EMAIL: rosabeth@hotmail.com
and stephalij@hotmail.com
CATEGORY: Sam/Daniel, Drama, Angst
SPOILERS: Cold Lazarus, Crystal Skull, FIAD, The Movie,
The Other Side, Crossroads, Torment of Tantalus and Bane.
SEASON/SEQUEL: After ‘Crossroads’, which according to me,
is just before Christmas
RATING: PG-13
CONTENT WARNINGS: Violence, torture and major Danny-whumping!
SUMMARY: Daniel and SG1 have an eventful Christmas –
saving Earth…
DISCLAIMER: Steph and I don’t own SG1, and we didn’t make
money. The clones are ours, but unfortunately, the real versions are still
being stubborn. As are the producers. *g*
AUTHOR’S NOTES: This was our first spontaneous piece.
Usually, one of us creates a plot and we stick to it. This time, we wrote what
we felt like. This is why it’s a little…um…stranger than usual.
Enjoy!
Daniel limped into his office, coffee cup in hand, and
groaned. There were fifteen folders
on his desk, all needing his expert attention and at least twelve boxes of
artefacts waiting for reviews and reports. Sure, Daniel loved his job but he
just wished he could give it a rest.
After Teal’c’s…well, lover…died. Jack had arranged for
SG1, Janet and Cassie to go on holiday to the Rockies. It had all been fine
until the avalanche. It was only a small one but the snow rolled straight off
the cliff and onto Daniel, who just happened to be standing underneath. The
giant snowball hadn’t stopped until the very bottom of the slope and Daniel
somehow managed to sprain his knee, hence the limp. Janet had told him to stay
off work for two weeks but Daniel had already missed a week of work, and that
meant trouble.
Christmas was fast approaching, and Daniel wanted to go
Christmas shopping while he still had the chance. However, work had other ideas
and the planets they kept dialling just happened
to be the ones loaded with artefacts. He had been working non-stop for
about four days and it was starting to catch up with him. The rest of SG1 had
stayed in the Rockies with Cassie, so there was no one to nag him to get enough
sleep, food, coffee etc.
Daniel swung himself into his chair and stared at his desk
in dismay. Shoving most of the files on his desk roughly to one side, he picked
up the one that had been lingering there the longest. SG7s little trip to a
Jaffa infested planet, where the dutiful military scientist grabbed several
shards of pottery and brought them back for study. Daniel knew instinctively
that they were worthless, but the General wanted them examined just the same.
And now he had a couple of weeks with his team on stand down, people were
expecting miracles. Daniel sighed at the thought; he’d seen far too much to
ever believe in miracles again.
~
“Typical. He’s spoilt my plans too many times for his own
good. All he needed to do was stay off the base, but no, our little
archaeologist friend managed to get himself injured.” The voice was filled with
hate, raging at the unfortunate messenger.
“Surely one archaeologist,” the word was used sneeringly, “Could not stop us.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I’m not
willing to risk it. He’s smarter than he looks.”
“Which isn’t saying much.”
“Are you saying I cannot
determine the strength of my adversaries?”
“I was only saying that…”
“Enough. We’re taking too long. There will not be another chance
like this.”
“I’ll make sure this Dr. Jackson
does not interfere with our plans.”
“I need more than that. By this
time Friday, he must be eliminated for good.”
“Very well.” And with that, she
left.
~
Daniel sat at his desk, rubbing his eyes every few
seconds. He knew he needed sleep but he had to finish at least seven of the
reports by tomorrow. He had only finished two.
Janet stood in the doorway, shaking her head. She had
volunteered to return with Daniel, because no one else wanted to. Well, that
wasn’t necessarily true. Sam would’ve gladly gone with him, but Jack was
determined that their ‘already over-worked major was not going to waste her
time on their clumsy klutz of an archaeologist’. Ever since the incident with
Eurondans, Jack was slightly uncomfortable around Daniel, and even more
sarcastic. He hated to admit he was wrong, especially if that meant Daniel was
right. Sure, the archaeologist hadn’t made a big thing out of it but then it
wasn’t in his nature. Why couldn’t the Colonel just see that?
“You need some sleep, Daniel.”
“No, I need to finish this.”
Daniel had known she had been there for quite some time
but Janet was shocked that he had noticed in his fatigued condition.
“How did you know I was there?”
