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The Stargate overlooked a wide expanse of water. Daniel stood at the cliff’s edge, peering down at the choppy waves lapping against the barely visible rocks beneath him. The land here was sandy and rocky, but behind him were rich fields of cultivated growth.
“Daniel!”
Daniel turned from his vantage point and saw Jack waving at him. He left the rugged coastline and made his way inland towards his friends. They left the ‘gate and began following a well-used path, walking between fields of crops on one side, and fruit trees on the other. Ridges made by wheels and human footprints had been gouged into the soft soil during a previous rainfall, hardened now to near-cement consistency under the strong, hot sun.
“Kinda barren, isn’t it?” Jack said, meaning the water’s edge.
Daniel nodded. There had been no signs of beaches or flat areas where one could easily climb down the twenty foot cliffs to the water. The area they were walking in now was the complete opposite.
“I’d have thought the people here would at least fish from the ocean, but I didn’t see any signs of boats or rafts,” Daniel replied. “The fields are obviously well tended,” he added with a wave of his hand to the weed-free crops.
“There is livestock here also,” Teal’c said from before them.
Both Jack and Daniel turned to their friend in confusion when the sounds of goats came to them over the wind.
“Where there’s animals, there might be people,” Sam suggested from ahead.
“Fine,” Jack said. They stepped off the path and made their careful way through the field towards the goats. The slender purple stalks weren’t familiar to any of them. The soil underfoot was black and spongy. It gave softly as they stepped on it, and the scent of a spring day wafted around Daniel, along with the slightly aromatic aroma of the growing plants.
A small tremor brought the team to a halt.
“Did you feel that?” Sam asked.
“Do you think this place is prone to earthquakes?” Daniel asked.
“That was definitely a small one,” Jack said as he waved the team on.
A small paddock held about two dozen goats and several sheep. A few other animals that resembled deer with odd-looking horns grazed in a larger field, fenced off with large rocks. As they got nearer, they could hear excited voices, and five men came around a copse of trees towards them. All except one looked like they could have been Teal’c’s relatives. They were large, dark-skinned, heavily muscled men. They were carrying hoes, obviously on their way to tend their crops. The man leading them was talking excitedly. Still dark-skinned, he was shorter and very slim, almost to the point of emaciation.
They were speaking a language that sounded totally foreign to Daniel, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t one he knew. Languages changed throughout the ages, and he listened attentively to see if he could recognize a word here or there.
The group came to a stop the second they spotted SG-1. The smaller man stared at them a moment, then wailed loudly and threw himself to his knees. The other four men stood around hesitantly, unsure of what to do.
Embarrassed, Daniel quickly stepped forward and knelt beside the cowering man. This reaction happened to SG-1 occasionally, and it was disconcerting each and every time.
“No, no, please, don’t,” Daniel said softly. “Please, get up.”
He grasped the man’s arm, noting the terror that marked the man’s face and the trembling of the limb beneath his hands. Gently, he pulled him up so that they were both standing.
“It’s okay, we won’t hurt you,” Daniel said in English, trying to ignore the wet stain spreading down the front of the man’s pants. Daniel smiled. “I’m Daniel Jackson. We’re peaceful explorers. We just came through the Stargate over there. The Chappai’ai,” he said with a wave of his hand.
The man stood gasping as his gaze kept flitting between Daniel and the rest of his team. He muttered something, then turned and fled, screaming “Damballa!” Daniel raised his eyebrows as he watched the fleeing figure.
“Made a friend there, didja?” Jack quipped as he moved up to stand beside Daniel. He rolled his eyes at Jack, then turned his attention to the other four who stood their ground, albeit uncertainly.
“Um, hello,” Daniel said to them. One man hefted the hoe in his hand and for a moment, Daniel thought he was going to use it as a weapon. Instead, he passed the implement to his fellow and put both hands together at waist level, bowing his head. He had a very crooked nose, testament to it having been broken when he was younger.
“I am Uyiosa,” he said in a gravelly voice, in the Goa’uld language. His words were understandable, although heavily accented. “Welcome to Bandele.”
“Thank you,” Daniel replied. “I’m Daniel. This is Colonel O’Neill, Major Carter and Teal’c.” Daniel turned to his teammates, and waggled his eyebrows at Jack. Well, at least this person was a little more receptive than the other one.
“Please forgive Msambaa. He is our village priest, but I fear that actually coming face to face with our gods has upset him.”
“Daniel?” Jack prompted.
“They think we’re gods,” Daniel said with a sigh.
“I could have told you that in three guesses,” Jack groused. “Why’d the smaller one get so scared?”
“He’s their priest, and I guess thinking we were gods, he sort of panicked a little.”
“Ya think?”
“We’re not gods,” Daniel told the men.
“But you must be. He wears the sign of one of Damballa’s forms,” the man who had taken Uyiosa’s hoe said as he stared at Teal’c’s tattoo. “And you have just told us you came through the Chappa’ai. Have you not come to aid us?”
There was that word again. It sounded familiar, Daniel knew he’d either read or had heard of it somewhere.
“He believes me to be associated with this Damballa,” Teal’c informed Jack, who was beginning to fidget.
“He a snake?” Jack asked.
“I am unfamiliar with that name,” Teal’c replied.
“I’m not. Damn, I know that name,” Daniel mumbled to himself.
“I am not who you believe me to be,” Teal’c told the men. Uyiosa inclined his head, seeming to accept Teal’c’s words.
“You spoke about needing aid…” Daniel prompted Uyiosa.
“Yes. Only the gods can fix our world. We have hoped for many years that—”
The land suddenly tilted sickeningly and they all worked hard to keep their balance.
“Damn,” Jack swore as the earthquake eventually subsided.
“It happens more and more frequently,” one of the men said as he glanced around worriedly.
