's hair as he worked. He didn't think Daniel was asleep, even though he couldn't see his face. He lost track of time in his work.
// Tired. Jack's here. Safe. Hold onto Jack. Won't get hurt. So tired. daddy… mmmm… sleeeepy. Creak. What's that noise. Creak. Stargate swinging above me. The coverstone, the closed Iris. Coverstone, Iris opening, coverstone. No it's falling…falling…nooooooooo //
Feeling Daniel become restless beside him, he turned to look at him when suddenly Daniel threw himself onto his back, his arms and legs flailing wildly. Trying to grab Daniel and at the same time avoid a fist in his face, he finally managed to calm Daniel down by once again throwing his weight over his friend. Lifting his head to look at Daniel, he saw his terrified blue eyes searching wildly as he turned his head side to side. He had stopped struggling once Jack had immobilized him, so Jack grabbed Daniel's face to hold him still and spoke to him gently.
"Daniel, shhhh. I'm right here." Blue eyes met brown. "Hey, that was one heck of a nightmare, big guy." Jack saw Daniel close his eyes in relief. His bandaged hand came up and grabbed Jack's shirt once again. Turning over to take his weight off his friend, he pulled Daniel up at the same time, cradling him against his chest. Slowly Daniel's breathing started to slow down and he relaxed in Jack's arms.
- - - - - -
Supper was a similar setup as lunch, with Jack and Daniel's teammates sitting on the bed sharing their supper between them. Daniel still had problems using his hands, but his appetite seemed to be improving. His energy was flagging, though. Even though he had spent the rest of the afternoon lying beside Jack, he hadn't slept. He'd curled up again beside Jack once he'd finished eating, as sitting up was exhausting him. His hand found Jack's shirt once again.
Jack sat back against the headboard, a cup of coffee in one hand balanced on his knee, his other hand rubbing his face tiredly.
"Carter, has the Doc said if the drugs are starting to clear his system?"
"I don't know, sir. She did say that it would probably be a couple of days."
"Well, it's been a day already," he complained. "What about the others, Ramirez and Sullivan, what's their status?"
"They're not responding well to anyone, at least not like Daniel is. They're still restrained, they're not lucid yet."
"So why is Daniel so trusting here, did they use a different drug on him?"
"No, Janet said that they were all given the same drugs, and in the same quantity. Something must have happened to cause Daniel to react differently."
"Teal'c, do you know anything about these drugs they used?"
He nodded. "I have heard of these drugs, but they are very rarely used as the results are difficult to control. The two are usually used in tandem, one to break down the captive's defenses by disorienting him, and the other, which is a powerful hallucinogen, is used for mind control, usually in an attempt to extract information. This is probably why our people were not tortured excessively, they were expecting the drugs to do the work for them."
"Mind control. Do you think that they did something to Daniel's mind, maybe made him think that he can't talk?"
"No sir, that's not logical. They would want him to talk, so why make him stop?"
"What if he saw something that they didn't want him to reveal?"
"That doesn't make sense, wouldn't it have been easier just to kill him?"
"Oh thank you, Carter, for that lovely thought."
She glowered at him slightly. "No, I think it's more likely that they wanted information out of them."
"O'Neill, this is why the drugs are rarely used. A strong-willed individual may impede the desired effects of the drug. What if it is DanielJackson himself who caused his inability to talk?"
"You mean like will himself not to talk?" Sam questioned.
"Carter, could he do that?"
"Yes sir, I think so. With the use of the drugs, he might have convinced himself, somehow, to forget how to communicate so that he wouldn't reveal any information to them. Shit, that would make sense."
"Ah Geez, Danny." Jack looked down at his friend. "Okay, let's say by some miracle he managed to talk himself into not talking anymore. But what about this thing he has with me."
"Thing, sir?"
"I can't explain it. He's…clingy, like Charlie was when he was sick. That's what it reminds me of, a sick child. It's like…Daniel's reverted back to childhood. Trusting, clingy, insecure. It's like he's using me as his security blanket right now."
"You are correct, O'Neill. I remember my own son exhibiting similar behaviour when ill."
"I can't think of anything that could cause this. I'll go talk to Janet, maybe she'll have some ideas."
- - - - - -
Jack was getting mighty tired of being stuck in bed. He'd been lying in one bed or another for nearly two days. After a trip to the bathroom, he decided he was going to stay up, and paced back and forth, nearly driving Carter crazy.
She was going over the video footage Teal'c and his investigative team had returned with of the site where Daniel and his archeological team had been held prisoners. Jack was alternating between looking over her shoulder and pacing.
Daniel kept his eyes on Jack, tracking his movements back and forth across the room. That was starting to get on Jack's nerves.
"Damnit, Danny, I wish you'd close your eyes and go to sleep," he muttered to himself. Sam looked up at the Colonel.
"I'm starting to get cabin fever, is all" he explained. Stopping his pacing suddenly, he turned to Carter and said, "Look, he's quiet right now. I'm just going to go out and get a change of scenery, pick up some clean clothes for both him and myself from the locker room, grab a cup of coffee… I won't be gone long, okay?"