“Call it having spent way too much time in the infirmary.”
Daniel rubbed his eyes again and his phone rang. He picked
it up.
“Dr Jackson?…Anna! Wow, how are you? …How did you get this
number? …Did he now? I’ll kill him when I see him. …Yes, I’ll tell her... …No!
What gave you that idea? …No she doesn’t! …I am not blind! …Fine, see you then,
…Bye!”
Janet eyed him strangely. The conversation sounded
strange, even from this end. Daniel shook his head in disbelief and went back
to his report.
“Who was that, Daniel?”
“That was Anna, my foster sister.”
Janet’s eyes widened. Foster sister?
“So, what were you talking about?”
“ Apparently, she’s been seeing Jack for quite sometime.
She became an astrophysicist and Sam’s been e-mailing her. She wants to meet me
on Friday.”
Janet raised her eyebrows slightly. Hadn’t Daniel said he
would never let his sister date Jack?”
“Um...…Daniel…”
“Yes, I actually let him date her. Well, I didn’t let him
date her, he just went ahead and did it. Typical Jack.”
Grinning to himself, Daniel leaned back in his chair.
Janet was glad the call had put him in such good spirits but he really needed
some sleep.
“You have to sleep now, Daniel.”
He pouted at her but she just got his arm and fairly
dragged him to his quarters, doing all but tucking him in. When she had left,
Daniel pulled out his cell phone and sent Sam a text message.
~
Five miles up a mountain, Sam pulled out her mobile at the
incessant beeping. She grinned at the writing.
“Whatcha got?” asked Jack, signalling to Teal’c to stop
with them.
“It’s from Daniel. He’s fine. He’s seeing Anna on
Friday. He’s going to kill you.”
Sam’s straight-faced comment sparked the exact reaction
she had intended.
“Me?!!! Why would anyone want to kill me?! I mean such a
nice, lovable Colonel, such as myself, deserves to live until at least 150.
Possibly longer.”
“Master Bretac will indeed live to that age. It is in fact
likely, that he will live longer.”
“Yeah well, apprentices
apparently don’t live that long.”
“They do indeed. All Jaffa have such high life expectancy.
It is only humans, such as yourself, O’Neill, that do not.”
Sensing that this conversation would only end in tears,
Sam started a new one.
“So, you gave Anna Daniel’s work number?”
“Well one day she might have needed it.”
“Sir. It’s the SGC, we don’t want too many people having
access to it.”
“Why not? Besides, other people know it.”
“Like who?”
“Ali, for one.”
“Do you think I should send her a present for this
Christmas festival that is soon approaching?”
“Good idea Teal’c, brighten her day.”
“Colonel……..”
~
Daniel had been looking forward to visiting Anna all week,
despite the stacks of work he could and should be doing during that time. He
had been so engrossed in his work that he hadn’t noticed that his diary had
disappeared. Or his pager. Or even his personal Goa’uld dictionary. It was his favourite book because it contained
all the words that weren’t part of an original Earth language, but an
adaptation instead. And he had included Goa’uld because he could leave the book
for the other linguists to access when he was off-world. But he hadn’t noticed
it was gone.
At least, until Janet asked him.
“Hey Daniel. I need a little translation from you.”
Daniel swung round from the last of his reports, relieved
that he had at last finished.
“Sure Janet. What’s it for?”
Janet sighed. Someone always came back on a Thursday and
almost always injured, especially SG1. Today was no exception. Janet was going
to be glad for her weekend break. She left the SGC that evening, for a whole
weekend for just herself and Cassie. Bliss!
“Well, one of the SG3 Marines has a strange …artefact
stuck on his arm. It has some writing on it that I thought we could use to get
it off, seeing as it appears to be naquadah.”
Daniel smiled. That was definitely a new one! He had never
actually heard a better excuse to make him stop working and, if he didn’t know
better, he could’ve sworn Janet set him up.
“Coming, Janet. I’ll just grab my dictionary.”
Daniel leapt up and started to scan through his bookshelf.
Then, he stood back and frowned.
“It’s not here, Janet. I dunno; maybe Robert borrowed it.”
Daniel cocked his head slightly, puzzling it over. He
thought over every possible place it could be but drew a blank.
And, somewhere, in the far reaches of space, Liberty
opened her eyes and smiled. She knew.