“It is said that the gods made our world and Damballa was to return to us one day. But we fear that we may not survive his return,” Uyiosa continued.
Finally, the word popped into Daniel’s mind.
“Jack, Damballa is the name of a snake god in African religions.” Daniel wasn’t sure exactly which religion, he was just thankful that the name finally came to him.
“Oh. Snake god, huh? Well, that explains it. No, Teal’c’s not more a god than any of us are. Like Daniel said, we’re just explorers,” Jack said to the men. “We’re here to… explore. Peacefully. Tell them, Daniel.” In an aside, he said, “D’ya think there’s a snake here?”
“I don’t think so. Although from the way Msambaa ran off, he must know about the Goa’uld. I’m sure these people have had some experience with them, if not recently, then at least in their past. Just the fact that they speak the language proves it, even though it’s accented, and they certainly recognized Apophis’ symbol.”
Daniel turned to the men once more. “Please, believe us, we’re simply explorers who travel to learn about other cultures.”
“Learn? But you must know of us. Is she not Ayida-Weddo?” Another man spoke up, staring at Sam. Daniel realized that if these people were descendants of African tribes, they might not have seen white-skinned people before, and which could be part of the basis of their belief that they were gods.
“Umm, no. She’s not. Who exactly is Ayid… Ayida-Weddo?”
“She is Damballa’s companion.”
“Oh. Of course she is. No, Sam’s not her. She’s just a person, like me and you. Look.”
Daniel stuck his hand out, and when Uyiosa tentatively reached out to grasp it, Daniel shook it once. “On our world, this is an indication that we’ve come to you unarm…” Daniel glanced at Jack’s P-90 and suddenly was very conscious of his own Baretta holstered to his thigh. He quickly changed his words, “…come to you without a knife hidden up our sleeves. We come in friendship.”
“Would you look at our world?” Uyiosa asked. Daniel looked at Teal’c, then shrugged. After explaining to Jack what the men had said, Jack agreed.
The men led them to a small hill nearby, and Daniel was surprised to see the entrance to what looked like a mine. A staircase led down into the bowels of the hill. They followed Uyiosa down the stairs, descending steadily for several minutes. Faint strips of luminescent paint on the walls illuminated their way down, and it was with relief when the stairs ended. Daniel’s legs were beginning to burn and he glanced up the way they came while one of the men entered the dark space before them. Daniel grimaced at the thought of climbing all those steps once more.
There must have been a light switch somewhere because the area behind Daniel was suddenly lit up with bright lights. When he stepped through the entry way, he had been expecting darkness and rocks and tunnels. To his amazement, an enormous engine room stood before him.
“Holy Hannah!” Sam exclaimed as she moved from control to control, “this is a boat! This whole piece of land… it’s a ship, moving through the water.” Daniel could see portals nearby and he went to peer out of one. He couldn’t see the bottom of the ocean, but they definitely appeared to be moving, and at a good clip.
“Can you fix our world?” Uyiosa asked worriedly.
Sam was examining several more controls, and Daniel repeated the man’s question to her.
“I think so, but I might need Sgt. Siler’s help on this one,” she said as she kept her attention on the machinery she was examining. “It’s all so incredible,” she added with a grin, obviously pleased to have found this challenge.
Daniel relayed her answer and Uyiosa smiled and clapped Daniel on the arm. “Come, friend. Friends. It is close to midday. Perhaps you would wish to share our meager fare?”
“We’ve been invited to lunch,” Daniel told his teammates.
“Sweet,” Jack answered as he nodded to Uyiosa. “I just hope they’re not serving goat,” he added. “Too many bones.”
- - - - - -
The meal was delicious, spicy and tasty and almost-familiar to Daniel. Azubike, the village’s chief, had welcomed SG-1 into his home the moment Uyiosa had introduced them and explained who they were. Msambaa had been summoned, and the priest had come. But the moment he’d entered the airy room, he was sullen and non-talkative, a clear contrast to the chattering person whom they’d first seen outside.
Jack nudged Daniel in the ribs with his elbow to get his attention.
“Didja see the doll collection behind us?” he asked.
“Of course.”
“Think these people are into voodoo? All that’s missing are pins sticking in them.”
The dolls in question consisted of several dozen tiny figurines on display on a shelf built into the wall. About four inches in length, each had a small piece of cloth or adornment wrapped around them. Daniel hadn’t had a chance to get a good look at them, but they were intriguing.
Sam snickered, and Daniel scowled at his lover.
“Come on, Daniel. You got the dolls, and you got the zombies,” Jack insisted, rolling his eyes towards one of the two servants clearing off the table. The one Jack was pointing out worked slowly and methodically, but his face was expressionless, his eyes dead, as if he wasn’t quite in the room with them. The man somehow made Daniel nervous for some reason, even though it was clear that he was brain-damaged. But somehow, it felt more to Daniel than someone who was simply *slow*. The servant’s gaze never focused on anybody, and he only obeyed the chief.
Jack and Sam left to contact the SGC soon after they’d eaten. While waiting for General to decide whether or not to help these people, Daniel walked around the room, examining its contents. Wooden masks hung on the walls and intricate carvings adorned the corners. Ignoring these, Daniel picked up one of the dolls Jack had referred to earlier, noting that it was made of a rubber-like material. Daniel was squeezing the arm of one doll, testing its resilience, when Azubike placed a dark, heavy hand over Daniel’s and removed the figurine from his grasp.
“Please, it is best you do not touch,” he admonished. “Only Msambaa or the holder is permitted to do so.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Daniel said quickly. “I didn’t know. I hope that I haven’t offended you?”
“No, of course not,” Azubike replied, placing the doll back carefully onto the shelf. “You may touch or handle anything you wish, except these.” He smiled openly at Daniel, and Daniel smiled back.