"Sir, you are sure that's a good idea. Daniel seems to be really attached to you. You haven't been out of his sight since the first few hours we got back…"
"Carter, I really really need to get out of here for a while."
"Okay, I understand," she sighed.
Going to the bed, Jack sat down beside Daniel and told him, "I'm going to go out for a little while. Sam will stay with you, okay? I won't be gone long." Not sure if Daniel was actually understanding him, he placed his hand on Daniel's shoulder a moment before getting up and walking to the door. Neither he nor Sam saw Daniel's hand come up in a pleading gesture for him not to go.
- - - - - -
Sam kept an eye on Daniel as she worked. He was curled up on his side, facing her but she couldn't tell if his eyes were closed as they were in shadow. He hadn't moved since Jack had left, nearly 45 minutes ago.
// Afraid, alone, Jack gone, hurts, head hurts, cold, where's daddy? So cold, mommy?, was Jack a dream?, come back please, hurts //
The door opened and Sam smiled at Janet as she came in for a last check on Daniel before heading off to bed. "Where's the Colonel?" Janet asked.
"Oh, he was getting a little antsy being cooped up in here. He went to stretch his legs, he should be back soon."
"How long has he been gone?" Janet inquired, walking towards the bed.
"Just over an hour."
Janet sat on the edge of the bed and realized that Daniel was shaking. "Daniel," she said softly. She reached a hand slowly but as her hand approached his face, he recoiled sharply. Inching back slowly away from her, his breathing started to come more quickly.
"Shit," Sam said, and got up, intending to go to the bed.
"Stay there," ordered Janet. Sam froze.
Moving her hand away slowly, she sat still for a moment, watching Daniel's reaction. On seeing that nobody came nearer, he stopped his backward movement.
"Sam, go find the Colonel," Janet ordered. With a last glance at Daniel, she quickly obeyed.
- - - - - -
Sam finally found Jack sitting in the commissary, nursing a cup of coffee. Having stopped earlier at their respective lockers and picked up a change of clothes for himself and Daniel, he'd walked around the base a while, stretching his legs and checking up on a few details of work. He was just on the verge of heading back to the VIP room.
At Carter's hurried explanations, Jack rushed back to their room. He came barreling through the door, with Sam just a step behind him. Stopping suddenly inside, he saw Daniel seemingly lying quietly in the middle of the bed, with Janet standing a foot away. He threw the bag holding their clothes on a chair.
"What's up?" he asked.
"He's on the verge of panicking, Colonel. Can you try and calm him down?"
Moving to the bed, he sat down and took a good look at Daniel. He was shuddering uncontrollably, his face streaked with sweat, and breathing heavily through his mouth. He was staring at the wall, ignoring everyone in the room.
"Damn, I wasn't gone that long," he told Janet. Turning to Daniel, he said, "Hey, I guess you missed me, huh? Danny, it's okay, I'm back now. Come on, lemme see those baby blues. Look at me, won't you." Daniel gave no reaction as to whether he was hearing Jack.
Kicking his shoes off, Jack slowly climbed into the bed beside Daniel and sat back against the headboard. Still no reaction. "Danny, come on over here, willya?" Jack patted his thigh. "Come on, look, see, a nice warm pillow for you to lie on."
// Jack's voice, just a dream…cold cold, head hurts, where's Daddy, want Jack, please be Jack, don't leave don't leave //
Slowly, Daniel lifted his eyes towards Jack. "Come here, Danny." Slowly Daniel wormed himself forward, and lifted his head and placed it on Jack's thigh. He slowly curled his body around himself, trying to control the shivering. Jack placed a hand in Danny's hair, looking up at Janet helplessly.
"Janet, he's got a fever." Picking up a thermometer from the table, she slowly handed it to Jack, who inserted the tip into Daniel's ear and then handed it back to Janet. "It's not very high, barely 100. I'll give him something for the fever, it'll also help if his hands are hurting. Sam, can you get me some water, please."
Sam picked up an empty glass and walked to the bathroom, while Janet rummaged for the pills. She shook out the appropriate dosage and took the water from Sam, handing both to Jack. He pulled up slightly on Daniel's shoulder. "Danny, sit up a minute, okay? I want you to take these." Daniel looked up at Jack and lifted himself shakily onto his arms. Jack quickly popped the pills in and helped Daniel drink the water. Daniel lay his head back down on Jack's thigh.
"Colonel, I want to take some more blood, can you help me, please?" Jack took Daniel's arm and gently offered it to Janet, who quickly made short work of taking the sample. Daniel lay quiescent in Jack's arms, eyes closed, shivering against his friend.
"I'll leave the thermometer close by. Check his temperature every couple of hours. If it gets any higher, have Sam or Teal'c call me or the infirmary." Jack nodded. Janet left Jack and Sam alone with Daniel.
"Sir, can I get you anything?" Sam asked.
Jack shook his head. "No, it's late. I think I'll try and get him settled and get some sleep myself."
Lifting Daniel's head up from his thigh, Jack slid down to a lying position beside Daniel, and then repositioned his head against his shoulder. Sighing, Jack closed his eyes and prayed his friend would quickly come back to himself.
ON TO PART TWO >>
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