~
Daniel had paid no further attention to the matter of his
missing dictionary. He found the translation relatively easy off the top of his
head, and one very relieved Marine was extremely grateful for it. He said
goodbye to Janet and waved her off as she headed back into her car. She was
going to pick up a few things from the store before driving up to collect
Cassie. Then they were going on their own vacation, away from Jack, Sam and
Teal’c, who were staying back at their original site.
It was only after she’d left that Daniel remembered that
Robert might have borrowed his dictionary, to help with his translation. Daniel
wasn’t the only one getting snowed under with work.
“Hello,….er…..Robert?” Daniel peered around the door.
There was no sign of the man in question, only a simply huge mountain of
paperwork.
“Hi Daniel!” His voice came as a shock. Daniel jumped in
alarm as Robert appeared from wherever he’d been hiding.
“You haven’t borrowed my Goa’uld dictionary by any
chance?”
“No. I thought you had it. I’ve been trying to page you
for ages so I could get hold of it.”
His words made Daniel stop and think. Where is my pager? Come to think of it, Where’s my dictionary? “Sorry to disturb you, if you’ve got work to
be doing.”
“Come on Daniel, it’s nearly Christmas. It doesn’t
matter.”
“I’ve got some stuff to catch up on anyway, so I’ll see
you later?”
Robert didn’t even reply. His work had his full attention
again. Daniel wandered off back to his office, wishing that SG1 could be here
with him.
~
Liberty opened her eyes again and stood up. She walked
over to the control panel and pressed a few buttons. The ship lazily slumbered
through space, breezing towards a place known only as ‘The First World’.
~
Daniel went back to his office. Half-way there, he stopped
and turned around. Funny, I could’ve
sworn someone was following me. Dismissing it as paranoia, he continued,
wishing that Sam or Jack could be here to sort this out. Or at least deliver
him to the nearest psychiatrist.
He opened his door and glanced at the clock. Midnight already! That’s means it’s Friday…
The door slammed behind him and Daniel jumped. He turned
around and fumbled for the light switch. Nothing happened. He tried his door
handle but it was locked. He was just about to reach for the phone when…
“I unplugged it.”
Daniel swung round, but couldn’t make out anyone in the
dim light. He was frightened now.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
Daniel felt someone pass by him, and his arm was twisted.
He yelled but was just forced onto his knees. Someone kneeled beside him,
breath warm on his cheek.
“You won’t be around this time, Daniel. I’ll see to that!”
Daniel gasped. He knew that voice!
“What the hell? Sa…”
“Don’t mention that name! It never belonged to me; don’t
bring it up if you value your short life.”
Daniel closed his eyes, wondering how he managed to get himself
into such trouble. Not that you usually
get captured by your best friend’s ex-wife…
~
Liberty smiled to herself. The plan was coming together.
~
Sam dropped Jack off at the garage so he could buy some
flowers for Anna and then took Teal’c back to base. Since she was there, she
decided to check on Daniel. He’s probably
forgotten he’s even going to meet Anna! And if he hadn’t, she could deter
him from it. She didn’t think the Colonel would enjoy being interrupted.
Sam knocked on the door. No answer. She opened the door
slightly and called his name. Still no answer. She went inside and looked
around. No-one there. Damn it Daniel, why
are you never here when I need you? Sam continued her search by checking
everywhere on the base she had ever come across Daniel in his free time. That
took about ten minutes. She called the security at the surface who told her
that he hadn’t left Cheyenne Mountain, she called every single
linguist/archaeologist/person-even-slightly-interested-in-history on the base,
but nobody had seen Daniel since the day before. Finally, when she had reached
her limits in patience and exasperation, she called the Colonel, who was supposed to be meeting with Anna.
Suspiciously, in Sam’s mind, Anna had never shown up. Jack
admitted to calling her home number, her work number and her mobile number and
coming up with no response.
“I’m sorry sir, but we’ve got another problem. Daniel’s
missing too.”
“What?!”
“I’ve tried everyone Colonel, but nobody’s seen him since
yesterday. The last person was Dr. Rothman who said that Daniel hadn’t been
responding to his pager..”
“That’s nothing, Carter; he doesn’t respond to me yelling
in his face, how do you expect him to listen to a tiny ‘bleep’ noise when he’s
working?”
“Good point. So where do you think he is? I asked around
and his car’s still at the base, and according to security he hasn’t left.”