“So, what do the dolls represent?” Daniel asked as he continued to examine them. He noted then that one had a very striking similarity to Uyiosa, the broken nose being unmistakable. And there was a very tiny, thin one sitting on the ledge underneath, with tiny, piglike eyes that resembled Msambaa’s. Daniel turned to look at the priest, who was staring at Daniel with obvious dislike on his face. Daniel began to think that Jack’s earlier comment about voodoo seemed a little too close to the mark, as the chieftain answered.
“A warning and censure.” Azubike turned also to look at Msambaa. The priest suddenly lowered his gaze and fiddled with a trinket that hung around his neck.
“DanielJackson, is this not one of the creatures we saw when we visited the zoo in Colorado Springs?”
Teal’c had gotten up and was also examining the contents of the large room. As Daniel walked over to his friend, he sidestepped the slow-moving servant carrying the remains of their meal to the kitchen.
Teal’c stood before what Daniel made out to be a painting on a large, flat rock. The colors were faded and the paint had flaked, but the form was unmistakable.
“An elephant, Teal’c. Yes, we saw those at the zoo.”
“A creature from the world of our ancestors,” Uyiosa said, approaching them. “Azubike also has a piece of this beast, handed down from father to son.”
At Uyiosa’s prompting, the chief opened a small, wooden box and reverently removed a tiny piece of carved ivory. He proudly displayed it to his visitors.
“Yes, it’s ivory,” Daniel said. “It’s from the elephant’s tusk,” he added as he pointed to it in the drawing.
“You have heard of these beasts?” Azubike asked, obviously in awe of Daniel’s knowledge.
“Yes, they are from the world of the Tau’ri,” Teal’c explained. “Many generations ago, your gods took the people from the Tau’ri world to use as slaves. We have encountered many on our journeys.”
“Yes!” Uyiosa cried. “Bandele stands for such a world. It means ‘born away from home’.”
“You have seen the home of our ancestors?” Azubike asked excitedly.
“It is our home, too, Azubike,” Daniel replied. Msambaa muttered something under his breath, and Daniel turned to him, but the man simply glared and turned away.
- - - - - -
“And what happened here?” Janet asked as she turned Daniel’s hand over. The small shallow cut was exposed now that she had removed the bandage.
“Sliced my hand on a piece of jewelry,” Daniel said. “It’s okay, Teal’c disinfected it right away,” he added.
“Well, let me be the judge of that,” Janet answered as she turned his hand this way and that. He grimaced as she poured more disinfecting solution over the cut, then wrapped it up in a clean bandage.
“Doesn’t need stitches,” she said. “But keep an eye on it,” she warned.
”Yes, ma’am,” Daniel replied. He closed his hand in a fist, feeling the torn skin move beneath the bandage. He should have known the medallion was sharp when he picked it up, but when Msambaa had made an overture of friendliness, Daniel had been more than happy examine the man’s belongings when invited back to his home.
The priest’s home had held the same little dolls as had Azubike’s, except he owned at least four times the number as had the village chief. The man had been contrite when Daniel had injured himself, quickly wrapping his hand in a clean cloth to stop the bleeding. He had been intrigued at the bandage Daniel had removed from his pack and Daniel had left him with several when he left his house.
Finished with his post-mission physical, Daniel grabbed his jacket and headed for the commissary for a cup of coffee before heading for the inevitable debriefing. He loved missions like this one, where they were able to befriend people and actually get to help them. Sam and Siler had replaced several gears in the machinery, and had shown the people how to care for it. The miles-long boat was now running very smoothly. In appreciation, Azubike had sent them home with samples of seeds and herbs, several of which he promised had healing qualities.
- - - - - -
“Elephants, Doctor Jackson?”
It wasn’t often that Daniel could render General Hammond open-mouthed in disbelief, but his request for giving the Bandelens a couple of elephants seemed to have done the trick.
“They had this small piece of ivory,” Daniel explained, unable to convey the feelings he’d had when the small trinket had been so proudly displayed. He wiped the back of his hand over his forehead, feeling hot all of a sudden. His hand came away damp with sweat.
“Where would they keep the elephants, Daniel?” Jack asked. “I don’t think they’d be happy to have it trampling through their gardens or fields.”
“There’s lots of uncultivated land a few miles south of where we were, Jack. Their ship is about 30 miles long and 50 miles wide. I’m sure there’s plenty of room on it for an elephant or two.”
Daniel leaned forward and took his jacket off. When had it gotten so hot in here? His tee shirt was quickly becoming soaked in sweat.
“There’s more than enough room, Daniel. But what about food?”
“I don’t know, maybe they could grow it?” Just what *did* elephants eat anyway. He realized he needed to do some research, and offered to do so for the General before he made a decision. He reached for the water carafe sitting on the table and poured some into his empty coffee cup. He drained the cupful and poured some more.
Their debriefing quickly came to an end and as Sam and Jack stood in deference to the General’s departure, Daniel used his jacket to wipe his face. He could feel sweat pouring down his sides and back. He looked at his friends, noting that none seemed to be experiencing the same discomfort as he was as they followed General Hammond out.
He stood up slowly, keeping a hand on the table for balance. His legs were shaky, and he felt dizzy. His first thought was that he’d been poisoned, and he squeezed his fingers together, trying to see if the cut on his hand had become inflamed. The bandage was damp with his sweat, but it didn’t feel any worse.
“Hey, you okay?” Daniel looked up to see that Jack had returned and was standing by the door.
“I feel hot,” Daniel admitted as he stepped away from the table. Jack put a hand on his back as he walked by and Jack jerked it away.
“You’re soaked!” his friend exclaimed. Hands took hold of Daniel’s shoulders and turned him so he was facing Jack. “Jeezus, Daniel, you’re burning up.”