“According to
security, Carter? What’s wrong, don’t you believe that everything security says
is right anymore?”
“Not when I saw how much you paid them.”
“Well, I’ll leave another message for Anna and then head
on back to home sweet home. Make sure my dinner’s ready, honey.”
“Colonel!!!!!!!!”
“Sorry Carter. See ya.”
Make
sure my dinner’s ready, honey? If he gets any more chauvinistic, I’m going to
have to call my lover. Ah, problem… Sam sighed. If only…
~
Daniel was vaguely aware of voices talking over him and he
forced his eyes open.
“Hello Daniel. Are you feeling any better?”
Janet! The kindly doctor stared down at him, as he lay on
what he assumed was a gurney.
“W…what happened?”
“Oh, you collapsed. It appears you had what we call a
‘stress-tumour’ in your brain. I’ve removed it but you may get a few headaches
for a while.”
Stress
tumour? What kind of diagnosis is that? Daniel was confused. He had just
had the strangest dream. Sara O’Neill was there. It was all very odd.
Janet walked away and Sam came in and sat on the edge of
his bed.
“We were looking everywhere for you, Daniel.”
Sam smiled down at him and took his hand. Now, Daniel was
definitely getting suspicious. Sam leaned over him and kissed him passionately.
Okay; when did reality feel this good? Sam
pulled away, searching his eyes. Daniel touched her chin and guided her into
another kiss. But it’s certainly an
improvement!
~
Sam had organised a security camera search of the whole
base and she had found an anomaly. One of the storage room cameras had broken
and no one had noticed. She made her way to the room, opening the door slowly.
She gasped. For, in the centre of the darkness, surrounded
by machines and instruments, was Daniel.
~
Time seemed to stand still. The picture of Daniel lying
there in the centre of the gloom, his all-too-pale features radiating an unholy
light, like that of a neglected ghost, was emblazoned in Sam’s mind forever.
She called his name, fervently hoping for a reply, for any sign of life, but as
she pessimistically predicted, he gave her none. Sam moved cautiously through
the room, she could make out a few flickering lights and symbols on the machinery,
but it didn’t give her enough information to whether she’d set off an alarm by
disturbing them. Perhaps it was all rigged to blow up if anyone went too close!
Then again, maybe not, but you could never be too careful, as Sam had found out
in the past.
“Daniel?” she tried again. For an instant she thought he
was responding but it was just his face contorting with pain, obviously
suffering even whilst he slept. It may have been said before, but even now it
was still true. Daniel looked too young, too innocent for anyone to want to
hurt him. It broke Sam’s heart to see her friends in pain, but when it was
Daniel, the knife might as well have struck her own heart, for all the grief
and sorrow she felt. But now was not the time for emotional reflections, it was
obvious to her that Daniel needed her help. And she was determined to aid him
in any way she could.
Sam ran for the newly-installed wall phone. She couldn’t
do this alone, and she knew it.
“Hello?…Colonel! I’ve found Daniel…”
~
Jack slammed down the phone. Anna stared at him in
astonishment, as he grabbed his jacket and made for the door.
“Jack? What’s the matter?”
“Your brother’s missing.”
“Danny? Oh no, Jack; what’s happened?”
Anna caught his arm, fear sparking through her eyes. Jack
took her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes.
“I’ll come back as soon as I can. Lock the door and
windows and stay put. Don’t answer the door or the phone if you can help it.”
“Okay Jack.”
Jack kissed her briefly and ran out of the door. Anna was
very confused but locked everything up anyway. Then, she sat down and waited.
~
Jack stormed down to the Storage Rooms, where an armed
guard nodded to let him in. Inside, was a gaggle of technicians and doctors,
Janet among them, crowding around a metal table surrounded by flashing lights.
Robert was standing to one side, flicking through a dictionary and occasionally
spouting words.
“Okay, it’s definitely a coma…thing but the rest of the
symbols are unintelligible.”
“That’s okay, Robert. You did your best.”
Janet was leaning over someone and Jack knew instantly who
it was. Daniel.
Sam caught his eye and headed to Jack’s side, obviously
tormenting herself for not being able to help Daniel. “Well, I found him.” That
was all she could say.
“You did well Major. Do you know who did this to him?”
“No sir. Janet thinks some translation may be the key to
all this, so they’ve brought Robert here to try and help.”
“Some help he was with the crystal skull thing….”
The offending archaeologist had heard him. “I’m sorry
Colonel O’Neill. This is not really my speciality.” The words didn’t have to be
said. It’s Daniel’s.
“Do you think that’s why
they did this? Because Daniel was a .. threat to them in some way?”
Jack sighed, dropping his arm to Sam’s shoulder to comfort
her. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
~
Liberty paced the control room impatiently. Time was
running out but Sara was taking it all in her stride.
“We will succeed, Liberty.”
“Only if Samantha is as ignorant as we believe her to be.”
Sara turned to Liberty, slightly puzzled.
“What has she got to do with it?”
Liberty smiled and closed her eyes, connecting with
Samantha. Free to explore her mind, she found what she didn’t want to see.
“She knows, Sara.”
Liberty turned to Sara, eyes wide with panic.
“She knows.”
~
Most of the crowd had left when they realised nothing
could be done. Jack still hovered in the background, as Janet tired to attach
monitors that were just giving her erratic readings.
Sam perched on the side of the machine, touching Daniel’s
face gently; a silent plea for him to wake up, reassure her, tell her it would
all be okay.
“Sam? Are you alright?”
Sam hastily brushed at the tears creeping down her cheeks,
trying to hide how deeply this had hit her. Janet laid a hand on her shoulder
but she shook it off.
“Could I be alone please?”
Janet nodded slowly, tears clouding her own vision, as she
took Jack’s arm to lead him out of the room. When they were out, the door was
shut and Janet leaned against the wall.
“Why is it always Daniel? Hasn’t he been through enough?”
Jack bit his lip and drew Janet into a hug, letting her
cry into his shoulder.
~
Liberty suddenly looked up.
“The time is now.”
~
Sam looked sorrowfully at Daniel, making no move to stop
the tears pouring down her cheeks.
“Oh Daniel; why isn’t it me? I should be in there, not
you. You’re too valuable to us, Daniel. Please don’t leave us.”
Sam leaned over
his still form, reaching over and accidentally, letting her fingers brush a
clear blue stone in the side. At exactly the same time, a few salty tears
trickled onto one of the glyphs. The symbol lit up and the whole machine began
to hum. Sam looked up, sheltering Daniel’s head in case something happened.
And something did. A massive holographic screen was projected
above the machine, and bright light scanned her head quickly. Then, a verse
appeared on the ‘canvas’:
One who cries for another’s soul,
Elicits the charm,
Look for a fairytale of old,
To prevent your love from harm.
Just as suddenly it disappeared again, leaving Sam staring
at the now empty space. Too shocked to react, she struggled to recall the
rhyme. She remembered the words ‘charm’, ‘fairytale’ and most importantly to
her, ‘love’ She assumed the verse was referring to Daniel, who else could it be? So she set about summoning to mind all the
fairytales she ever heard, wondering which one held the key to Daniel’s safety.
~
KNOCK KNOCK. The sharp sound cut like a knife through
Sam’s thoughts. The storage room door opened and in walked Jack. He caught the
distracted look on her face and knew she was feeling guilty about something.
“What are you thinking about, Carter?”
Sam’s eyes were sad and her voice was surprisingly small
and quiet. “Fairytales, sir.”
Jack raised an eyebrow and was about to speak, but Sam
interrupted. “I know that you probably will be just a little bit sceptical
about what I’m going to say but it did happen. I saw it.”
“Go on.”
“A projector of some sort appeared and an image was
depicted over there,” she pointed.
“And where is it now?” Jack asked.
“It just disappeared, but it told me something. It told me
that the key to Daniel’s safety was in a fairytale.”
“A fairytale.” Jack’s voice did indeed sound sceptical.
“Which one?”
“I’m not sure, sir.”
“I know you’re hurt Sam, we all are. But we’ve got to look
at this rationally.”
“It really did happen, sir, I’m not making it up. I
wouldn’t do that.”
“I know you wouldn’t. I was talking about dealing with the
fairytales. Now Daniel’s asleep, right?”
Sam nodded.
“Tell me a story about someone who fell asleep.”
Sam’s smile beamed at Jack, her eyes filled with rays of
joyful hope. “Wish me luck.”
“No way, Carter. I wanted to do it, but if you insist…I’ll
be outside the door.” Jack left the room, guessing that Sam would prefer it
that way. He was right. She had waited for a moment like this for so long, but
now she wanted to make sure everything was going to be all right.