Daniel didn’t feel feverish, at least not in the sense of sore joints and muscles. He just felt… hot. Stifling hot, like the air around him was superheated, like he’d been sitting in the sun for too long without water and was burning up.
“Come on, let’s get you to Fraiser.”
Daniel didn’t argue, and allowed Jack to lead him to the infirmary. His sinuses and throat felt raw, inflamed, as if the air he was breathing was burning the moisture out of his tissues. Breathing was becoming painful and he leaned against the cool cement wall while waiting for the elevator.
By the time they reached the infirmary, Daniel was staggering and if wasn’t for Jack’s arm around his waist, he would have fallen flat on his face.
“Can I have some help here?” Jack bellowed the second they entered the medical area. Footsteps came running towards them, but Daniel didn’t have the energy to raise his head to see who it was. Hands helped support him and seconds later he was lying on a bed. His sodden clothes were quickly stripped away. He was aware of several bodies around his bed, hands and instruments taking readings of his vitals. He felt the sting of an IV in the back of his hand and an oxygen mask on his face.
The relief of not having cloth against his skin was momentary, the air against his over-heated flesh quickly firing up. Wet cloths were dragged over his body, creating goose bumps where they passed. The cool liquid quickly evaporated, but did little to bring his temperature down. He was so thirsty, his tongue thick and dry inside his mouth.
“Water,” he croaked. “Please.”
His head was lifted and the oxygen mask was pulled aside. A cup was placed to his mouth. He managed to swallow it all, and asked for more. He drank the second cupful, knowing he was losing the liquid nearly as fast as it was going into him from the way his bed linens were soaked beneath him.
Janet’s familiar face floated before him and she gently passed a cloth over his face and around the oxygen mask. Sweat oozed out of him just as fast as she wiped it away.
“Janet, what’s happening to me?” he asked weakly.
“I don’t know, Daniel,” she told him. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. Your core temperature is 107. Now that’s medically impossible for you to be awake and lucid. You should be unconscious, with obvious brain damage. We’re trying to keep you hydrated but by the way you’re sweating, we’re barely keeping you supplied with liquids.”
“Hurts to breathe,” he complained.
“Okay, I’ll see if we can’t help ease your discomfort.” She smiled and turned to speak to a nurse. A moment later, Jack’s face swam into view.
“Hey, buddy,” Jack said.
“Hey,” Daniel replied. Jack took Daniel’s hand in his, the callused fingers feeling cool to the touch.
“Hang in there, Daniel,” Jack said after a moment. Daniel held Jack’s gaze until sweat dripped into his eyes, causing him to blink.
There wasn’t much that he could do except endure. When Jack held up some more water, Daniel nodded. Jack moved the mask and raised Daniel’s head and shoulders until he was half lying on Jack’s lap. The familiar body beneath him was cooler than the mattress, the material having absorbed his body heat. When the cup was put to his mouth, Daniel tried not to gulp the liquid down.
“More,” he gasped. A nurse refilled the cup and Jack fed it to him in smaller sips, refilling it twice more until Daniel had drunk his fill. When the oxygen mask was replaced, Daniel was beginning to feel the effects of whatever Janet had injected into his IV. He was having problems keeping his eyes open, and he closed them for a moment, only to open them when Jack went to lay him back down on the bed.
“No,” he whispered. “Please. Feels good, you’re so cool.”
“Okay,” Jack said. He felt Jack’s hands thread through his hair, and he closed his eyes, letting himself relax.
- - - - - -
A small figurine lay very close to a roaring fire. A blood speckled rag had been twisted around it, obscuring everything but its face. This doll differed from all the others in the room, it was white, the others were all black, and small circles were painted around its blue eyes.
A cloth-wrapped hand carefully picked up the figurine and placed it aside, well away from the fire.
- - - - - -
“His temperature’s nearly back to normal,” Fraiser told them with a smile. Jack looked down at his lover, who was lying fast asleep in his arms. Daniel had stopped sweating about twenty minutes ago and his breathing had improved enough that the doc had taken the oxygen away.
“I still don’t understand what happened. Nothing in his blood work indicates any kind of infection or alien organism, and his temperature definitely didn’t correspond to a normal fever. Whatever it was has left him pretty tired, so with the sedative I’ve given him, he’ll be sleeping for the next few hours.
“Let’s get him onto a dry bed,” she said, waving to two approaching orderlies pushing another hospital bed into the room. In one smooth operation, the men managed to shift Daniel onto the second bed while nurses moved the various paraphernalia still attached to him. Daniel made a small grunting sound at the movement, but never opened his eyes, curling up onto his side. Fraiser removed the soiled sheet covering Daniel’s naked body and replaced it with a fresh one.
Jack gratefully got off the sweat-soaked mattress. He looked down at his BDUs and peeled the sopping material from his legs as the orderlies pushed the bed out of the room.
“I think I’ll go take a shower and change,” Jack said as a nurse arrived, carrying items for a bath. “Won’t be long,” he said as she pulled the privacy curtain around Daniel’s bed.
“Well be here,” Carter said as she and Teal’c stepped out of the room while the staff cleaned Daniel up.
“Need anything? Coffee? Juice?” Jack asked as he walked towards the room’s exit. Both nodded, and he made a mental note to swing by the commissary before returning to the infirmary.
- - - - - -
The small figurine was carefully removed from its resting place on the shelf and placed on a block of ice in which a hole had been dug. Handfuls of frosty shavings were dropped on top of the small doll until it was totally covered.
- - - - - -
“Come on, Janet, I’m fine,” Daniel insisted as he pushed away the remains of his meal. “It’s been two days, and nothing’s happened.” He uncrossed his legs and got up off the bed, pacing the confines of the small room. His slippers made small scuffing sounds as he walked, impatient and bored and just wanting nothing more than to go home.