Sam moved slowly towards Daniel’s still form, hoping that
this was right. Suddenly, she panicked and closed the door, and bolted it over.
If something was to go wrong, she didn’t want trouble for anyone else.
As she neared the table, only one thought came to mind: The things we do for love. Sam looked
sorrowfully down on Daniel’s youthful face, trailing her fingers down the
all-too-pale cheek. Then, she bent down and kissed him. A warmth spread
throughout her body and she felt a rush of adrenaline as light shone from the
table. Sam broke away and saw Daniel’s frightened blue eyes staring back. He
looked wildly around for a moment before his gaze settled on Sam
“Wh…what happened?”
Sam smiled down at him, fresh tears forming in her eyes.
Daniel sat up in concern and drew her into a hug.
“Oh, what a touching scene!”
The two looked round and Sam gasped.
“Sara!”
The woman smiled cruelly and turned to the girl next to
her.
“See! I told you we could do this.”
Liberty smiled and raised her hand, a warm, red glow
echoing from it. She swept it over them, before flinging it in frustration.
“They still relent!”
Sara rolled her eyes and tapped a few buttons on the
armband she was wearing.
“Then let the games begin.”
~
Jack never knew what hit him. One minute he was talking to
Janet and the next he was lying on the floor, completely dazed. He sat up
slowly, to find himself sitting at the edge of one of those holodeck-thingies
off Star Trek. Or, at least that’s
what it looked like to him. It was a completely black room with a red grid on
all six sides. He looked slowly around him and saw Teal’c, Janet and Anna lying
on the floor. He stood up and Sam and Daniel suddenly materialised beside him,
Sam with a firm hold on Daniel’s sleeve. Jack ran over and helped up Anna,
while Teal’c lifted Janet to her feet.
“What the hell is going on?”
“You have been chosen.”
Everyone turned to the other end of the room where a row
of six figures faced them. Sara and Liberty stood in the middle and on either
side of them were four…
“Unas!”
~
Great, thought
Jack. Just great. I haven't seen my
wife.... my ex-wife in… god knows how long. And now she turns up here, almost
killing Daniel along the way, to put us in a TV game show. Life really sucks
sometimes. But I do miss Sara though...
"Who are you?" Sam asked bravely, not aiming the
question at Sara.
"She is Liberty. She has come to assist me with my
operations."
Jack's voice was quiet and shaky. "But...Sara?"
"Yes Jack. I'm here. And this time I'm the one with
all the little plots and information that I can't tell you because it's
classified." She saw the shocked expression on her former husband's face.
"I thought you'd accept it Jack. I guess I was wrong. I was wrong about a
lot of things."
Anna didn't particularly understand or like the
communication between Jack and this… woman, she felt she had to say something.
"Now, I don't know who you are. But I do know that you don't have to do
this to Jack or anyone." So she hung protectively on his arm just long
enough to spark Sara's outrage.
"That's right. You don't know anything. But I'll make
sure you know pain."
Daniel was about to jump in, to defend Anna from whatever
was thrown at her, but he caught Jack's eye and saw the sorrow and regret that
lingered there. Jack had accepted this to be his fault. And although Daniel
knew this wasn't the case, he was determined to support his friend in any way
he could, despite the fact he still didn't quite feel 100% yet. Or even 50, but
he was going to his best.
"Listen Sara. I know what I did.."
"Yes Jack. I know what you did too. I've had enough
of talking." To Liberty she added, "Is it going to plan?"
"Yes. Twenty more seconds and everything will be
ready to begin."
“Twenty seconds to what?”
Daniel brought himself up straighter, looking Liberty
directly in the eye. The woman stared back, looking slightly frightened and
on-edge.
“You’ll find out soon enough, Daniel,” said Sara, tartily.
“I was asking Liberty.”
Daniel’s eyes never left Liberty’s face, as it rolled
through a torrent of emotion in mere seconds.
“You…are…evil. Must…be…destroyed!”
Liberty pressed her hands to her ears and crashed to her
knees. Sara ignored the woman’s plight, keeping on talking.
“Actually, I’ll prepare you for your fate, mere humans.
The Soberons, my true race, are about
to attack Earth. And the only thing that can stop them is…Daniel.”
All eyes were on Daniel, but he wasn’t concentrating. He
was looking at Liberty in a strange way, studying her stern, alien features
with a morbid fascination.
“You’re the Furlings, aren’t you? The other race from
Heliopolis?”
Liberty looked up at him, eyes wide. Sara pulled Liberty
to her feet and shook her roughly.
“What’s this? Who are these ‘Furlings’ he speaks of?”
Liberty looked sorrowfully at Sara and the vengeful woman
just dropped her. Instead, she turned to Daniel, pulling out a long rod. She
pointed it at the archaeologist and he was suspended in the air, gripped with
electricity.
“Daniel!”
Sam charged at Sara but just bounced off the force field.
Sara’s mad eyes were intently focused on Daniel, as if channelling the
electricity themselves.
“You will talk, Daniel. Or you will die.”
~
It seemed to Jack that he was watching things as an
impartial, unconcerned spectator. He saw Daniel’s face crumple with pain but
there was nothing he could do to save him. He saw Sam charge as if in slow
motion, and even though he willed her to make it, the final decision was not
his own. He saw his wife, but as a stranger, a mind so far from humanity and
morality that there was nothing he could do to even hope of communicating with
her again. Nothing in this room was about him. Not really. Not any more. He was
powerless and it angered him. But there was still nothing he could do.
~
Anna was really, really scared now. She had never seen
anything like this, and it came as no comfort that no-one else appeared to
either. She guessed that this had to be Sara. Daniel had mentioned her several
times, warned her not to talk to Jack about her or Charlie. But had she
listened? No. In some ways, she was just like Daniel. That was the only time
she had seen Jack really, really angry. But then she could do something, calm
him down, sort him out. It seemed that there was nothing that she could do to
help anyone any more. And it hurt her, just as it hurt everyone else.
~
Teal’c looked on feeling desperately close to despair. He
felt a chunk of his heart had been torn away when Shan’auc had been lost to
him, but he had the fire of revenge to help him there. But to watch,
helplessly, as his friend, the man he had promised to protect, slowly died in
front of him was unbearable. He owed it to Daniel Jackson though not to look
away. If Daniel should glance at Teal’c he should see a face strong and proud,
not a head cowered away in fear. So he stayed watching, but there was nothing
he could do. Just like when he couldn’t save Sha’re. There was nothing Teal’c
felt he had ever done to help Daniel, why should it start now?
~
It stung horribly where the force field had struck her,
but Sam was determined to find a way through somehow. She didn’t understand
quite what Sara was talking about. But it didn’t matter. She was going to save
Daniel even if it killed her, but preferably if it didn’t. She saw Daniel’s
pain and it enraged her that anyone would torture him in such an inhumane
fashion as this. He didn’t deserve it. Everything he had ever done was honourable,
moral, and good. Sam glimpsed Anna, Jack and Teal’c’s expressions, they all
looked lost and confused. As if they were powerless to stop this and were just
waiting for something to happen. This hit Sam with a jolt, they were just going
to stand there and watch Daniel die! As he sure wasn’t going to tell Sara
anything he didn’t want her to know. Sam knew she could stop this. She wasn’t
helpless; she wasn’t going to abandon anyone now. She was going to fight. And
she was going to win.
~
Janet couldn’t quite believe this was happening. It was
like a living nightmare from the past. She glanced at the people around her,
wondering what had frozen them all. Except Sam, of course. She made for her
side, but Sam held her off. Janet thought it was all very strange. Sure, she
had guessed that something was going
on with SG1, but the rumour mill was leaning towards Jack and Sam becoming an
item. Who would’ve thought that shy, retiring Daniel would capture her
attention? Saying that, nothing was confirmed. Wake up, Janet! You’re in the middle of a hostile situation and you’re
still playing matchmaker!
~
“Sara! You can’t do this.”
The woman turned her mad, staring eyes directly at Sam.
Sam held her ground under Sara’s piercing glare, but was truly afraid of the
burning rage afire in her eyes.
“Why not? Who’s going to stop me?”
“I am.”
Sara began to cackle, letting the rod drop slightly. The
energy field weakened around Daniel and Sam noted every detail. Hang in there, Daniel. I’m going to get you
out of this.
“You? How can you stop me when you can’t even reach me?”