“Your latest blood work shows your electrolytes aren’t quite back to normal, Daniel. Plus, I’m reluctant to let you off base until the results of the last test comes in,” she argued. “Until then, I can’t rule out if your hypothalamic or pituitary glands were responsible for what happened to you.”
“I haven’t felt hot since I woke up. Why can’t I just go home instead of hanging around here? I can come in again if you need more blood or something.”
Daniel rubbed his hands over his bare arms, feeling a bit of a chill in the room. Which was good because every time he felt anything remotely similar to a hot flush, he began to worry.
“Daniel, I’m not comfortable with letting you go home, not without knowing exactly what caused your illness.”
“How about he stays with me?” Jack asked from the room’s doorway. He came inside, hands in his jeans pockets, and stood looking at Janet. “I know how bored Daniel must be, and I promise I won’t let him do anything more strenuous than play with the TV remote.”
Daniel turned to look at Janet, feeling a cold shiver start from the middle of his lower back and work its way up his spine. When Janet nodded, Daniel grabbed his jacket, both in readiness to leave and to cover up the goose bumps that had appeared on his bare arms.
“Thanks!” he said over his shoulder as he rushed out of the infirmary.
“Hey, wait up,” Jack said as Daniel reached the elevator. Daniel punched the call button, anxious to leave. “I need to finish up one or two things.” He tossed his keys to Daniel, who caught them one handed. “I won’t be more than fifteen minutes.”
“Great. That leaves me just enough time to grab a coffee.”
Daniel made a quick trip to the commissary, holding the steaming styrofoam cup in chilled fingers. He didn’t bother changing back into his civvies, he had plenty of clean clothes at Jack’s. He signed out of the base and hurried to the Avalanche. He thought Sam had mentioned earlier that it was warm today. Although it was a late spring day and the sun was shining, the air definitely felt chilly.
He unlocked the door with half-frozen fingers, and quickly slid inside, starting the motor and turning up the heat. He turned the vents towards him and sipped his coffee.
The air coming out of the heater was barely warm, so Daniel cranked the heat up to high. He gulped down the rest of his coffee and shivered. Damnit, he’d been complaining two days ago of being so hot, why couldn’t he get warm now?
He reached behind him and pulled the blanket Jack kept in the back, and draped it over him. He bunched it tightly against his ankles so no cold air leaked against his skin. He shivered again, and suddenly his teeth started chattering.
Something was wrong with him, again. He knew he needed to return to the infirmary, but walking in the frigid air outside was beyond him. He was too tired, too cold.
He huddled sideways against his seat, waiting desperately for Jack.
- - - - - -
Jack whistled as he made his way across the parking lot to his truck. General Hammond had given Jack three days off, and Daniel was on sick leave, so he was planning on spending his free time lazing around the house with his favourite archaeologist. The scare Daniel had given them was still fresh in his mind, and he knew Daniel was still a little freaked out about how quickly the illness had hit him.
It was such a beautiful spring day, perfect short-sleeve weather. He wondered if maybe they should pick up something from a fast food and stop and eat in a park somewhere. Enjoy the budding leaves and newly sprouting plants.
He could just make out Daniel’s form through the tinted glass of his truck, and as he opened the door, ready to ask Daniel if he wanted Chinese, Mexican or Thai, the heat from the interior hit him like an oven. Daniel was huddled miserably, leaning sideways, facing Jack, the blanket pulled right up to his nose. Jack stared at his lover for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on, when he realized Daniel was shivering.
“Daniel, what’s going on?” he said as he climbed into the truck. He made to lower the heat but upon hearing Daniel’s teeth chattering, he let it be.
“I’m cccold,” Daniel managed to ground out. Jack reached out and touched Daniel’s face, swearing when he felt the cold skin beneath his fingers.
“Christ,” Jack said. Not bothering to buckle his seatbelt, he put the Avalanche into gear and drove straight to the base’s front door. He left the engine running, and thus the heat, and jumped out and ran inside. “Call the infirmary, tell Doctor Fraiser it’s an emergency and that I’m bringing Doctor Jackson in!” he ordered the startled guard. Not waiting for confirmation of his instructions, Jack returned to the passenger side of the truck and opened Daniel’s door. This time he reached over and shut off the motor, but left the keys in the ignition. He’d ask someone to move the vehicle as soon as he got Daniel down into Fraiser’s care.
“Come on,” he coaxed, pulling Daniel’s legs out and physically turning him in his seat until his feet were resting on the running board. “Let’s get you inside.”
Daniel was shaking so hard he could barely walk. Jack put his arm around him and led him to the elevator.
“Doctor Fraiser’s been informed,” the guard said as he quickly moved around his desk to punch the elevator button. “She said she’s coming up to meet you.”
“Thanks,” Jack replied as they stepped into the elevator car.
True to her word, Fraiser was waiting for them with a wheelchair on level 11. While Jack signed both himself and Daniel back in, Fraiser gave Daniel a cursory examination. When he finished, Daniel was huddled forward, his breathing slow and tremulous. The doctor was arranging Daniel’s blanket so that it covered his head and neck.
“S..sorry, J..janet,” Daniel stuttered once they’d entered the elevator. Jack kept his hand on Daniel’s nape, making sure the blanket stayed put.
“Shhh, it’s okay,” she said. “Did this start when you went outside?”
Daniel shook his head. “S..started before… left… infirmary. I d..didn’t know.”
“I know,” she said. “Let’s just get you warmed up, okay?” she said gently to him as Jack wheeled him out of the elevator.
They helped Daniel onto a bed and Jack stepped back when several medical personnel swept down on their patient.
“Let’s get his clothes off,” Fraiser ordered.
While two nurses began to strip Jack’s lover, his blood pressure, pulse and temperature were taken.
“87?” Fraiser exclaimed when the nurse gave the results of Daniel’s temperature. “Check it again, and use another thermometer.”
“Doc?” Jack questioned.
“With a temperature that low, Daniel shouldn’t even be conscious,” she replied. “Damnit, it’s just like before, except he’s hypothermic rather than overheated.”
The nurse confirmed the same number and Fraiser swore. “It’s not medically possible,” she said irritably. “I don’t know, Colonel,” she snapped when Jack opened his mouth to comment.
She gave her staff further orders for a few moments before turning back to Jack. “We’re going to try and raise his core temperature with warmed saline and oxygen,” she explained. The warm packs the nurses positioned to Daniel’s head, neck, groin, armpits and chest didn’t need any explanation. Daniel had curled up onto his side and was huddled with his knees to his chest. One of the nurses repositioned the oxygen mask, which had come slightly askew when he’d turned over.
Once the staff had done everything they could, Jack rolled a chair beside the bed and picked up Daniel’s hands. He couldn’t get over how cold they were. Daniel was still shivering convulsively, wrapped in layers of blankets, which were hooded up and around his head. Mindful of the IV, Jack cupped the frigid fingers between his own, blowing on them gently. Daniel was watching him, his irises so dilated that there was hardly any blue showing.
“Doc.”
Fraiser looked up from where she’d been studying the readouts on the EKG machine.
“You said earlier, this wasn’t medically possible.”
“I did.” She moved closer to Daniel and repositioned one of the packs. “Daniel’s temperature is now 85.8 degrees and everything about him is wrong. He should be unconscious; his heart should be barely beating. But it is beginning to show signs of strain.”
“You know that we’ve come across a few… odd things in our travels?”
Fraiser laughed softly. “Odd might be an understatement, Colonel.”
“The last place we visited, P4H…” Jack waited for Daniel to supply the last digits like he normally did. Instead Daniel simply closed his eyes. Jack knew then that not only was his heart being affected by this unnatural cold, but his brain processing was slowing down. Keeping his gaze on Daniel, he continued. “Well, let’s just say they had this heap of little dolls that looked like some of the people in the village. I’m just wondering if maybe Daniel’s been placed under some kind of curse or something.”
“Dolls, Sir? Just a moment,” she said, holding a hand up to forestall Jack’s explanation. She waved a nurse over and gave her instructions before turning back to Jack.
“I’m talking voodoo.” He looked at Fraiser to see her reaction. She simply tipped her head slightly and laughed.
“Colonel, I grew up with tales about witchdoctors and voodoo curses that would make your hair curl. My grandma had these little clay dolls, one for me, and one for my brother, and she used to threaten to stick a pin into them if we didn’t behave. Every time she’d cut our hair, she’d keep a strand and glue it onto those damned dolls. It wasn’t until she dropped one and it broke into several pieces that we realized it was just talk, that nothing bad would happen if the dolls were damaged, or burned, or pricked with a pin. You do know, Sir, that voodoo and zombies are just a product of Hollywood.”
“The village chief told Daniel that the dolls were used for warnings and discipline.”
“Censure,” Daniel corrected, his voice sounding weak behind the oxygen mask.
Jack lowered his face and blew on the cold hands once more before continuing. “If you suppose someone over there had a doll of Daniel, doesn’t this seem like he’s being warned or,” he smiled at Daniel, “censured?”
“Jjj..ack. That’s stupid.”
“Or cursed?” Fraiser said.
“Or something.”
“Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? Sir?” she quickly added.
“Is it? No more than a small object controlling a planet’s weather, or little grey men flying around the galaxy, or a snake embedding itself in a person’s spine and taking over their body.”
“I see where you’re going with this, Colonel,” Fraiser said as the nurse returned, pushing a small trolley packed with equipment, “but scientists have never been able to prove these curses actually exist.” Fraiser began unpacking a large, shiny, light blue, plastic futuristic-looking blanket and spreading it on the bed alongside Daniel. “In actuality, Voodoo is a mixture of an old African religion that merged with Catholicism during the slave trade.”
“So, no zombies in New Orleans? No people walking around the Caribbean Islands with little dolls sticking out of their pockets?” Jack unwillingly let go of Daniel’s hands as Fraiser closed the odd-looking blanket around the still-shivering man.
“No, Sir. Except in horror movies.” A hose was connected into a hole in the blanket, and a small motor began pumping air into it. Motioning towards the machine, she explained. “This is a Bear Hugger. It’s pumping warm air around Daniel’s body. Hopefully this will help warm him up, or at least, keep his temperature from getting any lower.”
“But we just can’t dismiss the possibility that it does exist, on another world.”
“Okay, let’s just for arguments sake say that they do practice Vodun and that someone did make a voodoo doll of Daniel. They’d need a physical part of him that most likely would contain DNA, like nail clippings, strands of hair, blood…”
“Blood, he cut his hand over there!” Jack exclaimed.
“So he did,” she said softly. “But why would they be warning him for, or punishing him? What did he do?”
“Now that is the 64 thousand dollar question,” Jack groused. “We need to go back to that planet,” he said softly.
“What planet, Colonel?”
Hammond’s question startled Jack. He hadn’t even heard the General come in behind him.
“P4H 832. I think there might be a connection.” At Hammond’s skeptical look, Jack said, “Daniel was fine before we went there. This started up almost as soon as we came back.”
“The Colonel thinks it has something to do with voodoo,” Fraiser supplied with a mischievous grin.
“They had these dolls,” Jack started to say but quickly cut off his explanation when Daniel gasped. An alarm behind them went off, and Fraiser was suddenly there leaning over Daniel, stethoscope to her ear, listening to his heart through a panel in the blanket. A nurse turned the alarm off, and then went to get the medication Fraiser hurriedly requested.
“His heart is beginning to weaken,” she said as she closed up the panel.
“Hang on,” Jack whispered. “It didn’t last very long the last time. Just hang on, Daniel.”