Sara laughed hysterically now, and the field fluctuated
again. Daniel dropped slightly in the air, but Sara didn’t seem to notice. Sam
glanced back at her friends, wondering at each of their expressions. She caught
Janet’s eye and the doctor nodded. At least she had some support.
“If you’re so sure of your power, how about you drop the
field? But, of course, if you think you can’t take me…”
Janet watched her best friend carefully. She was definitely
planning something…then, it hit her. Sam glanced back at Janet and Janet
nodded, signing a brief message, she had learnt in academy. Sam signed back
just as quickly, by which time Sara had looked up. Sam bit her lip angrily,
worrying about Daniel still suspended in the air. His struggles were growing
weaker and she didn’t know how much more of that he could stand.
“Alright, pathetic Tau’ri.”
The shield dropped and Sam charged at Sara, bowling her
straight over. She acted quickly, using an Abydonian move Daniel had shown her.
Though, perhaps shown isn’t quite the
right word. On the plane to SG1’s holiday, Sam and Daniel had sat either
side of Cassie. The young girl had despaired her ‘mentors’ as they started to
fight over Daniel’s chocolate-walnut cookies. Daniel had finished the argument
by a quick pinch to her neck. It had sent a spasm through her back and froze
her up. Jack had told him to reverse it immediately, which he had grudgingly
done. However, Sam was far from angry. She had insisted that he teach her the
technique and she had learnt it religiously. She used it now and Sara thudded
to the ground, groaning. Daniel thundered towards the ground and Sam just
caught him in her outstretched arms.
"I need to... I can't... I won't... Sam?"
"It's OK Daniel. It's OK," Sam comforted him.
"I was... it was.... it hurt."
"I know. But everything will be all right now."
"You promise?"
"Of course Daniel. I promise." She ran a gentle
hand down his face, watching as he closed his eyes and fell into an exhausted
sleep.
Sara groaned again, and released her grip on the ‘rod’.
The gridded room faded around them and they were all back in the storage room.
Sam stroked back Daniel’s hair again, tears surfacing in her eyes.
Jack spoke up. "You did it Major. I'm proud of you.
You did a really good job back then." His voice was shaky, trembling with
its absolute conviction.
"Thank you sir. But any of you would have done the
same for me."
"True, Carter. True."
~
Everything was back to its usual SGC routine. Daniel was
sleeping in the infirmary, the 'electricity' having taken a hell of a lot out
of him. The rest of SG1 were squashed in there with him, holding a whispered
conversation about the events of the last few hours. Jack had insisted that
Anna leave, which she had done. And Janet was trying to catch up on the gossip.
Well at least she would have been, if it hadn't been for the fact that Liberty
and one Sara O'Neill were also both lying in the infirmary. Janet had just
checked Daniel's read outs (they were relatively
normal) and was heading out to pass on her shift to the next doctor when
Liberty stirred. Her eyes were wild with fear and she seemed totally confused
and bewildered.
"What happened to him?"
Janet frowned. "You mean Daniel? Well he's going to
be fine."
"Did he tell her?"
"Tell her what?"
"The translation. The key to her plan."
"I don't think so. He didn't tell her anything."
"Good. Then your world is safe."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm sorry. I must speak with him."
"He's asleep at the moment."
"I must apologise for transmitting to him without his
permission."
"It'll have to wait..."
"It must be now. I will have to leave shortly."
Realising there was nothing she could do, Janet stepped
aside. She headed back to Daniel’s room, feeling slightly confused. Where’s she going to go?
She walked in, and smiled openly. Jack was leaning back in
his chair, mouth slightly open as he slept. Teal’c was mediating in the corner
and Sam was draped over Daniel’s bed, fast asleep. Janet checked the monitors quietly
and looked back at her patient. Who was staring back at her.
“Hey Janet. I see you haven’t kicked them out yet.”
Janet smiled at him, as he glanced down at Sam. He trailed
his hand through her hair, smiling to himself. Janet cleared her throat discreetly,
and Daniel smiled up at her.
“She saved me, Janet. I owe her so much.”
Janet nodded at him, wondering how she had missed this
before.
“Daniel, she really cares about you. And I’m sure she’d
just call it ‘nothing much’. I know someone else like that…”
Daniel smiled at her, and then looked up.
“Is Liberty awake yet?”
“Indeed I am, Daniel. I am truly sorry but I’m sure I can
trust you to stop her.”
“Of course, Liberty. You should be getting back.”