Daniel’s unfocused gaze met his, and Jack could tell that Daniel was fighting hard to remain conscious. The spark of awareness slowly faded, and Daniel’s eyes rolled back. His body continued to shiver, trying to generate heat in a slowly-losing battle.
They waited silently around the bed, the only sounds being the hiss of pumps and motors, and Daniel’s shaky breaths beneath the mask.
“Colonel,” Hammond said, breaking the silence. “Do you truly believe there’s a connection between Doctor Jackson’s illness and the planet?”
“I honestly don’t know,” Jack said, rubbing a hand over his face. “But I can’t think of any other explanation. It just feels right. I need to call Carter and Teal’c,” Jack said, realizing both his teammates had no idea Daniel was sick again.
“I had a nurse try to contact them,” Fraiser told him. “Both aren’t answering their cell phones.”
“Damn.” They were all on downtime and both had had plans off base.
“Doctor Fraiser,” a nurse exclaimed. Jack raised his head, alarmed at the excitement in her voice. “His temperature is up, it’s 86.3.”
“You’re sure?” Jack asked, standing up to look at the readout himself. As he watched, the numbers on the digital readout changed to 86.4.
“I think it’s working,” Fraiser said, smiling at them both.
“Colonel, if you feel you can find something on P4H 832 that will help him, then I’ll authorize SG-1 to go there first thing in the morning. Doctor Fraiser,” he said, “keep me informed of Doctor Jackson’s progress.”
“Yes, Sir, I will,” she replied as General Hammond left the infirmary.
Jack anxiously continued watching the slow but definite rise in Daniel’s temperature. Soon, the shivering began to subside, and Daniel began to stir beneath the Bear Hugger. He woke up all at once in a panic, struggling in the confines of the warming blanket, his eyes searching wildly. Jack placed a hand on Daniel’s shoulders, holding him down, the plastic warm and smooth beneath his fingers.
“It’s okay, you’re okay,” Jack said when Daniel’s gaze met his.
“Where?” Daniel said, looking around, then calming when he seemed to recognize the infirmary.
“Yeah, that’s right, you’re in the infirmary.”
He squeezed the taut muscles beneath his hands, then placed his palm over Daniel’s cheek. The skin was warm, the temperature almost normal. He held his hand there a moment, feeling Daniel move into his caress.
“Tired.” Daniel shut his eyes, then forced them open again.
“Try to sleep,” Fraiser said as she began taking Daniel’s vitals. Jack smiled as he saw the bewildered look on his lover’s face when he noticed the contraption he was lying in.
“What?” he said, looking from Fraiser to Jack.
“You caught a little chill and Doc’s been trying to warm you up,” Jack explained, realizing Daniel didn’t remember Fraiser packing him inside the thing. “Fraiser called it a bearhug.”
“Bear Hugger,” she corrected with a smile before she moved away from the bed, leaving them alone.
“Rather have a Jackhug,” Daniel whispered as he closed his eyes and relaxed into sleep.
- - - - - -
With Hammond’s words admonishing him and his team to be careful still ringing in his ears, Jack led the way back to the village. He couldn’t explain how he felt the reason behind Daniel's illnesses was here, it was simply a gut feeling. Both Teal’c and Carter hadn’t questioned his reasoning when he’d explained it to them earlier that morning. Teal’c had grown used to the Goa’uld’s ‘magic’ over the years, and nothing he came across, it seemed, phased the older man. Carter, on the other hand, had no scientific data to prove Jack’s theory either right or wrong. But she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. In any case, it wasn’t like they had all that many other options to try out.
Azubike had gotten word of their return and was striding to greet them, a large smile on his face. When they stopped, he said something to Teal’c, and Jack caught Daniel’s name. They spoke for several minutes, Azubike becoming more and more agitated whenever Teal’c spoke.
Looking at Jack, the chief motioned for him to follow, and they set off down to the village.
“He claims that the dolls are used simply for disciplining his people. There is one doll for each villager, created when they are but a young child. But he says the effect of the punishment is discomfort rather than pain. He could not understand how DanielJackson came to be so ill, although he did confirm that heat and cold are often used against the person charged with wrong doing. More often than not, it is the embarrassment of having been caused this punishment that is the most chastising.”
“So you were right, Sir,” Carter exclaimed.
“Seems like. Where are we going?”
“To the priest’s residence. He is the only one in the village with the power to activate the figurine.”
Azubike was striding forth before them, and Jack could tell from his stance that he was upset. Jack figured that it was one thing to punish your own folks, but to do so on a guest, who had, by the way, helped to get repairs done to their home, wasn’t exactly hospitable.
“Did he say why the witch doctor might have done this to Danny?”
“He did not. And he is a priest, not a… witch doctor.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Jack muttered. Anybody who played with dolls and curses fell into the witch doctor category, in his estimation.
They arrived at the man’s house, and Azubike barged right in, not bothering to knock or announce their presence. Jack stood and watched them, afraid their discussion might turn violent, but the *priest* finally went to the large unit of shelves and brought back a doll. It was different from all the rest, this one had been painted white, and its eyes were blue with little rings depicting glasses around them. A bloody rag had been twined around the body; this was Daniel, it was all too evident.
“I think we’ll just take this,” Jack said, holding a hand out for it.
Msambaa jerked the figurine back, jabbering at Jack and then at Azubike.
“Teal’c?” Jack prompted, eager for a translation.
“He says it is too dangerous for any of us to tend to the doll. It requires special safeguards, to keep evil spirits away from it.”
“Right, of course, how could I have forgotten about the evil spirits,” Jack said. “Sooo, what? He keeps it here? To play Doctor Evil whenever the urge takes him?”
Teal’c continued to listen, translating whenever there was a pause in the litany.
“If the doll is not to be utilized, it must be neutralized. He cannot keep it here, if there should be a catastrophe, and the doll damaged, it could, over time, create severe harm to DanielJackson.”
“Like almost freezing to death or burning up from inside? How can things get worse than that?”
“Well,” Carter interjected, “if this house were to burn down, and the doll with it, imagine what might happen to Daniel.”
Thoughts of Daniel combusting spontaneously flitted through his head for a second.
“I’d rather not,” Jack said, suppressing a shiver. “So, we neutralize this doll, and that would be done… how?”
“He requires DanielJackson to be in attendance,” Teal’c said after asking Msambaa the question. “He must remove the curse in a ceremony. He requires time to prepare so he asks we return tonight at sunset.”
“And this ceremony will fix everything.”
“So he states, O’Neill.”
“And what guarantees do we have that he won’t hurt Daniel again?”
Msambaa’s voice rose when Teal’c relayed the question, his hands waving wildly. Jack flinched and wanted to grab the doll from his gesticulating hand before he hit it on something.
“He repeats what Azubike stated earlier. That the punishment does not endanger lives, merely makes the person uncomfortable.”
“Well, maybe it’s all a matter of perception, but I think that Daniel was a little more than uncomfortable.”
“Teal’c, tell Msambaa that without medical intervention, Daniel would have certainly died both times,” Carter asked.
The man glared at them at Teal’c’s words, then chattered off some more.
“He assures us that he will desist from censuring DanielJackson.”
“What do you think, Teal’c? Do you believe him? Maybe one of us should hang around and keep an eye on Tiny here?”
“Indeed. I volunteer to stand guard on the doll, O’Neill.”
“Sweet. I’ll go back to the ‘gate and tell Hammond, and see if Daniel’s up to coming by for the ceremony.” He clapped Teal’c on the shoulder and turned to leave, then stopped.
“Oh, ask him why he felt Daniel needed to be punished.”
“I believe that is not necessary. The priest lost respect with his people when he greeted us.”
“You mean when he, um, wet his pants?”
The look Teal’c gave Jack spoke volumes, and Jack had to bite his tongue in order not to laugh. “I meant when he did not greet us properly as guests. I have learned that Uyiosa is indeed now held in high esteem as he is the one who set in motion the repairs for their ship.”
“Ah. Wonder if I could manage to borrow Azubike’s figurine of the witchdoctor for a few hours,” Jack mumbled to himself as he walked out the door.
- - - - - -
Six hours later Daniel went through the Stargate with Janet following on his heels. Although a little shaky and tired, he was feeling better. He really wanted to get this ceremony over and done with, he was living under the constant fear that he’d undergo another episode and it was a relief to know that his friends had discovered the reason behind them.
Janet had refused to let Daniel return to the planet unless she accompanied him. Daniel had no arguments, and he felt much better knowing she was here with him should something else happen to him again.
The warmth of Jack’s gaze greeted him as he arrived back on P4H 832 and he smiled his appreciation of the welcome. He walked to meet his lover and Jack put his arm companionably around his shoulder. There had been damned little time for privacy between them the past few days, and Daniel wished they could at least have hugged. He settled for slipping his hand behind Jack’s jacket and rubbing the warm skin through his tee shirt.
“So, you were right?” Daniel asked Jack as they made their way through the fields to the village.
“Yep. Found the little bugger in the witch doctor’s home.”
“This is incredible,” Janet said. “Did the shaman say what the ceremony would entail?”
“No, he’s being tightlipped about it all. But he’s trying to save face, and doing everything he can to pull the curse. Teal’c’s standing guard over the doll, by the way,” Jack said to Daniel.
Daniel looked at Jack with furrowed brow, then looked away. “Um,” he said, a little hesitantly. “Does it look like me?” he finally asked.
“Spitting image,” Jack replied with a wide grin. “A little more muscled, a little longer in the leg, very well endowed, and it doesn’t talk back.”
Fraiser, who was walking ahead of them, snorted with laughter.
The chief welcomed Daniel warmly into his home and after chatting with him for several minutes, moved to the window where both Jack and Janet were examining something swathed in a cloth. It was his little look-alike doll. Curious, he picked it up, examining it carefully. Somehow he had half-expected to feel his hands on his skin as he touched it, but there were no sensations. Experimentally, he gently squeezed the rubber-like arm and felt a spasm in his bicep.
“Geez!” he cried, nearly dropping the figurine. Jack quickly took it out of his hands and returned it to its resting place.
“Bites back, does it?” Jack asked as Daniel massaged the strangely bruised feeling in his arm.
“That was downright odd.” He peered at his reproduced face on the small item and felt a chill go down his spine. This had been used to torture him, and suddenly anger coursed through him. He usually didn’t like the idea of his people interfering with other cultures’ way of life, but he didn’t appreciate being pulled into this method of disciplining, especially for nothing more than spite.
“Azubike, why do you permit your people to do this?” Daniel asked, waving at the other figurines on the shelf beside him.
“It is our way, Daniel,” Azubike answered. “We teach our young early, and they soon learn the ways of right and wrong.”
“It’s barbaric. A child should learn through example, not pain. I know what this feels like,” he said, beginning to pace, “and I would never, ever, wish it on someone I love and care for.” He met Jack’s gaze, calming slightly at the empathy he saw reflected back at him.
“Daniel, please, you are reacting too strongly. Look, it is only mild discomfort that the person experiences.”
Before anyone could react, Azubike grabbed Daniel’s figurine and jabbed a long, sharp pin through it.
Agony exploded through Daniel’s chest. A red hot poker stabbed him through his back, and he could actually feel it move through his lungs and organs. Pain shot out through his chest where the poker exited. Someone far away was screaming, and as Daniel saw the floor approaching in slow motion, he knew he’d been stabbed through the heart. ON TO PART TWO >>
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